Working Moms

Unemployed? What do you do all day?

A number of my friends are unemployed professionals and they are going stir crazy with boredom. On weekends they used to have the greatest time with friends and family with hobbies, sports and socializing but now that they are unemployed they just have too much time on their hands.

Their friends and family are all working from dawn to dusk on weekdays and so the unemployed are all alone Monday to Friday. They don't have the money to do much of anything and try to limit their driving around to a minimum to save on gasoline costs.

Sometimes they get bored out of their mind and drive to the shopping mall and just walk around or hang out at the library or bookstore, but this gets really old and depressing because they are all alone and can't afford to buy anything at the mall anyway.

Their friends and family tell them that job hunting is a full time job and they should be spending their entire day on the phone making calls and on line applying for jobs. But a person can only take so much abuse. When they call companies they can't get past the receptionist and if they do get a hold of someone in HR or a hiring manager they are treated rudely. There are only so many jobs to apply for so productive time on line on sites like Monster.com is limited.

Can you relate to my unemployed friends situation? Is it as boring for you as it is for them?



Re: Unemployed? What do you do all day?

  • No!! No one can relate! We are WORKING moms!!!!!!
  • Yep. Precisely the reason I don't have any desire to be a SAHM. I was unemployed for two weeks a few years ago. It wasn't much time, I know, but I got quickly depressed. I ended up taking a temp receptionist job just to get out of the house. I ended up getting hired and promoted twice. I don't know if that is in the cards for your friend.
  • Loading the player...
  • I did look for a job full time when I was laid off.  It wasn't just applying for jobs, but fine tuning my resume, networking, searching for networking opportunities, searching for different ways I could use my skills, etc.  I had kids at the time so the rest of my time was spend taking care of them, which included trips to the mall to walk around b/c we needed cheap entertainment at the time. 
    DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12
  • I am unemployed now. I was laid off in September. It is as you described your friends' experiences. I had to re-apply for my job due to a grant that expired and  got renewed for another 5 years.

    As for job searching a lot of times there really is nothing for myself out there.There is a lot of waiting and weeks where I could have gone without looking at the jobs from the unemployment website.

    I have a BA and nobody would even look at me if I apply for a job that requires a high school diploma or associate's degree. It is like you are being punished for going to school.

    Before the holidays, I spent all my time making DS's teachers' holiday gifts and baking and now that it is over I just might as well start reading more books. I would wash laundry and clean our apartment and go to DS's school activities where they invited the parents.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • I am about to be in the same boat. I am being laid off the 13th of January (Friday the 13th). When I was unemployed ten years ago for seven months I would spend the first several hours of every day looking for a job, making calls, networking, etc. Then I would spend an hour at the apartment complex gym. I found that the working out helped my confidence. But, it was getting depressing, especially since my DH was my boyfriend at the time and living in another city three hours away so I really didn't have anyone to talk to. I found myself wandering either the mall or the grocery store just to hear people's voices.

    It gets hard, but sticking to it can make a difference and having a daily schedule. I plan on sticking to something similar to my last schedule, but I will also have DD to take care of and fill in some of the time. I also plan on keeping her in daycare three days a week so I can set up networking meetings, informational interviews, and job interviews on specified days of the week. I find keeping a set schedule makes a huge difference in my self esteem during those times.

    AlternaTickers - Cool, free Web tickers photo
  • I was laid off two weeks ago and I spend most of my time job searching, networking and calling around to placement agencies. Thankfully I found temporary consulting work for the next four weeks because I'm going crazy in this house. It has given me a chance to call around to different daycare for the new baby but that only takes up so much time. I would suggest the local library. I don't know where you are but our library system is amazing and has classes and events in addition to the typical books, dvds, cds. 
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"