I have travelled this road before, the one of unemployment. This is the third time in my life where I have not been doing something, be it studying or working. The first time was after graduation where the market was picking up but employers were still looking for experienced people. Persisting with my desire to get into my chosen career, I remained jobless for 9 months despite hundreds of job applications and many interviews. Finally someone took a chance on me. I left that company reluctantly giving in to the pressure of family and friends who, rightly so, told me I could earn far more elsewhere. And I was fortunate enough to be in demand back then and managed to land a much better paying role.
I don't think I am very materialistic and I have never been that way. Perhaps it was the way I was raised, other things seem more important to me. I am all about the work life balance. I work to live, not live to work. I want to earn enough so that I am able maintain a comfortable standard of living, provide my children with what they need and ensure that they are given the tools to succeed. Many of these tools are things that money cannot buy (e.g good character).
The second time I was made redundant and the market was pretty much flat, just as it is now. It took me 7 months to get a job and I was desperate to get into any job. Again I ended up in a job that at least paid the bills even if it was off my career path. However after about a year I was able to move to a better job. This lasted over seven years and there was much growing done during this. Alhamdulillah, I became debt free (and still am at the time of writing).
Finally I find myself in my current position, unemployed, applying for approximately 50 jobs per week. I have attended interviews and getting dejected because I come close but the employer is fussy and holds on for an even better candidate because it is an employers market, the economy is depressed. People are not hiring and those that are, are being inundated with applications. It is hard to stand out and despite that I do. So far I've fallen at the final hurdle, pipped to the post by another and recently sabotaged by some unknown enemy that I didn't even know I had.
Still there is always hope. I have interviews coming up and many potentials in the pipeline. InshaAllah, something will happen, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has a plan and he is the best of planners.
So here I sit, the wife and children are out, the house is quiet, I can hear the voices of children from the school opposite. Cars pass by the sound of their engines clearly audible, occasionally blaring out music sometimes with such heavy bass that the house reverberates to it. There is an ebb and flow, it is quiet now hence the reason I can hear the children, where traffic increases and decreases.
Time has been ticking away, months have now passed and I have sat here day in day out. My daily routine is to apply for jobs, learn and revise and more recently daily exercise. I may know how to do something but not always the terminology that goes with it. I am now a Project Manager. This is something mankind has been doing for a long time. The trouble is mankind has also formulated many different methodologies, based on good practice and need, but everyone wants one or many of these. They want you to be a black belt in Six Sigma, a practitioner in Prince2, certified in PMP and an expert in Agile methodologies.
When I became unemployed, there was this sense of urgency. I did not want to be in the same situation as the previous time. So I put many things in place, I am doing more, being more proactive, networking more, pushing more, trying harder. This initially seemed to bear fruit and I had interviews and got far in the process but no joy as of yet. I'm always getting positive feedback, which is encouraging and frustrating. At least if I got really bad feedback I would completely reconsider my position. It is tantalisingly close that I can't abandon it in the hope that I will get something soon.
As the funds run low, and I face the prospect of having to borrow money, it takes on a new sense of urgency. But now I am settled in for the long haul. Like the winter this year, this is dragging on. There is no point crying over it. What is required is patience and perseverance. These are two traits all muslims should have of course. Especially since Allah subhana wa ta'ala has said:
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. [Surah Ash-Sharh:5] [Trans. Sahih International]
Allah subhana wa ta'ala tests us with hardship and promises us that after this there will be ease. Allah has further promised us that he will not burden us with something we cannot handle, no matter how difficult it seem to us at the time.
The following verse is something I recite often but do not always reflect upon:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." [Surah Al-Baqarah:286] [Trans. Sahih International]
Allah states that he will not give us a burden we cannot handle. Alhamdulillah, this realisation makes my burdens seem small in comparison to others. I don't feel I have been tested in the ways others have. My tests appear to be ones that focus around patience, perseverance and even pride. Time and time again Allah and his beloved messenger (SallAllahu Alayhi wassalam) have told us, turn to Allah for your needs. This whole verse gives us this, in the best form - supplication to Allah. It is one that is about humbling ourselves in front of our creator, recognising that he is the Sustainer (aka Lord), and we turn to him for all our needs.
I have thought long and hard about this process. Alhamdulillah I am far better off than last time, I am not in debt, my wife has got herself a job, there are relatives who can help me if needed. The test isn't the lack of a job but rather that which surrounds it.
My patience has been tested, the principles I live by and adhere to have been tested. I remain firm, Allah is the provider, that which is not mine I cannot have and that which is mine no one can take away. While I acknowledge all the mistakes made were mine and I have learned from them. I believe my test on patience has been elsewhere and unfortunately I have not managed to keep it together at all times. This is because it isn't just a test upon me but also those around me. May Allah increase us in our patience, ameen.
My perseverance has been tested to see if I can continue on this path. I have most definitely tried harder this time. However there is much that is still lacking. I can do more, I can try different things and I can be less stubborn. I am always questioning myself and hoping that I will spot these things within me and take corrective action. Every time I get knocked back, I need to get up and continue, find another way, keep going.
Finally pride, I have been tested for this too. Having been in a management role, qualified, educated and with a track record that has some modicum of success, it can be difficult to consider jobs that are less prestigious, well paid and require little or no qualification. Alhamdulillah, I have never seen these as beneath me but the thought did raise it's ugly head. I have never been negative about any job except that which is haram of course. It is provision from Allah. Someone can have high earnings but these lack barakah and vice versa.
I feel that at the moment I am at a standstill and all around me there is constant motion. The quiet of the day is soon filled with the doorbell ringing, the excited chatter, the hustle and bustle as school uniforms are discarded for comfortable clothes, food is dished out. Throughout there is chatter, the daughter about her test results, the son about friends in his class and the wife about her day at work. It strikes me that this was probably what life was like for my wife, with one exception perhaps and that she did not have the pressure of having to look for work.
The evening will also pass rapidly and again the house will be quiet. Marking time, like being back on the parade ground, awaiting the command to continue marching. The command will come insha Allah.
I don't think I am very materialistic and I have never been that way. Perhaps it was the way I was raised, other things seem more important to me. I am all about the work life balance. I work to live, not live to work. I want to earn enough so that I am able maintain a comfortable standard of living, provide my children with what they need and ensure that they are given the tools to succeed. Many of these tools are things that money cannot buy (e.g good character).
The second time I was made redundant and the market was pretty much flat, just as it is now. It took me 7 months to get a job and I was desperate to get into any job. Again I ended up in a job that at least paid the bills even if it was off my career path. However after about a year I was able to move to a better job. This lasted over seven years and there was much growing done during this. Alhamdulillah, I became debt free (and still am at the time of writing).
Finally I find myself in my current position, unemployed, applying for approximately 50 jobs per week. I have attended interviews and getting dejected because I come close but the employer is fussy and holds on for an even better candidate because it is an employers market, the economy is depressed. People are not hiring and those that are, are being inundated with applications. It is hard to stand out and despite that I do. So far I've fallen at the final hurdle, pipped to the post by another and recently sabotaged by some unknown enemy that I didn't even know I had.
Still there is always hope. I have interviews coming up and many potentials in the pipeline. InshaAllah, something will happen, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) has a plan and he is the best of planners.
So here I sit, the wife and children are out, the house is quiet, I can hear the voices of children from the school opposite. Cars pass by the sound of their engines clearly audible, occasionally blaring out music sometimes with such heavy bass that the house reverberates to it. There is an ebb and flow, it is quiet now hence the reason I can hear the children, where traffic increases and decreases.
Time has been ticking away, months have now passed and I have sat here day in day out. My daily routine is to apply for jobs, learn and revise and more recently daily exercise. I may know how to do something but not always the terminology that goes with it. I am now a Project Manager. This is something mankind has been doing for a long time. The trouble is mankind has also formulated many different methodologies, based on good practice and need, but everyone wants one or many of these. They want you to be a black belt in Six Sigma, a practitioner in Prince2, certified in PMP and an expert in Agile methodologies.
When I became unemployed, there was this sense of urgency. I did not want to be in the same situation as the previous time. So I put many things in place, I am doing more, being more proactive, networking more, pushing more, trying harder. This initially seemed to bear fruit and I had interviews and got far in the process but no joy as of yet. I'm always getting positive feedback, which is encouraging and frustrating. At least if I got really bad feedback I would completely reconsider my position. It is tantalisingly close that I can't abandon it in the hope that I will get something soon.
As the funds run low, and I face the prospect of having to borrow money, it takes on a new sense of urgency. But now I am settled in for the long haul. Like the winter this year, this is dragging on. There is no point crying over it. What is required is patience and perseverance. These are two traits all muslims should have of course. Especially since Allah subhana wa ta'ala has said:
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. [Surah Ash-Sharh:5] [Trans. Sahih International]
Allah subhana wa ta'ala tests us with hardship and promises us that after this there will be ease. Allah has further promised us that he will not burden us with something we cannot handle, no matter how difficult it seem to us at the time.
The following verse is something I recite often but do not always reflect upon:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." [Surah Al-Baqarah:286] [Trans. Sahih International]
Allah states that he will not give us a burden we cannot handle. Alhamdulillah, this realisation makes my burdens seem small in comparison to others. I don't feel I have been tested in the ways others have. My tests appear to be ones that focus around patience, perseverance and even pride. Time and time again Allah and his beloved messenger (SallAllahu Alayhi wassalam) have told us, turn to Allah for your needs. This whole verse gives us this, in the best form - supplication to Allah. It is one that is about humbling ourselves in front of our creator, recognising that he is the Sustainer (aka Lord), and we turn to him for all our needs.
I have thought long and hard about this process. Alhamdulillah I am far better off than last time, I am not in debt, my wife has got herself a job, there are relatives who can help me if needed. The test isn't the lack of a job but rather that which surrounds it.
My patience has been tested, the principles I live by and adhere to have been tested. I remain firm, Allah is the provider, that which is not mine I cannot have and that which is mine no one can take away. While I acknowledge all the mistakes made were mine and I have learned from them. I believe my test on patience has been elsewhere and unfortunately I have not managed to keep it together at all times. This is because it isn't just a test upon me but also those around me. May Allah increase us in our patience, ameen.
My perseverance has been tested to see if I can continue on this path. I have most definitely tried harder this time. However there is much that is still lacking. I can do more, I can try different things and I can be less stubborn. I am always questioning myself and hoping that I will spot these things within me and take corrective action. Every time I get knocked back, I need to get up and continue, find another way, keep going.
Finally pride, I have been tested for this too. Having been in a management role, qualified, educated and with a track record that has some modicum of success, it can be difficult to consider jobs that are less prestigious, well paid and require little or no qualification. Alhamdulillah, I have never seen these as beneath me but the thought did raise it's ugly head. I have never been negative about any job except that which is haram of course. It is provision from Allah. Someone can have high earnings but these lack barakah and vice versa.
I feel that at the moment I am at a standstill and all around me there is constant motion. The quiet of the day is soon filled with the doorbell ringing, the excited chatter, the hustle and bustle as school uniforms are discarded for comfortable clothes, food is dished out. Throughout there is chatter, the daughter about her test results, the son about friends in his class and the wife about her day at work. It strikes me that this was probably what life was like for my wife, with one exception perhaps and that she did not have the pressure of having to look for work.
The evening will also pass rapidly and again the house will be quiet. Marking time, like being back on the parade ground, awaiting the command to continue marching. The command will come insha Allah.
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