The Demons of Unemployment

I’ve been fighting some demons lately. They’re called “The Demons of Unemployment”. I found myself in a spot I haven’t ever been before.

Officially, I’ve been unemployed for the past two weeks. Unofficially, I technically stopped working and started searching for a new job more than a month ago.

I am still searching, as the market is tough and the time could have definitely been better, but lately I have been slightly more optimistic than at the beginning.

It started out with a dry decision that had nothing to do with me: cutting costs. Similar to what happened with Ange Postecoglou when I wrote about him. And yes, now you know why I wrote that article.

At the beginning, I was agitated. In this imagined hurry, deeply concerned that I’m going to be left out with no financial safety net, I applied to every job listing I saw before my eyes.

Which is a bad idea, because most of them had nothing to do with my skills. But in this rush to not be left out, I just went fishing for anything that would catch the bait at the end of the fishing rod.

In my fear of the Demons of Unemployment, I moved the fishing rod around hoping something will catch on. The problem? If the fishing rod doesn’t stay still, nothing will bite.

So when I finally understood how it works (with the help of the person next to me, my dear fiancée, without whom I’d be nothing, because behind every great man there’s an even greater woman), I began managing my stress levels and stopped moving the fishing rod around.

I only applied to jobs that were fit for my skills and jobs that, based on the listing, were something I could see myself doing.

Of course, there were still the proverbial walls I ran into. Being rejected for jobs that were a perfect fit for me with messages that seemed AI generated and stating that they went forward with another candidate. I am not sure of how many of those were real listings or user data farms masked behind job listings, because one week later the jobs were re-posted. Then again, I still was not in a position to choose, so I had to apply if I saw what seemed a solid opportunity.

There’s also the lack of remote jobs for Eastern Europe – it’s really a sad state of affairs at this point, but I hope this will change in the future. We just need some patience for employers to understand this is the trend. If you check job listings, an on-site job posted 2 weeks ago has around 20-30 applications, and a similar remote job posted 1 day ago has over 100. This should tell employers that if they want to expand their workforce they have more chances if they offer remote roles where applicable.

Not to mention that being holiday season, there are fewer job listing in the market and fewer companies actually employing, because many people are on holidays, and guess what? HR departments are also made of people!

So navigating through all that, it’s really tough to find something rapidly.

I am undergoing an interview procedure right now, but it takes some time, so there’s no final word yet. However, I am very optimistic, as the discussions are going well and I believe there’s a higher chance of us coming to an agreement than not.

Patience is key though, and even if I don’t yet have a job, my ambition knows no bounds. I’ve gone through the stressful phase and I am right now in a good place. Not in the best one – I still have to get a job – but I’m better than I was and with a positive attitude.

Because without a positive attitude we’d go nowhere.

So remember: Always be positive, and good things will come to you. Good luck in everything you set your minds to!

Except when it contradicts whatever I set my mind to. ;)