Down But Not Out

‘At this point, I have gotten used to sleeping in in the mornings, so I’m looking more for part-time work’

I am a legal word processor. I was laid off by a multinational law firm in early April, 2009 due to a reduction in force. The firm laid off 93 people in the United States, including 16 in Los Angeles.  I received a six-month severance package and then went on unemployment.

It hasn’t been hard so far. I turned 66 last November and have started collecting Social Security. The Unemployment Office told me I could continue receiving unemployment benefits once I started receiving Social Security. But my unemployment benefits are coming to an end and I need to find a job.

I don’t think potential employers are wary of hiring me because I’ve been out of work so long. They usually have other good reasons.

I’m still looking for work.  At this point, I have gotten used to sleeping in in the mornings, so I’m looking more for part-time work. A friend and his wife, who are blind, have hired me to read their mail to them, go shopping, etc. But I will need more.

Sheila G., via email

Reluctant slackers: economy leads young Americans to put adulthood on hold

The slackers of the 1990s are remembered as listless MTV watchers and basement dwellers who opted out of America’s striving, mercenary ethos. Many young adults today look similar at first glance. They’re in their 20s or early 30s, they don’t have jobs or spouses, and many live with mom and dad. But that’s not by choice.

This generation of reluctant slackers is eager to get started building careers, owning homes, getting married and having kids. They have put their lives on hold, though, thanks to the bleak economic climate.

“I feel like a failure at times,” Shemaiya Smith, 26, told The Lookout.

Since graduating from college in 2007, Smith has been living with her parents in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. In early 2008, she was laid off from her job with the local school district thanks to budget cuts, and since then has been looking unsuccessfully for full-time work—while getting an MBA that has been of little use.

Smith said her job woes have affected other aspects of her life. “All my friends I went to school with, they’re getting married, they’re having kids,” she said. “I’ve had several guys want to go out with me … but I don’t feel like don’t feel like I’m good dating material … I don’t wanna feel like I’m getting into this relationship and I’m mooching off them.”

It’s not just her personal life that’s stuck in neutral. Florida was hit hard by the housing bust, and Smith said there are plenty of foreclosed properties in her area that are for sale at low prices. “I would love to buy a home or a condo,” she said, “but I can’t.”

Smith’s experience is far from unique. She first contacted The Lookout in the summer, after we asked readers to share their stories of being out of work. That young people have been among the hardest hit by the jobs crisis has been well-publicized. Statistics suggests that the dismal employment picture is leading an increasing number of people in their twenties and early thirties to put off taking the steps that for decades have defined the transition to American adulthood.

This year, 5.9 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 35 lived with their parents, according to Census Bureau data. That’s an increase of 25 percent from before the recession. And between 2007 and 2009, the share of Americans living in a multi-generational household shot up by 4.9 million, or 10.5 percent, a Pew study found. Most of those households, like Smith’s, included two adult generations.

In addition, the share of Americans between 25 and 35 who have never been married has spiked, from 41.4 percent in 2006 to 46.3 percent in 2009.

Read the rest at The Lookout

‘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

‘You are scared all the time about where your money is going to come from’

I was working as a customer service rep at Time Warner Cable for three years when they began downsizing and restructuring. They moved the call center that I worked at to  another city in Wisconsin, so I lost my Job I haven’t been able to find any job since then.

I lost that job back in June 2010 so it’s been exactly a year that I’ve been out of work.  The hardest thing about being out of work so long is that you are scared all the time about where your money is going to come from, about being homeless or possibly having to live with relatives, and overall its depressing, you feel hopeless and worthless.

I am getting unemployment which is below what I could make if I was working, but that has some difficulties as well, they are always holding your benefits back for some frivolous reason or another, and that’s really hard to depend on. I need security and I don’t want to rely on unemployment benefits anymore, I know won’t get the benefits forever and that’s what worries me.

Recently I’ve been applying to jobs that I’m over-qualified for like at a grocery store or a coffee shop, I’m at the end of my rope here. Still I’ve been getting responses like, “We found a better match for this job,” so I wonder if I’m ever going to work again?

It’s even hard to get temp jobs now. This is the longest I have ever been out of work, I am still looking for work right now, I have been on a few interviews recently but I haven’t heard anything so far, so we’ll see.

I’m not very sure what can be done to help the thousands of unemployed people, but I know what shouldn’t be done: they are trying to cut unemployment extensions in Wisconsin, and if that happens 100s of people will be homeless, so they should definitely stop that action from taking place.

Kenya S., via email

‘I have a job now, but I’m a contractor’

I’m 38. Have a 3 year-old-son. I have a Masters and Bachelors in social science (my first mistake) and I wonder why I ever got an education.

I was working as a project specialist in Jacksonville, Florida as a full-time employee for about a year when I bought a house (my second mistake) Suddenly I was laid off. They (the same bank) brought me back on as a contractor, long enough for me to save some money, and I was laid off again.

From April of 2009 until October of 2009, I applied for unemployment and in the state of Florida, at the time it was $275/week. Obama passed a bill and gave us an extra $25 dollars a week. Thanks for that. It was money, but I was slowly losing the battle.

I left Jacksonville, Florida moved back to St. Louis, Missouri, in hopes of finding a job and rented out the house in Jacksonville for less/a month than what I owed. Because I didn’t and still don’t want to foreclose. However at this point I’m not sure I have a choice. Taxes went up in Florida and I don’t get the home exemption anymore since I don’t live there. (You can Google the home exemption)

I have a job now, but I’m a contractor, and was told it was ending Aug. 5. Then I was shifted to a project I’m on now, but it runs out (supposedly) at end of year. Who knows. I’m sure they ran “out of funding.” I’ve been told that before too.

My employer is notorious for letting go contractors though, so I’ve been sending out resumes left and right.

So far I’ve been lucky bouncing from one temp job to the next—but I hope my luck doesn’t run out. It’s just frustrating. It shouldn’t be this hard to find full-time work!

I’m looking at admin jobs, coordinator, anything. I leave off my Masters as well most times, because I don’t want the employer to think they have to pay for a person with a Masters. You never know.

I have played by the rules, I did everything right. I went to school, I made great grades, I did it all. And now I’m wondering what was it all for??

I’m not down and out but it’s close. I can see the wave coming and I’m trying to steer clear, and it’s really hard. I wish I could move to another country and make money, but as an American, I can’t really immigrate anywhere else. I see all these people wanting to come here to better their lives for the supposed American dream? And I think, “for what?” There is no dream. It’s just a nightmare covered in sugar.

Hope W., via email

‘I’ve been told I’m not a good candidate because they feel someone with my experience will bolt at the first opportunity’

I’m sure like many respondents, I’m probably not being counted as unemployed any longer because my unemployment benefits ended long ago. I lost my job in November of 2007. I was working for Citifiancial Auto as a dealer development rep when the cuts came along. At first I wasn’t too worried, as I’ve never had trouble getting a job, and have a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a major in finance. After a few months it became apparent to me that jobs were disappearing at an alarming rate.  

In my case, having been working in financial services, and having my career tied to the credit markets was especially impactful. The bank I was working for, as well as other financial institutions which contributed heavily to the bursting bubble and deep recession we are (in my opinion) still experiencing, regardless of what the economic data says, have held it against me that I’ve had such a long job gap.  Which is something you don’t read about, and nobody is talking about. 

You have people working in sectors that really haven’t been affected, and are pretty clueless about what has really been going on. Understandable, but it’s like hearing about an event in another country … “Oh man, that’s too bad.”  

I’m still unemployed, and seeing new college grads get most of those few new jobs popping up, as opposed to experienced workers.  I think primarily because a lot of the jobs starting to come back are lower level and entry level jobs. And believe me, I’ve tried to get a job in other industries, but there I’ve been told I’m not a good candidate because they feel someone with my experience will bolt at the first opportunity.  And all the times I’ve been told “you’re over qualified.”  So sick of hearing that. This is the first story I’ve seen that even comes close to discussing the deeper issues of unemployment I’ve mentioned.   

I went bankrupt, lost my home, and had to move in with my parents like I’m a kid again. Really demoralizing, and difficult to keep that fighting attitude that things will get better. NEVER EVER thought I’d be in this position.

I even tried returning to my alma mater to earn a second major in information systems.  But that’s a no go, because the university has a policy that someone can’t earn a second major under the same degree (in this case BS in Business Admin) consecutively. I could return and take classes as a non degree seeking, but not being in a degree program means I don’t qualify for financial aid (not even a student loan).  Really a catch-22.

The university screams because they had $50 million cut from their budget, but have a silly policy, which won’t allow an alumni to come back and learn a new skill, in order to re-enter the job market.  Interestingly, if I had earned my BS in Business Admin from a different university, they would allow me to pursue a different major under the same degree program. So, in reality they punish their alumni.   

Where I’m at now. Well, basically I’ve lost everything, and I’m unattractive to potential employers in my field because of my extended gap in employment created by the recession, which has a compounding effect month after month. I’m hoping to get a job driving trucks after I get my commercial drivers license.   

You can bet there’s plenty of people like me out there, viewed like stale bread nobody wants, who have fallen though the cracks, and aren’t even being counted anymore.  I used to think the United States was the greatest country in the world, but no longer.  I hope to drive trucks for a few years, put a lot of money in the bank, and be able to get out of the U.S.
Patrick C., via email

‘I interned for free just so I can put something on my resume’

In 2008 I graduated with my MBA and was extremely excited about getting back into the workforce. However God had different plans for me. God wanted me to struggle. For the past 3 years I have looked into the mirror and see disappointment. I am down and out. I cannot get a job that I desire.

The only job that I was offered paid $10/hr. The job was way below my qualifications, but I had to take it so I can pay the bills. I guess I am lucky. In addition to this job, I interned for free just so I can put something on my resume. I guess I am lucky. I have been officially unemployed for 6 months, and I think it will continue. I do not see any hope. I do not see how I can improve my work experience in order to get the job that I so desire.

So what do I do? Go back to school? Take another job in retail, hotels, etc. … I cannot do this for the third time. (2001-dot-com bust—work in retail) (2008-financial crises—work in hotels). Work for free? The one and only thing I learned from being unemployed is to stay positive. My problems are my problems, and no one cares.

Pranav D., 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

‘All I can do is think about how great it would be if I could become permanent … and not a temp’

I lost my job in 2009 due to cutbacks in the company, shorty after that I lost my car (couldn’t keep up the payments) and lost my apartment (living in a room for $600.00 a month now in someone’s basement with very small windows).

The hardest thing was trying to stay on top of my work skills and make sure that I get the latest training for my fields of work i.e., Deltek CostPoint, Soloman, Access and Microsoft programs etc. The other things that was hard was loosing my apartment a place of my own, not being able to afford medication for my high blood pressure and asthma. I went to the state for assistance but they said that I was 3.59 over the limit for assistance but that they could cover my daughter who at the time was 16 years old. I felt like I was losing control of my life and couldn’t do anything about it no matter what I tried.

Yes, it is difficult to get hired when you’ve been out of work so long specially when you are 50 years old. Interviews had a way of making me feel like I should be retiring now that I was too old for a company to invest time in training me, that I would more so be an expense than an investment. I don’t know I guess my years of experience and loyalty as an offer just wasn’t enough. I am technologically inclined and electronically trained and I really look 30 years old not 50, I speak well and I am very professional. I have 3 different resumes and I have even altered my resume to fit the job descriptions, I’ve gone to unemployment workshops, resume workshops, Microsoft workshops etc. but so far I have not been able to land a permanent job.

The unemployment benefits were help for somewhat I was able to keep my apartment a little longer than if I didn’t have my benefits, I did not exhaust them but I don’t like depending on them either, I am currently temping at a company until Sept. 1, 2011 and I am registered with a temp company now but that can be a positive or a negative because some so far the companies I’ve been assigned to don’t want to pay the fee to buy me out of the temp agency. There is so much competition now that I know I don’t stand a chance of getting a permanent decent paying job without a college degree.

I just want to give up, if it was not for my daughter and me proving to her that all is not lost I probably would of crawled under and rock and died by now. I am so depressed I feel like I’m going to loose my mind sometimes but gotta keep up the smiling face at my work and the cordial hello’s to everyone as though nothing is wrong. I just want to work I have worked since I was 16 years old, it’s all I really know, sitting around doing nothing but housework and reading can be bad for your health let alone your work skills deteriorating.

I have not given up yet the temp work helps a lot but I fear if I get sick and miss days I will loose pay or worse my temp position to another temp. I haven’t given up on searching totally but I feel like I have no where else to send my resume to.

All I can do is think about how great it would be if I could become permanent with this company so I can get medical benefits and exhale because I know I am someones staff member and not a temp. I’ll just keeping praying that all will work out for me and my daughter who now live with her father because the room I have will only accommodate a full size bed and the space is too small for the two of us, but I know that I will be able to afford a place with at least enough space for her and I to live together. I miss having a normal working routine.

Betty O., via email