One in four American workers—that’s more than 40 million people—have filed for unemployment since March of 2020. But those massive numbers can be so overwhelming that we miss the true impact on individuals, families, and communities.
If you’ve lost your job, you don’t really care about the statistics. You just need to find a job. Before I go any further, I want you to know that Younique has developed a course specifically for people who have lost their job, and it’s only $29. It’s called Job Search: 5 Younique Strategies For Finding Your Next Job.
This course is packed with practical things for you to do right now to find a job. We have some online courses that spend a good amount of time on the “why” of understanding vocation. This course spends the vast majority of time on giving you a practical to-do list of the “how” of finding your next job. You can register for the Job Search course here.
Use What You Have
We created the Job Search course because we believe you have specific, God-given abilities and experiences … and we want to help you understand and apply those to your job.
In Matthew 25:14-30, we read the famous Parable of the Talents. Most of us are familiar with this parable, but if you’re not, take a few minutes to read it now. The foundation for the Job Search course is found in this powerful and multi-layered story.
In the story Jesus told, there are 3 things that kept the “wicked, lazy servant” from investing what had been given to him (verses 24-27). These are the same 3 things that hold too many of us back in understanding what we have and how we can use it in our jobs.
1 – Insecurity: We undervalue what we’ve been given.
In the story, maybe the lazy servant looked at his “measly” one talent and compared it to what the other servants had been given: two talents (sometimes translated “bags of gold”) and five talents. But we have to remember this: ONE talent was an exorbitant amount of money. It was equivalent to wages for 6,000 days of labor or over 16 YEARS of work. That was what the servant had been given.
What have you been given that you have overlooked or dismissed as not valuable? What skills or abilities do you have that you think can’t possibly be used in a vocation? What connections do you have that could be turned into opportunities?
Too many of us are slow to invest what we’ve been given because we simply undervalue it. One of the activities we walk you through in the Job Search course is to do an inventory of what God has given you and help you to rethink how those things could help you find your next job.
2 – Fear: We overvalue what we could lose.
In verse 25 of the story, the lazy servant literally says, “I was afraid.” He was afraid that he would lose some or all of what he had been given, so he hid it. He dug a hole in the ground and buried the equivalent of 16 years’ wages.
What have you hidden or buried inside of you that needs to be unearthed and resurrected? What have you been afraid to try that needs to be reexamined? How might you pursue new possibilities that might even seem too good to be true?
We’re not advocating for you to take unnecessary or unwise risks. The truth is that most people don’t make the mistake of risking too much, they fall into the trap of risking too little. Maybe you could find a job “for now” while investing in yourself “on the side” to set yourself up for what God has for you in the future.
Whatever the case, don’t let the fear of what you could lose hold you back. God has made you with a purpose and a destiny. And if you want to discover and live in it, you will have to take some risks.
3 – Misperception: We misvalue who God is.
In verse 24 of the story, the lazy servant describes the master as “… a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.” The lens through which he viewed the master was skewed in a negative way. The servant could very easily have said, “I know you are a generous man, giving away millions of dollars to your servants to manage.” But the servant didn’t view the master as generous.
What is your view of God? Do you believe that He is a loving Father who is FOR you and WITH you? What misperceptions of God and His goodness (or lack thereof) are keeping you from stepping into the next season of the life He has designed for you?
Any process that helps us know ourselves better so that we can live out God’s unique dream for our lives always begins with a process of knowing God better as well. He is our Creator. He is our Father. He has given us experiences, abilities, and even His Spirit (!) to empower us to become who He has created us to be.
The question of vocation, the question of a Jesus-centered, purpose-filled life really centers around one question.
What will you do with what you have been given?
Even though you may feel trapped by your job loss, there is hope. Your job right now is to find the next job. If you think of yourself as not having a job, you’ve already lost the battle emotionally. You do have a job … your daily work has just changed for right now. That’s what the Job Search course is all about—guiding you in creating a daily to-do list that leads to your next job.
Whether you register for the Job Search course or not, don’t let insecurity, fear, and misperception hold you back from becoming who you were created to be. Remember who God is, remember what He has given you, and decide to take the next step in doing what He created you to do.
Reference Links
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/economy/may-jobs-report-preview/index.html
