Ramblings of the unemployed...

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In the same boat, and it sucks.

Years back... I had work. Was in the military, but I got tired of being treated as some gov't mule after two or three PNAs on the rating exams. (Sure there was some fun in the Navy, but much more time is spent in boring tedium or make-busy type work. I didn't expect all roses, but too much wasteful B.S. going on.) So I didn't re-enlist. If they honestly wanted to promote me from E-4 to E-5, they would have done it when the tests said I was qualified enough. I'm not sticking in just because you want to promote me when it's convenient for the command and their retention score. Screw that.

Anyhow, after leaving the military I wanted a change of pace. So I went to college to get educated and "qualified" in a field I thought I'd enjoy working in. Got a 4 year degree in 3 by continuing through the summer. Used a portion of the GI bill to cover schooling. Yet it didn't cover all (one thing or another came up), and the loans I still had to take wiped out my savings.

Still it's years after college, and what happens now when I try for any job that I "qualified" for with the degree? I hear the same B.S. over and over again. Not experienced. Not experienced. Not experienced. So how am I supposed to get any? Hello? I'd even be willing to work at minimum wage for a 3 month trial period, if they'd just let me do the kind of stuff that I learned in college. And it's not like I was a terrible student. 3.6 - 3.8 on a 4.0 scale.

As tempting as it is to do destructive things to spite those unwilling to take opportunity to actually hire somebody with talent (Hmmm... Spray gel paint remover is fairly cheap at the hardware store... Is that the H.R. person's car?... Those are evil thoughts huh?) , instead I try to do creative things on the internet. Even if it doesn't really pay off right now, well it's better than nothing. At least it may inspire others to do something positive. It keeps me distracted enough.

I hate living on another's dime (Yeah yeah, count my blessings and lucky to not be living on the street.) , when I have sufficient skill and talent to do interesting things on a computer and earn my own. I find my biggest problem is a lack of direction, so being self motivated in order to show my talent is difficult. And figuring out how to market yourself when everybody and their cousin is looking for the same jobs isn't the easiest thing.

Sure there's others that will always say take up physical labor, since there's always a need. But being honest here, my heart would never get into it. Not that it's below me, but the reward for the effort put in just isn't there. (And it's not just monetary either. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing some of the things I've been doing for free.) I almost think the people hiring for that kind of work can sense that and skip over me, knowing I'd leave at the drop of a hat provided the opportunity for something more desirable showed up.

Still I think there's been too much chasing of the bottom line that may lead to failure and ruin in the long run. Not only does it reduce quality in so many ways (This is true in both in physical products and service. I've seen where a 2¢ part instead of a 1¢ one, or one more person could make all the difference!) but also leads to a heavy and false restriction in the labor market when opportunity should be abundant.

I'm willing to agree that it's B.S. when people are kicked to the curb that really could be making corporations shine, and then the business world has the nerve to act "derp-derp" as the market bottoms and flattens out because nobody is buying anything anymore.

(It's not always because of cost and lack of money in the market for something either. Many previously good things quickly "turn into fail" when greed finds its way into the infrastructure. Who honestly wants to buy when marketing becomes lazy, management cuts support staff for a product, and the beancounters have s*** quality parts/materials used?)

[edit on 20-8-2010 by pauljs75]

You guys should read this. This is what is happening in Australia. Admittedly the article is a few years old but it is still pertinent.

www.theage.com.au...

Originally posted by Key-Minder
Where is my Job, what is my purpose?

who are you asking? we don't know you, that is what you say.

who is going to tell you your purpose? family?
who is going to tell you your purpose? friends?
who is going to tell you your purpose? strangers?
who is going to tell you your purpose? your fellow citizens?

who is going to tell us your purpose?

YOU!

this almost belongs in rant, imo.

venting, and complaining.

what are you skilled at? where is your passion? "i'll take out your garbage and mop your floors."

any boss can do that for themselves.

find your passion. do it.

_________________________________________

I wonder who will give me this money? Someone will have to give me money just like those who have money, were given the money.

you wonder who will give you money.
someone will have to give you money.

ya, that happens.

by the way, i havn't been employed for 15 months. got a roof over my head, and a computer in front of me. food on the table, and the tv works.

taxpayers pay me nearly $3,000 a month in retirement.

i'm not 40 years old yet.

thanks fellow tax payers for giving me money!

i'm so happy right now.

what's your home address? i'll give ya $5. and you don't have to take out my trash, or mop my floor.

i got a news flash for ya.

The universe is a big vacuum, and you think it sucks?

No Kidding?

keep ATS fun,
et

reply to post by Key-Minder


Ya bro this system we live in is not new, it's the same as old egypt, or rome or any middle eastern country or any old european country, and the only thing really separating the usa from china is that china has more people and more things to deal with....And no matter what they say pretty much all jobs are gotten through family members or friends....It's a pyramid......were everybody can only afford to look out for themselves and there families, and since your family does not want to help you....# is gona get hard.....because pretty much all that you see pertaining jobs is illusion....And no the fat cats in government cant healp you, it's not in there power....they can only help themselves....The truth is being a worker by way of proxy ie money...is the worse thing you can do...You set yourselves up for doom it's a disease in the long run.........Because there is a flaw in the system, that flaw is that you make yourself dependent on others who dont give two #s about you....there can be no friends in such a system, there are only pyramid's and workers, the top the middle and the bottom......The old communist russians had a saying about this, they all were not friends they were comrades..... And forget education its all just a passtime plus if you had the money and knew the right people to get the right education....why the hell would you need education then....Sure some jobs take some skills, but unless you are planning to become a video game artist or any other job thats just a passion and requires you to be at it since you were young....then the rest is pretty much just getting your foot in the door because jobs are not that hard to learn lots you can learn in a couple of weeks by just being there.......Plus your out of luck I heard they libarated some countries in the middle east, so when the current crop of workers ask for mass raises....well there are plenty of libarated new workers to take over.... rinse and repeat....Its how pyramid systems function..... The american dream is just a dream.......But fear not it has not gotten to the point like the old worlds yet, things always change, and once in a while they change for better......Plus if the # hits the fan, well then my advice to you....eat the rich they would of gotten nice and fat by then... Till then keep on
keeping on.


peace out.

I don't want to work and don't see why you would want to work, but you need money to survive in society. Of course the alternative is to go to the woods and try to be self sufficient, which I kind of like that idea personally. You would also think of what you would stand to lose if you leave society altogether and if it is worth the risk.?

Originally posted by Key-Minder


I am left bewildered knowing that I live in a country where I am told to basically sink or swim as far as employment goes, by my fellow citizens, my own family members, my own friends, my political leaders.

Hold on! You spoke to your friends, family, fellow citizens, political leaders and no one wants you? Are you not worried that they each see the same thing in you? Its YOU they do not want by the sounds of it.

I am sure there are unemployed people who have something to offer someone, somewhere. However, the skill is matching the two.

I believe that you are the problem. In every scenario you play out with friends, family citizens and politicians YOU are seeing yourself as the victim.

You need to start seeing yourself as the problem and get over your failures. Try and improve your attitude instead of walking around moaning. So your Social Insurance Number is with any number of faceless businesses. YOU placed it there. You did not do any form of job research in your area. You did not target your specific market very well. You did not show any aptitude or common sense. You simply just handed out your resume and details willy nilly. That's not job hunting that is reputation KILLING.

If you know nothing as you say of these businesses, what makes you think that they hire people with your particular skill set.?????? You did not even find out line managers names, HR directors names, the people who make decisions you know nothing of.

You have displayed no want for anything besides an easy ride. Job hunting is a job in its own rights. You need to home in on your field of play and approach each company with a fresh analysis. Then make your resume fit the job (without fudging it) but give examples of how your skill match what they could POTENTIALLY be looking for. Ever company IS hiring. If you can do the job better than someone else for cheaper and add to their revenue stream you WILL be hired.

You need to start from scratch. Forget what people say and start adapting to the way companies sift for people. Don't play it as a numbers game for Christ sake, take it seriously and do your research. Unless you are a minimum wage type person with little to offer then by all means flood the fast food joints and bars with your CV.

Looking for a job myself right now.

I've had a number of interviews recently and just had a second interview at a good company today. It may pan out.

Sounds good right? Well it is but only because the jobs I do are hazardous and difficult.

They involve lots of travel, long hours and little time at home. I know I will find work because I'm doing a job others don't want and many can't do because they wouldn't stick with it long enough to learn.

In this economic enviroment, having a "bad" job is a good thing.

Go find one if you can. They have them in far away lands, dangerous places and dirty disgusting locations.

All of the good (clean, comfortable, secure) jobs have been snapped up.

Got to get down to the nitty gritty. If you really want to work......there is something out there.

Go around breaking windows everywhere, then apply for a job in a window replacement company. Done and done.

Finding a job is difficult. I myself have just ended a long stretch of unemployment and here’s my story. I recently graduated last year and was unemployed for 8 months (yes, I took time off to enjoy the NFL playoffs to the fullest during Jan as I though a four week break couldn’t hurt) and have recently found a job in Venture Capital. It’s a 12 month contract but if the economy picks up or I show them how valuable I can be, they will find a way to keep me on. After all, if Mike Vick can play himself back into a starting role after doing the despicable thing that he did then why can’t I? During my time I have sent out no less than 150 resumes to multiple industries. I went on 20 in person interviews (both first, second, and sometimes third) as well as 10 phone interviews. Is it depressing hearing a lot of no’s, yes of course it is but you can’t be discouraged you have to stay positive no matter how bleak it may look, yes as other posters have said, attitude does matter. It’s hard, but you have to stay mentally tough.

One of the key things in any job search is to know your target industry. Is it a growth industry or is the industry dying? If it’s dying why are you still in the industry and not looking for another? What does this industry value and how do I obtain it? Once target industry is identified you have to make yourself valuable to the companies in that industry, that is, you have to make yourself standout from the crowd. What makes you different?

I want to work in finance and as I said I was lucky to find a job in Venture Capital. In 2008, seeing the market crashing and my chosen industry crashing and burning, I realized I needed something else to help me in my job search as other than internships (they add up to a year of work experience) I have no experience and I am competing not only with my fellow classmates but those who have 1-4 years of experience, I am even competing with you, yes you who are reading this in whatever country or part of the nation you are in, if you’re in the financial industry. Capital and jobs are mobile, always have been and always will be. So how was I to compete?

To make myself standout from the crowd a little bit, in addition to my degree, I took numerous professional certificates that apply directly and indirectly to my industry while I was still in my end of 3rd/4th year back in late 2008/2009. What do I have: I have a business degree majoring in finance from a good school, nothing special your average post secondary school, series 6, 7, 26, and 63, I have some Canadian financial certificates as well (CSC, Legal Aspects of Commercial Financial services, because well, they are a large trading partner and we are living in a global world so having knowledge of another market is always good to have because there could be Canadian companies in need of capital).

All that to be competitive for entry level employment. In some cases I was competitive primarily because of the extras that I have and in other cases I was not competitive at all. Yes, the whole inexperienced thing was brought up a lot but I also was told more than a couple times while being told no, that having those extra certificates was primarily why I was short listed for at least either a first or phone interview even though the companies were short listing candidates with more experience.

One other thing to add, you see a lot on the news that the talking heads have said go out and get a degree. But the big thing is, is not all degrees are equal. Industry values some more than others. As an example, I have two older brothers both with degrees as well. One has an engineering degree majoring in Petroleum and Natural Resources. He’s employed and has great job security. The other, he has a fine arts degree majoring in history which to be honest does not qualify him for a lot. As you probably guessed, he is a teacher, for how much longer we’ll see as there are threats of cut backs and his job could be one of them and that is a worry because he doesn’t have much that makes him valuable to the private sector nor much in the public sector. So yes, if/when he loses his job he’s going to have a very tough time. He’s already thinking of teaching English in Asia.

Yes I understand post secondary education isn’t for everyone but it is absolutely critical to have something that sets you apart from the crowd, it could be a trade, but then you may think of obtaining multiple trades. No matter the field, there is something you can do that will help. You have to ask yourself, would you hire yourself and why? Then as a follow up to that question you have to ask how many other people possess what I possess? If the answer is a lot then, well you will have a difficult time, it sucks, and it’s not fair. In the end, keep your head up, be persistent and always be thinking of how you can improve your skill set in whatever your chosen industry is.

The "people are just lazy" argument is stupid in the extreme.
This little graph shows the UK unemployment rate in the last 2 years
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e08f7f417dfc.gif[/atsimg]

If were going to believe the "you can find a job if you want to" thing then we have to now believe that somehow 3% of the entire country just suddenly stopped being bothered about having a job in the last 2 years. Does anyone really think that is plausible?

From my own experience, going to college is absolutely no guarantee of finding employment. When I was 20 I sent myself to university, I was the first person in my family to ever have any form of higher education, while at Uni I did mind numbingly boring work to support myself (literally hand writing address labels on thousands of envelopes a night) and managed to graduate with a double first class honours degree in software engineering.

My first job upon leaving university was working for an IT company, they would only ever give me short term contracts (3 months at a time) so that they didn't have to offer me any paid holiday or employee rights of any sort, then one day the contracts suddenly stopped coming.

So I was now looking for work, I started applying in the normal way, and would get no replies, no phone calls or if I did get a reply it was "we are not hiring at the moment", time passed and now I found myself with a new problem, I had now been unemployed for some months and my chances of actually getting a job became worse with each passing day. Employers look at your CV and think, wow what the hell has this guy been doing for the last 3 months, he must be some kind of bum.

Eventually I got bored of this situation and I am now self employed but despite teaching myself MANY different skills I still find it really hard to keep my head above water, planning for the future and saving money are an impossibility as I can barely pay the rent most of the time.
I spend more or less all day on this pc either looking for clients or Coding / writing flash / web sites / magazine articles / editing film or when it gets too much, posting on this forum and at the end of the week I'm just as broke as at the start.

Originally posted by Incubus2
I love it when people say, just go get a job, as if there are any jobs available. Even those with decades of experience can't find work. People use their working status to put down those who just can't find work. Ask such people for help with a resume or interview skills, and they have nothing to offer. Why? Because they don't want to help. They just want to put someone down. It's a cheap shot. What they won't admit is that the job they hold is a job that someone else could hold.

Yes and the word "work" or "job" contain some almighty power! To the point where folks will say things like "you are to proud to take a menial job" as if taking one in itself has some redeeming factor. You may have even heard someone say that working itself or work itself is more important than the pay, but would probably laugh if they saw you picking up cans on the side of the road.

And really only a small % of our "labor force" in the US do actual labor day in and day out. Lots have jobs but not all work. You know what I mean. My point here is that many will talk about work as if job is the same a labor but it is sad that hard labor work is paying not much more these days than many easy jobs. One may have no other option buy why dig ditches for the same as sweeping floors. And as we have all seen there are many that talk about the work/labor ethic that havent broke a sweat in years. And lets face it there really is little respect for the hard laboring person these days in pay, status you name it.

Originally posted by davespanners
The "people are just lazy" argument is stupid in the extreme.

So I was now looking for work, I started applying in the normal way, and would get no replies, no phone calls or if I did get a reply it was "we are not hiring at the moment", time passed and now I found myself with a new problem, I had now been unemployed for some months and my chances of actually getting a job became worse with each passing day. Employers look at your CV and think, wow what the hell has this guy been doing for the last 3 months, he must be some kind of bum.

We had a professor in college that warned us that if we had to fall back on a regular job someday dont mention that you have any college! Its so true in a lot of places. I even worked in a field that is full of non-schooled types and woe be to the person that has formal training in the thing! And once having worked for the top company in that field you had to really watch bringing that fact up if you tried to get on with another company in that field. They may not hire you. They dont need a "know it all" from XYZ coming in there trained in all the right ways of doing things.

reply to post by davespanners


I just love the way higher education turns out students every year in fields knowing 90% of them will never get a job in that field. You know, now that they are 50+ in the hole! What a racket. If we didnt blindly worship education like we do in this country we could all see clear to call this a SCAM!

People have to remember all the high dollar widget making jobs went away. You hated the unions well they are pretty much gone you loved Regan well now you have the long term results of your wishes

reply to post by Logarock


I've also been told to lie about the level of degree I got saying it was a 2nd or a third instead of a double first because I would come across as "too academic"
I think at least some of the classes in higher education should centre around how you are actually going to get a job in that field after you leave.

Originally posted by Dr. Strange
Want a guaranteed job? 20/20 companies. Have an office in almost every state.

Door to door sales. No experience required. Commission bases sales job.

Pass a drug test and background check and your hired.

Like I said work is out there. You just gotta look for it.

Wow, this shows how truly out of touch you are with reality.

Door to door magazine sales is possibly one of the most poorly run and abusive industries to work in. That's why, if you ever notice the ads these tricksters put up, it's always for "kids 14-25!!!! travel the
US!!!". I see this stuff all the time, they lure young teenagers or young adults into a job with the implication that it's glamorous, and the result is usually 5-10 kids sleeping in one hotel room, massive amounts of drugs, underage drinking and sex (for the managers with the kids of course), and working 10-12 hour days where your pay is withheld to pay for "room and meal charges". Usually kids who work all day will get paid around 20 dollars per week, with the idea that there remaining balance will be "deposited into an account", when they actually will never see it, goes right into management's pockets.

Here's some links:
Magazine Sales Crews
Washington Post

If you do a Google search you'll find more.

you need to get in touch with reality before you start making more, to put it bluntly, dumb suggestions for people.

As for the OP, stay strong. You will find work if you keep going. It will take time, especially in this day and age. Don't let the bleating of neo-conservatives who somehow think that everyone is living high on the hog with less than minimum wage every week for an unemployment check. You don't have to prove anything to these fools who have no link with reality besides the imaginary one in their pea-sized brain.

reply to post by mikellmikell


I love the insessant union bashing that goes on here too.
i
If it weren't for unions, we'd still have 12 year olds working for 25 cents a day mining coal, or working in terrible conditions, because, oh yea, unions were the driving force behind mandated working conditions in factories.

Unions can also grab responsibility for the 40 hour work week, weekends, holidays off, child labor laws, worker harrasment protections, etc.

That's why I love to see some bozo who works for some BS home finance company come on here bleating about how terrible unions are--then on some other thread b*tching about how he or she worked 45 hours this week because their place was "so busy! they're treating me like a slave".

reply to post by zcflint05


You obviously have no idea how unions operate in America. You just have to read about teacher unions or auto industry unions.

Also, businesses move their production base abroad precisely because the costs of production is too expensive and people want to buy more goods for less money. So it's a double sword. Do you want less unemployed people or less salary? Can't have both.

I was recently trying to apply to a job with a large company. Their website said there would be an hour and a half long assessment test before I could apply, I sighed and clicked continue. I filled out a few pages, which was mostly all my personal information. I then got to a page that asked me for my Race and what language I spoke. I clicked "White" and "English" then Continue.

The whole test shut down and it told me to reapply in 6 months.

How is this not discrimination? I don't think they should even be allowed to ask about your race on a job application, why should it matter??