Dealing with unemployment - Part II

If you're desperate, DO NOT SHOW IT !

I know that second parts never overcome the first ones but I will try.

I left a few loose ends on my first Unemployment issue last time. I’ve also received a few supportive emails, thank you all for the congrats.... and for the nasty ones too.

The main issue I would like to tell you this time is about been flexible when you want to overcome unemployment, and please, please pay your taxes as you go when receiving your unemployment checks.

This next coming week, one of my dearest friend is moving out of the city of Angels and this reminded me of the hardship a lot of our friends, family members, neighbors, or just people we know are going through.

I am also a property manager in Mar Vista for a 50 unit building, so this last 2 years I’ve witnessed how almost half of my tenants just had moved out for different reasons.

Some time it is hard for me to witness things. I wish I did not but the nature of my job forces me to face it, deal with it and worse… tell people how to deal with things.

Like I mentioned on my first issue of Dealing with unemployment, I remind all my readers to remain “positive” but not only positive but be a “realistic positive” person.

Try to out pass your competitors, always !

I remember a couple of years ago the hardship of dealing unemployment myself… try to picture this… imagine yourself living at a friend house temporarily, trying so hard to get a job that just did not happened, been denied employment for having low credit score due to identity theft, not been eligible for unemployment… hard right? Oh, lets not forget having problems on both of my knees and needing surgery, and yes you guessed it, no health insurance neither.

I am a true believer of “things happen for a reason”, but lets go by parts.

And I also want to share this personnel experiences with you, so you see that if I was able to overcome that, so will you!!

I remember working on and off at accounting department of different property management companies for a few years (and choosing to overpay my taxes, ALWAYS), I have the most unbelievable stories on each place, but that will be “an entire different blog issue”. 

Prepare the best you can, and the world will be yours

I can say, that working at so different management companies gave me such a good outlook of this business, they all have so different management approaches, I think that was the good thing to rescue.

I was working in a real estate company at the time and entertaining the idea of going into construction management school, but for some reason I always have to delay it, reasons such as: one of my ex-roommates became literally crazy, not having enough time, working too much, not enough money, you name it.

Then the whole real estate crash happened, so no job, few months later, no savings, no housing, cero, and nada.

By then I have a pretty good understanding of the dos and not to do in that business.

Lesson #1: for me was “if a company wants to hire the best candidate” then “you better act, sound, look, walk, talk and smell like one”. At all the interviews I had attended, I noticed the interviewers were not well prepared, it was a quite rare the occasion that the interviewer was the person who will be my next boss, and usually the decision maker is the owner or the main manager of a company, not your future boss.

Be positive, do not despair, the sky is the limit

A friend once asked me “how do you manage to get all these jobs?”. When the economy started to go south, I had realized they were dozens and maybe hundreds hunting the same jobs I was looking for. So, not only you need to look, walk talk and smell like the best candidate, you need to have a little extra “something something” to bring to the table, and that is…

Lesson #2, “if you want to out due your competitors you better be FLEXIBLE”. If you not only look, walk, talk and smell like the best candidate, you will overpass all your competitors “by be willing to take a little less than what you expected”, and believe me, its much better get less, than nothing at all. And this not only applies to wages but everything else like benefits, job title, duties, larger commute, schedule, etc. I remember a couple of years ago having a friend who did not want to flex her job conditions… she is still looking.

There are work fields in the low right now, its not necessary to mention them, its not polite, well I’m not a polite guy anyway.

So, if you want to increase your chances to be employed you have to develop other ways to make money. I am telling you just the proven ways to escape unemployment, the ones that had worked with me. If you want to increase your chances then this is my next best suggestion…

Just me, cute am I ?

Lesson #3: “develop a second career”, another “source of income". I found all these extension classes at the local community college so helpful. You can find classes that could take your employability to new highs, and if you take classes in your current career it’ll definitely will make you look, talk, walk and smell like the best candidate any company wants.

This kind of boost not only works for the ones with an established career, but also for the ones looking to develop a new one. Here is my real life example… “a few years ago when I was in the low, I saw this ad at the local community college, this class cost was $ 95.00 + $25.00 for the book. And as of today the return of this class in a little more than three years for me is…. $40,150.00” the best $120.00 I EVER INVEST !!!

Pertaining to flexibility is willing to take more in your plate. I am not sure how to explain this one, but I think you get the idea.

Lesson #4:  "When you're right, you are right" if you are positive something good is going on, KEEP IT. Could you believe I had a few friends making fun of me when I mentioned I want to become a property manager? well just let me tell you they turn green of envy every time I mention how wonderful this second career turned out to be.. you meet new interesting people, you learn something new every day literally, you learn on how to multitask, I got a personal assistant, the nice people in the main office, etc ...  and the rent savings are just amazing    ;)

Well my friends, these are the main lessons that had gotten me rapid results. I hope and you find them helpful too.

And I apologize again for the delay on this issue, but as you may know I've been just drilled with tax preparations all day, every day and the weekends too.

I hope and this issue was more helpful than the first one. Feel free to email me and ask all the questions you want, I'll make sure you get the information you need.