Unemployment

So, the first 31 days of 2024 have come to pass and you still haven’t found a job before Valentine’s Day or the ides of March.

Just because the groundhog of employment didn’t pop up out of the ground and cast a favorable shadow for you isn’t a reason to panic.

After all, it’s just six more weeks till the spring, or thereabouts, if you believe that thing about weather-wise rodents.

According to an article on indeed.com, February is one of the peak hiring months, and still one of the best for sifting through openings.

January is usually a big posting month, and managers begin interviews the following month. However, this takes time and some companies may allow someone to wiggle in as a better option than the initial candidates.

Job seekers should take advantage of the 29-day month (leap year!) to polish their application and communicate with companies that appeal to them.

In contrast, the article states January is a slow month of companies gauging how much resources they will have to allocate and what positions need to be filled, as well as getting holiday cobwebs out of the workplace.

March, by the way, offers extra time to apply – but best not to gamble or procrastinate before the second financial quarter starts in April.

Some more job tips:

Create a regular routine. According to a 2021 tips article on Forbes.com, job seekers that started off at the New Year and haven’t had any bites may be losing hope. January is sometimes flooded with applicants. February and March is when that might lessen, and thus improve a candidate surfacing above the rest.
Don’t exhaust yourself. Pace your search with introspection and career improvements to 40 hours a week, as you would in employment, to keep up positivity and balance your home and family needs. Frustration and desperation can gradually creep in if you’re constantly seeing only the same contacts and jobs.
Find any information if the new year is bringing in a change to your occupation’s thinking. There may be new roles, strategies or even buzzwords to have knowledge of. Show that you can adapt to more than a new office, its rules and faces.
Don’t be discouraged if your job search doesn’t succeed in these two months. Be prepared and open to finding new contacts or sources for jobs, as well as adjusting yourself to the needs of the evolving workplace.

Keeping this in mind, good luck with continuing your search.

And remember, the SBPA, EDD and One-Stop are always available to help you.

Article images created by DALL-E 3.

Motivation and commitment might be the coin needed for finding a new job while out of work, but in order to make the money stretch while a person is unemployed, accountability and discipline are needed too.

On Jan. 31, SBPA held a training session on budgeting finances while searching for a job.

Hosted by Sadhna Singh, training chair with the SBPA, the session covered various tips and strategies to make money stretch while looking for a job, as well as preparing for the next jobless drought.

“You want to identify your outflows,” Singh said. “Not only your fixed expenses … rent, health insurance … but also your variable expenses like entertainment, hobbies and shopping.”

Singh said one strategy might be cutting down the number of credit cards to make it easier to keep tabs on spending as well as spotting suspicious activity that could put you further in financial trouble.

In addition, it might be time to cut back on paid services you might have used at work and entertainment, such as specific information outlets and utility programs for the occupation, less shopping with Amazon and its Prime service, as well as nixing streaming or cable channels.

Harold Salas, SBPA president, said calling services such as a cell phone provider and asking if there’s discounts or aid for unemployed is an option, adding he was able to find a deal reducing his cell phone bill as well as tying-in a discount offered for Netflix.

To get your finances in order, Singh showed a series of slides illustrating four primary items to focus on while also searching for the next job.

To help with budgeting – and getting a Microsoft Excel or Google Sheet template ready to keep track of everything – Singh added you can utilize NerdWallet’s Emergency Fund Calculator and use investment planning services such as Vanguard.

In addition, once you start making income again from a new job, you want to replenish the safety net and emergency fund for the next time life gives you an unemployed phase.

More SBPA in-person meetings?

In addition to the budgeting tips, Salas said at the meeting’s opening SBPA is considering two or more in-person meet-ups each month at the South Bay One-Stop Business & Career Center in Torrance.

Currently the group meets there once a month on the final Wednesday, with prospective new members introduced to SBPA and its services, as well as participating in workshops geared for unemployed professionals and occasional guest speakers.

Five new faces were present on Jan. 31, with expertise in fields such as banking, medical and funerary.

Salas expects the number of new members to increase as the year progresses, noting recent layoffs in the tech industry.