How to boost a jobseeker’s self-esteem?

Topics

• Job seeking
• Jäsenyys
• Lay-off
• Unemployment
• YTK

One of our members wrote in response to our May membership survey: 

“Negative talk about unemployment in general and about the people who are unemployed is at its worst paralysing for the person unemployed. Unemployment undermines the self-esteem of the unemployed, which is often reflected well into working life, even after employment. This is reflected, for example, in the fear of taking on more demanding jobs, changing jobs, wage negotiations, etc. This is where breaking down the stigma of unemployment would be really important!” 

In our survey, we had asked for ideas on how our planned campaign would resonate with our members. 

There is a lot of talk about self-esteem these days, and as a reminder to those who have studied developmental psychology for a long time: self-esteem is built in childhood and adolescence through a series of different phases. But self-esteem can also erode in adulthood. Self-esteem can be negatively affected by social exclusion, unemployment or lack of esteem at work, challenges in relationships, perfectionism, health problems, trauma, life crises or ageing. Through these, the individual, but also society, suffers. One can even conclude that self-esteem challenges lead to a lack of entrepreneurship, risk-taking and innovation in society.  

Our member’s comment above sums it all up in a compelling way. Self-esteem erodes, affecting your ability to cope with job hunting and succeed in a new job. So the appeal to break the stigma of unemployment is a very important one! If we can genuinely reduce the self-esteem challenge that unemployment poses to individuals, it will be a giant leap towards an even better Finland. 

Is only the unemployed responsible for their self-esteem? 

When we asked our members in May, we already had some ideas for the campaign we are currently running. Among our members – some 530,000 Finnish employees – there are tens of thousands of people whose self-esteem can be put to the test by a protracted job search. These people have to keep fighting every day to find that next job. How can they do that if, at the same time, the rest of us quietly and sometimes even verbally resent them?  

What happens when the job is found and the jobseeker becomes an employee? In the opening quote, the member sums up: ‘[the decline in self-esteem] often continues long into working life, even after employment’. How do workplaces and HR ensure that a person who has struggled with self-esteem when looking for a job is put on a new path of self-esteem? Or, on the other hand, how do we dare to allow enough time for self-esteem to take some time to recover? In such cases, workplaces must have the courage to work together to build confidence that working life will bear fruit, even if it has not done so in the past. This is where we all have the opportunity to be supportive and helpful!  

Feedback has been encouraging 

The survey gave us a strong mandate from our members to speak for them on this issue. The vast majority of our members feel that it is important for us, as YTK, to speak out on this issue and be the harbingers of positive change.  

That’s why it has been touching and important to get feedback on our work from other people, for example on social media. Thank you so much for all the feedback and for taking the message forward! And we are not just doing a temporary campaign, we will continue to keep the issue in the spotlight. You can still do your part, for example: don’t judge the unemployed, but help them to keep their self-esteem in check. It’s in everyone’s interest!  

PS. To anyone who is currently struggling to find a job, let me say this: the job will be there. In addition to the open jobs, there are many hidden jobs. Coaching, tools, training and job search support are abundantly available, read more about how we can help you in searching for jobs! 

Ilona Kangas

Työelämäpalveluiden johtaja

Autan jäseniämme ja työntekijöitämme onnistumaan työelämässä monin eri tavoin. Johdan ja kehitän YTK Työelämä ry:n toimintaa ja vastaan YTK Työelämäpalveluissa ja kassapalveluissa asiakaskokemuksen, markkinoinnin ja viestinnän johtamisesta.