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FAMILY LIFE TODAY
Lake Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventist
Finances Within Your Family Life
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It is good to watch and count your "PENNIES"
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Where did it all go? Do I need to be mindful of my spending?
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Check & Balances
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Become a good steward over your finances
Work together as a Team within the family.
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Surviving Through Economic Challenges
The question being asked today is? Where can I find work?
April 24, 2010
During these difficult economic times we are in an environment where long term unemployment reached almost a third of the unemployed population. From the 4th quarter of 2008 to the 4th quarter of 2009, long term unemployment increased by 11,000 unemployed people. What is long term unemployment? Statistics indicate that long term unemployment last 26 weeks and of a total of 75,000 unemployed in the 4th quarter of 2009, 23,000 were long term unemployed. It is very frustrating to be out of work and not fortunate enough to locate a replacement job. Families are being devastated in the transition of loosing a home and a automobile to just getting by or being forced to live with family and friends.
Recognizing all of the challenges facing the unemployed in the mist of a storm there are some success stories. One such story is that of a young lady from Grand Rapids Michigan. Most of the country realizes that Michigan has been experiencing high unemployment and is one of the worst state affected by this negative economy. Yet there are people who demonstrate the attitude of self determination. This young lady understood the issues of being out of work and trying to maintain a household. She and her husband who was also unemployed were experiencing the woes of the economy and adding to the concerns was the birth of a new baby.
The unemployment rate in Grand Rapids was eight percent and the situation did not appear to get any brighter. Still this family made the decision to not pay attention to what statistics may indicated. They began to formulate a plan to overcome their difficulties. They understood the limitations of the income coming into the home which was unemployment benefits for the husband. And the decision was made to become aggressive in their job search. The couple searched the web sites to find out information regarding their job opportunities. The wife had been trained in medical billing and her husband was a driver for a small factory. They understood that they had to find the proper care for their new born and they wanted to make sure it would not exceed a certain price range.
The young lady placed applications with perspective employers and she was diligent in her job search. She and her husband followed the job listings in the newspaper and with intensity and anticipating that their efforts would warrant success for their efforts. Yet after months and months of job searching there was no reward of being hired. Their had been some offers for employment which would cost the family more to work than supporting their household. But the couple continued to search and maintain their focus. Just at a point of being completing drained and financially broken it happened. The young lady received a letter asking her to participate in a job interview. She express how she had put an application in with this company over 6 months ago and she had forgotten that she had applied for employment.
The job was an ideal situation for her and was offering benefits and a good salary. Also the location was within acceptable range from her home. Shortly after she found employment her husband was called back to his job. They were rewarded for their ability to make adjustments and stay true to their plan. Even though they were challenged they had to sort through unnecessary baggage. They had to condition themselves to maintain reality of their situation. They did not deviate from their plan.
The Plan:
1. Recognizing what finances are coming into the home and creating a budget and stay within your means.
2. Make a commitment to complete at least 3 to 4 applications a day. If there is a request for resume’s follow the instructions.
instructions. 3. Use the internet to your advantage to advertise your resume such as monster.com, face book.com, twitter.com, Higher Ed.com
Ed.com 4. Continue to network with former co-workers, church members, and always keep a resume and business cards available.
5. Place follow up calls to companies and make sure they have your application.
6. Ask if the company is scheduling interviews for the position.
7. Be punctual for all appointments. Being on time is important.
8. Make sure you are dressed appropriately. Ask if there is a dress code.
9. Do research on the company and have knowledge regarding the position you are applying for.
10. Maintain confidence in your efforts to find employment.
11. Consider relocating to a different community for your job search.
12. Never become discourage and use discipline, determination, and effort
There is work available and it will require those who are unemployed to be focused on how to locate that work. The couple in Grand Rapids did what they needed to do to adjust to their situation. Through their determination and effort they were successful. We are all facing financial and economic challenges, but are we willing to put into place a paradigm shift to not only adjust to those challenges but to be ready to move into something new and exciting to help support ourselves and our families.
Arthur E. Nowlin LMSW/ CAAC and Kim Logan-Nowlin Ph.D, LPC,BCPC
Family Life Co-Directors of the Lake Region Conference SDA
."THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE ROAD"
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