With the economy the way that it is and many of us graduating this May and hopefully finding jobs, it may be tought to get the job you want. I found an article that talks about keeping your chin up when the time of losing a job and needing to find another one turns into weeks and then into months. I believe we can apply the same concepts when the struggles of finding a job can take a tole on us. People who have lost a job or are just trying to find a job need to stay positive and not just dwell on "I cannot find a job" There are many things you can do according to this article that I never thought of doing that would help with getting your mind out of the dumps and do something else in the off time of finding a job. Going out with friends, taking some time for yourself, or even learn a new skill that could eventually help you with your job. Maybe take up some extra college classes to amp up that resume. Another thing that would be good and rewarding for someone would be to volunteer. It not only looks good on a resume, but after having yet no luck in the job search, volunteering might be a good way to cope with things and make someone feel good about themselves.
It is very stressful to find a job after losing a job or just finding one out of college, especially in the economy that we are in now. It is no wonder why an article like this could help someone out. I wouldn't have thought of volunteering as a way to help with the stress of finding a job, but it could definitely be rewarding.
article: http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/jobloss/a/chin_up.htm
I have to agree that this article could provide real help to many people facing unemployment. I also would like to comment on the comment about volunteering as it relates to emotions, happiness, and well-being. On p. 325 of our text, Reeve (2009) wrote about the benefits of feeling good. For one, it was found that "a very mild, pleasant feeling dramatically increased people's willingness to help a stranger in need" (Reeve 2009, p. 325). In Chapter 9, Reeve also discussed pessimistic and optimistic explanatory styles. Optimistic styles may lead to enhanced self-esteem, beliefs in efficacy, and a positive view of the future, while pessimistic ones may lead to "poor physical health and subpar job performance" (Reeve 2009, p. 259). Also in Chapter 11, Reeve mentions the specific neurotransmitters that underlie our emotional processes.
I believe that all of this information together can help people improve their lives. As bad as the circumstance of any one person's life may be, there are usually ways to improve and increase one's sense of well-being. Of course, for those facing serious mental illnesses medicinal intervention will likely be necessary, but this data suggests that for the vast majority of us simply making a persistent cognitive effort to feel better about our circumstances may result in such an improved condition.
The studies mentioned by Reeve show that it really does not take that much to significantly improve a person's mood, and that positive mood will likely cause helping behavior in most people. This helping behavior will potentially improve the mood of both the provider and receiver of the helping behavior. In other words, all of this information can be said to provide empirical support for the idea that happiness is contagious.
To tie this more directly to the particular article cited above, I would also say that as I watched the news this morning, many "experts" were arguing that it will be a very long time before our country's high unemployment may dissipate. Because of this, it may become all the more important for each one of us to proactively incorporate more positive thoughts in our own mind and in our interactions with others. Many of us our facing financial hardships right now, but activities such as volunteering have the potential to make life more enjoyable. A secondary benefit from that future employers will likely view such service favorably because it shows that a person has a genuine interest in helping others, regardless of personal compensation.