9 Things Unemployment Taught Me

Unemployment. Yuck.

Two years ago, I got a call from my boss telling me there was a “contract shrinkage” and I was to be let go on Friday, the last day of the month. It was Wednesday. No other contractors, just me, and I was the only one working from home 1500 miles away.

“Sorry. Out of my hands. Tried to do what I could," etc. etc. etc..

Then Monday came and I had no work and no more health insurance. I didn’t have any income either. I applied for unemployment and got it. I still had to return a government laptop across the country. No problem, though a bit awkward. I like UPS.

So there I was. I could do anything in the world I wanted now that I had no formal work constraints. What would I choose? Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave the area because of family obligations, but I could still choose other careers if I wanted. I was a technical writer by trade, but I could morph into something else, couldn’t I?

Long story short. After about four months, I reached out to a former boss, and she needed an extra hand with some of the proposals she was working. It wouldn’t be 100% employment but proposal work as it came in. Most everyone reading this knows the ebbs and flows of this type of work.

But I was still technically unemployed as far as the State of Texas was concerned. Texas unemployment was paying me a fraction of my former salary to send out five legitimate resumes a week. When my earnings for my consultant work exceeded my unemployment check, Texas would send me nothing.

Through that process, I learned a few things about being unemployed:

1. Unemployment rate

When you’re part of the 3.9% unemployment rate, it’s 100% unemployment to you. I think the rate’s higher than that but when whoever is in power brags about that rate, know that it’s not all high fives and giggles for those who are still unemployed and underemployed.

2. Recruiters

Recruiters don’t have to respond to you...at all. Recruiters are in the cat-bird seat when you apply for their positions. If they want to respond to you, they can but are certainly not obligated. So if you spend 15-30 minutes on each application, you may get an autorespond email in return and never hear from them again. For example, I applied for a position long before I became unemployed.

A corporate recruiter sent me a response 3 months from the day I sent in my application. Three months. By that time I had 1) forgotten about the opportunity, 2) moved on, or 3) become so annoyed that they didn’t have the decency to response a day or two after I sent in my resume. In this case it wasn’t a great fit at all.

The process is unfair, so until I have my own company and can lay out my own hiring procedure, it'll remain that way.

3. DOE

Depends on Experience or DOE doesn’t always mean that. Companies are in complete control of what they can and can’t give you. DOE is just a time-wasting way of not having to name a figure up front. Salary or hourly ranges do well to weed out candidates. DOE just invites problems for recruiters and candidates alike.

4. Mood swings

You go through serious mood swings. For me, I can be up one moment and down in the depths the next, blaming myself, the heat, my boss, the president, and anyone else I can. Fortunately I know this happens and it goes in cycles, so I try to prepare for it the best I know how.

5. Reclusive

I became become reclusive. I hid behind my computer. I know it’s a problem, but I wasn't ready to knock on doors, not that I would do that anyhow. I had two face-to-face interviews over a four-month period. They seemed to have gone well (and it didn’t appear that I was experiencing any signs of anti-social behavior), but neither company hired me so I don’t really know. Of course, working from home for so many years has lent itself to being a bit of a recluse anyhow.

6. Situations to avoid

I avoided situations where I was asked what I did. I know, it seems like the antithesis of what I should be doing, but being unemployed when you’re sitting in a room full of guys talking about their work situations and wealth portfolios because of what the stock market is now doing can be depressing.

7. Health insurance

Health insurance is expensive.

8. Ageism

Ageism is real but very unprovable.

9. Waste

Lastly, I realized just how much money I waste…on stuff. We cut back in our household, but not to “Wausau-mode,” (a time when my spouse and I were both unemployed with very little safety net of cash in the bank to cover expenses, so we cut back drastically. We were living in Wausau Wisconsin at the time). At the very least, we became more careful on how we spent money.

I’m still working as a freelance proposal consultant, although not quite full time because of the crazy proposal cycles we live in.

I’m not even sure I want to go back to the 9-5 office grind.

But those were the nine things unemployment taught me…thus far.

David W. Miller (W. is important with so many of us lurking out there) is an independent proposal manager, proposal writer, technical writer, and barbershop music singer based in Texas with Federal clients in the D.C. area.