Down But Not Out

‘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 find myself getting angry fast, crying’

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

‘I still apply to roughly fifteen jobs per week’

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

‘When I tell employers that I was laid off in December and have not found work yet I get the look’

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

‘The hardest part of being unemployed was redefining my identity’

My story is pretty simple and straight forward. I was part of a reduction in force of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and my last date of employment was June 15, 2010. I immediately packed up myself and my ailing dog (he was recovering from cancer and cancer treatments) and moved home with my parents to Spring Hill, TN. I also immediately started taking doctoral level classes to work on completing my doctorate in education.

The hardest part of being unemployed was redefining my identity. I was a professional always … Either a professional student or a School Psychologist. I don’t have children, not married so much of my identity was wrapped up in being a professional and I enjoyed that role. Being unemployed I had to be okay with the new label unemployed-living-at-home-rapidly approaching-middle-age person.

I did have a few interviews where the elephant in the room was preparing the charge … I would try to focus the interviewers on the fact that during this unemployment time I was teaching at the college level in my area as well as taking graduate level courses to lead to a terminal level degree in my subject area. Sometimes they were impressed … other times not.

Jobless benefits were extremely helpful for me. I came from North Carolina, from a position that paid well so my benefits were very high. I am also lucky that I have a part-time job as an adjunct with a couple of online colleges and schools. This helped me not exhaust my unemployment benefits and even pay out of pocket for my graduate classes.

I am seeing more competition for jobs in my career field. It use to be rural and small districts were always hiring school psychologist as no one wanted to work those areas, lower pay and being in the middle of nowhere were hard sells, but now even those positions are seeing more than double the typical applicant pool. In interviews they are letting you know upfront that X amount of people are being interviewed for this position and they are also letting you know that many positions are dependent on a budget being passed.

I forced the issue. My decision was if I did not get a job offer by August I was heading to South Korea to teach English. I passed my interview for South Korea and have started the paperwork process but (recently) I have been offered a position with an urban mid-western school district. I am also in the process of getting my license and paper ready for that. I have learned best to keep all your options open.

I landed these two jobs by applying to any and everything that remotely fit me and my skills. I also did not limit myself geographically. In this day and age the worker has to go where the jobs are. I am pretty free at the moment, no kids, no husband, and my dog passed away a few months ago (the cancer returned). So if my opportunities are in South Korea then so be it.

I think the federal government can help the long term unemployed by giving a small tax incentive to businesses who hire people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more. Call it, “Americans back to work tax break.” … Also businesses that are found to discriminate in the hiring of the long term unemployed need to have large fines places against them by states and the federal government.

Yvonne P., via email

‘The strain had finally begun to affect our marriage and I am not sure it will survive this’

Two years ago, my wife and I were doing great.  We were living in a nice rental house in Phoenix and had the best jobs of our lives.  She worked for a small insurance company and I worked as an accountant for a commodities broker.  Not only did I make a good hourly wage, I got generous quarterly bonuses. Things seemed to be looking up for us.  In February of 2008, we had arrived in Phoenix with a couple hundred dollars and everything we owned in a thirty year old maxivan. Now we had a real car, a nice place to live, and we making enough to begin furnishing it.

That changed in January of 2010. My wife was laid off.  It was a blow, but like I said, I had a decent job and got bonuses quarterly.  I loved my job and my best friend in Arizona was my boss. I had been there a year and a half when my boss called me into her office April 14 and told me “it wasn’t working out.” I asked what she meant and she told me “people had been telling her to get rid of me” and that, legally, they didn’t have to give me a reason.  So, in the space of a few minutes I lost both my best friend in our new city and the best job I had ever had. 

We both looked for work around Phoenix but were homesick for Sacramento (where we both are from).  In the Summer of 2010 we decided to move back to Sacramento and temporarily live with my mother-in-law in the house where my wife had grown up.  My mother-in-law has been very generous with us and I love her a lot, but she is a hoarder.  We live in a six bedroom, three and a half bathroom house and every room (aside from the two we live in) is full of stuff.  Stuff?  Stuff—if you can imagine it she has collected it. You have to walk sideways through the living room to get to the front door. The past eleven months we have been living in two bedrooms and a small bathroom upstairs, about 300 square feet. We turned one bedroom into a living room/kitchen and wish dishes in the shower. It’s pretty dodgy, but we both understand a lot of people out there don’t even have a roof over their heads and count our blessings.

Fortunately for both of us, we had unemployment benefits which I am still receiving to this day. My wife got a job in December at another insurance company, but was laid off in March. The lay off was painful for her and I have never asked the reason. Because she had worked, she could no longer get unemployment so we were down to my unemployment benefits and have been since then.

In April, I decided to pursue something I have contemplated since I was a teenager:  Truck driving.  A local charity offers truck driving class for about $250 and six weeks of working as an intern.  I started the training and was doing really well.  More importantly, I had a feel of optimism:  I was on my way to having a decent job with a more marketable skill than administrative assistant.  During the DOT physical all truck drivers have to take, they discovered that I have a small hernia. I told the head of the truck driving class about it and I was removed from the program (because I can’t lift anything and working in the warehouse is a requirement).  I consulted with another doctor and he confirmed the hernia and that even when I can get it repaired, he recommended against truck driving (which involves some lifting/putting on heavy tire chains etc). So, I have gone from having optimism about the future to having no idea what to do. I try and remain optimistic, but it is really hard sometimes. To top it off, the strain had finally begun to affect our marriage and I am not sure it will survive this.

I have sent out a few hundred resumes and have had one job interview. Employers have never given me feedback about my long period of unemployment although one trucking company did say they couldn’t hire me because I have been out of work over a year.  There definitely is a lot of competition for jobs out there and, more importantly, there are less jobs for us to compete for.  Every “permanent” job I have gotten in the past has been through a temporary placement agency.  It used to be I would never be more than a week without work, now they have nothing for me.  I had one assignment for a few days where I was making $9.75 an hour as an administrative assistant, but that dried up.

I don’t have any answers for looking for work or how to make it easier in general.  It’s a tough situation and sometimes it’s hard to have any hope at all.  But, like I said, a little over three years ago my wife and I arrived in Phoenix in an old van with no job prospects and a spare room in a friend’s house and ended up with the best jobs of our lives.  I have to believe things will get better again someday.

Izaak D., via email