If you need to vent or have something to tell the world, don't be shy.
Unemployment Sucks!
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 07:54
I don't care what anyone says, not having a job sucks.
Quite often the newly unemployed go through a period of relief upon first losing their jobs. You're going to collect unemployment for a while, catch up on sleep and family time, and -- hey -- you're good at what you do. You'll find a new job quickly, right?
Wrong. Chances are it will take you a long time to find a job. If you're over a certain age, you might just never work again. Hate to burst your bubble.
I hate to tell you this, too, if you're one of those doe-eyed newbies: The longer your remain unemployed, the worse it gets. Imagine every negative emotion you've ever felt stewing deep in your guts for months on end. That's basically what happens. You can do some things to quell it (exercise, meditation, prayer, staying busy) but it's going to happen.
We have so much personally invested in our work. It defines us. Losing a job is losing structure, losing financial stability, losing relationships, losing your self-confidence. Yeah, it sucks. There's no way around it.
You know what really pisses me off about unemployment? There is no need for it on a social level. So much work needs to be done. The problem is that all the money has flowed into very few hands. It's not circulating to working people. Unemployment has created a paradox in me personally: On one hand, it has forced me to be entrepreneurial. On the other hand, it has turned me into a bit of a communist. Who needs billions of dollars? Nobodody! But everybody needs a job. In a world where so much needs to be done, how can so many be out of work?
Anyway, unemployment sucks. It sucks personally and it sucks socially. Please use this "Venting and Ranting" forum to get it out of you.
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 22:11
#2
Not to blow your mind or anything
But there are hundreds of applicants for every one of those thousands upon thousands of positions you see open. "They" tell us that there are five officially unemployed people for every job opening. What they don't tell us is that, on top of that, there are a ton of discouraged workers who have given up the job search completely.
There are a whole ton of unemployed people out there. It's bad. It's a Greater Depression that's being swept under the rug.
As for experience, education and all that -- what I've always found is that if you show someone what you can do for them, you will always get the gig, whether you're applying for a job or trying to land a contract. When it comes down to it, nobody really cares about your education and experience. All that matters is the value you can add to their enterprise.
Volunteering... it seems like there's a conspiracy trying to drag me into it or something. Truth is, I'm fundamentally opposed to it, especially if you're using it as a stepping stone to success. Nobody should work for free. The CEOs of all those organizations that want you to volunteer are certainly not working for free.
Offering services out of the goodness of your heart is great. I do it all the time. "Volunteering" for some multi-million-dollar hospital or foundation just doesn't do it for me, at least not until I can reliably pay my own bills. Sorry if that sounds cold.
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 22:30
#3
I agree, but to a point
Chuck, I hear you and I do sincerely respect your facts and opinions. This is how we learn.
It seems that it does come down to that old adage, "it's not what you know, but who you know". I don't like that my volunteer work will be for free, but from the advice I'm getting from my net-workers, this is a good place to start, as it does allow one to get to know the right professionals that will help me get my foot in someone's door. Heck, if I have to play this "game" to get home plate, I'm gonna play it if it means helping me eventually land a job. What else can I do? I'm already unemployed with no paycheck, I might as well do volunteer work for free with the hopes it will help me proceed further in getting one. But as I had made comment in an earlier post on your blog, at this point of being "depressed and unemployed", I need to feel some good and rewarding feelings to off-set a lot of negative and depressive ones, and I feel it will fulfill that as well, so in the end, it serves two purposes. It's worth a try.
Peace and best wishes to all...
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 22:47
#4
That is a perspective I can appreciate
You've totally changed my opinion. As long as you're honest with yourself about using volunteer work as a stepping stone to your own success, more power to you. And if it makes you feel good to boot, hey, I'm all for it.
What sort of volunteer work are you doing?
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 22:56
#5
Sorry Chuck...
As much as you continue to say you are fundamentally opposed to volunteering I have bitten my tongue long enough and feel it's time for me to tell you what's on my mind. Keeping this website going for all of us out here that you don't know from a hole in the ground- is volunteering your time. Okay I said it. You are a volunteer. So slap me upside the back of my head.... You are like a marshmallow stuck inside a walnut shell.
Have a good night
Freckles
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 23:17
#6
OK, OK, I give! Uncle!
Volunteering is good. In an ideal world, all work would be done on a volunteer basis.
I get it. I was foolish to even attempt to argue that volunteering was a bad thing. Sometimes I like to make ridiculous arguments just to see where they lead. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad personality trait.
Even so... in this age of so many not being able to pay their bills while so few control such mortifying wealth, I can't help but say that working for dollars takes precedence over the pleasant and noble thing that is volunteer work. Doesn't change the fact that volunteering is a good thing, but it does strike me as an elitist position; millions of unemployed people face eviction, foreclosure, hunger, lights turned off or any of a hundred other ugly realities. Volunteering at a homeless shelter doesn't make much sense when you're weeks away from being a resident of one.
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 23:23
#7
Volunteer
I'll be volunteering at a major hospital here as a "floor hostess". It involves running specimens to the lab, wheel-chairing patients out upon discharge, offering toiletries and reading materials to patients, offering refreshments to waiting families, and anything else that staff requires which a volunteer is able to assist with. I'm also awaiting being a surgery waiting area hostess; a sort of liaison between a patient in surgery and their waiting family members. Just from my 2nd orientation today, I cannot see anything but this being beneficial to me in more ways than one.
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 23:28
#8
So true
You are so right in your fundamental beliefs; I too wish it didn't have to be this way. This in itself makes it all so frustrating and sad. But we have no choice; we have to do whatever it takes. We can only hope that our through our charitable giving, some way, some how, it will come back us. Call me an idealist.
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 23:30
#9
I will call you an idealist...
... and I hope you'll take it as a compliment.
You totally rock!
Tue, 06/29/2010 - 23:40
#10
We all rock
Just reading everyone's posts here and so many other forums, it shows how many of us really take pride in our work ethics. In the end, we all have a common goal; to work. Yes, not just to earn a paycheck to make a living, but feel rewarded, appreciated and useful.
I've had a few criticisms about being an idealist, but whatever, it's who I am. So be it. So from you Chuck, I DO take it as a compliment :)
Wed, 06/30/2010 - 14:16
#11
Over a certain age
If people over a certain age might never work again, how are we supposed to pay for our rent, electric, food etc? I'm 56, single and live alone if I don't get a job I'll be homeless. So that's it I just get cut out of the work force and left out to be homeless because of my age. That is extremely depressing.
Wed, 06/30/2010 - 14:55
#12
Maybe I should revise that
Of course you'll work again, it just might not be in the capacity of a traditional employee.
There are lots of ways to rustle up a dollar or two in this world. Think about what can do for other people. Then think about how to let them know about you and your services. Then let them know.
Do it now!
Best of luck to you. If you need specific direction, you can post a little detail about you skills and experience and I (or someone else around here) might be able to offer some ideas.
Wed, 07/07/2010 - 20:54
#13
Take it from a Peace Corps
Take it from a Peace Corps volunteer, volunteering has it's uses. It's almost never a completely selfless act and that's ok. I joined the Peace Corps right out of college because I was terrified I wouldn't be able to find a job with an International Studies degree and no real experience in the field. Of course I had many other reasons such as an extreme desire to contribute to something bigger than my little world and experience another culture...so and so forth, but the point is, it's not just for "filling the void" or "keeping busy," in Cheryl's case it might lead directly to a job. Now, I returned from abroad at the end of November and I'm still not employed. I lost count long ago of how many resumes I've sent out to organizations in Washington DC. And eventually of course I started to get really discouraged and almost outraged, I mean I'm young, I have a degree and I was a Peace Corps volunteer trying to get into anything international affairs related. There's a lot out there to get into, especially in DC. However, for me, nothing was happening. It wasn't until April that I got a break, a guy that runs a small non-profit called me for an interview because he too was a Peace Corps volunteer. You just never know when you can put something on your resume that will spark someone's interest. Volunteering in any capacity is something that might set you apart at least a little, especially if the person reviewing your application had done it too or the company has a special affinity for it...it's a connection of sorts. I didn't get that job and I was crushed, but it got me an interview with him that over 300 other applicants didn't get. That's right over 300 people applied for this one job. That's what I have been up against. I knew vaguely that there is a lot of competition for every job opening but when he told me that number I figured it out, this is going to be much harder than I ever thought. That 5 number that "they" have told us is nonsense, if that's all it was I'd have a job. It's even worse for teachers. It's now July and I haven't got even a hint of interest from any other place I applied to there and that's a lot of places. Finally by the end of May I had moved on to the next step in the application process for a study abroad company here in Arizona. My Peace Corps experience has definitely set me apart from the pack. As of this past Friday I have interviewed with this company for a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes for 2 different positions with 8 different staff members including my potential supervisor who told me I was most interesting and a lot of people like me. And he also asked me which position I would prefer...hypothetically of course. I don't think I'm the top candidate for the 1st one I went for, but I was recommended for the 2nd by the interviewers, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm at least pretty close. The waiting for a decision is painful, but I'm closer to a job than I have been in 7 months. I'm lucky that I didn't get the "so what have you been doing all this time?" question because the only answer I'd have is "job searching." I don't volunteer at the moment, I just don't want to and that's that. But I applaud you Cheryl, not just for committing your time for free, but also for the foresight to realize that doing it smartly could land you a job. If you want to work in a hospital than volunteering in one is smart. And I would just say to you as someone in their mid 20's that graduated with a Bachelor's 3 years ago, in my opinion it doesn't carry quite as much weight as it used to. Now everyone wants a Master's degree for jobs I can't believe require 2 more years of incredibly expensive education. I can't get over the b.s. that I see in some of these job descriptions for entry-level or associate positions...one of these days you're going to need a PhD in order to be a secretary. But, again, you went above and beyond and ended up with a degree, you'll get a job, it's only a matter of time, especially with your attitude. EEEK, sorry for rambling, I'm just as frustrated as you guys..exasperated is more like it.
Wed, 07/07/2010 - 21:09
#14
My mind has changed...
... about volunteering. There's nothing wrong with it in most cases.
I hope you get the job. It sounds like you're well in the running with all the interviews. Don't be too let down if it doesn't pan out, though. Sometimes when doors aren't opening it's because you're knocking on the wrong doors.
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 09:05
#15
Unemployment News - 11 States remain on Extended UE Benefits
Did you know there are 11 states that will remain on the extended benefits program now that federal funding has not yet been renewed. These 11 states boast permanent unemployment rate triggers that are not dependent upon federal funding to go into effect, and thus will continue to provide between 13 weeks and 20 weeks of additional unemployment benefits
Click the link below and see the map and find out if you are living in one of these states.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/ui_extensions.html
I absolutely agree with you Chuck! I'm 51 years old, just out of college and feel like it's useless for me looking for employment, although a part of me still remains hopeful because I refuse to sit on my butt and not try to do something...anything to get my face, my resume, my determination seen. So that's why I'm volunteering and praying this will be the stepping stone to success.
But here's what pisses me off the most. When employers list that they want an X amount of years of experience. I mean, come on here...you want job experience, but it takes a job to GET experience. I understand that there are many fields of work that take a college or trade education, that's why schools teach them. So doesn't our college diploma or degree carry enough weight to at least get hired in that field from the start? Seems not. Why? Are they too lazy to take new grads because it'll involve more time and training than the seasoned, experienced worker? What is it?
The last time I was unemployed was 30 years ago, but I had no college education and the unemployment rate was nowhere near what it is now. I couldn't complain then, what educational training and background did I have other than a H.S. diploma? None, okay, accepted. But now after a college education with specialty training with diploma and certification in hand, I feel more discouraged than all those years before. What the heck?!? It's caused me to lose faith in the whole entire system. And feeling this way is counter-productive when I know I have to be positive in order to sell myself any way I can to find a job. In other words, I feel like I have to put on a happy mask, but inside I'm angry and discouraged. It's a horrible feeling.
Now whenever I hear or read a post from a friend complaining about going to work, mildly or not, I always nicely remind them how fortunate they should be that they even have work; a J-O-B. Like you said Chuck, I'm just not getting this unemployment issue. I hear on the news all about the unemployment rate and yet I see thousands upon thousands of job listings on every search site there is out there which I'm part of. Granted, some are highly specialized fields, but many are not that specialized either. So bottom line: we have all these unemployed people looking for work and we have all these job positions waiting to be filled. What's the problem? What am I missing?
All I know is that I have the training, education and the drive, but yet they want a couple of years of experience first which is the wall I need to get over. But if this is the mentality of employers for any type of educational training position, well then somebody please tell me if they agree that it is this very mentality that helps lead to such an enormous unemployment rate. Talk about making a bad situation even worse. *Sigh*
Okay, that was my venting session. Thank you for listening.
Cheryl