Did I forget to mention how much I HATE job hunting?

[backscatter712]

Especially in this shitty economy. When the economy's good, I hardly have to do anything at all to get a job - recruiters are calling me whether I'm looking or not, having gotten my number from a five-year-old resume that happened to be sitting on some old web space I forgot about. A few chats with recruiters, then a few days later, I'm in a job interview, then I get the offer, and I'm done.

But nooooooo, I can't job-hunt in a good economy, can I. I have to struggle. First, I have to watch as a previously pleasant place to work gets progressively more stressful and cutthroat as quarterly reports show the company missing sales targets and revenue plummetting. It used to be a nice place where we had nerf-gun fights in the cubicles and literally celebrated product releases with keg parties. Now instead of the pleasant boss who hardly said anything to you except to give you a pat on the back for cranking out a bunch more regression tests and catching a few potentially embarrassing bugs before the release, they bring in the hatchet-man who starts strictly regimenting the office. Later comes the point where hatchet-man boss gives me a completely impossible assignment, and demands I do it with a platform and tools that are way outside my skill-set - the one I placed on the table from the moment I was interviewing for the job; then when I tell him it'll take a couple months to get familiar with the tools he tells me "That's not acceptable, we have a tight schedule, you have two weeks." Of course, I missed the deadline and got shitcanned. Asshole. Of course, we know the real reason why I was let go along with a third of the company - cutbacks.

Now we're all in the worst economy since the Great Depression thanks to all the assholes in the .gov we all love to talk about here. The recruiters are no longer calling - half of them are out of work too. When I apply for jobs on craigslist, all of the sudden, the low-level support and grunt-work jobs have hundreds of applicants, and demand enormous lists of skills that frequently won't actually be used on the job, and previously I was forgiven for not knowing. Learning on the job is no longer allowed - you have to be productive on the first day, and if you don't have all the qualifications of Albert Einstein, you're not good enough. On the occasion I get a nibble from my resume, I get grilled by managers and HR, if I don't have absolutely mastery and memorization of every little obscurity of various programming languages and tools, "Don't call us, we'll call you." More often now, I'm getting a lot of "Can we get some managerial references?" In other words, you want the boss who set me up to fail to put in a good word for me? Good luck with that...

People have suggested that I do some job-networking, but for an introvert like me, that's absolutely the most terrifying thing in the world. Try networking sites like linkedin.com - they look pretty good. Of course, even networking over the Internet is something I despise. I made myself a linkedin account, looked a few people up, found all my old coworkers. The thing that gets me the most isn't talking to strangers, it's talking to people I know - I can't bring up the guts to talk to my old coworkers.

I fucking hate job hunting. I hate it. It's a combination of feeling like a worthless piece of shit, getting a bunch of doors slammed in your face, not wanting to show your face among your friends anymore, and watching the finances which used to be good dwindle bit by bit until you can no longer pay rent, make your car payment or even eat. When does it end?

[Rhiannon12866]

1. K&R. My heart goes out to you... And thanks for sharing.

I'm scared too. I'm not working, and in this economy, in a small town with snowstorms and sleet, I'm not optimistic. And I haven't been on a job interview in quite a few years... :scared:

Hang in there... I'm sure counting on Obama to turn this thing around... *fingers crossed*

Rhiannon:hug:

[backscatter712]

2. Yeah. During the election season, I was throwing myself full-force into the Obama campaign,

so maybe we can see this nation led by sane adults for a change, and maybe that will pull us out of this depression.

But I'm afraid it will take too damn long for the economy to right itself. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to pull money out of my 401ks (what's left of them) so I can survive for another few months - my unemployment's running out, and I'm not even sure where to begin as to applying for welfare or housing or food assistance, or if I'm even eligible after all the "welfare reform" that the Rethugs and Clinton shoved upon us.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Good for you! At least you made good use of your time... :-)

I have two friends in the computer business, too, and they're both in the same boat. Both of them are fortunate in that they're living at home, caring for elderly parents, not that that's a picnic. But they still have the usual expenses, car, health insurance, etc. Do you have COBRA? One friend was telling me how much it costs, a lot more expensive than when I had it... :-(

I agree about the economy, but it's even more than that. I have family in Colorado, cousins in Castle Rock, Englewood and Evergreen. One of them is in the accounting business, something that's necessary, right? He had a good job, but has worked at several places in the past few years because the companies moved to other states and he wasn't willing to relocate... :-(

Try Social Services. It should be in the phone book, listing the various departments. You must qualify for some kind of help, especially since this is affecting a whole lot of people. Also, could you check with companies that previously offered you jobs? That's what I suggested to my friend... :-)

Good luck with this, my friend. It just has to get better. There isn't much lower we can go... And how many trillions have we spent in Iraq?! :grr:

Rhiannon:hi::pals:

[backscatter712]

5. I had COBRA for a while.

I had to let it lapse - it cost $450 per month, just for me, and I can no longer afford that.

Now I'm among the throngs of the uninsured... :(

[Rhiannon12866]

6. I sure hear you...

When I first had COBRA, it was pretty reasonable and, of course, I was still getting unemployment. But then it went way, way up. I'm in that throng of uninsured now, too... :-(

[backscatter712]

7. A little bit of good news...

I got my unemployment benefits extended. I'll be able to live off of that for a few more months.

Hopefully, that's enough time that Obama can push some economic stimulus out there, improve the economy by a few notches, so I can find work.

[XemaSab]

4. I totally hear ya

Try working in anything related to construction in California.

Yeah.

I haven't had full-time work in a year and a half. :(

[Kat45]

8. The job market has been like that for a couple of years now.

It's been an employers' market for quite some time. I spent the better part of two years looking for work. I have two degrees and plenty of work experience, but it didn't matter. If you have 95 percent of the qualifications for a job, it doesn't matter; there are so many people looking for work that the company can wait until they find someone with 100 percent of the qualifications--or more. Last year, I was fired from two jobs within the first month of employment because the companies expected mastery immediately. I also think age discrimination is common in the job market.

I finally found a job I liked earlier this year, and last week I found out my job is being eliminated because of money issues with the employer. And because my employer is a church, I cannot collect unemployment. My last day of work is tomorrow. You said that when the economy's good you have no problem getting a job. You probably can't even imagine how I feel, because even when the economy is good I have a hard time landing a job. And now that the economy is in the toilet.....good luck to us all.