How I navigated unemployment during COVID

I am no stranger to bouts of unemployment. When I first graduated from university and returned to Barbados, I’d spent about seven months watching copious amounts of MSNBC and eating cereal on my parents’ couch. It had been frustrating, primarily because I wasn’t sure what kind of work I’d be suited for with degrees in English and International Relations (and apparently neither was corporate Barbados). I couldn’t tell you the number of applications I’d sent in, but it was definitely upwards of 50. The copywriting position I’d been working at before COVID got it (which sounds like a bad movie by the way) was actually the only interview I’d gotten after all those months and now, through no fault of my own, I was back to square one.

I’d love to say that my previous experience with unemployment prepared me for this one, but I’d be lying. If anything, I was more anxious because the difficulty of finding a job in the first place was still fresh on my mind. I’ll pause here to say that my situation was in no way as dire as many others, nor would I want to portray it as such. I live at home with supportive and understanding parents, with only a few manageable bills to my name which offers quite a bit of relief when you’re, as they euphemistically say, ‘between jobs’.

But it was still a difficult time, both mentally and emotionally. Apart from my other colleagues, I personally didn’t know anyone else who’d been laid off and in fact, it seemed as though many of my peers were moving forward in their careers. Like many other twenty-something-year-olds, I wanted to step into the next phase of my life, which is hard as is given the state of the job market in Barbados, but the pandemic only made it worse.

Now, almost a year later, I’ve transitioned from un-, to self-employed. I’d previously done some freelance writing but have since committed to it full-time as the job market isn’t exactly booming and likely won’t be for a while. Surprisingly, the new normal of remote work has opened a lot of doors that I wouldn’t have imagined, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunities. This unexpected path has brought a number of teachable moments. However, my biggest takeaway would be that while stress is inevitable, it is very counter-productive.

I still struggle with this quite a bit because I’m generally an anxious person and have been made more so by the pandemic. I’m also the ‘planning type’ and freelancing doesn’t allow for the kind of structure that I’m most comfortable with. However, I’ve recognised that the days I spend worrying and stressed about my workflow or income (or future in general), are also the days I get nothing done—surprise, surprise. This means that for an entire day, I’ve, in fact, done nothing to improve the aforementioned workflow or income that I’ve been stressing about, resulting in more stress. It’s a vicious, unhelpful cycle. 

Those days I feel especially overwhelmed, I try to give myself ten minutes to panic or lean into the stress I might be feeling. Then I try to force myself to focus on something within my control. This can range from a Netflix binge to checking off a minor item on my to-do list. I don’t overthink what it is that I choose to focus on, so long as whatever it is, isn’t coming from a place of anxiety. In the spirit of transparency, it doesn’t always work, but nevertheless, I still try. 

This article appears in the March 1 edition of COVID Weekly. Read the full publication here.