Staying Busy When Laid Off

Recently laid off, what are you doing to stay busy during the day? I know people say treat recruiting as your full time job, but what if you've already reached out to people, applied to every job out there and are waiting for traction?

What else are people doing during the day - reading news, getting outside, exercise, anything else?

27 Comments
 

Spent 9 months unemployed, recently secured a good job. I know how you feel. As per me, i suggest

  • Start reading books, otherwise you spend all your day on LinkedIn or social media. Two nice readings I had in these months were Smartest Guys in the Room (Enron) and Bilion Dollar Loser (WeWork). 
  • Study (read about some RE markets or asset classes you know nothing about). Super specific example: in 3 years in my previous job experience I never figured out how a waterfall model worked (it was a black box for me). One of these days I sat down and, with time, I finally figured it out. 
  • Holidays: if you can afford it, do it. You're never gonna be able to travel in low season
  • Physical activity: I wanted to start going to the gym but never done it cause I'm a lazy ass. At least I have the habit of walking a lot
  • Make your bed every day, keep your room clean (serious)
  • If you got a payout/liquidation after being fired, invest it. Start reading the Financial Times or Bloomberg and keep up with the current economic trends 
  • The most important one: take care of your mental health. Not gonna lie, some days have been super super hard for me, especially after rejections. Stay as much as you can with loved people (family, GF/BF or friends). You may feel like a failure now, but we have 40 years of working life to recover from this. Consider therapy if you feel like shit (I should have done it but then again, I'm a lazy ass and never done it).
  • Ideally don't seek temporary joy in alcohol and junk food (source: I've done it). 

Good luck man, hope i was of any help

 
Funniest

Mostly network with multiple people and listen to the same "you are doing all the right things and it's a bad market" until I bang my head against a wall.

 
  • Get out of your house during the day and work at the public library and use your wifi hotspot on your phone (lots of electric plugs, quiet); just change your scenery to different places (mall food court, Library, coffee shop / lunch place).
  • Find a friend or two who are also unemployed or work from home predominantly and usually they have more flexibility to meet up with you during the day on a more frequent basis.  You can also start a WhatsApp group of 2-3 of your friends to check in frequently and share interesting stuff (books, articles, events).
     
  • Check out events such as happy hours, business networking and learning functions.
  • Volunteer more.  I’ve volunteered for my kids’ school chaperoning field trips.  I also volunteered at the senior center.
  • Find an independent contractor gig.  Do you know accounting?  
  • Open your mind.  I once drove 3 hours from San Francisco to north of Sacramento to drop into an open board meeting of rice farmers.  When I arrived they were surprised who I was, and asked if I was an environmentalist or a journalist, and I replied that no I was a laid off real estate developer who eats rice.  They said, “come on in.”  Do stuff like that.  Get out there.
Have compassion as well as ambition and you’ll go far in life. I am interested in digital immortality. Check out my blog at digitalimmortality.com
 
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  • Get out of your house during the day and work at the public library and use your wifi hotspot on your phone (lots of electric plugs, quiet); just change your scenery to different places (mall food court, Library, coffee shop / lunch place).
  • Find a friend or two who are also unemployed or work from home predominantly and usually they have more flexibility to meet up with you during the day on a more frequent basis.  You can also start a WhatsApp group of 2-3 of your friends to check in frequently and share interesting stuff (books, articles, events).
     
  • Check out events such as happy hours, business networking and learning functions.
  • Volunteer more.  I’ve volunteered for my kids’ school chaperoning field trips.  I also volunteered at the senior center.
  • Find an independent contractor gig.  Do you know accounting?  
  • Open you mind.  I once drove 3 hours from San Francisco to north of Sacramento to drop into an open board meeting of rice farmers.  When I arrived they were surprised who I was, and asked if I was an environmentalist or a journalist, and I replied that no I was a laid off real estate developer who eats rice.  They said, “come on in.”  Do stuff like that.  Get out there.

Don’t think I have “rice farmer board meetings in Sacramento” on my bingo card.. kudos 

 
Most Helpful

As someone who has been laid off three times and each time has found a better opportunity, here is the following advice I can give you which I wish someone gave me:

1. Apply for unemployment - Its easy money. Just take it

2. DO NOT and I REPEAT DO NOT spend your entire day applying. It will spiral you into a bigger depression. Spend 2 hours a day focusing on applying and connecting with others.

3. Go for a walk, workout, or do some exercise. It will make you feel better.

4. As others stated, if you can afford to, take a small vacation. If money is tight given the situation, just go hiking or to the beach, whatever is nearby.

5. Mentally be prepared that every application is a rejection. It sounds silly, but just smile and laugh each time you apply. Trust me on this one.

6. You single? Then just hit up the town and try to find that significant other. You married? Spend time with your wife. Got kids like me? Even better, they're a ton of fun.

The first time I got laid off, I fell into depression. The second time, I managed better, but still disappointed. The third time, I was happy. Each time I got a better opportunity with more money.

Now I expect a layoff around the corner anytime and doesn't faze me one bit. If it were to happen, I wouldn't care. For what its worth, I am glad I got laid off, because if I hadn't, it would have just made me lazy and complacent.

 

Ha. So I didn't realize I was set to anonymous. But yea crazy journey I have been on. Funny enough, my last firm let go of the majority of our team as their equity capital dried up. I was one of the last people remaining and thought to myself this is not normal, I should have been let go to given my luck. 5 months later I was the last employee to be laid off as they winded down operations.

Array
 

Appreciate it. Wish someone gave me this advice when I was younger. Hoping others can learn to not take the world so seriously and stop trying to build their "real estate empire".

Array
 

As someone who has been laid off three times and each time has found a better opportunity, here is the following advice I can give you which I wish someone gave me:

1. Apply for unemployment - Its easy money. Just take it

2. DO NOT and I REPEAT DO NOT spend your entire day applying. It will spiral you into a bigger depression. Spend 2 hours a day focusing on applying and connecting with others.

3. Go for a walk, workout, or do some exercise. It will make you feel better.

4. As others stated, if you can afford to, take a small vacation. If money is tight given the situation, just go hiking or to the beach, whatever is nearby.

5. Mentally be prepared that every application is a rejection. It sounds silly, but just smile and laugh each time you apply. Trust me on this one.

6. You single? Then just hit up the town and try to find that significant other. You married? Spend time with your wife. Got kids like me? Even better, they're a ton of fun.

The first time I got laid off, I fell into depression. The second time, I managed better, but still disappointed. The third time, I was happy. Each time I got a better opportunity with more money.

Now I expect a layoff around the corner anytime and doesn't faze me one bit. If it were to happen, I wouldn't care. For what its worth, I am glad I got laid off, because if I hadn't, it would have just made me lazy and complacent.

This should be pinned somewhere. I will add as another poster above did, to volunteer. 
 

There are so many causes and organizations.  Try a bunch and see what you like. It’s an opportunity to build or better a skill, become more aware of the world and meet new people. This can benefit you in so many ways…
 

You never know where the next opportunity will pop up. FWIW I got into final rounds at a place and the introduction was made through someone I volunteered with. We were just working and chatting and my fellow volunteer was like “I know someone in that field,” and boom! 


go get em

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 

Great post. I have been laid off before and likely getting let go soon, so I feel your pain.

It is super difficult not to spend your entire day applying, browsing LinkedIn and Indeed for any and every job possible. If you're a driven individual being unemployed just starts to feel like unforgivable failure, especially when you start getting rejected for jobs you're overqualified for.

I would echo the other poster that recommended volunteering. I especially found Habitat for Humanity gratifying; it's somewhat real estate adjacent, and working with your hands and swinging a hammer is a good way to get out some frustration. Visualize the person from HR who gave you your packet on every nail and you'll feel better, at least temporarily.

One suggestions I have is to find a therapist if you can afford it, or still have benefits coverage / coverage through a significant other. Layoffs / firings / job changes are super stressful and it is nice to have a professional to talk to instead of a wife / friend / bartender.

 

I'd also recommend finding a temporary job to cover your expenses, so you don't feel pressured to sell your investments in a panic.

It should be something relatively easy to secure. In some countries, you might find opportunities in academia, such as teaching assistant roles or adjunct positions, where a Master's or PhD isn't required for certain programs. In the US, however, I'm under the impression you do need at least a Master's for a gig like that.

 

3 of the last 4 jobs I've had were basically created for me through the long-term networking process.  i.e. I get to know people over a few months or even a few years, they get an idea of my abilities and interests, and conversations eventually lead to a point where they are like "so we have a need, it's only a 50% overlap with your skillset but you're the type of person we want here, how do we create something that works for everyone."  And a couple meetings later there's a job created where I'm the only candidate.

I'm not saying you need to copy that blueprint exactly but the point is, maybe consider some more creative long-term networking or career building types of things rather than just applying to open roles and waiting for traction.  If it doesn't pay off soon, it will certainly pay off later.  

To be completely honest, "nobody's hiring so you can't do much" doesn't sound like the right mindset to me.  I think the right mindset is, there's always someone hiring and you want to work toward becoming the sort of person who is the top candidate for the few jobs available in lean times.  Good luck.

 

Yeah that seems to be how to land a job in today's market. Connecting with people, seems even random roles are posted and taken down but may be something there if you reach out. But also seems super disorganized, why are you posting something if there's not an immediate need or one you can hire for in a month or two. Waste of candidates time then it get's closed and notified they aren't a fit when it was never a real role lol.

 

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