The Unemployment Survival Guide [Hardcover]

Jim Stringham (Author), David R Workman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2004

Unemployment is unquestionably one of life's most stressful and difficult experiences, and it happens to virtually everyone at least once during the course of their working lives. It is a time of uncertainty and transition-but it can also be a time to learn, grow, and seriously examine the direction of one's life. Break Time: Nourishing Yourself Through Unemployment provides practical solutions for the roller coaster of experiences that people have from the day a job is lost to the day a promising new one is found. Authors Jim Stringham and David R. Workman show you how to take advantage of newly found "free" time and learn important new skills, like how to accomplish the following: Escape video game overdose Face Black Monday (and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc.) Have fun for little or no money Keep loved ones sane while you are jobless Rid yourself of resentment Explain job loss to children Set a financial plan Break Time provides helpful information on how to take care of you while unemployed, and offers suggestions on dealing with feelings of isolation, keeping a sense of humor, maintaining self-esteem, and feeling more comfortable with a temporarily lower standard of living. Break Time will be the most important book you read while out of work. James Stringham, Ph.D., holds a master's degree in social work and a doctorate in psychology. He has been a mental health practitioner for more than a decade. In addition to managing a full-time practice, he founded the Wealth and Wellness Consulting Group that assists financial institutions, law firms, and owner-managed businesses with client and asset retention programs. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. David Workman holds a master's degree in public administration. After working for more than seven years at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality in their Office of Planning and Public Affairs, he joined the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 as the Environment Programs Manager. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Nourish Your Mind Remember, This Too Shall Pass Facing the First Black Monday Accept Being Unemployed as a Full-Time Job Dealing with Your Loss Discard Resentment Put Poverty in Perspective Embrace the Uncertainty of Change Chapter 2: A Bowl of Inspiration Be Grateful, Give Thanks Look for Inspiration Feed Your Soul Chapter 3: It Boils Down to Health: Set Physical Goals Broaden Your Identity Maintain a Daily Structure Get Your Beauty Rest Run for Your Life Eat to Live, Don't Live to Eat Limit Personal and Social Drinking Drop-Kick Bad Habits Step Away from the Video Games! Chapter 4: Take Stock in Your Finances Explore Your Severance Package Thoroughly Check on Your Finances Budget the Basics Plan Ahead Borrow Wisely from the Bank of Dad Ask Yourself: "What Is Wealth?" Chapter 5: Homemade Goodness Improve Your Surroundings Let Kids Be Kids Stick Together Enjoy New Roles Get Out! Your Family and Dog Will Thank You Living at the Hotel Mom Chapter 6: Condensed Ingredients: Be Social Avoid Isolation: It's So . . . Isolating Tell the Truth-It Will Set You Free Laugh It Up! It's the Best Medicine of All! Find Supportive People Create a Support Group Do for Others Spend Quality Time with Friends-Your Other Family Host a Party for an Unemployed Friend Honor Holidays, Birthdays, and Anniversaries Learn to Receive Chapter 7: Soup Up Your Future Work No-Brainer Jobs Consider Your Interim Possibilities Add New Job Skills Jump-Start Your Energy Level Make the Best of Being Overqualified Be Still Chapter 8: Instant Success End the Day at 5:00 P.M. Adopt a New Mantra: T.G.I.Thursday Take Some Time Off Seek Out Free Activities Have Fun on a Dime Indulge in Retail Therapy Take Care: Monday Ahead! Conclusion: Digesting It All References

From the Back Cover

Take advantage of your free time and learn how to Handle unemployment without flipping your lid Escape video game overdose Face Black Monday (and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc.) Have fun for little or no money Gain new perspectives Keep loved ones sane while you are jobless Rid yourself of resentment Feel confident with a lower standard of living Explain job loss to children Set a financial plan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586853732
• ISBN-13: 978-1586853730
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > General
  • #45 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Careers > Guides

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lean All Right, Thin Nourishment, November 3, 2011

By 

G. Charles Steiner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unemployment Survival Guide (Hardcover)

The subtitle for this thin (94 pages) and small book is "Nourishing yourself through the lean times." Let me tell you there is plenty little here. Any adult Oliver Twist reading this book will ask at the end, "Please, sir, I'd like some more." The reader is offered such marvelous foods for thought as "Accept being unemployed as a full-time job," Embrace the uncertainty," "Be grateful and give thanks," "Live with Hotel Mom" and so forth. If you're over 18 years of age, you've probably already encountered these ideas. -- and know their limitations. As I read this book, I thought, "Are people really so helpless and brain-dead that these bits of advice are absolutely necessary to them for survival?" The authors give so much "instructive" advice, they seem to think it a kindness not to tell you to wipe yourself after you use the commode.

Stringman, the one author with the Ph.D., seems to want to encourage the reader to indulge in self-pity and regression at the start over the loss of his or her job, only later to gently nudge him or her into an awareness that he or she needs now to shape up now, act responsibly, and face reality. That was a waste of printer's ink.

The authors' imagined audience is a suburban married Dad -- who can afford extensive and expensive psychotherapy sessions -- with children and a wife to support, who learns he's going to be laid-off soon and needs to prepare for "lean times." Written in 2004, the authors have no conception that the U.S. economy has every chance of never turning round and people are going to starve to death for want of work and food availability. The authors consider the U.S. the top of the heap for privilege and opportunity compared to the rest of the world. So, prosperity is just around the corner!

Interestingly, the note of optimism running throughout the book is of such a kind that I had to glance twice back at the names of the authors to be certain that it wasn't a woman writing this book after all, a woman with a chirpy, you-can-do-it optimism in her voice.

Further, there was a small nugget on page 82 that actually gave me pause. The authors suggest finally to "be still" and "do nothing." They invite you to be calm and instead of hurrying to a new crossroad, "let the path choose or find you."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Promotes self care to help make unemployment bearable., April 10, 2010

By 

Cynthia Danute Cekauskas, LCSW "Lithuanian Am... (Savannah, Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unemployment Survival Guide (Hardcover)

I appreciate the fact that the authors acknowledge how really painful unemployment can be. They admit that in losing a job the unemployed individual will likely experience all of the emotions that are associated with grief and loss but will eventually feel better with time. However they state that although "part of finding a new job is preparing and sending resumes, perusing classified ads, searching for employment on the Internet, networking and interviewing....until you find work--and you will find work--your biggest, most important job is taking care of you."

In Chapter 3 It Boils Down to Health the authors point out that "Too often, we use our job to define ourselves, when in reality what we do isn't who we are." They admit that "Being employed gives you a sense of purpose and a place to go every day..." but that "Now is the time to rededicate yourself and find a sense of purpose." The authors then encourage the reader to "Feel free to reestablish your old routine" while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. They encourage getting enough sleep, sufficient exercise, limiting alcohol use and learning to laugh more.

Chapter 4 Condensed Ingredients encourages the importance of maintaining quality relationships with family and friends.

In general the book doesn't tell the reader anything particularly new . It does however emphasize the importance of taking better care of oneself when one is going through an extremely stressful period such as unemployment.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A unique look at Unemployment, March 23, 2009

By 

Dianne Walker "Dianne W- HR Mgr - Freelance W... (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unemployment Survival Guide (Hardcover)

A recent search for books, at my local library, using "unemployment" as the subject line yielded painfully few titles. Most of the books involved career development or other job related issues. While career and jobs are very important to someone who is unemployed, I was genuinely concerned over the lack of available titles. I did find an absolute treasure in a book called "The Unemployment Survival Guide - Nourishing Yourself through the Lean Times" by Jim Stringham, Ph. D. And David R. Workman.

The Unemployment Survival Guide is a quick read at only 95 pages, but it is overflowing with information and resources to nurture you not only mentally and physically, but your family as well. The book takes you on a realistic journey through the most relevant resources needed in order to survive the stress of unemployment. This book will quickly become your resource guide to getting through to your next job.

I found the book and its subsequent chapters to be very creative. It equates getting through the unemployment period much like that of a nourishing meal or recipe. The titles of the chapters are very entertaining. The chapter called "A Bowl of Inspiration" encourages the reader to be thankful for what they do have in life instead of focusing on the negative. It gives you tips on what types of activities to engage in so that you can nourish the body and spirit. It also helps you to realize that even though you may be temporarily unemployed, there are still things in life to be thankful for.

Chapter 3 is entitled "It Boils Down to Health". This chapter focuses on the importance of maintaining your heath during high stress periods. The chapter provides sample charts and templates to track activities such as exercise and food. It also deals with those habits that can lead to our unemployment couch potato downfall such as video games and the Internet.

"Take Stock in Your Finances" is another chapter the book helps you to deal with during unemployment. The book provides financial exercises to engage in to make sure that you survive the downsizing of your personal budget. It also helps you to understand a more abstract definition of the term "wealth". It helps you to focus and realize that wealth is not just about money, but about your family, friends, hobbies, etc...

If I could think of any criticism, it would be that the book could have been much longer with more information provided in each of the chapters. It's very hard to consolidate such a wealth of information into just 95 pages. Even though you could conceivably finish reading this book in less then an hour, you will want to take your time with each chapter to absorb the information. You will find yourself revisiting the information many times during your unemployment moment.

The Unemployment Survival Guide - Nourishing Yourself through the Lean Times is a book written in a simple down to earth fashion for the average reader. I highly recommend this book as a guide to navigating yourself through the unemployment maze. On a scale of 1 to 10, it definitely ranks a 9.5 in my book.