Besides looking for work, I’ve run into some unexpected challenges.
Funemployment — when you try to enjoy (or make the most of) your unemployment time.
My First FunEmployment Lasted 5 Months
The last time I dubbed myself funemployed was nearly a decade ago, when I quit as a manager for a bakery chain. It was a job that met my needs as a college student, and I stayed on for a year post-graduation. I knew I needed to explore other careers, after all, I’d been brought up under the impression that as a college graduate I was supposed to be making more money and afforded more opportunities, right?
I had no idea how my peers landed supposedly cushy jobs, but I definitely knew plenty of people who couldn’t find anything for a year after graduation or who had to continue in retail or customer service jobs they were already working before graduation.
Anyway, that was a semi-scary funemployment period; because I knew I was still young. I didn’t have to worry about money too much, was fortunate enough to live with my parents rent-free, so the general consensus was I had time and eventually things would work out.
I applied for administrative jobs on Craigslist, went to school to consider a career as a paralegal, and brush up on my Japanese for fun. I also started dating for the first time in my life and that was an eye-opener. This is also when someone told me I wasn’t “unemployed” but “funemployed.”
Once my semester of classes had ended, I didn’t enjoy the subject as much as I thought and I definitely didn’t like the department chair’s teaching style enough to continue studies. It was a small paralegal program; so there weren’t a lot of options when it came to professors.
I know those weren’t the best reasons, but for 4 years it didn’t matter if I disagreed with some of my professors, as I continued to attend their classes with little motivation or interest; it did matter once my 4 years were up. I suddenly felt like I was in the real world, where consequences mattered more, and I didn’t want to pay for something I couldn’t enjoy.
Eventually Craigslist came through and I landed a job for the next 6 years and 8 months.
Funemployment the Second Time
It was Halloween, my coworker was dressed as Elvis telling patients about her homemade doggie treats from her new side hustle, and I decided I needed to leave all this comfort. I wrote up my resignation that evening, waited another month to see if I would change my mind, and I’m an anti-climatic person, so I gave 2 months notice.
I still get questioned about why I left, and it was a mixture of reasons. Some people thought it was because of money, others that I wanted to be a writer, and there’s also a rumor about me needing to work on babies.
I’d questioned myself many times about why I left, it came up in every job interview anyway, so actually having an answer became a necessity.
When I began my last job, I was happy to have something to do, it didn’t matter if I didn’t make much money or wasn’t an expert, because I knew it would be a matter of time. I also had other projects, like starting a website with a friend, where we posted food reviews, because we thought it would be funny given how my response to everything was, “it’s okay.”
The website never happened, we both became busy with work. For work, I gained a lot of recognition in a short time, I learned and absorbed as much as possible about the optical industry. If everyone had a trigger for something, mine was during a meeting when every member was thanked for something. Ah, the work of positive reinforcement… I was thanked for filing.
Filing can be difficult, and the amount of people who didn’t know their ABCs would surprise you, but I don’t think anyone really wants to be acknowledged for keeping a filing cabinet in order, when you can manage an entire office or more. I guess I was spurned to do better, even if it was unintentional, and I did more than anyone assumed when they hired me.
Being My Own Spokesperson
Selling myself was never a strong suit, and because I’m Chinese, I was always told to be humble. So imagine growing up your whole life, never bragging about your accomplishments, because it’s not considered proper, and then going to interviews telling your interviewer you’re the bee’s knees.
Yeah, I’m working on it.
One thing I’ve found useful, if you’re also someone who isn’t fond of bragging, just imagine it’s someone speaking on your behalf. I’ve even reached out to former coworkers who are now friends, and asked what they thought of my working style and got some great answers.
How Much Money to Save Before Quitting
The amount in savings varies person-to-person. Most of the answers I came across were to save 3 to 6 months in living expenses, and 6 months seemed to be the consensus. I’m at a year now, and while I didn’t expect to still be here, I’m not exactly broke. I tend to be on the frugal side, so I had more than 6 months saved in my account and an emergency fund; I haven’t felt a drastic change in lifestyle, but my accounts are depleting.
I’m also fortunate to have a supportive partner. I’d asked my spouse what he thought about me leaving my job, and he told me it was my decision to make. I would be lying if I said my husband hasn’t been a security blanket. While I still use my own money to fund expenses, I also worry less knowing one of us still has income. It’s a comfort to me, as I look for work that I will be passionate about, and know it’s not a luxury everyone can afford.
At this point in my life, I can’t foresee myself taking up a menial minimum wage job. Side-note: I might accept minimum wage, depending on the job. Side hustles are also another story…
However, I would likely be considered overqualified for an entry level job. When I used to interview candidates, I remember the hesitation hiring managers had about people who were more experienced and would rather hire students or fresh graduates. While statistically there are many jobs available, and the unemployment rate is low, I don’t actually factor into those numbers.
Unexpected Costs
I avoided going for doctors visits for a long time, but mainly because I didn’t make time and it wasn’t a priority. I finally made time, and it was quite costly. I had an ultrasound performed, because my abdomen pulsated sporadically, and no one I asked had this issue, so it freaked me out. The doctor said it was likely just because I had thin skin, so my peace of mind was restored at the cost of $211.63.
I also went for a blood and urine test, and the results weren’t good. My blood tests revealed that white blood cells were reproducing too quickly. My husband made a terrible insinuation that I had cancer, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I stressed about it to myself, took another test about two weeks later, and was then referred to a specialist at UCSF because it was one of two options that worked with UH insurance.
It was a semi-stressful time, 2 months passed, and UCSF finally called again to schedule me. I remember the day of the appointment, how bad I felt for the nurses because of the more unruly patients, and how I had another blood test done before seeing the doctor. She looked like she was ready to go to a really nice dinner or lunch, cocktail dress, handbag on, and it wasn’t 3pm yet. Maybe my mother was right, I should have become a doctor like grandpa. Anyway, the doctor surmised that given my healthy history and the results from the test that day, I had likely caught a bug when I traveled overseas that hadn’t dissipated; so the previous test results made sense. All of this cost $2960.29 total.
This came in two parts, $575 of that was because I was labeled a new patient and I paid it without much thought. It wasn’t until later that I noticed the tiny fine print from insurance stating I was being charged because I sought this doctor on my own, and there was no referral from my PCP. I disputed with all the dates, and offered saved voicemails, but my insurance simply said, “oh then it’s the doctor’s offices’ fault” and since I’d already paid, I wouldn’t see that money back.
It would be nice if my emergency fund covered all of these tests, or that insurance was really great, but I’m actually still paying for it. I called UCSF to schedule a payment plan, and fortunately, there’s no interest. I mean, I can only look at the positives here; otherwise, I would just be kind of angry and annoyed and what progress would I make in life, right?
Unplanned Events in General
I was scheduled for jury duty and ended up serving for a good month. It was a great time. I’m actually not being sarcastic right now. I’d always wanted to do jury service, but the notices were few and far between, and work generally discouraged me from making myself too available as a juror. Did I enjoy waking up early only to wait 30 minutes because court never started on time? No. Did I enjoy having an hour for lunch? Surprisingly, no, and again, with court time, it usually ended up being longer. I just loved the whole process. I enjoyed the lawyers’ back and forth, the judge’s notes, and the many witnesses. It wasn’t even a really crazy case, but just selecting the jury took about 3 days. I thought I would be able to continue my job search, but I was a bit too immersed in my role as a juror.
Going on Trips
Ah yes, the dreaded judgment of an unemployed person going on vacation. In total, I’d been on 3 trips. The first one was to Taiwan, it was for 3 weeks, and it was supposed to be my big trip of the year after leaving my job. There were some misconceptions from people, who kept thinking I was going to Thailand, but geography is not an American strong suit.
I’d expected to spend money, but it ended up being very economical. I’d never been to Taiwan, so I made estimates based on 2 weeks in Japan I gifted myself as a graduation trip. Even though my trip to Japan had been done with a broke student mindset, Taiwan was still cheaper. We were well below my estimated budget.
My husband and I mainly stayed with family, but even the hotels I booked averaged to $23-$45 USD a night. The food was fantastic and came in small portions that I was unaccustomed to, but was so affordable, we ended up eating 3–5 meals a day vs our usual 2 heavy vacay meals. During my trip, I’d communicated with a prospective company that ended up ghosting me.
Normally around fall, we have 4–5 days set for vacation, but I felt pretty guilty about spending money when I didn’t have any income lined up. My husband said he needed it and I suggested he go on a solo vacation. I eventually gave in, set a budget, and planned a trip to Oregon (there’s just something about no taxes that makes it feel like a discount).
I didn’t plan on going on any more trips, but the months passed by pretty quickly and near the end of last year, I was very deep into an interview process, it was the last round, and yep, ghosted. I was in low spirits for 2020. We settled on a few days around Los Angeles. It felt good to plan everything, it kept me busy, and I had this sense of contribution. My husband drove, we did a lot of non-touristy things, and I’m not ashamed to say I enjoyed it.
Amongst friends, I was suddenly known as someone who took a lot of vacations, which was amusing to me, because when I cashed out my PTO, it was for 109 hours. Americans tend to work too much, so don’t let anyone guilt trip you about taking some needed time off. Whatever country you hail from, please take your vacation or holiday, however you like to call it.
How Other People React to My Funemployment
For the most part, my closest family and friends err on the supportive side, but I’ve also noticed how my value or credibility as a person has suddenly gone downhill. My mother has been a constant reminder, trying to convince me to go back to school, or do her favors because my time has been freed up. I’ve succumbed on occasion, like going to the courthouse to help family obtain a restraining order.
Even friends I’d had for over a decade suddenly stopped listening to me. I was in the middle of a conversation, and one friend just spoke over me to talk to another friend who was listening to me, and then told me to “go on” after a few minutes like I was background music that had stopped. Or the countless times I’ve been asked to cite a source for my information, and I do, but when I ask, it’s simply, “oh, I just heard about it from someone.” This is all new behavior, if my friends were asshats before, I didn’t know it.
It was kind of shocking, knowing that just having money flowing in, meant I was more credible. You’d think credibility would be based on my character and past behavior! I decided to pull the empathy card to handle these situations. There’s a difference between people who are jerks and people who just don’t understand your current situation in life. Some people are just callous when they say, “oh, you still haven’t found a job yet?” I try to keep positive and remain tight-lipped about giving certain people information because it just fuels their imagination.
Some people have drifted out of my life, y’know the ones who always say, “let’s get together” and then never reply when you ask “when?”
My husband has been very supportive, but his teasing reminders that I’m “not on vacation” and his to-do lists to keep me busy don’t exactly elicit joy.
Some people have decided and told me that I simply do not want a job, that I do not want to work. Because why else would I not already be employed?
Ghosting
The biggest surprise for me has been the lack of follow-up from companies. I consider myself decent at reading between the lines. I used to tell candidates, “someone will reach out, if we’re interested.” This basically meant, “we’re not interested.”
I’d be happier receiving a rejection than nothing at all. Throughout the year, I’d had a few interviews that went well, either more than a month or was several interviews in, and the next steps were very clear, e.g. “so and so will contact you in X days.” But then, there was silence afterwards. I would wait an appropriate amount of days and send a follow-up, and still silence.
By then, I guess I can only be grateful not to be working for a company that can’t even reject people properly.
Handling Rejections
I just moved on. There’s no point getting emotional about something that’s already been decided.
The most hilarious rejections I had were 2 emails from two different companies stating they were no longer hiring and that they never looked at my application or résumé...2-3 months after I applied.
When I Reject Them
It’s okay to reject a job, company, or person. I know some people might scoff at this, but it helps to keep job goals in mind. Sometimes job descriptions are alluring, but as the interview process occurs, you realize things don’t align. If the post doesn’t match up, do inquire, don’t regret!
During one interview process, I learned the details of the job were not as advertised, e.g. days and hours were much longer, and noticed the owner was extra aggressive. Another interviewer pointed out to him I was overqualified and even suggested a possible position for something else in the future.
Normally, I wouldn’t inquire about salary right away, but it was pretty straightforward work (part-time administrative position). The owner seemed taken aback, and when he said he would only offer minimum wage, “because I don’t know you.” My opinion of him and his business went down by a lot.
I used to patronize his establishment, and felt his attitude during the entire interview was a clear reflection of what he would be like to work with, so I made up my mind during the interview. I also found it careless of him not to consider his own demeanor. I’d mentioned I was a long-time patron, but even if I didn’t mention this, a good business owner should know that anyone can be customer. For the record, I was fine with minimum wage, but not his personality.
Not everyone can afford to pick and choose, but I would rather be a little choosy than be stuck in a sHituation.
On that note, some interviews have been an eye-opener in terms of inappropriateness. I am not fond of video calls, but it’s a mark of the times. During one of these calls, my interviewer made the comment that I “seem intelligent enough” and while my polite inclination was to say thank you, I was mentally going, “what-the-falafel.” Was this based on my résumé, my appearance, because I was a woman, or actually, did any of that matter, because that’s a weird statement to make.
Job Hunting Resources
Since I’ve spent nearly a year applying to jobs online, I’m going to save someone some time. I’ve found LinkedIn to have the best results compared to Indeed, Glassdoor is a waste of time for job apps, but is a great resource to read through job salary and reviews. I haven’t made up my mind on AngelList yet, but for anyone trying to break into the startup scene, it’s worth a shot.
There were some companies that wedged their links into applications, and ended up spamming my email (looking at you CareerBuilder); so, always double-check the website before you upload your résumé. I avoid applying to jobs where I have to make a new account whenever possible now.
Always see if there’s a direct application on the company’s website, even if you’re using a third party like Planted or HireArt or some other company that considers themselves revolutionary and different. In my experience, their evaluators may look for unique skills or strengths, but a custom cover letter can do the same. I decided to apply directly after one of these services matched me to a job, but the evaluator decided my application wasn’t a good fit. The company did end up reaching out to me for an interview, so there’s no harm in trying.
Be kind to recruiters! Despite saying that, I decided to ignore a few. If I’ve thoughtfully written back a reply about an opportunity and said recruiter never replied, or sent me the same message a month later? Well, F-them. Yes, forget them. Understandably, recruiters have a lot on their plate, but my time is valuable too.
Don’t knock Craigslist down completely. While there are some sketchy dealings, there are also jobs worth applying to from smaller companies. I also found a fun study to participate in under the miscellaneous section. The studies involved studying neurological synapses and generally paid $65-$100 per hour. Definitely not a full-time job, because these studies can only be taken every 90 days, but if you can keep still, stare at a screen, and push buttons on a keyboard, that’s fun money.
Things I Do When Not Job Hunting
I’d looked up a lot of lists and read endless articles about keeping to a schedule, keeping busy, and just reminders that looking for a job is a job, so having a breather is fine. I set up an account on Volunteer Match and did some volunteering. I’ll be completely honest, not every opportunity was as fulfilling as I thought it would be.
I used to work in a very people-centric position that included interacting with over 50 people daily, and didn’t realize I might actually miss the people aspect. At one point, I’d been so devoid of human interaction, I took many opportunities to talk to people as a means of keeping my sanity.
I started a medium account to write more, reapplied for a library card to work more reading into my routine, and participated in several fitness challenges. I’m by no means an athlete, but having simple goals kept me motivated, like being able to do 20 real push-ups, or 2 minutes of planking. I felt confident enough to attend an aerial yoga class, where I learned I was not that ready, but I’ll keep working on my fitness.
This time has been a great “no excuses” for me to keep learning or doing anything I used to put off. I’ve taken a few online Lynda courses, now part of LinkedIn Learning, and YouTube has been a great resource for fun topics from ASL to Excel.
Working Events/Gigs
I worked some large events as an event manager.
Most often, I’d been a brand ambassador. The pay varied, as did the work (registering people, demoing products, or being an information expert) but it can be fun.
It’s definitely possible to earn decent income in the events field, and long-term too, but I knew it wasn’t in my career goals. I enjoy having certain routines that I don’t foresee in the gig life. Still, if you’re looking for work, miss having some cash flow, and can handle social interaction, this a great option. There are plenty of talent agencies recruiting, and I often check my local Facebook groups to see what opportunities are available. Once I’m back to a full-time job, I’ll still be open to keeping this as a side hustle.
Currently…
Unfortunately, with the Covid 19 outbreak, the events industry, as well as a lot of my job hunt as been put on hold. I’m still constantly revising and customizing my résumé and cover letters, and on the lookout for a job that calls out to me. I’ve applied to 81 jobs in a year, and according to most of the Internet, I’m not applying to enough. I’ve only heard back from 25, so maybe it’s also ATS software working against me.
There aren’t really any rules to funemployment, if you’re currently in the same situation, I’d like to know what your core to-do’s are, or anything you’d like to share about the topic.
Thank you for reading!