I never thought at 25 years old, I would be laid off and end up without a job.  It definitely was not easy, and I lost a lot of sleep.  But I remained positive, and it turned out that being laid off wasn’t such a bad thing.  The morning after I was laid off, my roommate looked at me and said, “I’m not sure whether to feel sorry for you, or be completely jealous.”  At that time, I didn’t know which to feel either, but looking back on it, he should have felt jealous.  Here is why.

The intangible benefits

Not having a job really gives you a chance to reevaluate your life.  It gave me the chance to ask myself what did I really want to do with my life?  I was unattached, and could move anywhere.  I was up for an adventure.  I seriously considered working for a company that sold insurance and other financial products.  I actually want to ultimately go into this career, but my gut told me that the timing wasn’t right if I were to be based solely off commissions in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  I considered (and applied to) working for Carnival Cruise lines as a Program Director or Golf Instructor on a cruise line.  I got a lot of laughs when I told people that I applied to Carnival, but why the heck not?  I had nothing to lose, and it could be fun for two or three years.  Other ideas I had were to work at Total Wine or at a local golf course part time.  I mainly considered those jobs purely for the benefits.

The stigma of being laid off and unemployed was no longer an issue since so many folks were going through the same problems in early 2009 as I was.  I kept things light-hearted with jokes about me being unemployed and how I was going to make a difference in the Peace Corps while everyone else was at their desk.  Deep down, I think people felt sorry for me, which I guess was nice.  But I didn’t feel sorry for myself.  I got to do things like go to the gym and visit friends in different cities.  Plus, some friends paid for my meals, which I was very grateful for.

Another benefit – unemployment benefits are tax free up to $2,400 (note: that is for the 2009 tax laws).  Who could turn down free money from the government, especially money that you’ve already paid for!  I swear I could have survived off the unemployment benefits, but things would have been really tight.  Unemployment benefits run out, and I wanted a job as soon as possible.  That kept me motivated.

Things turned out well

In the end, I was only laid off for about 3 months, and collected unemployment for 2 weeks.  I ended up with a good job in a city I was familiar with.  Not that I didn’t want to keep my old job and stay in my home town, but things worked out.  And like I said, getting laid off wasn’t such a bad thing.  I discovered that I want to ultimately be a certified financial planner.  It was truly a humbling experience that I’m glad I went through.  I do not wish unemployment upon anybody, but it gave me the opportunity to ask myself the fundamental question of what I want to be when I grow up.  As for you, don’t wait to be unemployed to ask yourself that question.  Ask yourself now while you still have income!