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Very few of us will keep the same job from the day we leave school till the day we retire and so for most of us, job searching will be part of our lives. The fortunate among us may only change jobs by choice, not leaving one job until we have secured the next but unfortunately the vast majority of us will probably be forced to change jobs, sometimes without warning and if this is the case we are in for a stressful period.

When faced with having to find new employment, perhaps the first thing we should do is consider if we want a similar job to what we have been doing in the past or if we want a change. If we want a change then we must consider what we are qualified for and look to improve our knowledge if necessary. One of the ways we can improve our knowledge is to apply for a training course although that may cost money we would rather not spend especially as we are temporarily unemployed. Fortunately for those living in the United States though, financial assistance may be available for post-school training and that can be found out by visiting the website www.ndfe.org which is run by the National Center for Financial Education (NCFE) and lists any training programs they can offer financial assistance with.

Having determined what job we will look for and being appropriately qualified or experienced, perhaps the first place to go in order to find an appropriate vacant position is the website https://www.localjobnetwork.com. This is a website which displays vacant jobs by area and so you can look for an appropriate job opening on that. This site is run by the OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) who maintain these websites for OFCCP compliant companies. The main task of the OFCCP is to ensure that companies which apply for government contract work comply with government regulations, with special attention being paid to companies displaying nondiscrimination in their hiring of new employees.

Of course, depending on how long we expect to be unemployed, we must make financial arrangements accordingly and this will often entail applying frugal spending by ourselves and our families. We must also be prepared for an immediate offer for an interview and so ensuring our resume and other paperwork is up to date is essential.

Even though we may have ensured we are fully qualified for any position we apply for and having budgeted to ensure we survive financially for our unemployed period, we will still find this time stressful but hopefully, if properly prepared, the period will not be too long.

Obviously, most of us would like to find employment close to where we live but in many cases, it is necessary to relocate in order to find an appropriate job. Re-locating will bring further stress to us but once again the stress can be reduced by proper preparation and after the move, consider if any moving expenses can be applied to our next tax return.