Times are tough these days.  Many of us find ourselves unemployed in the company of an extremely qualified applicant pool (read: competition).  Filling out job applications day after day gets discouraging, boring and dreary, which causes our motivation to dwindle after a while.  I'm not just talking about motivation to apply for jobs, but also motivation to leave our apartments or meet up with friends or socialize -- because most of those things, we reason in our heads, require money... money that we don't have.

I've found the perfect solution: volunteering.  I, like many of you, have gotten myself into that 'unemployment funk,' as I like to call it, many times before and the only way out is to get out of your apartment and feel like you're doing something meaningful.

Figure out your strong suits, whether they're working with people (try volunteering at a food bank, hospital or homelss shelter, for instance) or they're more administrative in nature (try volunteering at a local non-profit organization helping with photocopying, stuffing envelopes and so on).  In any case, choose an organization that you believe in - one that you truly feel is making a difference - and rest assured that you're part of what makes that organization a success and bringing meaning back into your life.

Two websites that I've found particularly helpful in searching for places to volunteer are:

VolunteerMatch.com

and

NYCares.org

Give it a try - what have you got to lose? And hey, maybe volunteering will lead to a job or a new career path for you as you discover your hidden interests.

Happy volunteering!