How to Get Through the Period Between Jobs

Take a vacation or sabbatical, while searching and waiting for new employment.

The unemployed enthusiastically hope and expect the period of finding new work to go by swiftly, but for many people it turns into a long-term endeavor. Meanwhile, you have to continue living and providing for yourself and your family while also searching for employment. However, without a reliable source of income and benefits, you can have difficulty maintaining a basic existence until a new opportunity comes along. Getting through the period between jobs involves not only surviving day-to-day life, but making sure you can thrive when the perfect job opportunity arrives at your door.

Instructions

Survive

1. Request alternative forms of cash assistance. Disabled people can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. Families can contact local and state social services departments, charities and other nonprofit organizations for emergency stipends and personal grants to have cash on hand. The U.S. Office of Family Assistance administers the welfare program, called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Also, some landline phone, cell phone and cable TV companies have low-income telephony and Internet connectivity plans.

2. Enroll in non-employer-based healthcare plans for which you are eligible; see Benefits.gov for options. Medicaid may be available for chronic disabilities coverage. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is available in some states for people without other health insurance, and expires in 2014 when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect. Enroll your kids in the Children's Health Insurance Programs. Single adults who are mostly healthy but have occasional and acute illnesses can get access to temporary healthcare and medicine through local community and nonprofit clinics. Visit the local health department or pharmacy for free flu vaccinations.

3. Shop frugally for food and obtain food assistance. Find stores that sell food at or near cost, in addition to visiting large supermarket warehouses. Visit local food banks and charities that freely donate boxes and bags full of groceries. Apply for food stamps, which are issued on debit-like cards , through the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Thrive

1. Accept other forms of employment. Work one or multiple part-time jobs. Register with a local or online staffing agency that helps companies fill temporary and seasonal labor needs. Volunteer in the community to keep you work skills fresh and to also network. Become a self-employed, independent contractor. As an example, out-of-work construction workers and landscapers might consider using their experience to become a bona fide home and garden writer.

2. Retrain by earning a degree, or becoming licensed and certified to help you re-enter your existing profession armed with new knowledge; or branch into a new and booming industry. Federal student loans and grants are available for adults as well. Career and vocational programs only last a few months to years, and many schools will guide prospective students through the financial aid process, and will also provide job leads afterwards.

3. Develop your job hunting skills. Visit local and online outplacement and workforce assistance centers to learn how to go about finding new employment in today's climate, not based on outdated methods. Learn about numerous interviewing techniques, all of which you must be prepared to endure in order to wow the hiring employer.

Arrive

1. Update your resume with activities that have helped you to thrive. The work and schooling you did between jobs will help you fill in date gaps on your resume. Create several versions of your resume to spotlight both your older and newer skills. Chronological resumes detail your work history, while functional resumes detail your skills and experience. Most employers prefer the chronological format.

2. Search for current openings in job banks, local and virtual job fairs, and job forums and message boards. If you are interested in a specific company, visit its website and click on the "Careers" or "Employment" link to find openings. Contact your career licensing association, trade organizations and unions for targeted job leads.

3. Apply for each job that fits your qualifications. Rewrite or add to the summary, work experience and education sections of your resume to match a hiring employer's or industry's job description.

4. Wait patiently, as you get responses from interested and impressed employers, to go forward with the next steps in the hiring process.

Tips & Warnings

• Exercise, yoga and other physical activity are increasingly becoming acceptable, free or inexpensive, ways to treat mild depression.

• Links for America's Service Locator and CareerOneStop can help direct you to many of the programs and services listed in this article.

References

• MSN Money: A Survival Guide for the Unemployed; Liz Pulliam Weston; March 2008
• "U.S. News and World Report"; 6 Ways to Fill Up a Major Resume Gap; Ashley Jacobs; July 2011
• The Ladders: Being Out of Work Is Hard, Getting Back to Work Can Be Harder; Debra Donston-Miller; March 2011
• ResumePower.com: Resume Tips Article: Long-Term Employment on Your Resume; Kim Isaacs
• HealthCare.gov: Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan: Questions and Answers
• "The New York Times"; Prescribing Exercise to Treat Depression; Gretchen Reynolds; August 2011

Resources

• CareerOneStop: America's Service Locator
• CareerOneStop: Job Seekers and Workers
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; "Occupational Outlook Quarterly"; Resumes, Applications and Cover Letters; Olivia Crosby; Summer 2009
• Benefits.gov - Your Path to Government Benefits
• Dummies.com: Sample Resume for a Worker with an Employment Gap
• Rochester Institute of Technology: Open Publishing Guide -- Free Software Tools (Word Processors)
• Institute of Museum and Library Services: Find Public Libraries