I was out of work for one month this year, but it felt like much longer. I’ve always been a second shifter, work from home as a medical transcriber, and I reluctantly left my former company due to the terrible pay cut (continued offshoring to India) and the realization I had to try to find a better company since I’m nowhere near retirement. (Long story short, I did just that and have been with my new smaller company for 2 months now, hoping this one won’t go the same offshoring route anytime soon). I didn’t have to worry so much about looking good for job interviews, that is one plus for being able to work from home; you do phone interviews and test on line. But I studied all the classifieds and would have been prepared to show up looking sharp had I found a transcription/secretarial job locally at a doctor’s office or hospital. I live within walking distance of a hospital but there are so few postings there these days related to what I do.

Anyway, of course, being out of work was a very stressful time mentally. I had gotten away from taking my hour walk every morning, so I immediately reinstituted that, knowing from experience that physical activity outdoors of any kind is a good thing, rain or shine. I’d then come home and work on sending more resumes out and keeping track of that; it can be very daunting and hard on the ego. You find out quickly that having 30-odd years of experience sure won’t necessarily get you even a sorry-we-can’t-use-you-right-now email response, but it’s a good lesson. I made myself keep a routine schedule daily. I made myself cook great healthy meals. I got back into reading and hitting the library instead of sitting in front of the TV or PC for entertainment. I sought out other transcribers going through the same thing and have met some great people this way, and we do keep in touch and compare notes. I went to bed at a decent hour. I did more with the kinfolk, in particular the grandnephews, and took mom to visit with some relatives she’d not seen in awhile. I can look back now and say it was actually a pretty nice break from the job but really don’t think I want to have to go through that again, though it certainly could happen. I doubt I’ll ever feel secure again in my work.

Otherwise, there’s no better than to explore the world in this economy!

Rgds,

RB

By the way, David, maybe your perfect job is writing.