Too many unemployed people just sit at home and apply to jobs.  This often leads to boredom, depression, decay of skills, and reduced mental health.  Instead of just applying and waiting, they should also be spending time developing skills or life experience.  What’s the difference between working on something and not getting paid, and sitting at home passing time and not getting paid?  In one situation, you’re in a position to develop skills and/or place to meet people who might hire you; in the other, you’re not developing skills, and your chances of meeting an employer or someone who knows an employer is close to 0%.

Fulfill a passion or hobby you’ve always had, browse Craigslist for small jobs, work for TaskRabbit or Mechanical Turk, or walk around outside in public places and whenever you see someone who needs help, GO HELP! 1. you’ll feel great, 2. you’ll be doing good work, 3. you might get recognized and hired by people who see that you’re able to get things done for other people.

Lately, there has been an over-emphasis on how much you are paid for what you’re doing, and we have forgotten the importance and value that just doing something has: it trains skills that will become useful later, and if the skill itself isn’t useful later, the skill of training will be.  Stay in the training, in the learning, mindset, and you will be far better equipped to adapt than other people.  The idea that you would work for someone else without being paid is not valued enough. Doing so keeps you sharp so that you’re not out of practice when interviews or full-time jobs begin.

Wallowing in misery helps no-one, not even yourself.

Next, read: What is Skill, Talent, Potential, Smart, and Intelligence?

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