3 Lessons I Learned While Unemployed

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The 3 lessons I learned while unemployed were crucial

3 Lessons I Learned While Unemployed. As of two months ago, I found myself out of work. I was sent an email the previous night to meet for a 9 am meeting the morning of 6/12. I did not fret too much about the message. It read along the lines of almost like a promotion. It talked about the growing changes within the organization and how I would fit into the puzzle (well I guess reading it now, it could go both ways).

I sensed that we'd go a second year without a pay increase, and I did not want that. With that said, I responded to the email that I received and I requested that the meeting with her for 9 am be rescheduled for a later time. She responded in the morning, however, the time change provided little to no wiggle room, which meant that I had to run out of the interview and back to work FAST.

To make a long story short, I went into the office to have a meeting in which I was ultimately terminated. On that day, me and 30+ employees across the organization were let go.

The Call

At first, I was cool and collected, in fact, I really thought I had the job I went on an interview for, in the bag! I felt this way for about a week. I felt this way until I received an email later on that week with a generic response saying that they found a candidate with a 'better fit for the role'. It as then that I realize that this was not going to be as short unemployment that I hoped.

Funny enough, I've been here before. My first job out of college received a similar faith. At this job, I also received the same faith. I was not the right fit. I was unemployed for close to a year.

Now that I've given you some background about me unemployment woes, here are the 3 things I learned after being unemployed.

David Ramsey says it, financial bloggers say it, you know it, and now I'm repeating it. Have an emergency fund. You can aim for $1000 then $2000 then $3000. Chip towards it slowly. The best time to save is while employed! The goal is to have just enough for 6 months of expenses.

During this age of Instagram, it means that owning a digital business is easier than ever. Instagram is a medium with over a billion active users a month. This means that you will find an audience that is interested in your product or service. My time unemployed made me realize that you need to be true to yourself.

No one will employ you better than your self. By doing so, you won't allow a corporation to dictate how much you're worth. I believe that employment through a corporation in a way teaches you how to turn around and run your own business.

Wow, I received an outpouring of support from friends and family. During this time you have so many people rooting for you. I had friends sending me jobs and making connections, I had family praying for me and constantly checking on me. Even friends by association stuck their necks out for me and with that I'm grateful.