Down But Not Out

In December 2008 I, along with almost my entire department, was laid off.

At the time I was assistant publications dditor for the Star-Gazette, a daily newspaper and the first Gannett newspaper, located in Elmira, N.Y. I had worked for the daily newspaper for almost eight years, starting as a news assistant and advancing to an assistant editor and reporter.

Throughout my time at the Star-Gazette I watched our newsroom grow smaller and smaller due to layoffs and buyouts while those of us left behind were asked to “do more with less.” It was stressful, sad and disconcerting to watch talented professionals lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

By the time a notice went out asking for those willing to take a buyout in late 2008, I was ready to go. I had co-workers who needed the job and the insurance more than I, a single, healthy, hardworking individual, did. However, when they made their cuts, my entire department was laid off except for the editor of my entire department.

I received unemployment benefits for approximately two years minus a brief stint working for the Census as a field enumerator from April to June 2010.

I knew that I would probably not be able to find a newspaper job, and didn’t really want to stay in that field, but felt that I had enough general office experience and additional writing skills to find an office job or, with my advanced media skills, a job in public relations and marketing.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any job opportunities in those career fields where I lived.

During the time that I was in Elmira, NY looking for work, I organized and executed a series of fundraisers for the local animal shelter, handling every aspect of the event planning. I also began writing an online column (blog) for a local TV news station. It was an unpaid job, but I thought it would keep my skills current and show potential employers that I was still active.

In June of 2010, I moved with my sister and her son to Austin, TX after hearing news stories about the positive job outlook in the area. Unfortunately, most of the professional jobs in Austin are tech-based jobs, which I have limited experience with. Since moving to Austin, TX, I have applied for a wide variety of jobs from general office and clerical work to retail, and customer service work.

I am currently working on getting a license needed to sell alcohol (required by Texas law), and then I will start applying for bartending jobs.

It is disheartening that while businesses have rebounded from the recession, they are not willing to hire eager, hardworking people.

It is also disheartening to constantly hear the unemployed being vilified by some who have two and three jobs to support their families. The unemployed are being called lazy and shiftless when there are no enough good-paying jobs.

It would be difficult for me to take a minimum wage job that would not pay for basic bills (food, shelter, gas/public transportation), and the debts I’ve accrued since being unemployed. However, I have lowered my standards considerably. At the time I lost my job I was making $16.41/hr. Now, I’m looking for jobs $8-$10/hour jobs, so I am willing to sacrifice in order to get my foot in the door.

Finally, I haven’t received any feedback that suggests this, but I feel that, in addition to an abundance of competition for these jobs, many businesses do background credit checks on prospective employees. Obviously, if folks have been unemployed for an extended period of time, their credit will most likely be bad. How is one supposed to work on improving their credit if they aren’t given the opportunity and employers count bad credit against applicants?

I am still looking for work, approximately 3 to 4 times a week.

I live with my sister and her son, and she supports me (she is a nurse).

Catherine W., via email

In two days I will have been jobless for 2 years. This is a milestone I am not proud of. I am 27, received my undergrad degree and currently working on my master’s degree. I worked for a non-profit organization that got into some trouble. Top management assured us we would keep our jobs—only for them to get sacked right after that.
Interim management then felt a need to re-interview the entire staff, asked them what they did on a daily basis and let go those they deemed useless to the organiation. If you assisted anybody whether in finance, research or clerical and were not paid from a grant from the university your luck was out—which is what happened to me.
The hardest thing about being unemployed is knowing how good of an employee you are and no employers seem to notice it. No matter how many times I re-do my resume, coverletter, have mock-interviews, nothing works out.
My unemployment money has run out and contrary to the belief of Republicans, I did not sit on my butt all day everyday basking in receiving money I did not work for. I applied for several jobs daily, walked in stores asking if they were hiring … I was not a lazy unemployed person. With me being out of work for two years I fear becoming undesirable—even in my young age. I even feel the need to “dumb down” my education in order to not be over-qualified.
I have managed to volunteer since being unemployed to gain experience in the field I studied in undergrad since I have not been able to obtain a paying job that will do the same for me. This has helped fill in the employment gap for me I guess. I cannot say if employers have been wary … they might be since I’am still unemployed.
There is definetely more competition. Not only are the unemployed seeking jobs but people who are employed are seeking better jobs. We also have to deal with the people “who know people”. It seems that if you don’t know anyone you wo’t get the job either.How can you make it easier for the unemployed to find work? I don’t think that is possible—not right now anyway. I have become discouraged yet I still search for jobs, maybe not as hardcore as I once did. I don’t know what else to do. The future for the educated is not as bright as it was promised to be.
Rosalyn B., via email

My story won’t be any different from the article and stories I read on your website but it is good to know I am not alone. Everything people wrote about feeling horrible about themselves and not sleeping, not going out, not having money for food is true of me! I have a BS in Education and taught in the public school systems in Texas and Florida for over 15 years. I was on an annual contract in ‘08 in Florida when I was told my position was eliminated. I did apply for unemployment but thought that the proper thing to do was get another job immediately. I found a temp job and lost my unemployment. I also lost that job after working one month. Of course, I was no longer eligible for unemployment.

I found other odd jobs but was forced to sale my house on a short-sale. I attempted suicide when I had no money, no gas for my car, no job, no food, and my electric and water had been shut off. Only by some fluke of nature or whatever you want to call it did I survive. But survive is all I have been doing ever since. Odd jobs and graciousness from my mom keep me going but I have no quality of life. I live in hell on earth each and everyday.

I’m not stupid but I sure have been made to feel that way. I have filled out 100s of online applications and sent my resume as well and haven’t even received so much as an email from any of the places I have applied. It now seems like filling out online applications is someone’s idea of a cruel joke. They seem pointless. If I physically go into a place to inquire about jobs, the management always tells me to fill out the online application and then I never hear back.

At this point, I live with my boyfriend because it is a roof over my head. My mother sends me money each month that helps me pay bills and have food. I have no car, no other means of money coming in, no TV, and basically no life. I have no self-esteem and no motivation. Everything seems pointless to me. I go nowhere because I have no transportation and no money. I have been to other parts of the world during better parts of my life, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Barbados, and people in those countries seem to have a better life than I do. Sometimes it seems unreal that I am an American!

At 46, I never dreamed my life would ever be like this.

Linda L., via email

I have been out of work only since May but this isn’t the first go around for me. I was out of work for a year prior to my last position at a hospital. I worked there for a year.

My initial boss was very happy with me and my review reflected that. Then she was demoted and her replacement then got rid of me. So there goes another job for me. I try to stay positive but let’s face it, “luck” is not my middle name.

Kathleen S., via email

I had known layoffs were coming at Johnson & Johnson for months, but they were slow to move.  I had put my life on hold since April of 2008, waiting to hear if my Technical Analyst job of nearly 9 years would be eliminated.

Early January 2009, I learned it would be. They needed me to finish a long-term project, so I would be kept on until September 2009, which would have given me time to build my resume, brush up my contacts, etc, except that in early March, at age 35, I suffered a stroke. I worked very hard to rehabilitate as quickly as possible, and returned 6 months later, the project, and pretty much any assignment, gone.

With only 2 or so weeks left with the company, nobody wanted to give me work, and hardly anyone even spoke to me. My department director didn’t send so much as an email to see how I was doing, and I was let go as scheduled in October 2009.

As of today, I am still looking for work.  An old friend has thrown some part-time work at my old job as a stagehand my way, but it is not enough, and the physical nature of the job is killer, as I still suffer the after effects of the stroke.

Two years later, I have had two or three interviews out of over 400 job applications I have submitted, and maybe 8 or 9 of those have bothered to even send me a rejection. I still try because I have to. My COBRA benefits ran out this year, and the medical benefits my wife and I now have are not very good. 

I never thought I would wish so strongly for a desk job, but the pain remaining from the stroke is tremendous, and my body is not getting enough of a chance to heal. Our families have been great, but we don’t want to lose our home, or have to take anything else from anyone. We just want what we had three years ago.

Jim F., via email

I was jobless for two years, from December 2008 to December 2010. I knew my number was up because in my job I was assigned 2 accounts (customers) and both of them went away. My company had been on a several year run of RIFs [reductions in force] and we all knew there was another one imminent. It was not a good time to lose customers, with managers walking the halls looking for people to lay off. I suppose there was karma at work—while in management positions within this same company I had to lay off half-a-dozen people myself.

For me the hardest part of the layoff was the loss of self-esteem. Most of us define ourselves (mistakenly!) by what we do. You go to a party and meet someone, and what’s the first thing they ask?  “So, what do you do for a living?”  Saying I’m an unemployed IT manager sure sucks the life out of a conversation!! 

As you lose self-esteem you lose your ambition. Like others have reported, over time I experienced the change in sleep habits. Imagine lying in bed in the morning and saying to yourself, “What’s the point of getting up today? I won’t be any more successful with my job search today than yesterday.” It was very hard to not be discouraged to the point of giving up, and I felt that way a lot. But I kept at it. People who are close to me comment on my perseverance and persistence, and were especially impressed with my resilience in the face of so much rejection.

I kept abreast of all the current thinking on resumes and job searches, and edited my resume to take out all hints of age (I was 54-56 during my job search). Though my resume talked about a lot of varied experience, it had no dates other than my last 10 years of employment. That created a funny situation—I’m in the lobby of a major cell phone manufacturer, waiting for the hiring manager to come retrieve me for an interview. She came out, I was the only one in the lobby. I have a bit (okay, a lot) of gray hair. I look my age. She expected someone in his 30’s, I guess. She tentatively called out my name and when I stood up, she was literally dumbfounded and speechless. To her credit she did at least continue on with the interview, and the rejection came via email weeks later. And that was when I started coloring my hair.

In phone interviews I was asked quite often what I’d done during my time off. Many people seemed to be sympathetic because the IT industry is notorious for layoffs. I was being interviewed by a 4-person panel on the phone once and when I had to explain the resume gap, one of the interviewers did a quick poll and everyone on the call had been laid off before. Several interviewers wanted to know if I had used some of my time to improve myself. It did help that I could tell these people I studied for and gained ITIL certification. I often mentioned that I’d become an adult literacy tutor, showing that while I was in a jobless state I was at least trying to give back. Yet one interviewer said something like “well, that’s great, but did that help you keep technically current?”

I was very fortunate that having anticipated the layoff my wife and I could prepare financially. We put our large house on the market and during my layoff period sold it and moved into a smaller rental. We completely eliminated any debt, and of course, we had my wife’s salary.  My job loss reduced our household income by 70 percent, but the unemployment benefits and the lack of debt helped.  We still had to hit savings some, but much less than we would have otherwise. Due to my filing date and some eligibility gaps, I did not get the full 99 weeks—maybe more like about 90. But what a huge help that money was!

I truly felt that there was age discrimination at work, but it was insidious, not obvious.  As my jobless period got longer and longer, I was beginning to see that unemployed bias, as if employers were saying “You’ve not found a job in 18 months?  You must not be worth hiring…”.  That was never stated, just always below the surface.

Ultimately I did get a job in December of 2010. It pays less than my last job, but fortunately only about 10% less. It’s not a bad job, but it’s a hugely stressful job and my manager is really a big jerk. I don’t plan to work at this new company forever, and I believe having a job makes finding a new job easier. Age will still be a concern for me, though.

In terms of practical advice and tips, what you hear is true—networking is the way. I so hoped I’d find a job on Indeed.com (my favorite employment site) and be able to say “I don’t need no stinkin’ network” but it was my connections that got those initial doors opened.  And I’m using those same network contacts to develop my next opportunity.

I kept a job pursuit log, that was half statement of fact (company name/location, job title, where I learned about job, status) and half diary.  I believe it wound up being a 70 page Word doc.

Finally, I tell my still-unemployed friends not to give up, and be willing to think and act outside the box.  My wife and I moved from Florida to the Pacific Northwest for my job—we spent $10K out of pocket to do the move.  Who would ever have thought we’d wind up in the opposite corner of the country?  But I’m convinced this job will give me another opportunity to get back closer to where I want to be.

David M., via email

Back in June, The Lookout put out the call for readers who had been unemployed for six months or longer to write in with their stories. We received over a thousand emails and around 5,000 comments. Zack’s got a write up of the picture we got of the long-term unemployment crisis after going through 6,000 submissions, and we built out this Tumblr to house 50 of the most vivid stories.

Here are a couple of stories that have really stuck with us:

‘You’re thinking, what did the successful candidate have that I didn’t have?’

‘Somehow, week after week, our kids stayed fed and relatively happy’

‘It’s hard to be poor for a short term, but long term, it is heartbreaking’

In any case, please take a look and let us know what you think.

—Zack & Phoebe

What can I say, I lost my job after uprooting the family and moving to Arizona from Washington, D.C. for a chance to buy an affordable home and set roots with the family. I was 37. I had never been out of work since I faked a copy of my birth certificate at 14 to get a job at McDonalds; they paid a dollar more an hour. With a 4 y.o., 18 month old and a 6 month old, my company fired me. New management had come in directly after I accepted the position. They proceeded to railroad all legacy sales persons. I had been a Telecommunications Technician for 15 years and was doing well with the transition from tech side to sales side. Desperate, I had used all our savings to move and tried diligently to find a job for 3 months, with a few interviews for high paying jobs. Arizona did provide unemployment insurance, 240 a week. My wife took a part time job at Target. We barely made it.

I could not just take a “job offered.” It had to be above 40k a year due to day care costs for the children. We applied for assistance and received it. I do believe that being 37 was a factor in being passed over for jobs; technology is a young man’s game. Potential employers thought I may be rusty with my skills. I was very afraid. We finally said enough and started our own business, in my wife’s name of course, as we are relying on the unemployment to help us until the business really takes off. The reality is, there are few jobs out there for a lot of guys in my boat. Trained to an expert level, but no one can afford to hire me as their company is struggling to stay afloat, a 70k a year phone guy is a luxury. So, here we are with 1 month of benefits left and receivables steadily gaining ground. 

If you cannot get a job, make one I guess. In the last year, in order; we’ve moved for a “better life” across country, had a child (when we conceived all was good), lost job, had car repo’d, borrowed money from family to get wheels, went on public assistance, cried a river over my manly short comings, was inspired by my wife and am now an entrepreneur. Scary how quick life changes. 

Dan H., via email

I am an unemployed Iraq war veteran that hasn’t had steady work since I was Honorably discharged at the end of 2009. I have a BS in International Relations, an active security clearance, and I speak four languages. I am currently enrolled in an MBA program in hopes of bettering myself, and my situation, but being a college student doesn’t pay the bills, and I have been looking for full time employment for nearly 2 years.

I have led men in combat, but my last job was a temporary cashier position in the women’s department at Nordstrom’s—I led the team in sales, but they still didn’t keep me after the holidays. My concentration is in Finance, but I am looking for jobs in virtually any field. I don’t get many interviews, but when I do, I get a lot of handshakes and a “Thank you for your service, but you’re not what we’re looking for.”

Sometimes I am told that I am overqualified for their “entry level” job, but because I have no “entry level” experience, I am unqualified for anything higher. I am in the interview process for a logistical firm at the moment, and that may be looking good, but the process has already taken two months, and that is a long time to be waiting on a yes or a no. I have defeated an enemy in battle and then rebuilt their country. I know I have the skills to succeed in business, if only I could be given a chance.

Marshall, via comments

I assume we would begin at the end. “Terminated” suddenly on a Friday afternoon by the new owner of an auto repair business I had successfully run for over 7 years, Sept. 10, 2010.
 Prior to that enjoyed a career as a retail sales and facility manager for the Winston Tire Co. from Jan. of 1988 thru Dec. 2002 after 23 plus years as a supermarket manager back in my home state of Michigan. WOW! Jobless after over 47 years of continuous employment which of course included paying into unemployment funds, social security, etc … Two functions required my immediate attention, filing early for social security AND unemployment.

As to job search, certainly I “made the rounds” of all my contacts and aquaintences within our industry locally. Lots of good talk and ideas exchanged, but, painfully obvious they were looking for the younger “shake ‘n bake” folks at substantially less money. Ah! Age discrimination alive and well. Don’t blame or condem them, far too many years in their shoes.

Over the past 9 plus months have filled out well over a hundred online employment applications as well as attending what can only be termed as the occasional “cattle call” where a company drags in numerous applicants for physco babble type interviews aka “tell me why you are the best candidate here today”. Gone with the wind are the days of an actual job opening being interviewed for by honest and ethical folks with a respectful personnel department representative.

Loyalty? Dependability? Integrity? Work ethic? Forget it! Those are qualities considered old-fashioned and out-dated by today’s movers and shakers. 
But alas … all is not lost. And we’ll keep searching as long as the good Lord strengthens me to do so. God has blessed wife and I for well over 43 years now, we know He’ll continue to care for us until it is time to go home.
 B of A is threatening to take our house of 22 years, having denied a home loan modification application back in March (just like they have to millions across our once great land). We’ll see how that shakes out before Christmas, I’m quite sure.

Thomas, via comments

I left my job last fall to assist in the care of (and spend quality time with) my ill father, who lives out of state. I’ve been working in my field for 16 years, climbed the ladder and was at the top of my profession. I thought I would easily find new employment. Boy was I wrong! I’ve now been unemployed for 9 months. I send several resumes daily, responding to all jobs posted on any and all career sites, mail resumes to facilities, follow up calls, etc … I’ve even applied for minimum wage jobs with Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, etc … I am always shocked to receive ‘thanks but no thanks’ for these minimum wage jobs, saying I am not qualified. WTF? What qualifications do the kids out of high school have?

For jobs in my field; I get to phase two of the interview process, but feel once I submit my birthday or graduation date, I’m invisible. I’m 51 and unmarketable. 
I don’t regret spending quality time with my Dad, just leaving my job to do it. It’s amazing how just a few years ago I could pick who I wanted to work for, and name my price … now I can’t even get a minimum wage job. What happened? 
Unemployment isn’t enough to keep your head above water. I’m renting a room … when unemployment is out, what next?

Donna, via comments

I was laid off 3 years ago when the processing plant I worked at shut down. In my area to apply for a decent (has benefits and pays a hair more than minimum wage) job one must stand in line sometimes as long as 8 hours, sometimes for more than one day. I applied at one place that literally handed out raffle tickets and the winning 100 tickets were the only ones that got to apply. Of course my number wasn’t one of them.

M.O., via comments

My family is eating stir fried dandelions out of yards to keep from starving. I am college educated and cannot pay rent. I have not had a penny income so far this year. We were turned down for food stamps. We are natural born US citizens.

M.C., via comments

I live in southern California, and worked in the electrical distribution industry for over 25 years. I lost my job in August of 2008 when the housing bubble and 2nd great depression was hitting hard. The branch I worked in closed since the industry relies heavily on new construction. All of the distributors cut salaries and laid off workers, and still operate with fewer, lower paid people.

I am 58 years old, and lowered my expectations for pay from $20+ per hour to $15 to $12 and now to minimum wage. I have applied for positions at Walmart, Target, Costco, Lowes. etc. I have yet to get one interview. My unemployment benefits are about to expire. My wife works part time, and we have three children, one who is severely autistic. I have plenty of references, however, it appears my age, the length of unemployment and no credit makes me unemployable.

What do I do from here? I wish I knew. Things have been difficult, but are about to get much worse.

I can’t give up looking for work, but it does feel rather pointless. We will have to rely on whatever government programs are available; food stamps, etc. These are very scary times, and I don’t place the blame on any President or political party, although I don’t have confidence in any politician. It all started with banks providing home loans to people who couldn’t afford them, and spiraled from there. Sometimes I wish I would have bought a house as well, since the government seems to care about these “homeowners” more than those of us making do with what we could afford.

Jerry, via comments

After 18 years at my company, my job was outsourced along with about 50 others. There is NO work in Dayton Ohio and I was unemployed about 10 months. I started looking for work out of state and found a 6 month contract in South Carolina. When that contract ended, I was unemployed another month and then found work in Indiana on another contract.

At 62, I did not want my career to end this way. I am the new migrant worker. I get home to see my family when I can. I have about 1/3 less salary and no benefits but I can pay my way. Hard work and dedication to a company does not pay off any more, only woking for a low wage will keep you employed.

W.M., via comments

I had been working for Huntington Learning Center from April 2007 to May 2009 when they had finally decided to let me go due to the economic downturn. Once the Great Recession hit in 2007, more and more people had been forgoing tutoring for the children. Some parents even trying to do it themselves at home. I never saw being let go coming. I simply showed up less and less on the work schedule. Then, after 2 weeks of not appearing at all, I received a voice mail via my cell phone that informed me they were actually letting me go. (Whatever happened to telling someone to their face?) Since I drove the longest (17 miles, a half hour) to work, they decided to spare me the continued drive of little to no work. (I thought their decision to let me go was weird because they, at the same time, brought 2 new people aboard.)
 
After they let me go, I went on unemployment. My UI benefits ran out a year ago (June 2010).
 
I’ve tried shifting gears by taking some ECE (early childhood education) courses at my local CC (community college) and joining NAEYC (National Association For The Education of Young Children). However, I found daycare/childcare to be a lot like tutoring. Once the Great Recession hit, parents began sending their kids part-time instead of full-time and parents who sent their kids part-time took them out altogether only to do it themselves or ask a friend or family member to do it.  
 
I then switched over to using my past lab experience  from the biology and chemistry prep labs at the CC when I worked for Sharon. Despite the fact the fact it was well in my past, I felt I could still capitalize on it and get hired doing something simple like cleaning glassware or processing specimens, but I’m finding out that’s not really the case. Tried approaching several staffing agencies and have had zero luck. Many of them told me, “Oh yeah, we see these kinda of jobs come across our desk all the time.” Guess I’m hitting them up at the wrong time because they’re sure not coming across their desks now, when I MOST need a job.
 
Being out of work like this for so long has consequences. I have bills to pay like everyone else: monthly car payment, car insurance, credit card consolidation, cell phone. I’ve actually had to have my mom help support me and pay my bills for me, which has been extremely hard on her, as she has her own bills to pay. Juggling my bills and her bills isn’t easy yet we do it so I don’t go into financial ruin, which would then make it absolutely impossible for me to find a job.
 
I think being out of work for long periods of time is definitely detrimental. I have been asked by employers what I was doing “in that period of time.” They then follow that with “Anything, anything at all?” It’s like some people just can’t or won’t comprehend the extreme scope of things. They want to act like everything is alright for some odd reason.
 
UI benefits were extremely helpful in keeping me afloat. Unfortunately, after a year, I exhausted them. Since then, I was able to find work at a daycare/childcare center, but after a month, for reasons unknown, she let  me go. Fast forward a few months. I picked up a specimen processing job at a local diagnostics company and they too, after about a month let me go (apparently I wasn’t fast enough for the guy and he was expecting 30,000+ specimens in the weeks ahead and couldn’t have someone around who processed a card at a minute or two a card.) I’ve tried to get back on UI benefits, but every time I fill the online application out and hit submit, it tells me I exhausted my benefits. Been off a year now, let go twice, and I can’t reply. Not fair. Not right.
 
Competition is definitely up. I couldn’t even get hired at Wal-Mart if I wanted to. Word has it they average 10 applications for every position that comes open. So they can afford to be picky. I’ve noticed the same thing in daycare/childcare too. There must be an average of 10-13 people applying for every job that comes open. Normally, it’s quite easy to get into daycare/childcare. Ten, 15 years ago, I never would’ve had the difficulty I’m having now even for simple lab positions. Much easier to fill back in the day. Doesn’t matter if it’s minimum wage or low paying, people want to work just to work and pay their bills.
 
As I said, been employed on and off since my UI benefits were exhausted. There are times I really do want to just up and give up altogether. All the rejection and what not, it’s disheartening. And after being let go twice, I feel like I’m not meant to do anything.
 
People need to understand that hiring an unemployed person isn’t a bad thing. It doesn’t mean they’re any less capable of doing the job and many people, like myself, are unemployed not because they chose to be unemployed. We do get jobs with the intent of keeping them, but for whatever reason(s) employers let us go. It’s totally out of our hands and control.
 
One thing that can help is if the Federal Government, my mom’s employer, were to start filling Civil Service jobs with more and more civilians now that they’re axing the contractors and going back to Civil Service workers. They hire mostly vets and spouses and many of the jobs (GS-3, GS-4, GS-5, and GS-6 level jobs) vets and spouses get never even come open to the general public. They simply fill them with vets and spouses because they’re a vet or spouse. In many cases, they don’t even have to prove KSA (knowledge, skills, and abilities) in order to get the job yet someone like myself does. Where’s the fairness to that? If the Federal Government began hiring more civilians, they really could help get things back on track employment wise for EVERYONE, not just vets. Why be so greedy? I agree with my mom, share the wealth.
 
I can see vets getting hired, as Civil Service was initially created for them, but military spouses? I realize it’s hard for them to find work because they move around a lot, but at the same time they chose that lifestyle and knew what they were potentially getting into. So, in many ways, I don’t feel sorry for them. What really ticks me off when it comes to spouse preference is the fact officer spouses sometime work, when, in retrospect, they don’t have to because their spouse makes more than enough money being an officer. My mom once worked with a guy who’s wife was an officer. He didn’t care about the job at all, was lazy. Had a bad work ethic. He didn’t care to work because he knew his wife brought home more than enough money so he didn’t have to work yet he was taking up a good job I or someone else, who desperately needed work, could’ve had. People like him really piss me off.

Elizabeth M., via comments

I am about at the end of my unemployment benefits.  My husband is only employed part time, so I really need my unemployment benefits for us to stay afloat.  But, with both of us having some pretty severe health issues (I am diabetic, he has a seizure disorder) we need to have health insurance.  Right now we are under COBRA insurance, which costs us $527 a month, for just him and me.  Our children, thankfully, are covered under Title 19 insurance, through the state.

I had to struggle to keep my unemployment benefits. After I was fired, I went home and applied for unemployment, and started looking for jobs that night.  A few weeks later, I received a letter from the Department of Labor, stating my former employers had appealed my eligibility for unemployment. They claimed misconduct on my part. I was angry and disappointed in my former employers, who bill themselves as a “Christian” company; this company has a reputation for appealing its workers’ unemployment claims, and also has a reputation for winning the appeals. I didn’t know how my family and I were going to survive if I did not get unemployment. I was frightened, because I thought I would be facing a sharp-tongued attorney at the hearing. So, I began researching the unemployment statutes in South Dakota. I spoke to people at the Department of Labor and Unemployment.  I tried to make contact with the State’s Attorney, and tried to get other legal advice, in order to prepare myself for the upcoming Appeals Hearing. DOL and Unemployment were probably the best sources of help. The State’s Attorney told me they do not handle unemployment issues, and, even being on unemployment and having an under-employed husband, I still did not qualify for help through Legal Aid.  I was on my own.

When the hearing took place, I had my notes laid out in front of me. I also took notes from what my former employers said. I made careful rebuttal to some of their issues, asking questions when I needed to, and laid out my side of the case as carefully as I could. I also told the judge some of the things that the CEO of the company had told us during two employee meetings—twice he told us that due to the higher-than-average quality control and quantity control numbers they had, they knew full well that some employees would not be able to make the quotas.  To quote him, “Some of you will not be here next month.”  I also asked my former employers to clarify some of the items they had put in their paperwork regarding their justification for firing me.  The judge, too, asked some very pointed questions regarding their reasons for firing me.  When I made my closing statement, I quoted the statutes regarding misconduct, and briefly restated my belief that  my actions did not qualify as misconduct. The judge ruled in my favor, and my unemployment benefits were not interrupted.

However, almost a month later, I got another letter from DOL, saying my former employers were appealing the judge’s decision. I, along with the help of a friend, wrote a rebuttal letter to the State, giving my side of the story. This time they claimed I had misrepresented myself as being bilingual. I quite clearly told them at the interview that I could speak Spanish; it wasn’t perfect, but could usually make myself be understood. They hired me with that knowledge. However, in the letter to the State, they claimed I had told them I was fully bilingual; in essence, they flat-out lied. They never brought that up in the first appeal, so I also asked the State to disregard that argument, as it was not a part of the original appeal. I again won the appeal, and waited with baited breath for a letter stating the appeal had been taken to the Circuit Court level. I am very grateful that this did not happen.  

Jae U., via email

My company was a wobbly survivor of the first dotcom crash finally done in by the downturn in 2009. Phone company policies made our million dollar a month phone bill difficult to read and difficult to dispute the charges. Maybe 10 per cent of the total charge we were paying was for service that had been cancelled for up to a year. We couldn’t audit bills fast enough to keep us afloat.

Being out of work is corrosive to your self-image. Any thoughtful person will inevitably ask, am I out of work just because of bad luck, or is it something about me? You can’t fix bad luck, but maybe you can fix an issue about yourself, so you must focus on these issues. But thinking about ways you might be inadequate makes you feel inadequate.

You apply to posted jobs, and you don’t get called in, or you get a screening interview and maybe even an in-house but you don’t get hired. You’re thinking, what did the successful candidate have that I didn’t have? And there’s no way to find out. Especially in high-tech, hiring managers hide behind blind ads, third-party web sites, and robot resume readers. There’s no way to do any of the contact-building things that all the “pros” advice you to do. So you armchair quarterback the hiring process, trying to suss out any little thing you did that wasn’t perfect. Too much focus on failure makes you feel like a failure.

I think being old was more of an issue for me. Social media employers want employees who are hip, young, and above all else inexpensive. I had to build a Facebook page, or get rejected for not being “with it.” High tech employers in general focus on this year’s whizzy technology, and don’t value the very real benefits of experience. I think it’s because young first-level managers doing the hiring don’t have so much experience, so they don’t realize what it’s worth.

Jobless benefits allowed me to choose between eating or having a roof. They are too much to completely laugh off, but not enough to be helpful. They max out at an income level maybe 1/10th my former salary. What a sad and pathetic joke. I spent down my life savings, accumulated over 30 years of saving more than I spent. Because of this completely atypical frugality, I managed to stay in my home.

For two years nothing. Then suddenly this spring, hiring picked up dramatically. I started to be in the hiring process at multiple employers concurrently. This spring was the best hiring season ever. It tapered off a bit toward summer, but it’s still going great guns in high tech.


In the end I was very lucky. I found a perfect job. Probably my best job ever. All the different things I did over a 30 year career added up to make me the perfect candidate for this one job. I think that if I hadn’t gotten this job, I would have eventually gotten another, but it would have taken about six more months while I reeducated myself to succeed in the coding tests that are popular this year for software engineers.

It doesn’t matter what skills you have, and it doesn’t matter what skills the employers say they want. What matters is having the skills that get you through the interview process. Focus like a laser on the interview process. If you’re successful there, you’ll get an offer, and after that, it’s up to the employer to retrain you.

Don’t take anything for granted. I had a job for six months, but couldn’t keep it because I was too complacent. I thought I could do what I used to do. But I had to compete with people willing to work 60 hour weeks.

[We should] make it more difficult to offshore work, or to hire foreign workers at a discount.

Make H1b visas completely portable, so employers will have to offer a market clearing wage to foreign workers once they have a visa. This will remove the incentive to hire in foreigners, because they will be as expensive as local workers. Do not offer tax incentives like the R&D tax credit for work done offshore.

Make it easier for entrepeneurs to start small businesses, especially those over 40. It may be too much to ask for employers to hire older workers, but these people are still productive. If they can start businesses, they will become an engine of job creation both for older and younger workers.

Kurt G., via email

I wanted to share my story with you as I feel that it presents a bit of a dilemma involving recent MBA graduates. I attained my MBA in Marketing from a top-20 business school in 2009 and began work at a renowned sports marketing company shortly thereafter. After executing a successful product launch in two major metropolitan areas for one of the company’s clients, I was laid off in November 2010 when the client suspended its marketing budget due to unexpected cash flow shortcomings. The suddenness of the announcement was surprising, but I began an intensive job search immediately and fully believed that I would land another marketing position within 1-3 months. As of today, seven months later, I have yet to secure a new job despite countless leads and over a dozen interviews. 

During the course of my unemployment, I have received consistent feedback that the problem lies not with my competencies or interview skills, but instead with the fact that I have an MBA.  I’ve been told off-the-record from numerous companies that they are hesitant to spend extra money to hire qualified MBAs when job competition is so fierce.  That is, for any mid-level managerial position, I seem to be competing against either respected internal employees or candidates who possess between 10-15 years of industry experience.  From that perspective, companies have been hesitant to hire MBAs (reputation for being a bit more expensive) when cheaper options are readily available.  I feel that, instead of aiding in job placement, my MBA has actually negatively impacted my search due to common misconceptions tied with the degree.

Over the course of my journey, I seem to have experienced every emotion in the book: from anger, frustration, helplessness and despair to exhaustion, worthlessness, self-pity and disappointment.  I have taken a part-time job with Major League Baseball not for the salary it pays, but instead for for the love of the game and so that companies don’t become wary of my long-term unemployment.  In fact, I’m not 100 percent sure that the salary for my part-time work covers what I lose in my unemployment checks due to the work hours that I must file.

Zvee G., via email

I have worked most of my life as a legal secretary. In March 2009, I received a $1,500 raise but by August 2009, business slowed down enough that my employer made the business decision to let me go and reduce another secretary to part-time status.

After six months of what became long-term unemployment, I began to look at consumable products and balk at the price. It started with Charmin toilet paper. Twenty-four rolls for $12.00? I don’t think so. Not when their CEO was pulling $25 million dollars out of the company for his annual salary while sending jobs over the border or overseas. No where on Charmin’s wrapper did it say “Made in the U.S.A.” I began to scrutinize all consumer products and, with the help of frugal websites, many were permanently cut from my shopping list.

My COBRA health insurance expired March 31 and I am now uninsured. Health insurance is simply not affordable especially now that it is no longer major medical. High deductible insurance policies have contributed to the empty waiting rooms of most physicians.

My unemployment ended in April following a traffic accident. An inattentive driver totaled my car and rendered me unable to work. I am still eligible for emergency unemployment if I refile before Dec. 31 but I don’t see myself doing so. The minute I got off of unemployment, I started to feel better about myself. Instead of seeing myself as unemployed and undesirable by employers with ads saying “unemployed need not apply”, I now view myself as “retired” and living off savings (I regret not having saved more). The cost to corporate america will, of course, be significant. My monthly spending has dropped to $660/month except for those months when I have auto insurance or property taxes. This seems fair to me given that our economic troubles started with corporate America’s greed.

How do I spend my time? I took up a serious study of the Bible to help me understand how we arrived at this miserable state of affairs and yes, the answer is within its pages. I started vegetable gardening in a few pots, expanded to a large flower bed and then to a 12 foot by 25 foot plot this spring. The bounty was shared with friends, neighbors and relatives. I wrote 140,000 words towards the Great American Novel I had wanted to write since 2004. I also assist my elderly parents with their needs, including cooking one meal a day for my mother who is ill. So my life has purpose, direction and I am happier than I was working in dog-eat-dog environments to earn money to spend on things I didn’t really need.

 Linda J., via email

I had been working for a drywall contractor for over five years and was laid off in March of 2009.  What happened?  There was a surge of illegal immigrants in our area that can work for much less than my colleagues and I.  We were replaced one by one. 

Having been in the construction industry for over 10 years, I now have a stigma that follows me when I apply for jobs.  Employers are not interested in hiring construction workers for anything other than construction jobs because in their eyes, a construction work will leave once the industry picks back up.  They know that most people can make more money on a construction site, however, they are forgetting that people like me that have been without work for so long are not willing to take that gamble anymore.  I want a permanent position with little chance of another lay-off.  You don’t get that with construction work.

My unemployment was helpful, but mostly my wife’s salary kept a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.  We weren’t able to keep our car or some of the other luxuries, but we make do with what we have. I was able to find temporary work here and there, but still nothing permanent. So, we are still paying off bills when we can, when I am working, but still living in fear. My unemployment benefits have been exhausted.

The competition for jobs in our area is stiff.  It’s exhausting filling out application after application and never getting a call.  I am still on the search for a permanent position, anywhere at this point.  

I think there should be more resources out there for the unemployed, free training for computer software, customer service—skills that are now in high demand.  

David H., via email

My story …

58, single, long term unemployed - two years. Formerly middle management  making over $100k / year.

My search …

·        Recruiters - they must be very busy pounding square pegs into round holes because they don’t return my emails or phone calls. 

·        Big search engines - useless. Better to put your resume into a bottle and toss it into the Pacific, someone will get back to you!

·        Networking - dried up. Besides your friends and former constituents are not hiring. 

·        No current prospects. 

My Life  …

·        Stay up too late at night and sleep too long in the morning

·        Drink way too much. Way, way too much.

·        Unemployment benefits exhausted. 

·        No health insurance - but three hospital visits in the past year.

·        Stare - stare at the computer screen, stare out the window, stare at your image in the mirror, stare at the ceiling fan. 

·        Skills eroding - that happens when there is no intellectual activity. 

·        Social life - none. I’m no fun.

·        Sex - none. Women would sooner hear you have Hepatitis then learn your unemployed. Besides  there is no T & E budget.  

·        Living off cashed out 401k’s. Mortgaged the future.  

·        Depressed - big time.

·        Think suicide every day. 

Peter K., via email

I am one of the many unlucky to be out of work for an extended time. I am in my early 40s. I find myself wanting to stride into crowded places and scream “What the hell else do you want of me? What else am I supposed to do?”

We fade and become invisible. Forgotten, if we do not fight back the despair and depression as door after door is shut in our faces.

I always thought I was doing the right thing. I went to college, got a bachelors in Chemistry. For many years, in various industries and R&D, I did do alright. Not fantastic, but well enough that setbacks were mainly of my own making, and those, not very terrible. My career began to plateau, and I began to consider what would be next. Circumstances gave me the opportunity to pursue a long term goal of a small farm. I bought 20 acres in a nearby rural area and the commute to work was pretty easy. Put in a well, power and an RV to live in while I waited for the housing plans to be finished. It’s a small dream, but it was mine and I could see the path to it.

In September 2008, I got my house plans, made a list of lenders to call only to have the housing market crash. Fine. Let it work out and try again in the spring, right?  No. The major, international company I worked in had huge layoffs in October 2008 and I was one. I applied to jobs, had good interviews only to have them decide not to fill the jobs.

I looked into going back to school. Since my old job, according to my former company, went to China, I qualified for Trade Act Assistance. After a little soul-searching, I decided to pursue a Masters in Teaching. The TAA program would cover tuition and books, I’d keep getting unemployment, and how the heck could they outsource teaching short of shipping out the kids? It looked like a more stable avenue. Isn’t Science Education one of the Federal Government’s priorities—the STEM program??

I discovered, I LOVE to teach. I am passionate about teaching science and will do so even for random passing strangers making incorrect statements of science. I’ve had people smile after these encounters and tell me they wish I was teaching their kids.

So do I.

In June 2010 I received my Masters in Teaching, got my license to teach High School Science and Chemistry in the state of Oregon. The State of Oregon also decided in that same month that all state agencies (including schools) had to cut budgets by 10 percent. Of the 3 teaching jobs in my area I found to apply for, 2 were part-time, one was an on line alternative. I did not even get an interview.

I have interviewed for a few other jobs, mainly in my old field. One place I interviewed, actually gave me a personal call back. I asked them if the fact that I had my teaching credentials gave them the impression I would leave for a teaching job factored in the decision, I got the honest answer of “yes”.  I’ve sent out many applications, even to things I’m not sure what the job really is, but I rarely get even an acknowledgment that they received my application. Why do I waste my time throwing thoughtfully crafted letters into a black hole?

My unemployment ended in Oct 2010.

I could not even get on substitute teaching lists in nearby schools. I did get on some sub list and over the past school year, my main income has been from the rare substitute teaching opportunity. How often is that? Perhaps twice a month.

This year is even worse. I think I have a teaching job to apply for. I have to call. It’s a real stretch in fitting my skills with their skimpy listing. And I will be competing with 200 or so experience teachers just laid off in an area barely an hour away. An hour is not too terrible a commute around here. 

I still have my start of a farm. The soil is horrible clay. Gardens are routinely overrun with slugs. But I got ducks last year and notice a reduction of slug invasion. I will be able to sell a couple of goats for meat this year. I was pleasantly surprised at how popular goose and duck eggs were this spring. I could enjoy animal husbandry quite a bit. But as a business, it will take a few years to get going.

I don’t have a few years.

I live on savings—and there isn’t all that much left of that little nest egg. I still owe a mortgage. A land loan with a balloon payment. I need to refinance or extend it, but I can understand their point of view when I don’t have a steady income. I called about some advice and options with my mortgage. I was told I should sell it. Sell my land which has some real potential of generating a bit of income for me?? Leave my community and support system? My land, which was on the market for over 3 years before I bought it. Which doesn’t even have a house. Yeah, right. In this market, it won’t sell very fast.

I do live in a great community. I was welcomed and invited to parties before I even signed closing papers for my land. It is the first place I have lived that I feel I belonged. I know my neighbors. We help each other. I am active in my community, something I would do even with a job. I am currently serving as the local Grangemaster. It is more important that I am active, thought, because I can point to this in interviews and say, “See? Here. I did work organizing and motivating. I wasn’t paid, but here is a list of people who are glad I do it.”

The last thing anyone on that list will call me is ‘lazy’. I am not unemployed because I am ‘lazy’. I am unemployed because of the dearth of opportunity. I would take a low paying job. I can’t take just any job. I don’t have the stamina or strength for demanding physical jobs (never really did) and some health issues prevent a few other opportunities. Still, those positions I do apply for, are yet again, a black hole of silence.

I am exploring options with my farm. I am looking into writing. I’ve created science fiction stories to amuse myself all my life and I wouldn’t mind sharing it. The getting published part- now that is a bizarre beast. Or an endless maze.
I’ll be taking some classes later this summer to be able to teach middle school. I haven’t seen any jobs for middle school science teachers in my area, but it might expand my substitute teaching opportunities.

Oh, and I suppose I should move to the jobs? My mother lives not too far away in a major metropolitan area. I could live rent free with her, rent my farm and visit weekly. BUT. No jobs for teachers in her area either. They’re laying off. For what is worth, the Almighty Dollar is not worth chasing to the far reaches of the earth for me. Not if it means uprooting from the place I finally found to belong. I never understood being homesick until I moved here. I can’t leave more than 2 days without longing to come back.

Such is my story so far. I am not an entrepreneur kind of person. I detest “selling” myself in an interview. We are, after all, supposed to get ahead on our merits, right?

I have evidence for the passing of bull.

I desperately wish I could focus on one thing or another. Pursuing several things at once means none of them are pursued thoroughly. I’m will to do nearly any job I’m physically able to, but I often don’t even know what that is. How do I look for something I don’t even know exists?

I don’t want all that much. Stay were I am. A more solid roof over my head. Raising ducks and goats.  The fun of exciting a crowd of 13-14 years olds about science and how it impacts their life. Pursuit of my happiness is pretty dang cheap, America. Why is it so wrong? What else am I supposed to do for it?

Norina N., via email

I am the college graduate who can’t find a job. I have been unemployed for exactly two years. Even though I have a master’s degree in a technical subject from a top-ranked university, it has been hard for me to find work.
Being long-term unemployed is deeply emotional and deeply depressing. 
There are big emotional swings. Phone and 1:1 interviews are big things that you really look forward to. Afterward though is the slow fall and sometimes “crash” when you wonder how you did and try to figure out from how the interviewer talked if you moved on. Some days are really good and you are quite optimistic. But most of the time you can barely get out of bed because you worry so much about your future. 
I feel so behind, especially when talking to my peers. Several of them have already moved on from their first job to their second one. Many are in long term relationships, something I know I can never have without a job and financial stability. I feel so … behind. I have grown much more envious of others lately. 
Especially unsettling was a phone interview today with someone who was one year younger than me. I researched his blog, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, etc before we talked. He was already married, had a house, at his third job since graduation, was working at a big and popular company, found his passion in life, new shiny iPhone, etc. And he was younger than me! And he only had a bachelor’s degree from a state university! How could he be so happy (or at least stable and content) while I am struggling? He doesn’t know how lucky he is. I could tell even over the phone I was just one more thing to cross off his busy schedule. He doesn’t realize how much power 45 minutes of his time has over my self esteem and my future. 
People say that it is okay to fail as long as you learn from your experience. I guess I haven’t learned anything because I am still unemployed. I used to pride myself on picking things up quickly, like a new programming language. Now I don’t feel that way anymore. Some lessons I guess are very difficult to learn. I am stubborn after all.
I’ve received one or two job offers, but I didn’t pass the reference and background/credit checks. I didn’t realize that the process continues even after an offer. I’ve also received one or two lowball offers that were insultingly low. I couldn’t accept them because then I couldn’t pay my bills. And they were too low for the industry too. I told the companies that, but they wouldn’t budge. I guess not accepting it anyway is just me being too proud.
I am blessed to have my family. They support me financially and emotionally. But I found out it is not good to ask them for specific job advice. 
I have become more religious. I pray everyday, asking God for a job and a girlfriend. Does it help? Somewhat. It is better than no religion at all. Most of the time it just makes me feel better. God has given me time and comfort. But I am still waiting for a miracle—a job and a girlfriend. 
I have channeled my depression into my new hobby, writing. I write short stories and hope to write a novel one day. This was a skill I never knew I had, and I am glad to have discovered it. I have a lot of fun doing it, and I hope to publish my work and become a famous author someday 
I have a lot more free time now. Goobobs of it actually. I enjoy running and exercising. I like to read. And of course I like to play video games. I get to spend a lot of time now with my dog and my family, after being away from them so long at a far away college.
Yes and no. In my experience, it’s a question they ask you in indirect and polite ways. It’s like a hurdle question. If you can swing a good story like I was sick or taking care of the kids, then you can jump the hurdle easily. 
There is definite skill atrophy, even though I am reluctant to admit it. As a hopeful software engineer, I have tried to keep my skills up the best I can. I have even learned a new programming language or two. But it is difficult for me to get motivated, or to maintain my skills without a clearly defined task or project that only work can provide. 
Employers should be more forgiving of people’s backgrounds, and more wiling to invest in them and teach them new skills rather than expecting them to come fully formed knowing everything from day one. I think they’re being overly picky. 
I would like to hear some constructive criticism and not just a polite “no thank you email”
Overall, I want companies and those who represent them to realize that job applicants and the long-term unemployed are not just resumes in a system. We’re real people too. Please treat us like one. 
Todd L., via email

I am credentialed teacher and school administrator in California. I lost my job in February of 2009; I had recently been given a promotion to a new position. When the budget slashes hit, my position was the first to go. I had found out five days earlier that I was pregnant. Unemployment benefits and pregnancy disability payments kept us afloat, but those have run out. We can’t afford the house payments anymore, but our house lost about 50 percent of it’s value, so we can’t sell. We simply cannot live on my husband’s salary. We are filing for bankruptcy. 

Education is the only thing I am qualified for on paper, and I’m really, really good at it. I’m good at other things, too, but have no education to prove it.  I have applied to jobs in other industries, but I have gotten zero feedback. I can’t afford to take a low-paying job, such as Starbucks or the grocery store, because we’d wind up losing money between child care, clothing, and gas. 

I have heard that the unemployment rate in CA in education is between 30-40 percent. The competition is unbelievable. I interviewed for a part-time job as an aide that did not require a credential. The principal told me over 250 CREDENTIALED teachers applied. I’m still looking, but not as passionately as before. There just seems to be no hope. The only solution is for school districts to spend their money more wisely, or for the state to give back the money it took from the schools. I counted the other day. I have applied for 219 jobs over the last two years. I have had 4 interviews. Or, perhaps a solution is for the ultra-rich to donate enough money to fix the public service industry (cops, fire fighters, and social workers have it really bad, too)

Right now, I am blessed to be home with my children (I already had one when I lost my job). We’ll have enough to eat and find a small place to rent. We will file for bankruptcy, and probably default on student loans (now THERE’S a smart 35k spent!!) But we will never be the consumers the government needs us to be in order to get the economy going again. At least, we won’t be until my husband gets a big raise or I get a job again. And I don’t see that happening until the state economy is fixed. Horrible Catch-22.

Our other solution is for my husband to wait it out for a transfer to Texas. The political climate there makes me nauseous, but our living expenses and taxes would be slashed, and my husband’s salary would stay the same. My brother in Dallas pays 18 percent of what we do in electricity!! Plus, I would have a shot at a teaching job. 

Shannon B., via email

I am 39 now and lost my job back in September of 2008.  I didn’t do anything to get fired I was laid-off due to not enough assets to justify the amount of employees on staff. The company treated me extremely well and in return I gave back the best work I could do.

When I think about what happened and why me, I blame no one but myself. I became too comfortable with my last job. I wasn’t thinking about what if’s and I wasn’t afraid of loosing my job. I was thinking I was going to work here for a long time. That was my mistake. In the end a company is going to do what it needs to do in order to keep the business running.  They weren’t going to hold my hand and help me pay my bills. I should have motivated myself to read more, educate myself more and look out for number 1 (which is me).

The advice I will give my kids (14 and 10 years old) is to do what you love to do. You don’t have to make a lot of money to be happy. Educate yourself and continue to educate yourself.  Don’t stop and get comfortable.  Position yourself to where company’s are begging to have you work for them and not you begging to work for their company.  There is way too much competition for us to be waiting in line for an interview. I know it’s hard to self motivate so ask a friend, family or even join a group/club that will challenge you to always keep you ahead.  

The hardest thing for me when all the money started to run out was not knowing how I was going to feed my kids.  I was embarrassed to tell them I had no money (they knew I wasn’t working) and I didn’t want to worry them.  I didn’t know when my next job was going to be. To be extremely honest I thought of taking the easy way out, which probably many people have.  I read an internet article a couple of weeks ago about some 22-year-old ending her life because she had no job and too many bills that she couldn’t handle.  Of course I didn’t do that, because I consider myself a strong person and I have a lot to live for.

I didn’t know what hiring managers were thinking when they met with me. I never got any feed back. I tried to keep my resume current though. I was in contact with my previous employer and they helped by giving me work and allowing me to put down on my resume that I did contract work for them on an as needed basis, which they did. There is a lot of competition for IT work. What was once a job for 5 techs has dwindled down to one “do everything” tech. So I applied to stores trying to pass out food samples for minimum wage and I couldn’t even get that job, because I think they were worried I would leave if I found something else. I understand that, but I tried to convince them I researched your company and said I can make a career working here in maybe 5 years time. No such luck.

I did actually find work for a company I applied for 6 months ago and thankfully I was given a conditional job offer (pass/fail job offer).  This is a great opportunity for me especially after being out of work for close to 3 years now. It’s about $16 shy of what I was making an hour before and it is more laborious, but I am committed to kicking butt at this job, continuing my education (making myself more valuable) and earning my way up the ladder.

Lastly, unemployment benefits was a lifesaver for me. I received the maximum amount and was able to support myself and my kids for the 99 weeks, but the benefits did run out. You asked the question “How should we go about making it easier for the long-term unemployed to find work?” I don’t think that is the right question to ask. Waiting around with your hand out only enables us to be lazy and believe that we are owed something. Making us angry when we don’t get it. We need to prepare ourselves to start over. It does suck, but you can make it. I have been humbled by loosing my job almost 3 years ago. Having ZERO dollars in my bank account and very little cash in my wallet. Without the support of my family and the love of my life, to help me get by, I would not have made it this far. I do thank God for all his good graces he has bestowed upon me, which I know I don’t deserve. So whoever is reading this DO NOT sit around waiting for something to happen, make it happen.

Scott V., via email

I had an unique situation; the nonprofit where I had been working was going through some growing pains when I got there. I worked well for a long time (several years), taking on more and more responsibilities.  Suddenly, I had too much on my plate.  I couldn’t do it all (I was doing 3 peoples’ jobs at that point). My boss’ boss decided that it was time for new blood (out of a staff of 15, he had similarly let go 3 others in the 3 years I’d been there, although none of them lasted as long as I did). My boss fought for me and lost. That’s what happens when you have a situation like a nonprofit, especially in an “at will” state. You are never safe. Because it was not my choice to leave, I was still eligible for unemployment benefits. But I had a lot of explaining to do at job interviews.

There were days where I literally didn’t leave the couch, or shower. I was busy much of the time, taking classes, cleaning the house, gardening, and of course searching for jobs (trust me, there was very little out there … looking day after day I kept seeing the same crappy $10/hour without benefits entry-level junk … I’m college-educated with over a decade of work experience and a broad skill base). But there were days, especially after I’d had a pretty brutal rejection, or after I’d spent hours and hours sending my resume off into the internet with nary a response, that I couldn’t face the thought of another second of hunting. It’s different, when you’re looking for a job in times of plenty.  Or when you’re employed. There are lots of great positions out there.  But when you’re looking during a recession, and for a job without having a specific one in mind (I’ve got a ton of experience, but I’m not, say, specifically trained in healthcare billing or some other fast-growing specialized field), you’re stuck.

I remember one interview in particular where the interviewer pushed to find out why I was out of work, what had happened at my last job.  She pushed and pushed until I finally cracked, saying “He was a hard person to work for, okay?” I knew I’d lost every hope of getting that job.  But I just wanted to be done with the interview.  I also had recruiters tell me that no one wanted to hire someone who was damaged goods and that I should just take whatever jobs came my way ($10/hour or not), just so I was employed.

Unemployment Insurance was the only way my husband and I didn’t have to move in with my parents.  Even so, I felt badly about using it.  And got a ton of grief from friends, who said I was “milking it” when I confessed that I’d been so depressed that week that I didn’t apply for a single job.  I came dangerously close to exhausting my UI benefits - I was within a month of my last extension when I found my job.

The job I ultimately got used to be plentiful—in 2005, similar positions at the same company were being posted on an almost-daily basis, and would typically get around 50 applicants.  Now, my job was one of only two posted in the last six months at that company.  And there were 265 applicants.  Yes, I feel blessed.

I started my full-time job a month and a half ago.  It was worth the wait—I love what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with—but it was a really tough ride.

When you know someone who knows someone, who can vouch for you, you have a much better chance of getting a job with the company you want/in the field you want. Network, network, network.  I can’t say it enough.  LinkedIn is awesome, but enlist your Facebook contacts, or join a networking group.  I know it’s horrible to ask your friends to keep their eyes out, but in the end that’s how I got hired.  

There aren’t enough resources for retraining, especially of college-educated people.  I was lucky enough to land in a pilot program through the Employment Development Department which helped me to focus my job search and learn how to network.  But the vast majority of us are on our own (I even felt alone, after finishing the program at times).  We need better support, including counseling and health insurance (the scariest/most expensive part of being unemployed).  And we need to abolish the stigma of the unemployed worker.  Just because you’re not currently working doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be an excellent asset to a company.

E.S., via email

Six months is the definition of long-term unemployment? Hell, I still had some hope after six months. Hope is pretty much gone after being out of work for 2 years, two months.

And that’s perhaps the hardest part: the loss of hope. A close second is the guilt you feel at not being able to pull your weight, to contribute financially to your family. My wife is working two jobs to make ends meet. We’re just eeking by, but the workload is killing her and I so far have been unable to do anything about it.

Oh, and don’t forget the rejection. There’s  a barrel of giggles. After more than two years of “We don’t need you. We don’t want you. You’re not what we’re looking for” …  life has become little more than a series of bad days and worse days. There’s no joy anymore; the things I once enjoyed doing no longer hold any attraction.

How did it come to this? My career had moved along just fine over the years—jobs at progressively larger companies, raises, good evaluations. Then at 55, it all fell apart when I was laid off from the newspaper where I had spent almost 21 years. Of course, we know the story of newspapers—how many have closed in recent years, others have downsized or gone online only.

I took classes to try to transition into another career. But just because you’ve achieved some level of skill doesn’t mean there’s going to be a job waiting for you when you get out of school. And if an employer has a choice between a 27-year-old with a degree and 3 or 4 years of experience and a 57-year-old with the same degree and no experience, who is most likely to get the job?

I have exhaused all my jobless benefits. They were certainly helpful, but didn’t have the intended effect—serving to tide me over until I could land another job. I pick up some temp  work—a day here, a couple of days there—occasionally, but that’s all I have been able to find.

I listen somewhat bemused as fellow Republicans wax poetic about the rugged individualism that made this country great and how we have to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Of course, they all have jobs.

Britt S., via email

I have been unemployed and underemployed since August 2008. I am a certified teacher with a Master’s degree in ESL. You would think with the high population of English Language learners in our country that I could get a job easily. That is not the case. Because I have a Master’s degree, I am in a higher pay bracket. I have offered to sign a waiver stating I will work for Bachelor’s level pay but none of the school systems I have spoken with will allow me (or any candidate) to work for a pay rate below their degree. (Thanks to the AEA, NEA, and all the other money-grubbing teacher unions.)

The hardest thing about being unemployed or underemployed is that I cannot pay my bills and a simple mechanical failure of a major home appliance sends me over the edge. My air conditioner unit went out last summer. I did not have the money to get it repaired. I had to suffer through the hottest part of the summer with no A/C. My church family bought a small window unit for me. That was a life-saver. I am very grateful to my church family for the love and financial support they have given me. I have also gone to other charitable organizations  for help with my power bill. I do not qualify for unemployment because I have worked in education as a substitute teacher. Unemployment taxes were taken out of my checks but I am ineligible to draw unemployment. 

I am actively seeking employment. There is far more competition for the few jobs that are available. Recently, I requested an interview at a school were I had been a long-term sub and was told they had 200 applications submitted for one position. I am applying for any job I can perform within the education system as well as jobs in other fields. I am also attending a church-based career assistance ministry. I get weekly job leads and other helpful information. I am very frustrated and want to give up but I cannot stop looking for work. 

Nicki R., via email

I was an art teacher in a private school. I don’t know why I was not “asked back”, but it’s going on two years now. I had just come back from maternity leave having my second child when I was notified of my loss. It’s been two years now, and I still am angry and sad to be “let go.” We live in Florida, and things do not get much worse then here.

I’ve spent countless hours looking for work, I am looking out of state, and in all honesty, out of country. I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs, but with childcare being so expensive, I’d need to earn over 50K just to put two kids in childcare. With an art background, I suggest that we do not hold our breath as I look for employment.

The biggest issue for me has been this: child care. If I am to go out and look for work, I need to pay a sitter $10.00 an hour to look after my son. It makes sense to me that if we are offering these great opportunities, like learning a trade, child care could be provided by the people learning the child care trade, or at least a discounted program for people in my situation. A safe, clean place for my child to be while I am looking for employment.

I hold a Masters degree. Yet no one will hire me as I am likely to leave a low paying job as soon as a better paying job comes about. Duh! At first I was humiliated to get public assistance, but now I feel very beaten down and just very thankful that I can help my family. With the economy being what it is, I have applied to school in Belize, Mexico, and other counties. I have also looked into working at a boarding school—most likely I’d have to live on campus leaving my husband and dogs in Florida while I take our sons and go where there is work. It’s all very “Grapes of Wrath.”

I have two baby boys; one with special needs. My husband supports us, but we’ve lost our house already. My tiny unemployment check is $225.00 a week; it pays for gas and groceries—pet supplies and clothing. I have also sold my clothing, many of our belongings, and baby items on Craigslist and in consignment shops. I add oatmeal to many of my dishes to extend the idea of “beef”, as well as buying generics. We’ve dumbed down all memberships to gyms and cable TV. We are trying to live a more simple life, but I’m used to just spending money when I need or want something, and it’s a slow road relearning how to use my money differently.

Being an art teacher has always been competitive. In West Florida there are very few private schools compared to the East Coast, where we moved from. So competitive, in fact, getting my last job was the reason why we moved to Florida in the first place. Ironic, huh?

M.N., via email

I’m really glad you asked, because yesterday I was just wondering how I could convey a situation that affects a small segment of society, more now than ever—and that is the life of an educated military spouse.  I have moved three times in the past seven years with my husband, and have managed to find work in each location (eventually) until now.  

I was forced to quit my job in Seattle last summer, due to his re-location to Germany. Many may think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to live in Europe for several years, and to a degree this is true.  However, one assignment overseas, and the career of a military spouse is dead.  It’s not as though this is a select point in time where I won’t be working, and I will go back to the states and miraculously get a job again. A three year resume gap is career suicide for decades to come—if my resume ever recovers.

The antiquated way the military works, where service members (specifically officers) re-locate every two to three years used to work when America was a single income family society. But in contemporary times, when both spouses have separate career fields and educational backgrounds, the one that takes the hit often never regains the original career momentum or progression.  

I have spent over a year applying to the few jobs that exist in this remote region of Germany—all U.S. government positions, and have been denied each time for one reason or another.  It is a brutal landscape for people in my position, and I can’t speak for all, but speaking for myself—I’ve lost hope. I’m currently working on an M.A. in International Relations, but am worried that I’m spending money toward a degree that I won’t be able to use (regardless of what field it’s in). But at least I feel I’m doing something.  

S.W., via email

I have been out of work (fulltime) since spring of 2006 when my construction job finished. I have some physical issues that preclude me from some work so I am limited as to what I can do now. Being 53 doesn’t help my employability either. There are few jobs around this area of NH but when they are listed several hundred apply for that one position. I have been able to survive with the occassional pick up job.

I am Native so I have been able to deal with the loss of my home, etc and am living in an army tent in the woods and getting food from the woods and gardening. I realize that being unemployed by most people is quite devastating (as it was for me at first) and that not all can deal with it like I have.

I am still looking but am not concerned even though I realize that the situation is only going to get worse according to Native prophecy. I feel for others who have it harder. In fact I speak with homeless/unemployed trying to give them hope and survivial ideas.

As to “sleeping later in the mornings”, I am still up before sunrise to feed the animals and work in the garden or gather firewood. As for loosing valuable job skills I agree that is an issue with me. I am concerned if someone does hire me whether or not I can ‘make the grade’.

I have exhausted my benefits and they were a great help in getting around to job hunt. I did alot of walking also. I would like to see more programs to help people become self employed to make work for themselves since there are not that many jobs available. I believe there are more unemployed people than avaialbe jobs right now. Also bringing jobs back  from overseas would help alot also. As the troops come home I see the lack of jobs becoming even a bigger issue.

Emotionally it has been a real stressful time learning how to personally downsize. Now due to my Native spirituality it is becoming easier. I am proud of the fact that I have been able to survive on practically nothing for income and others come to me to learn how. It is emotionally uplifting when I can teach others. Some people laugh when I say my sprawlmart is all around me in the woods. Most of what I need is there, although I have learned the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.

Stephen T., via email 

I spent exactly six months searching for employment after graduating from college in December, 2007 just as employment opportunities dwindled. For about a month I enjoyed the hunt and the time-off, but I eventually began feeling that a lifetime of education and abilities were worthless as countless “Though we find your skills impressive” messages filled my inbox.

By May my bank account had about $200, and I wouldn’t have been able to make my next car payment if someone six hours away from my friends, family, and new fiancé had not considered me employable. I moved and worked for 18 months as a technical writer until I decided to move in with and marry my fiancé back home. We assumed I would find work more easily with my experience and recommendations, but eight months of the same rejection messages flooded my inbox. The most frustrating part wasn’t the eventual rejection, but the exclusions I saw after reading job descriptions my skills fully matched. “Local candidates only. At least 8 years’ experience. Do not call.” My husband was paying both our bills, and he later told me he borrowed money just to buy groceries.

One day I applied to a communications director position for a local firm. I finally received a call and landed an interview. I was excited … for a while. During the interview I was told they already hired someone for communications director and were actually interviewing me for another position as an auxiliary employee making $8,000 less than my first post-college job. But I was desperate; I took it. I barely made enough to cover my bills. I couldn’t help my husband out of our debts.

Despite that I had found a job, I searched desperately for another. My new employers seemed to know how terrible the job market was and treated me poorly. However, I received more calls and interviews during the six months I worked at that firm than ever before. Apparently, even the badly employed are more desirable than the jobless.

I applied to a web editor position at a hospital in a nearby city and received a call from the recruiter. After screening me for the job, she mentioned another open position as an instructional designer. I was uncertain because I had never heard of it, but I also didn’t want to miss an opportunity. I had a phone interview the next day with my future supervisor, and I was hired within the week.

I now have a career I enjoy, work with amazing people, and am paid more than fairly, but my husband and I are still recovering from my combined 14 months of unemployment. We don’t even have a savings account. We’re working on it. It will take us at least a year just to pay off our debts. But at least now we have the opportunity to do it.

Pam P., via email

I am an unemployed father of three boys. I live in Findlay, Ohio. In Feb. of 2009 I voluntarily left a job at Menards Inc. in Toledo, Ohio. The reason for leaving was an emergency had risen in my family and it was necessary to move to Port Clinton, Ohio to help out. I have a technical degree in HVAV and had never had a problem with finding work in the past, so I though this time would not be a problem either.

It took me several months to find a job in Port Clinton as this is a seasonal vacation area. When I did find a job, it was part time and for much lower wages than I was used too. When the five month vacation season ended I was laid off. When this happened I filed for unemployment benefits. I decided to go back to school and pursue an associate’s degree in business administration. I began school and with the family crisis in check we decided to move to Findlay, Ohio where the employment rate was much higher. I finished my degree in fifteen months, it has been six months now and I’m still looking for work.

My unemployment benefits will be exhausted in a month with no solid prospects in sight. I look for a work every day and am running out of places to apply. I run ads and do remodeling work to make ends meet. It has gotten to the point I am applying for jobs anywhere and would relocate to Iraq if I had too. All the web based employment sites are just a front for higher education and only there to make money off of the person who is looking for work. You can pay to join and you can pay to get help with resume writing. So yes it is really tough out there.

I wish I could get an interview just to be able to try and sell myself, but I’m not getting any chances to do so. Well that’s my story. If you know anyone who is hiring please let me know so I can send a resume.

Nick M., via email

One of the major reasons I haven’t been able to get a job is that I don’t know Spanish (or other languages, such as Chinese, Korean, etc.) Many jobs require these languages now. The problem is that the state offers free ESL support, but nothing to learn other languages. Additionally, we are barred from enrolling in school while collecting unemployment. (If you were already enrolled, you can continue, but you can’t start anything new.) So—how do you become fluent in these languages? Things like Rosetta Stone are unaffordable, plus they don’t give you the same experience as a classroom to become truly fluent. 

I also wanted to enroll in school to finish my BA (I could have been done by now, and I was already planning on finishing this before I was laid off starting in January 2010.) But again, I couldn’t enroll because of unemployment rules. They seem really contrary because you can’t get ahead without certain schooling, but you can’t enroll to get that schooling. They only offer programs for skilled laborers. I’m not even asking the state for financial support in getting the education I need (although it would be nice for them to offer the equivalent to an ESL class for English speaking workers, since that seems rather discriminatory. You can’t force someone to speak English-only in the workplace, but you can force them to speak Spanish, or other languages, and then the state doesn’t help with that education.)

I just want them to allow us to enroll in school if we want to.

Liana H., via email

I am 36 year old and the mother of a 1 year old daughter.  I have been out of steady work since October 2008. I have had jobs in between, but they have all been contract work and they ended. It is very hard to function on a daily basis anymore. There are a lot of emotions that come from being unemployed. I am depressed all the time, I find myself getting angry fast, crying, etc. It is very heartbreaking being that I have an undergraduate degree in Broadcasting with a minor in Marketing and I have a Masters in Public Administration.  Since I have been unemployed, I have moved back home with my mother and become a recipient of WIC, Medicare and Food Stamps.  I constantly have bill collectors calling me about bills that I owe because I cannot afford to pay them.

In order to make ends meet, I started an employment consulting business in which I do workshops and individual sessions on resume writing, cover letters, interviewing skills, mock interviews, Dress for Success, etc. Unfortunately, no one is calling for my services.

I have tried to obtain jobs everywhere. I am constantly sending off resumes and applications. Some places I receive letters back telling me that I am not qualified while others send nothing. I have written to my senator, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Networks and expressed my story about being unemployed but I have not heard anything from them.  I even put a plea out on YouTube about me not working and have spoken to local officials here in Louisiana who say they will try and help but I never hear anything back from them as well. What really makes me mad is when I ask some officials and person that I know about jobs, they will say that they will check around and then I never hear back from them or they will know about open positions but won’t tell me. Sometimes I feel like I am blackballed.

So, I constantly pray and hope that tomorrow will be the day that I finally get a job.  I just think that if I don’t get anything soon, I may just breakdown.

LaToya B., via email

When the economy began its dip I thought I was safe. Though I do not have a college degree, I have more than 15 years experience in the field I worked. On Dec. 5, 2008 I was laid off due to the economy. I found also that my job had been given to a lesser paid employee at the company without a pay increase or release from their previous position within the company. Over the course of over 18 months of being unemployed I found out several things. Were it not for the jobless benefits, my family and I would be homeless. I had exhausted all but the dregs of the opportunities that I had open to me. In my area, Elkhart County IN., unemployment had gotten so bad that 1,200 people applied for 10 openings at one company. This to me was shocking.

I had thought my skills and experience would help me, but it had the opposite effect. I found myself  “over-qualified” and turned down for easy positions because employers thought I would be unhappy with the pay, or afraid I would take their position. On the other end of the scale, I had no college degree, now a pre-requisite to many of the positions I had held. I found myself in a limbo of opportunities that would overlook me due to the conditions set forth by the recession. People afraid of losing the job they have, employers wanting the best qualified on paper, and the weaning out of middle management as responsibilities were shifted up or down the ladder to maximize output and minimize expenses.

In the end, I received a call on an application 10 months old. Stunned, I flew out the door regardless of what the job was or where. My experience paid off as a position opened that spoke to my skills. The only negative, which I know is affecting many others in my circle, is starting at the bottom. In our fields we have found that experience and education do not matter at all in the pay you can hope for so all we can do is bide our time until the economy bounces back. That said, we find the several reports of the economy bouncing back already … insulting and groundless. My only advice is to rape your resume of anything but the bare essentials. Keep it as simple as possible and do not include more than what the position calls for.

Jason G., via email

I am a 39 year old recent college graduate (2010).  I have a degree in English with an Education minor. I’m not officially unemployed, because I have two part-time jobs: occasional substitute teaching and delivering pizza for Domino’s.  I have to say, I sort of kicked butt at the whole college thing: I graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, while juggling work and single (read: completely alone) parenthood of two teenagers. One summer, I studied at Oxford on scholarship. I have letters of recommendation that make me sound like Mother Theresa, and dozens of adoring notes from my student-teaching students. I am a certified English teacher who is willing to work anywhere in the country, except the southeast and the extreme southwest, because I just can’t handle heat. To that end, since February of 2010, I have applied for literally hundreds of teaching jobs around the country. I lost count somewhere around 350, because I started using a different notebook for documenting my applications. I have attended about ten job fairs, sometimes driving hundreds of miles to do so. I have had something like seven interviews, and no job offers.

I really don’t understand it. When I am delivering pizza at midnight just to keep my utilities from being cut off, it’s hard not to be bitter.  I find myself thinking things like, “I should be at home grading papers or making lesson plans!  Or better yet, sleeping at this hour!” I always heard that education was a recession-proof career choice, because “we’ll always need teachers.”  That is evidently not the case now. None of my three geographically closest districts appear to be hiring a single teacher this year. It looks like the state of New York, which I took a chance on getting an additional teaching license for, is hiring only about 100 teachers, according to the state website I regularly check.  One hundred teachers in a state with a population of over ten million, I would guess? I can’t say how many times I have gotten a letter or email from a district where I have applied, saying “we have received HUNDREDS of applications for this one job opening. We’ll get back with you if we want to interview you.”  I believe I am a very attractive applicant, but obviously I can’t compete against hundreds of others, or I’d have a job by now.

This year I have expanded my job search to legal secretary-type jobs, as this is my original training, and what I had been doing for about eight years before deciding to get a Bachelor’s. I really do not want to do this, as I found the work to be singularly unsatisfying, and most lawyers as a whole to be unsavory people. However, I have got to have regular income and insurance, and so on.  I do not have the benefit of unemployment insurance, as I quit my last full-time job (as a teacher’s aide at an alternative high school) so I could be free to student teach. That position no longer exists, so I couldn’t go back to it.  This has been the most emotionally draining 18 months I have ever experienced. I tend to job-hop a lot because I get bored, and I have occasionally lost jobs, but I have never, in twenty years of working, been out of work for more than about a week before.  I have always been able to bounce right into another position, before.  The hundreds of rejections and just lack-of-responses to my applications is depressing and makes me want to give up.  I have gotten feedback from a couple of schools as to why they hired someone else, and they say they went with an experienced candidate.

On a bright note, I have an interview on Thursday for an administrative assistant job in Albany, NY.  Albany is my first choice for a place to live, because I love cold weather, and it seems like a fun place to live: not too big, not too small. This is with a title company, which is an industry I have some experience in.  I hope it will lead to an underwriting job someday.  I am making an intrepid 9-hour drive up there on Wednesday in my 140,000-mile piecer, praying the whole way my car doesn’t blow up because if it does, I am sunk.  I’m taking snack food in the car in a cooler, because I can’t afford restaurant food.  It’s peanuts and ham sandwiches for me!

It makes me sad to give up on my dream of teaching (at least for now).  I really think I’d make a great teacher: I am intelligent, passionate and caring.  Maybe I’ll get my Master’s degree and try again in a few years. Who knows, maybe then I’ll have a snowball’s chance in hell. 

K.R., via email

I worked as a certified Project Manager, PMP with a bachelor’s degree in communication for 12 years for AT&T.  October 2009 my division was hit with a 40 percent cut in work force.  I really couldn’t believe they let me go because of my experience and certifications.  Turns out, they let all the PMP’s go and the only ones left doing the project management work were under-paid high school graduates.  No college degrees, when I applied for the job a college degree was required. 

I tried to utilize my great resume, excellent work experience and business connections to land another job right away, but with so many people looking and so few companies hiring, it was difficult. I managed to land a few interviews, but most of the jobs I applied for never even responded. It was very disheartening and I know I fell into a depression that prevented me from being as productive as possible. My wake up call came about 56 weeks later when I received my last unemployment check. At that point, the grocery budget was being impacted and with 3 kids at home, it was a big deal.  For the first year, my husband was able to support us by paying all the bills and the unemployment kept us fed, clothed and the car maintained. We had to downsize our home and amenities, moving to a smaller house, closer to the school so the kids could walk and reduce our services of cable, internet and cell phone to the bare minimum. By the time the unemployment benefits ran out, we didn’t think we would be able to keep our heads above water. But somehow, week after week, our kids stayed fed and relatively happy. They all understood that they couldn’t have everything they asked for, but birthdays and Christmas were still celebrated no one was too disappointed. 

Today I work 3 part time jobs and bring in just as much per week as I was with the unemployment benefits, the only difference is I have to shell out $75 per week for child care. That is still less than half of what I was making with one full time job. I am not at all close to the professional position I held. Everything I do is labor intensive and not the least bit fulfilling on any level. I still hold out hope that in the next year or so I can land another professional full time job and the family has big plans about what we will do when we have money again. Since the lay off, we haven’t had a family vacation, we haven’t been able to go out to eat or even shop for fun. We haven’t seen a movie in the theaters, been to a concert or any type of fair or amusement park. We used to take those kind of things for granted, and even complained sometimes about having to do them to keep the kids happy. I would do anything now to be able to “suffer through” a family outing like that again. When I hear my working friends complain about having to take the kids places on the weekends, it just breaks my heart.

The one thing that has come out of this experience that I am thankful for and hope I won’t ever forget, is the closeness we feel as a family. We can sit down to a checker tournament and play for hours. We can pull out the paper and crayons and create artwork we never had time to do before. There’s no more running around nonstop all week long.  Most days feel like Saturday when school’s out. We entertain ourselves and each other on very little, and I think we have made some memories that are priceless.

Stephanie B., via email

I lost my job when the economy went in the tank. I was a steel building detailer with just over 14 years of experience when it all went downhill. When the economy imploded in 2009 nobody was building anything. With no work my employer was forced to layoff everyone. They called us back periodically when work we had out for approval came back. But by mid to late May all that was done.

Luckily I was able to draw unemployment from the State of Indiana. I was eligible for the highest possible payout of $290 per week, plus there was an added $25 per week but  I cannot remember what this was for. This helped but was well short of the $720 a week I was making before being laid off. Needless to say I had to be very frugal with any money I had. My parents were able to help some too, but the entire situation sucked. I was out of a job because of the reckless actions of a few people. Yet those people have yet to feel any pain for their actions, how pathetic.

The hardest part about being laid off was that I had to do a lot of job hunting. Its easier now with so many websites dedicated to job searching, but this is also a draw back. I filled out so many online job applications. Just about all companies want you to fill out something online, even McDonald’s is doing this now. The biggest problem was lack of communication. You fill out an application, even attach a resume, but what happens when I hit the send button? Does some one actually see it? Can I get some form of a response saying they got it? I realize companies were bombarded with applications for any position, but throw a guy a bone. Let the applicant know what is going on, please. The other thing I hated was getting called for an interview with hardly any information. Companies would put an add out there looking for people with not much more information than that. They would do a lot of short interviews to see what they got. I am sorry, a 5 minute 2 question interview doesn’t mean much of anything to anyone. Plus, I would get a job offer that paid less than I was getting from unemployment. What kind of company would pay someone $8 an hour for a full time job? What a joke.

Luckily one of my former bosses called me to come to work for him after being laid off for 10 months. The partners that I worked for split, so I now work for one of them and have since the middle of April last year. But I was really getting frustrated with job hunting. People looking at me like I had cancer or something. It was really frustrating because I knew companies were going with younger people that they didn’t have to pay as well as me with all my experience. Its really sad how companies want cheaper workers instead of better workers. It was also frustrating getting a few offers from companies that were really low, and done on purpose trying to save money. You want the best people then you have to pay them what they are worth. But very few companies want to do that now unless you are some corporate big shot, then you are grossly overpaid and given way too many perks. But, I am working again, but it still sucked having to go through it.

How can you help people find work? I think corporate America needs a wake up call. They are making people work way to many hours for way too little money, and on a salaried basis. They love it because they can get 50 hours of work or more out of their employees but only pay them for a 40 hour week. But these people get burned out and frustrated because they just can’t get ahead. This becomes a problem in the workplace. Also, stop looking at someone who has been laid off for an extended period of time as if they are bad people. This means nothing, and they should know better. There are laws against discrimination, this is just a different form that nobody wants to talk about or deal with. Companies that do this should be ashamed of themselves and be forced to deal with legal action. Bottom line, corporate America needs a big fat pay cut and to give up a lot of the “perks” they just do not deserve. This will free up a lot of money to bring in more people that are ready to work.

Tom W., via email

I listen patiently as I hear others talk about what they used to do for a living, who they used to be.  The sad truth is that I never got to be anything.  I didn’t lose a job.  I came out of a Master’s program in May of 2010.  I graduated on time and with a 4.0 GPA.  The world should have been mine for the taking.

The hardest part of this experience has been having to come home, tail tucked, as a failure.  Out of necessity, I am now living with my parents again in a rural, Arkansas town.  For financial reasons, I had to leave the thriving job market of Austin, Texas to come back to a place where there are no jobs at all.

I have tailored my resume and cover letter for each job to which I’ve applied.  I have experience working for non-profits, in customer service and have held positions in both retail and office management.  I have not heard back from anyone.  I have not been called for any interviews.

As a recent graduate, I was never entitled to any unemployment benefits.

I still apply to roughly fifteen jobs per week, here and elsewhere, making it clear that I am willing to relocate, but still have not found employment.

I hope that my story and the stories of others are put to good use in the interest of rectifying this issue.

Jill B., via email

I’m just shy of 30, and I had never been unemployed for more than a couple of months since I was in high school. That all changed during this recession. In January of 2009, just 2 months after getting married, I was laid off from my customer service job at a uniform supply company. I was laid off from a previous job in July of 2006 when that company began outsourcing their customer service to the Philippines, but I found this job just a few months later, and had been working there just over 2 years when I was laid off. The company was making cutbacks, and some other people in my department had already been laid off, so I was not entirely surprised when it happened.

I figured that, just like before, I would find another job within a few months.  Well, a few months turned into just over 2 years.

The hardest part about being out of work was feeling like I didn’t have anything to contribute in both my marriage and in life in-general.  My wife, thank goodness, has a steady government job with benefits, but it was hard relying on her for so much. The strain of paying all the bills also put a strain on our new marriage. Unemployment did help us continue to pay our rent, etc, but those only lasted for the 99-week maximum. After that, we really had to scrimp and save to get by. 

Our entire lifestyle changed. I felt like I applied for 1,000s of jobs over the two years I was out of work. I only got a few interviews, usually with a month or so in-between them. I only remember one or two interviewers actually asking why I had been out of work for so long, but I think that my long-term unemployment definitely played a part in the fact that I did not get a lot of interviews, and never actually got hired.    Competition is also a huge factor. 

I only had a high school diploma at the time I was laid off.  I finished my AA degree in the meantime, and I am now working towards my BS degree. I think even the customer service jobs I normally applied for were being taken by college graduates.  Getting an education became even more of a priority for me when I started to notice how many jobs I couldn’t even qualify for because I didn’t have a degree.   I finally got a new job through an office staffing agency.  That job is temporary and is scheduled to end next month, but it is finally something new I can put on my resume, and since the staffing agency is happy with my work, I have a lot of hope that they will place me somewhere else soon.  At the point where my unemployment benefits ran out, and I had a hard time finding jobs I hadn’t already applied for, I really did feel like giving up, but I kept sending out resumes online, and going to every job fair I could.   My advice to the unemployed out there is threefold.  Of course, the first part is never give up.  It is so easy to get discouraged, but you can’t get a job if you don’t apply.  Second, find activities to pass the time.  Being unemployed has a tendency to make a person feel useless, but there are other things that helped me get through the days.  I became a “homemaker” of sorts, which stereotypically isn’t a husband’s job, but I began to enjoy cooking and gardening.  Also, I focused on finishing my college degree.  Yes, education is expensive, but there are quite a few scholarships, grants, and loans available for people who have little or no income.  Getting an education should always be a priority, and it is especially important in today’s job market.  Finally, walk into every job interview with self-confidence!  Dress well and be prepared.    Being unemployed really changed my life. My wife and I found new ways to enjoy life at home, instead of spending money going out. I developed my hobbies, and I pursued an education. I am not sure what my career path is at this point, and I know I still have to find a more permanent job, but I think I have even more confidence now that I have weathered what was a very difficult time.

Luis T., via email

I consider myself to be a very intelligent person and a jack of all trades. I am a small business owner, and was an employee and sub-contractor for years. I decided early on in life that having all of my eggs in one basket could be disastrous. My passion for music pulled me into the Disc Jockey business where I flourished with many gigs for the last 15+ years. I also had a passion for electronics so I decided that my weekdays would be spent installing car audio and security systems for local shops (my day job).

After the market crash in 2001 (September 11th) business dropped about 15 percent but I was not really hurt by that. I had a comfortable income of about $5,500 a month. After the crash in 2008, I began to feel the pinch. The car audio shops I was working for, slowly decreased my hours, my DJ gigs dropped by 40 percent. It only got worse from there. I had to cut back on advertising due to the dent in my income. 2009 was even worse and I thought I felt an uptick in business in 2010, but it was short lived. 2011 has been the worst of all. DJ business down by 80 percent, absolutely no car audio jobs left, and I have sent out over 100 resumes in 5 months without a single reply. I have also spent what little money I had to print new brochures and put up a website for my business.Once again, it was so far, in vain.

My fiance also lost her job in 2009. She too has applied for many jobs only to get no response from anyone. It’s very depressing and has caused many arguments and led to a very unhappy life for us for the last 2-3 years. I am 39, my fiance 37 and I have 3 children to support. Luckily, my oldest son joined the Navy after exhausting all job possibilities. Now we are on food stamps, waiting for housing assistance, and living on what is left of our savings. My fiance’s unemployment ran out 2 months ago. The only thing we have left to look forward to is our tax refund next year. God help us if we have any major problems (car, medical, accidents, etc) in the next 6 months. We went from $8,000 a month between us, to less than $1,800 a month. We now sleep late because we have no money to do anything. Gas costs too much so most days we stay home and just watch tv. It’s making me anxious, depressed, and my confidence is all but gone. I pray for a miracle at this point.

Paul K., via email

Although I will admit I have battled the “I’ll-never-find-a-freaking-job” blues, I am still looking. And still hopeful. I first became unemployed in December of 2008 as the economy, housing, and the State of California all started their final tailspins. I sold cars. However, in order to sell cars, people need to buy cars. In Sacramento, cars were the LAST things people were buying. I forget exactly when Sirius, then Chrysler’s sole owner, pulled the plug on some 700+ dealerships and mandated the remaining franchises either peddle all three brands (Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep) or hang up their horns. 16 other people were let go the same day as me. Upsetting as that was, I was somewhat relieved. Even after discontinuing my health benefits, my last 17-day paycheck was a mere $500, compared to a year prior at $1,850. On a side note, 3 months after my lay-off the owner of the car dealership I worked for over the previous four years committed suicide. Yep, 75 other folks bread & butter gone. Not to mention the bread & butter for both of his High School age sons & widow. My heart aches for the many dedicated people that worked all their lives, 43years in some cases, to keep that place going. 

So began my journey. I applied for UI benefits online. I began receiving $1,100 a month. Thankful that I had some money saved, and using my resources as a salesperson, I was able to retain the $900 apartment that was home to my 17 year old daughter and myself for the 10 months it took me to find work. The ONLY reason I even got a job was because I had taken the Sheet Metal Workers Union Pre-Apprentice Exam in the November before I was laid-off. It STILL took 10 months of soliciting the union contractors, union shops, and schmoozing the admin people at the Union Hall to even get an interview. 

Luck was a Lady for me the day I interviewed with Justin @ ACCO Engineered Systems Fabrication Shop. Because his wife had been in the Trade for 14 years, he had no qualms about hiring a girl. I beat out 3 other candidates for the job; and went at it with all I had. Tough, tough occupation. Even the journeymen at the shop complained regularly about how hard the work was. Well, I made it about 8 months before I was called into Justin’s office to receive my last paycheck & a referral to EDD. The large job at the airport was nearly complete, and there was not enough work for everybody. This was a Reduction In Force (RIF). The economy strikes again.

This time I was worried. Savings Account depleted, no prospects for work, & if I was going to be job-hunting for another 10 months, I was doomed! I scoured all the usual spots: craigslist, calijobs.gov, and the rest. During the first couple of months, what played out in my life was like an unseen force that understood what needed to happen. My daughter, now almost 19, informed me she was moving out to get a place with her BFF. Wow. That was a huge weight off my shoulders. Next, a friend of mine said, “I have an extra room in the City. $300 rent & some help with my business.” 

So, in July of 2010, I packed up whatever I couldn’t live without, gave away the rest, & moved to the City by the Bay; Energized, excited, & hopeful. After almost a year, as a last resort, I went back to work selling cars. The economy is better in San Fran than in Sacramento, but folks are not throwing their money around without a fight. The “Seasoned Crew” at the dealership proved to be too much competition for me and I was cut from the team after 2 & ½ months. Back to the Drawing Board…and on May 1^st, 2011, back to the Unemployment Line. 

I am almost embarrassed when I go through the lists of jobs that I am NOT qualified for. Because I have no Degree, no Program Certificates, & no Skilled Trade, I still have no job. Couple that with my recent work history, and see how fast my phone DOESN’T ring. Clearly, I need some type of re-education. But how? I am looking at a maximum of 5 months before my UI claim is exhausted. I can barely make rent (which is now $600), let alone pay for school. 

Between auctioning items I find at Thrift Stores, a day here and there as a movie extra, and the bi-weekly checks from UI, I am making it for now. I’m as tough as nails and very resourceful. I intend on keeping myself above water, and I will find work.

E.A., via email

I was laid off in December 2010 due to my entire department being outsourced. I was working for an MRI company with 7 locations doing worker’s compensation claims and legal cases. If someone was in an accident and had an MRI at our facility we would wait until their cases concluded for payment. I was the person making contact with the patient, their attorneys and the insurance companies. I made sure we got paid in the end. 

The hardest thing about being off so long is the despair. I have a degree and many years of experience and simply can’t find a job in Maryland. I am considering moving; however, it seems that all states in the U.S. are having this problem. 

When I tell employers that I was laid off in December and have not found work yet I get the look. Even though my previous employer gave me a great letter of reference explaining that I was not the reason for my being laid off but the company’s decision to outsource for financial reasons. 

I had to move back home to mom at the age of 40 due to the loss of my job. It is very hard but I am thankful that I have a home to go to as so many Americans do not. I am still receiving state unemployment benefits; however, they run out in 3 weeks.  Then I go on federal unemployment until it runs out in January 2012 or I find a job. I am scared to death of what lies ahead.  I have no idea if I will find a job or not.  

Of the 100s of resumes I have sent out in 6 months I have had 3 interviews. That speaks for itself as to how bad the situation is.  I am a legal assistant/paralegal with over 16 years of experience and I have a degree and certification in my profession. 

I am not hopeful at all that this situation will end soon. After reading this article it is clear that I’m only at the 6 month point of being jobless and if the average is 9 months then I better prepare for the worse.  

Karen P., via email

My husband and I owned a very successful Italian restaurant for years. And then he died. I had a big old farmhouse in a vineyard, a twelve year old and a decent life insurance settlement. I tried to run the restaurant alone but it became clear very quickly that I was not being a good mother by always leaving my daughter with friends so I could work all day and late into the night. Not only was she missing her Dad, she rarely saw her Mom. So I sold the restaurant for a good price a year later and felt financially secure for the immediate future. I devoted myself to my daughter and to remodeling the new smaller home we bought closer to town. When the house was done, I began to look for a job in January of 2009. 

Having been a restaurant owner for ten years, a travel specialist for a major corporation for eight years and a graphic designer for fifteen, I thought I’d have my pick of fields and would find a great job within a month. That was 2-1/2 years ago.

I have applied at so many places I have lost count. I started with the management jobs that often paid less than I made 25 years ago. Then I included less desirable jobs, jobs with an hour plus commute, jobs at minimum wage. I even interned for two weeks last summer with a company 50 miles from my home for a supposedly great job and spent those two weeks cleaning their file cabinets, the company kitchen and running errands. On my last day, a co-worker told me not to expect to ever hear back from them. They get a new intern every two weeks. And don’t even get me started on those great Craigslist jobs where the ad says:  Compensation—no pay.

I have been told that I am over-qualified, under-qualified, not current enough with a specific technology (true in some cases), live too far away, am more mature than their clientele and too small to be a Segway tour guide. Mostly, I’ve heard nothing at all. 

The life insurance money is gone, the money from the sale of the restaurant is gone as are the CD’s and IRA’s. I don’t get un-employment and am too young for Social Security. I’ve rolled quarters to go to the store. My house is in foreclosure. I don’t have an American Express Platinum card anymore, a cell phone or newspaper delivery. I drink tap water! I am not me. 

But as bad as all of the above is, worse than being in foreclosure and unable to find a job, is what a friend said to me last week, “We were going to come up and stay with you for the week-end, but you don’t have any money and my sister wants to have fun”.

Well, I think that sums it up.

And by the way, are you hiring?

P. D., via email

I had my first job in 1979 and I never worried about having a job. My last source of income was from a company that I founded. Following the recession, and a nasty lawsuit later, I found myself unemployed.

Now, in my fifties, it seems impossible to find a job that I can fit in, and when I find it, it seems impossible to compete with kids half my age. 

We lost our house, our cars and most of our valuables. The local pawn shop is our regular stop at least once a month. It is humiliating but it isn’t the hardest thing. The hardest thing is trying to explain to my 11 year old why this is happening and why I’m not able to get a job.

I still apply. I have a PHD and an MBA but I apply for jobs that require much less qualifications. Sometimes I don’t even mention my higher education because who wants to hire a PHD for a clerical position. 

I have a life insurance. So, when I go out to look for work I’m really hoping to have an accident so I can leave something for my child. 

Casey N., via email

For the past three years, I have been in law school, hoping that I would be able to find a job after graduation. However, since 2007, any jobs for people like me (college graduates) are far and few between. It is become apparent that people are focusing too much on the people who had jobs and are now unemployed, and are not focusing on the college graduates that are entering the workplace. If we want our economy to get better, we need to keep in mind that the education sector is creating employable people, but those people have no opportunity to get hired. For me, being part of the class of 2010 has been awful. As the economy “starts to pick up” (which I have yet to see), employers want people with experience, or the employers are now hiring directly out of current law school students. So, it leaves a graduate of 2010 between the cracks: I do not have “experience” and I am not “brand spanking new.” So, what is left?  Well, apparently nothing. 

If we are going to focus on jobs, we need to focus on the amount of educated people schools are producing that are being forgotten. If we get people like me employed, the rest can follow inline. Otherwise, we end up with a backlog of educated people, who will remain unemployed, and then they will become the new unemployed class: those that have educations, but have never had the opportunity to get jobs. Moreover, education really is going by the wayside in America. You do not need a college education to survive now, and with education costs increasing exponentially, what would be the point in getting a degree, especially when it will be of no use to you.

Most of my commentary is directed toward the legal profession, which I believe has greatly contributed to the economic decline. There seems to be a correlation between law and society. If lawyers are employed and making money, then the economy is doing well. If lawyers are unemployed, the economy tanks. Something needs to be done to reform the education system, maybe to limit the amount of educated people we put out (harsh, but a solution). Second, the experienced unemployed are actually the ones that are getting jobs in the professional sector; I can’t speak about the general blue-collar sector. It seems that we are in a reversionary cycle. It is better now to become a blue-collar worker because the chances of entering the workplace are better from the beginning, rather than becoming a professional, where all of our work is being outsourced and there are no entry-level jobs, and experience is all that helps.

With all of this being said, I was fortunate to receive a low-paying law clerk position in state court. While this is not my ideal position, I am not complaining. I realize that I will never have the opportunity that people had five years ago. I am just trying to make ends meet, and pay my crushing debt. 

J.S., via email

I lost my $2,500 a month job in the death care industry in March 2008 due to downsizing. It took me nine months to obtain only a temporary Census Bureau job, paying about the same, lasting only three months—then, unemployed again. Thank God I still had some, very little, but some unemployment benefits left. Benefit amount was $371.00 per week. Just as those ran out, I obtained a bottom level service type job at a nursing home. Much less pay than my last job, no benefits, no respect—but a paying job. I brought home $225.00 a week.

I stayed with that job for a little over a year when they decided to reduce the hours for my particular position from 38 to 30. I told them I could not do that, I really needed the full time, and they let me go. Unemployment would not pay because my employer lied to them and told them they offered me a different full time position to which I declined. NOT TRUE. Nonetheless, here I am, jobless again, at 51 years old. I send out 25 to 30 resumes a week and rarely hear anything back from any of them. 

My home is paid off so I don’t have a mortgage, but due to the decline in income and unfortunate incidents I am in default for last year’s property taxes, and now stand to lose my home of 23 years. Had it not have been for a friend of mine helping me, I wouldn’t have even had electricity or food for the past three months. I feel as though I have hit rock bottom, no hope in sight and yes I am ready to give up. Been thinking real seriously about that. 

Vicki J., via email

At one point in my life I was racking in money doing factory work for many years.  This is what helped my girlfriend, daughter, and I purchase our first house.  I have come so far in life, but am now feeling the wrath of losing about everything I worked hard to get!  This factory life was paying good, but I was a hurting unit and my passion for something like that was not there. So my girlfriend and I decided I take up college online and find a part time job.

Everything was affordable just barely with me pulling in 20 hour a week paychecks at minimum wage, until the company I worked for went bankrupt and shut down.  I managed to complete my Bachelors degree in 3 years by going all year round, graduating July 2010 while out of work for 5 months.

An entire year has gone by now.  I have a college degree, but unable to find anything in my field of study without relocating 1,000’s of miles from my home.  The reality of it all is about to hit me hard with my college loans coming up by the end of the month.  I still have no source of income coming in.  My girlfriend and I fight about money constantly and are on the verge of losing our house.

Every day I browse the internet searching for any kind of job … even the ones that don’t pertain to my degree.  Over the course of a year I have applied to over 150 places online by sending them my resume and cover letter.  Out of those places, I’ve only gotten a response from about 10 and only 4 interviews were conducted.  Another struggling week goes by with high hopes of nailing any kind of job, then I get a phone call or letter stating someone else was more qualified for the job!

I was on unemployment for less than 3 months, but was eventually denied services due to me not reporting to a job session class.  With no car at the time and my girlfriend working 2 jobs just to get some form of food in the house, the instructed class session did not fit our schedule.  Unemployment has not helped me since that day.

The hardest thing about being unemployed for so long is sitting at home all day and night while your loved one works around the clock to support you.  This almost always leads to an arguement when we do have time together and hurts our relationship of 11 years.  There is a part of her that says she wants to have the bank take our house and move to an affordable apartment closer to her work while leaving me on the side of the curb.  The fingers always get pointed in my direction.  I am the reason we have no food.  I am the reason we will lose the house.

Am I really the cause of all this trouble in our family?  I start to think so.  Because she could be thriving on her own in an apartment; whereas I will be hit with a huge college loan payment and no income coming in to pay it or live on my own.  Let alone my junker car is on the verge of kicking the bucket soon and will have no means of transportation by winters end.

It starts to eat at you.  This whole job thing.  I am left with tons of questions as to why nothing is happening even though I am applying myself.  Once you start feeling the effects of it all you lose motivation and self confidence.  I hide my emotions, but deep down I feel I am dying off.  I smile less.  Friends don’t call me anymore to do things because I can’t afford to.  I feel like a hermit living under a rock.  I feel worthless.  I feel like I’m pulling my girlfriend and daughter into a hole with me.  Our once loving relationship has turned bitter and sour.

These are the thoughts from the unemployed Jeremy from Wisconsin.  Take it how you want.  I will keep fighting this battle until there is nothing left in my life, even though I would rather not start over again.  This has been the hardest problem I have dealt with in my life and the effects of it all is devastating to my family, my inner feelings, my personal relationships, and my self worth.  I know there are others out there trying their hardest to survive.  I just want to someday say that we made it through … but that day never comes.

Jeremy L., via email