July 2011
65 posts
6 tags
'Once I submit my birthday or graduation date, I'm...
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...
4 tags
'I applied at one place that literally handed out...
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...
3 tags
'My family is eating stir fried dandelions out of...
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
4 tags
'The government seems to care about these...
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.
...
3 tags
'I am the new migrant worker'
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...
8 tags
'I received a voice mail via my cell phone that...
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...
6 tags
'I had to struggle to keep my unemployment...
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...
8 tags
'You're thinking, what did the successful...
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. ...
8 tags
'I have received consistent feedback that the...
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...
9 tags
'I took up a serious study of the Bible to help me...
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...
8 tags
'Stay up too late at night and sleep too long in...
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...
7 tags
'Employers are not interested in hiring...
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...
6 tags
'It has been a real stressful time learning how to...
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...
8 tags
'I am active in my community, something I would do...
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...
6 tags
'I also had recruiters tell me that no one wanted...
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...
6 tags
'One assignment overseas, and the career of a...
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...
8 tags
'There is definite skill atrophy, even though I am...
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...
6 tags
'A simple mechanical failure of a major home...
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...
7 tags
'At 55, it all fell apart when I was laid off...
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...
6 tags
'It's been two years now, and I still am angry and...
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...
