Long-term unemployment sets in at about the six-month mark, creating a significant gap in employment and making it more difficult for you to find work. 2.2 million Americans are considered unemployed long-term (27 weeks or more), so the good in the bad is that you are not alone. But how do you get over this hump? How do you find the grit within to really overcome this difficult period in your life and get back to work? Use these tips to assist you in making the long-awaited transition from long-term unemployed to gainful employee.

1. 70 Tips for Tackling Long-
Term Unemployment
©2016 Workplace Learning Solutions LLC

2. 170 Tips for Tackling Long-Term Unemployment
© 2016
Introduction
Unemployment is tough. Long-term
unemployment is torture. You wake up
each morning, and day after day,
forward applications for positions for
which you feel you’re a perfect fit. You
stay positive and continue to tell
yourself that if you put in the effort,
you will reap your return. After all, it’s
only fair.
You’ve secured a number of interviews,
and with your nicely pressed interview
outfit, you answer questions clearly and
succinctly, prepared to answer any
question regarding your previous
employer and why you no longer work
at that company.
Yet nothing has panned out. No interviewer has called you back, leaving you to
wonder what you did wrong. “Is it because I’ve been out of work so long?” you
wonder. But you will never know the reason.
Long-term unemployment sets in at about the six-month mark, creating a
significant gap in employment and making it more difficult for you to find work.
2.2 million Americans are considered unemployed long-term (27 weeks or more),
so the good in the bad is that you are not alone.
So how do you get over this hump? How do you find the grit within to really
overcome this difficult period in your life? How do you get back to work? While we
cannot offer one cure-all answer, we can provide tips to assist you in making the
long-awaited transition from long-term unemployed to gainful employee.
The tips are organized into sections, so feel free to review them in any order to find
the information that best suits your needs.

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Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Tips for Staying Sane………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
Tips for Staying Positive…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Tips for Your Cover Letter and Resume………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Tips for the Interview……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Tips for Staying Busy and Developing New Skills……………………………………………………………………….6
Tips for Networking………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
Tips for Social Media…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8

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Tips for Staying Sane
Long-term unemployment can have a significant impact on a person’s well-being.
Whether it directly impacts an individual’s standard of living or quality of life, long-
term unemployment can take a toll on an individual’s emotional well-being. Use
these tips to “stay sane” during this difficult stretch in your employment life.
1. Assess the situation. Determine whether you have been unemployed for six
months or more. If so, you are considered unemployed long-term.
2. Accept that you are unemployed long-term. Doing so will prevent additional
stress during your job search.
3. Accept that as an individual who is unemployed long-term, you will require a
different approach to your job search.
4. Join a support group for the unemployed. Learn about others’ experiences
with unemployment and how they cope.
5. Don’t join a support group for the unemployed. Don’t learn about others’
experiences with unemployment if you feel your experience is difficult
enough.
6. Develop a budget. You most likely don’t have the same income that you had
while employed, so develop a plan prioritizing weekly expenses.
7. If possible, leave a few extra dollars for unexpected necessary expenses. You
might want to invest in high-quality resume paper for an interview that you
land.
8. Keep your living space clean. Your
mind is already cluttered with the
details of your job search, and will
thank you for it.
9. Get out of the house. Go to a
friend’s house, a park, or whatever
your definition of “out” is. Give
yourself a break and get away
from everything for a moment.
10.Check out Meetup.com. These
groups, which meet regularly (once
a week or month) are usually free
and are a great way to get
connected to people.

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Tips for Staying Positive
1. Seek out the employed. Surround yourself with people who are where you
want to be to envision yourself in the same place.
2. Read maxims and affirmations. Any other time they might seem cheesy, but
during your spell of unemployment, maybe they will be inspiring.
3. Avoid the news. Bad things happen to good people, like you. Avoid the
negativity of the news to stay focused during your renewed job search.
4. File for unemployment if you haven’t already. You have paid taxes to be
supported during this time of need.
5. Don’t feel guilty. Long-term unemployment is not something unique to only
you—over 2.2 million people are dealing with its effects.
6. Read. Whether you like fiction or non-fiction, read that book you’ve been
wanted to read. Principia Mathematica, anyone?
7. Exercise. It releases endorphins which will improve your mood.
8. React. If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re indifferent, be indifferent. Deal with
your feelings instead of ignoring them.
9. Talk to friends or family members. Share your experiences with whoever is
closest to you and you feel won’t judge your experiences.
10.Write down your accomplishments. Keep a list of your professional high
points to stay motivated.
Tips for Your Cover Letter and
Resume
Now that we’ve addressed the
emotional impact of being unemployed
long-term, let’s get to work. Your
resume will show a significant gap in
employment, but this doesn’t have to
be a deal breaker.
1. Don’t fear the gap. Instead of
being afraid of employers seeing

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the period of time you were unemployed, prepare yourself to explain how
you have instead filled the time.
2. Give results. Instead of listing job duties, list how your actions resulted in
more sales, higher productivity, or a better work environment.
3. Customize your resume. Tailor your resume to fit each position for which
you are applying.
4. Customize your cover letter. Make sure that you address past experience
that specifically fits the job description of the new position you are seeking.
5. Substitute. If you don’t have the exact experience required focus on the skill
set that was developed to be able to perform the job duties.
6. Remove months from your resume. Instead of writing September 2012-April
2013, write 2012-2013 to make up for short-term employment.
7. Proofread. Review your cover letter and resume for spelling errors and
awkward phrases. Let them sit for a day, and then review them again.
8. Use high-quality resume paper. They are an inexpensive way (10 to 15
cents per page at Kinko’s) to stand out and make a strong first impression.
9. Note non-traditional experience such as working with multi-cultural groups,
various ages, and social groups. Many companies aim to close generation
gaps among employees and encourage individuals of varying backgrounds to
apply for positions.
10.Send your resume to all of your contacts. Share with others that you’re
looking for work.
Tips for the Interview
After sending out all of your applications, your goal is to secure an interview.
These tips will assist you in conducting an interview as an individual who has been
out of work for a long period of time.
1. Develop your defensive skills. Prepare to answer questions about your
current long-term unemployment.
2. Do your research. Start by Googling “interview questions for the
unemployed” to learn about what types of questions employers might ask
you. Familiarize yourself with these questions, and prepare answers for
them.

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3. Practice mock interviews with
mentors and acquaintances. Find
someone who will succeed in
creating a moderately stressful
interview scenario.
4. Take ownership. Whatever
happened, frame it in a light that
shows that you hold some
responsibility in the matter, rather
than being a victim of
circumstance. Exceptions obviously
include harassment or being let go
due to downsizing.
5. Answer questions, and then move on to why you are the person for the job.
Use questions about unemployment to segue into how you have had the
opportunity to develop new skills as a result.
6. Find the silver lining. Utilize any good that has come from this rough patch
as ammunition during an interview if a potential employer frames your
employment gap in a negative light.
7. Be well-spoken. Clean up any slang, slurred speech or speech patterns that
you may have fallen into during this time out of a professional work
environment.
8. Develop a list of positive attributes, attributes to improve, and your skill set,
providing professional examples of when you exhibited these skills. Study it
and pull from this list when asked questions during the interview.
9. Know what you’re wearing before the call comes. Have your interview attire
dry cleaned or ironed in your closet ready for when the interview call comes.
10.Follow up. Wait 10 business days from the time of submitting the application
before giving a phone call or sending an email.
Tips for Staying Busy and Developing New Skills
Just because you are out of work doesn’t mean that you stop developing your
professional skills. Continue to learn, using this education as a launch pad for your
next employer. You can also share your knowledge with others.
1. Freelance. You might be unemployed, but your skills have provided you with
enough experience to pursue freelance opportunities.

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2. Create a business. With a small financial contribution, you can use your
experience to develop a business to call your own.
3. Become a mentor. Is there a professional out there looking for career
guidance? Share tips or offer career guidance to a young professional to stay
busy and utilize your skill set. It also looks great on a resume.
4. Volunteer. Working with others or for other organizations that have little
always make you appreciate what you have more.
5. Join a professional organization. Network with people in your field and stay
current so you don’t fall behind new trends.
6. Search for programs geared towards the long-term unemployed. Programs
such as Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership and NH Works worked to
connect the long-term unemployed to jobs.
7. Seek out companies that have signed onto removing barriers from the
unemployed for being considered for jobs. Participating companies include
many Fortune 50 companies.
8. Develop a routine. Create a schedule dividing up the day into various
activities for different amounts of time.
9. Consider part-time work. Search for part-time work that also fits your skill
set in addition to full-time opportunities.
10.Consider temporary work. Consider temporary opportunities that also fit
your skill set.
Tips for Networking
Connections will be key for someone who is unemployed long-term. Your ability to
meet new people and sell yourself will work to offset gaps in your employment
history.
1. Make a list of everyone you know who can be a potential contact. Then start
getting in touch to see if they know companies that are hiring.
2. Network at your local Chamber of Commerce. Many events are either free or
low cost, and include major power players in your city’s business community.
3. Attend events hosted by professional associations. Usually for a few dollars
more, events are open to non-members and give you access to the movers
and shakers in your field.

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4. Speak up at events you attend. Share with everyone that you know that
you’re looking for employment, and you could learn of an opportunity
through word of mouth.
5. Create a business card. Continue to consider yourself a professional within
your field and create a title such as “Marketing Professional”, for example
with bullet points on the back of the card listing your skill set.
6. Attend job fairs. Visit a job fair with your resume in hand to learn about
companies that are hiring.
7. Share job search news with references. Contact your references and share
news about your job search with them.
8. Consider connecting with people you didn’t consider previously. This group
includes former co-workers, friends, and peer volunteers.
9. Connect with alumni. At the very least, an alumnus of your alma mater
should be willing to provide tips or additional contacts to point you in the
right direction.
10.Prepare your elevator pitch. When someone asks you about your experience,
be prepared to share it in 30 seconds or less.
Tips for Social Media
Social media has opened the door to a whole
new world of networking. Use sites such as
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to gain
valuable company information and make
professional connections.
1. Update your LinkedIn profile to include
skills you are developing and related
work. Include new certificates earned
or continuing education classes.
2. Connect with professional contacts on
LinkedIn. These contacts include alumni, former co-workers and individuals
you meet at networking events.

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3. Join groups on LinkedIn. Groups include university groups and professional
interest groups, for example.
4. Follow Twitter accounts of companies that you are interested in working for.
Stay in-the-know about company news, and retweet posts you find relative
to your industry.
5. Review a company Facebook page. Companies will post news and images,
which serve as conversational fodder for networking events and interviews.
6. Develop a solid online presence that speaks to your professional competence.
Make sure that the person that you are in the Internet is the same person
you are on your resume.
7. Write a blog post. Search for companies and publications that highlight your
skill set, and volunteer to write a blog post.
8. Follow people of influence and “like” (Facebook) or “retweet” (Twitter)
information that you genuinely find interesting or useful. It is a way for
these individuals to informally become acquainted with you.
9. Choose images wisely. If you have a profile, upload images that enhance
your professional image. A company might look at your Facebook page to
learn more about you.
10.Google it. Don’t be afraid to jump into the world of social media by
searching for what you don’t know. There are many articles and
downloadable manuals dedicated to beginners.
Being unemployed is difficult, but being unemployed long-term presents special
challenges. You have been looking for work for at least six-months and have yet to
secure employment. While we cannot promise the stars, this white paper does
offer tips to implement during your continued job search, as well as ways to handle
adverse effects related to long-term unemployment. Continue onward, for the
coming of the dawn will soon be upon you.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor.
“Addressing the Negative Cycle of Long-Term Unemployment”. Official White House
document.