The United States Senate is one step closer to extending unemployment benefits for people out of work for 26 weeks or longer. A workshop in San Diego is aiming to help long-term jobseekers avoid burn out.
Financial worries are just one part of the stress of being out of work. The San Diego Workforce Partnership goes beyond the conventional resume and interview workshops. They also advise clients on avoiding job-hunt burnout.
Kristina Coram was laid off from an accounting job in March and attended one of the workshops on Tuesday. She said she is taking classes and interning while she looks for work.
“Sometimes looking for a job 24/7 can tend to wear on you physically and emotionally. So I wanted to see what kinds of things I can do, that I’m not doing already, and how I can improve and just maintain a positive mindset,” Coram said.
The workshops focus on getting away from entire days spent trolling online job postings. They suggest job hunters create varied weekly schedules that include regular exercise, time spent volunteering and going to networking events or skills classes.
Some attending the workshop have seen their unemployment checks stop coming in the last two months while members of the U.S. Senate argued over the benefits extension.
Loretta Martinez has been looking for work for more than a year and has been relying on her fiance for financial help. She said getting an unemployment check again would help her in at least one important way.
"Being more independent," she said. "Everybody needs to be able to make their own money. I'm lucky that it's just myself. I feel for men who have families and children."
According to a state report released last Friday, San Diego County's unemployment rate rose to 10.5 percent in June.
