Down But Not Out

‘When the government encourages people to work until they are 70, they forget that working is sometimes out of the individual’s control’

I have been out of work for two and a half years.

After working for AT&T and former AT&T companies for about 17 years in Yellow Page Sales, I was terminated. I was 59 years, 11 months old. I was told that I was terminated because I had a hearing loss. My termination happened to come the same week as downsizing was announced. I was one of the top sales reps in the company, having won President’s Club three out of the previous four years. The company offered me the equivalent of three months severance if I signed a release, saying I would not sue them for anything including age discrimination.

I had no choice. My husband had lost his corporate job a couple of years before and was working in real estate, although he wasn’t selling anything. I was our sole support. I signed the release. I used all the money in my 401K to pay off debt.

Here I was a 60 year old woman, who made about $120,000 a year. I was a loyal, long term employee of a major corporation, and for the first time in my life I was unemployed. I had a fine liberal arts education (Harvard Extension School), but was unable to find a job.

Since we were renting in Florida, my husband and I had no choice but to move from Florida to Park City Utah, where we owned a condo. My husband, who was 61, and I applied for job after job. After a year, my husband (who had been a corporate vice-president before his company reorganized in 1995 … a few months before his options became due) found a $10.00 an hour part-time job at a ski resort, as a ski valet.

I applied for many, many jobs. I was interviewed and labeled as overqualified. Perhaps that is another term for too old and hard of hearing.

For the first time, we had to rely on the government for help. Fortunately, it was there. I was thankful that Obama’s COBRA assistance allowed us to keep the AT&T medical insurance. My husband has heart risk, and his medications run over $1,500 a month. Without the insurance, we would not have been able to purchase his medication. In addition, I collected unemployment. My husband never collected unemployment when he was terminated from his corporate job because I had enough income to support us. I received $250 a week from Florida (the maximum) until it ran out. My husband was forced to take early Social Security when he turned 62. After looking, every day, for employment I filed for disability benefits. I had no choice. The benefits were denied twice. During that time, I continued to look for work. In March, 2011, the government approved the Social Security Disability benefits.

We never expected to be in this situation. We had savings in our 401K’s. We invested in real estate. We never thought our life’s savings would be wiped out by two and a half years of unemployment. We never expected to retire at such a young age.

I lost my job in December 2008. Two and half years later, my husband still works his seasonal ski valet job. I still fill out many applications for employment each week, hoping I will find the right opportunity. My husband collects Social Security and I collect Social Security Disability. We don’t tell anyone we do this, but it is the only way we can survive. We are penniless. We own the condo we live in, but we have a $10,300 special assessment pending. We will have to take a reverse mortgage to pay it.

When the government encourages people to work until they are 70, they forget that working is sometimes out of the individual’s control. We expected to work at least another 10 years. We feel lucky that we feel young, strong and healthy. We hope that when the economy turns around we will again be able to find employment, Until then, we have no choice but to take the government benefits. Sib M., via email

‘How is it that you have had so many jobs but you never been hired?’

I started out as an accountant at a law firm that started downsizing in early 2008. I was fortunate enough to find another job but it was a temp-to-hire. Since the economy got worries I never got hired and the department I was working in was outsourced. This was the start of my three year journey of being unemployed.

The hardest thing about being out of work so long was never having a consistent check. Each temp assignment was different by pay and length of assignment. The most I made was $26/hr the least $8/hr. Some lasted 6 months others only a day or just a few hours.

There was a number things that kept me from getting jobs besides not having one:

1. The amount of jobs I had in such a short period of time would make companies ask, “How is it that you have had so many jobs but you never been hired?”

2. They never wanted to pay the finders fee from the temp agency, so a lot of times I would be on jobs while they did interviews and trained new people for the job I was already doing.

3. When I would apply for jobs that were well below what I used to make, employers would see my degree and work history and tell me I was over qualified for the position. I had one experience where I did a phone interview and when I was invited to come down to talk to the manager, as soon as I walked through the door he began apologizing to me. Saying, “I’m sorry to have you come down here but you are way to over qualified for this position.” Pretty much was shown the way out before the elevator I was on closed its doors.

The jobless benefits were very helpful in filling in the gaps of when I would go long periods of time with no work. I never did get a chance to exhaust them. But I did take full advantage of all the government programs that were available that I would qualify for such as WIC and many other programs provided by utility companies for low income families.

Yes competition is tough, its to the point companies become really picky and start dismissing good workers for the silliest things. I remember temping for one company where the hiring manager didn’t like the car the person was driving, or the shoes they were wearing.

In the end, after three long years, I was able to find a job.

I pretty much signed up with every temp agency in my area and I took any job they gave me. Temp agencies have a list of who are good workers and who are not. To get on the top of the good worker list you need take any job they give you, no matter how much you hate it, and just do your best. Overtime they will keep calling you for more and more work. This is what helped me to support my family and it extended my unemployment benefits for over three years without filling for an extension.

The easiest way to find work is to not lock yourself in to only being able to do one thing.

My work history shows accounting, but the three years I was out of work I did electrical, car detailing, small business consultant, auto mechanics, baking, and construction. Never think you are too big for any job, also look at certain hobbies you have, you never know you maybe able to make money off of it.

Most of the things I did I knew nothing about—like electrical work I knew someone who did it and I was his helper. Car detailing—a major car wax company has free classes on the weekends that teach you how to detail a car, and auto mechanics I used YouTube to learn how to do basic auto repairs.

Think outside the box and never be afraid to ask for help or use any government assistance program. You have to remember when you were working you paid taxes into those programs so you have every right to use them.

Mason B., via email

‘I am a firm believer keeping health insurance if at all possible, and paid the extremely high premium per month as long as I could just for my own piece of mind’

I worked in a car dealership for 12 plus years and in 2008 decided to make a career change to selling indemnity insurance with a great company who has a great product and great opportunity for financial growth.

At the same time I met the love of my life that lived in another state and I ended up relocating not thinking it would be so difficult to find another job (I could have stayed in the insurance business when moving but at that time realized the economy was not allowing people to purchase any extra health insurance so the timing in my career change was off). I realize now I should have done some homework before moving however, I was in love and never had a problem with finding work in the past and felt I was marketable in many other fields.

Trying to stay motivated and reminding myself that I am smart, hard working and have tons of potential was the hardest part of being out of work. Each week it became harder and harder to stay motivated. I would go on an interview thinking I would finally have a job, only to be let down by no call back or no real understanding why I wasn’t hired. I applied for jobs that fit my work history and even jobs that I was willing to start at the bottom in hopes to work my way up.

In all the applications and interviews I went on know one actually said it out loud but I did notice over time that when filling out applications the questions being asked became geared towards them trying to find out how long I was unemployed.

I did have COBRA health insurance with its astronomical pricing and did exhaust the time frame allowed to carry it. I am a firm believer keeping health insurance if at all possible, and paid the extremely high premium per month as long as I could just for my own piece of mind. I was trying to obtain individual health insurance before my COBRA ran out but the insurance company I was applying with, repeatedly kept asking for more information (letters, blood test, ect.) and I eventually gave up because more blood tests were asked for after the my COBRA expired and couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket for more tests to obtain it.

When you are looking for employment it’s really is hard to tell what the problem is when applying for a position. If I had to guess it would be a couple of factors. More competition and employers being overwhelmed with the amount of applicants. There is no standard way to apply for job it depends on the company. Some employers will say “You need to submit an application online from our website and it will go through HR” and when looking online some employers will say “Please see the store manager in your location for open positions.” If you are lucky you will actually get a human being to see who you are and possibly have a conversation with them.

On several occasions I had 2 or 3 interviews with 2 or 3 different people at the same company only to find out that they decided to go in another candidate. That is very frustrating especially when you haven’t got a clue as to what happened. How do you go on 2 or 3 interviews and not get the job? No explanation given!

My other favorite is the company that tells you are overqualified. Can someone please explain what this term means when you are looking for employment? Especially, with this economy and job market. Sure I may be overqualified, but wouldn’t that be my call? These employers don’t have a clue what my financial status is so how could they judge that way?

After search for almost a year I did finally find employment. But after being in my new position for over a year now, I am on the search once again. I have found that employers are using the current employment crisis to there advantage. I unfortunately found a company who is lining there pockets with no care for who works for them.

Initially when I started looking I was looking in the newspaper, looking online, or just walking into businesses and asking. After the first several months of doing this, I found out that most businesses in my area like to use employment agencies. This came from looking on careerbuilders.com by accident. I have been very fortunate over the years with my employment so this was weird to me and didn’t quite get it at first.

I found a company and position that I was interested in and applied. The employment agency called me. I come to find out that when applying for quite a few positions online the employment agency offering the position is the one posting the job(s). So here is what happens. You are browsing around online at administrative/clerical jobs; you find something you are interested in. You click to read more about the job and get excited because it fits what you are looking for. The name of the company is XYZ and you apply. The next thing you know you get an email or call for an employment agency about a position you applied for. At that time you are little perplexed and explain that you didn’t apply with an agency you applied to XYZ. Who ever you are on the phone with explains that this position was posted by them and they would like to set up an interview with you.

So you go to XYZ Employment Agency were you are interviewed about the position(s) you are looking for and tested before you are even considered for a position this company or any company that goes through them. At first this seems like a great thing. Someone else helping you look. The problem with this is the people working at the employment agencies are just as overwhelmed with people looking for work that it’s impossible to expect them to actually be any help or have your best interest at heart.

 So, the agency calls you and says we have a position that came in for EFG Company and gives you the job description and asks if you would be interested. You say yes, so the agency submits your resume to EFG Company. Now you sit at wait just like you would if you applied yourself the difference is, if EFG Company is interested they call the agency who in turn calls you to set up the interview. You go on the interview and give your best and now you wait for the agency to call you to see if you have been hired. Plus, once you do get a position with a company using the employment agency you have to work a certain amount of hours under the agency (equivalent to about 90 days or 3 months) before you can actually be considered to be hired full time/part time permanently with the company you are actually working for.

Then if you are actually hired by the company you have been working for, for the past 3 months you have to wait another 90 days before any benefits are available (the catch—the company you are actually working for doesn’t actually have to hire you if they don’t like you or feel you are qualified). My tip is this; don’t give up, if you are a hard working, dedicated person you will succeed if you just keep trying. Use everyone you can to help you find a job no matter how weird it may be. Times have changed so we have to try and change with it.

Annette F., via email

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

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

‘I’m not stupid but I sure have been made to feel that way.’

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 kept a job pursuit log … it wound up being a 70 page Word doc’

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

‘I applied at one place that literally handed out raffle tickets’

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

‘The government seems to care about these ‘homeowners’ more than those of us making do with what we could afford’

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

‘I am active in my community, something I would do even with a job.’

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

‘A simple mechanical failure of a major home appliance sends me over the edge’

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