If your Masters Program gave you the option between 2 year and 3 year completion, what would you choose? With tremendous joy and fear, I chose the 2 year journey and graduated in 2021. Questions on my mind: How would I get a job in the middle of a precarious global health crisis? How would I keep my sanity?

There are several components to self-care, and I struggle with financial self-care. I do all the logistics like tracking expenses, but my relationship with money is strained. A goal in life has been to never become attached to money; I learned this from the stress it caused when my parents were together. Yet, while disassociating with money, I planned very little. When I graduated, I knew I needed to be held financially. I learned to seek support and resources.

Seeking Support

I sign up to newsletters often (unsubscribing occasionally to declutter). In one newsletter, I read about a series of workshops on finances and stress. One email led me to the Rise Up Project, where professionals coach job seekers to continue their career ambitions. I signed up, tentatively excited. At that point, late June, I had applied to nearly 40 job postings, interviewed with 3 employers, and been sent the occasional rejection email. I wondered if the program would make a difference.

Over a month later–about 10 intentional job applications later, I am grateful to have joined because I entered an energizing space during a draining season. I received live feedback on my resume, opportunity pitch, and LinkedIn profile. I’ve heard “transferrable skills” before, but at Rise Up, I understood that transfer is closer to translation: making it clear to an employer that where I may lack, I have an abundance applicable of experience.

Reframing my experience encouraged me to continue with job applications with a new energy, to convince hiring committees I was more than prepared for the role.

Seeking Resources

Resources can come in the form of a program, an event, or a person. Below are job resources you may find helpful:

Earn Short-term Money

Before graduation, I saved as much as my income as possible, and searched for financial support from school. I was fortune enough that my mother was returning to work, after months without a full-time job, so I wasn’t alone with the rent.

Savings are helpful, and yet, expenses continue. Below are some opportunities to earn money in the short-term:

• Convert loose change to money through Coinstar or at a bank
  • Read more about this option at Well Kept Wallet
• Use bank rewards system
  • If you’re using money, find out how your bank rewards you
• Find unclaimed money
  • You purchase items, and sometimes companies owe you a refund. Take some time complete a form and gather info for Class Actions. You may also find money that didn’t reach you according to your state.
• Join or host a yard sale
  • Research large yard sales near you or use your patch of grass
• Help your neighbors
  • Pet and child care are common needs
  • NextDoor and Facebook groups are helpful to find opportunities near your

Good luck trying these resources and suggestions! Leave a comment if you have any tips.