The Funk

Image from Invest Talk Blog

Sadly, this does not refer to a genre of music. This is The Funk, capital letters, proper noun. I've observed The Funk in many of my friends in the past few months. The Funk has followed our completion of a nicely rated two year masters program at a good school which promised to prepare us for fabulous jobs, and settles in when the two years and many hours of resume editing fails to snag said fabulous job. I've also noticed The Funk increasingly in a number of military spouses who are savvy, ambitious and newly landed in their roles as MSs.

Symptoms include: mood swings ("I'm amazing, I'll get this job!!... I suck at life, why do I even bother?"), several attempts to reinvent the self ("Maybe I'll be a spin instructor instead of a lawyer. It's way cooler anyway. Or maybe a chef. Or a Tibetan climbing guide..."), excessive sleeping ("I'm just catching up on my rest from the last three years of crazy... and I have nothing better to do... wow, it's 3 pm.....") and friend/family/significant other/spouse support and bafflement in stages ("You're totally going to get that CEO job... absolutely, you're the best for the job. And yes, you are crazy right now").

I've also seen various stages of grace in dealing with The Funk. When talking to the lucky brutes who landed the non-profit/big firm/dream job clocking 80 hours per week, they marvel, "Wow, you have such an opportunity to travel, relax, read, sleep, learn a new language, take up parasailing, etc." And while those in The Funk most often know this is 99% true, it can't feel like a vacation unless the clock is ticking toward when the fun is supposed to stop. Not to mention vacationing can be difficult with no/low income. However, some in The Funk have managed to seize moments of opportunity, even labeling the nebulous time of unplanned, unending job search as "funemployment." My hat is off to them.

Great advice from a friend and former Funker: Plan at least one thing to look forward to each week other than job searching. If it's a yoga class, visiting a tourist attraction, dinner with girlfriends, or watching your favorite episode of your guilty pleasure tv show, let that mark time in this dreary stretch. Make small lists, check off do-able victories like working out, sending notes to friends/family you wish you had time to keep up with and finding at least one volunteer opportunity to keep you engaged. And know that you are not even close to alone- another Funker can be great company if you can find him/her.

 
Vocab of the day:
Korean: setback = 방해  bang hay (a blind leap of faith into the arms of BabelFish...)
Military: PSYOPS = Psychological Operations (a la Men Who Stare at Goats, or finding a job overseas)


Update! Great article- 17 Ways to Build Confidence While Finding A Job.