Unemployment Benefits, Truly a Benefit?

We have now faced months of high unemployment with millions of people unemployed or under-employed. Many people have received and continue to receive unemployment benefits with hopes to bridge the gap until they are once again employed.

Do unemployment benefits truly benefit you?

While benefits might help pay the bills, they usually fall far short of what most people need. The real issue though is that often times unemployment benefits will de-motivate you from being active in your search. It’s true! I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people tell me that they can’t take a part-time job or “stop-loss” job because if they did they would lose their unemployment benefits.

Do you realize how dangerous this thought process is? The outcome of such a paradigm is having a huge impact on you… consider this:

1) The longer you are unemployed increases the employment history ”hole” on your resume…  making you less marketable. Being employed (part-time or under employed) is FAR more desired by employers today than someone not employed!

2) The longer you are unemployed will affect your self-worth, dignity, and value. It is far better to earn an income (as small as it might be) than to be immobilized by a benefit system that only is prolonging the inevitable outcome, anyways!

3) Unemployed individuals can easily become unproductive in their search and other areas of their life. The reality is that busy people get more done than those who are not. Having a part-time job while seeking a fulltime career is a much more productive way to conduct the search process.

4) What happens when the benefits run out? If you have taken a casual approach to your search process up to that point… do you really think you will obtain a position quickly at that time!

With that said, pursue that part-time job(s) and “stop-loss” position instead of relying on unemployment benefits that will keep you from attaining the full-time position you truly desire. ”Press Go” and choose once again to be active in your search process!

If you have fallen victim to this thought process… please tell me your story. If you need help with your career search, please contact Rich Leipzig at Career Focus Consultants. (Rich@CareerFocusConsultants.com)

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