4 Investments When You're Unemployed

Making the most of your time.


I was thinking about the differences between working for yourself and working for others and it got me thinking about how we are always our own business. From the moment we enter school, we are building our assets. Then, when we join the workforce, we are a commodity. We ask employers to invest in us as we build more skills and more value to ourselves and increase our worth.


When you are looking for a job, you are still a business. Just one who is looking for a new market. Looking at it this way, it's easy to see that even when you are out of work, you run the risk of bleeding capital. Even if you aren't spending much money, you are probably losing mental, spiritual and emotional capital at an alarming rate. Left unchecked, it can make your business lose value rapidly.


Many people invest so much of their energy in looking for the next job, that they don't realize how quickly they are de-valuing their own company. If you are unemployed, there are some things you can invest in that will help shore up your business and build capital while you're looking. Here are 4 areas that you should invest in:


Your health - If you don't have your health, then you don't have much. Use your time out of work to invest in your own health and fitness. Get some exercise and take care of your mental health. Don't let depression gain a foothold. If you can't afford a gym membership, look at places like the YMCA that offer discounted rates to low income members. Whatever it takes, spend some time and energy on getting healthy.


Self-esteem - When you're out of work, it's really, really hard to invest in your own self-confidence. However, if you don't, you'll find it more difficult to find a job and even when you do, you might not be able to perform at your best. Use your time now to invest in self-improvement.


Your job skills - This is a great time to invest in building new job skills. You don't always have to go back to school to do this. Just by watching videos, reading industry specific blogs and books can help. There are plenty of places online that will help you learn anything you want to learn. If you aren't sure about this one, just try watching one TED video a day. It will help you learn more and succeed when you get your new job.


Hobbies - Think about what you really love to do and get started. Make a list of all of the things you've wanted to do but haven't had the time. This gives you a great place to start. On the surface, it can look like a waste of time, but in reality it will help you keep motivated, interested and engaged. Taking the time to do things for yourself will help you build spiritual and emotional capital in a big way.


Don't let your business go under. Take a step back and invest some time into these things and you'll increase you chances of finding a new job and succeeding at it.


What do you think about this list? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for FinancialJobBank and Nexxt. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.