I had an interview for a great job today that I was completely qualified for and would have really enjoyed. I didn’t get it. I’ve often wondered why I seem to be an under-achiever, and it just occurred to me when I got the phone call for this job that maybe the problem isn’t me - maybe the problem is the good jobs that won’t hire me. I would be more than willing to work for a good company for a decent wage, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. Twenty years I’ve been slugging this out - I’m tired of it.
I give up. Welfare, here I come. I’m going to go work on my yard some more. At least I can do that right. Maybe eat a few worms.
On the bright side, they didn’t make me wait a long time before they didn’t hire me.
(Yes, I know I’m lucky to be living in Canada, with such a high quality of living, and we have our own house, and our health, blah blah blah. I’m wallowing right now, okay?)
Anybody else unemployed and in need of a good pity-party?
My husband and I were laid off several years ago. While this may sound bizarre to some, that was the best time I’ve had in recent years. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I lived off savings and…my English has gone to hell since living here…what do we Americans call the dole?
For three months, we cooked together, watched the entire seven seasons of Red Dwarf, watched “I, Claudius” and the British series “Traffik,” read tons of good books, and generally just hung out. One afternoon, while the hardworking and diligent were at work, we baked chocolate chip cookies during a thunderstorm. Then, we got jobs, and hopped back on the treadmill. Sigh.
I know you want a job, and I don’t mean to trivialize your situation, but man…I really enjoyed that slothful time. I just wanted to share a positive unemployment story.
Great. I need to whine, and I was polluting the MMP.
My husband needs a job. He’s unemployed on Tuesday. We got a good lead, and it turned out that he needed a lot of experience that he doesn’t have, in spite of them advertising that they’d train their employees. Argh.
I don’t want him to be working at Starbucks. We really really really need one of us to get a decent job, and while I’m very good with my hands and reasonably good with people, I suck at office jobs. So it has to be him. I’ll keep chugging away at starting the jewelry thing and try to find a better low-income job for me. Maybe some day I can make enough from my small business to support us.
Welfare might make us slightly more than we’re making right now. Maybe we should apply.
This annoyed me to no end in high school. I remember once, I applied to work at a day camp, and despite having baby-sat for a fe years, I was told that I didn’t get the job because I have no experience with large groups of kids. I was 16 at the time, so I had never had a real job before, and really, where did they expect me to learn if they didn’t hire me? Sure, there were Sunday school classes and youth groups, but 1) my church didn’t need help and 2) aside from that and the place I was applying to, it would be nearly impossible to get that kind of experience.
I hear you. I graduated with my B.Sc. in physiology last year, and realized too late that physiology doesn’t really lead right into a career. I tried getting lab work during my time at University, but the profs only took pre-med students or students in the honors program. I was neither. So I decided I would volunteer - I didn’t NEED money, but I needed experience. My luck was no better. Nobody had the time or staff or energy to train a new kid.
The lack of lab time in my program also cost me entry into Graduate school. My grades are pretty good, but they wanted someone with more laboratory experience. Isn’t that what Grad school (in bio-related stuff) is for? To learn the research skills you’ll be using later?
So now I’m studying medical laboratory technology and loving it. Not my initial life plan, but it’s turning out well. I’m still looking for lab work, and still being turned down because of my lack of lab experience. I’m getting the skills now, because this program is ALL lab work, but there’s a good chance that I won’t get a lab job until I finish this program, in two years.
I’m stuck working as a cashier when I know I could be doing so much more. But when I’m just starting out and nobody wants to give me a chance, I have no choice. That’s life. If I don’t get work in my field till after I graduate from this program, I can live with that, because I know that I will have work after graduation. I’m still applying, though, just in case! Everywhere!
Funny you should mention that, roxx222, because I was a lab tech way back when. The hospitals in Northern Canada are always desperate for lab staff (if you show up with a Technologist designation, they’ll pretty much put you to work). Maybe you have similar places in the States where you could move to for a couple of years to work to get experience.
Lissla, my sister supports herself making jewellery. Send me an email if you want to talk about that some more.
The problem is that designation, which I don’t yet have. Still have 2 years of the three year program to go before I’m a real honest-to-god certified technologist. I’m actually planning on spending some time working up in northern Quebec or in NWT or Nunavut once I get out of school (I’m in Montreal now). It would be an interesting experience.
I’m unemployed as of April 30th. No nibbles and no interviews despite months of job hunting. I would hate to have to go from my current Sys Admin job to a $12/hour call centre job, but it looks like things may go that way.
Sorry to hear that featherlou - it always sucks to not get the job.
Having said that - the weather looks like it will be nice for a while; enjoy the time off! (maybe I’ll skip out some afternoon and come meet you on a patio somewhere…)
I shouldn’t be in this thread- I have a frickin’ job, although it makes me almost no money and my manager cries when we don’t make our sales budget, and talks about how no one loves her but her One Special Employee (not me), who steals sales from the other staff.
So we’re going to hand out resumes today. Grr.
This thread is awfully therapeutic.
Why doesn’t anyone want to train their staff? I’m sure there are thousands of intelligent people who could pick things up really fast and be a great company asset who can’t get jobs because of lack of experience!
roxxx, going to Northern Canada is a great idea - I highly recommend it. It’s a completely different lifestyle from the main part of Canada; I wouldn’t trade the year I spent in Northern Manitoba for anything. Of course, I didn’t know that it was possible to miss Big Macs and seeing planes flying overhead. I also didn’t know how incredibly peaceful it is to live someplace with so few people and so many lakes and forests.
Anonymous Coward, I’m sorry to hear that you’re joining our ranks soon. Absolutely the best wishes for your job search.
Lissla, I don’t understand why employers do what they do. We’ll show 'em once the Baby Boomers retire and there’s no one left to work - THEN we’ll see how picky they are about hiring.
Hey, Lady - the patio sounds like a great idea. Of course, having said that, it’ll probably snow now.
You said it. I’ve done that twice, both after fairly horrible (and lucrative) jobs. Both times I didn’t even bother leaving notice. I simply stepped off my front porch, looked at the gorgeous weather and blew off work for a month. If you can afford it and hate your current job, it’s a blast.
Don’t count on it. I was laid off from a position as a Program Manager (basically, I was a project manager and subject matter expert rolled into one, with ongoing responsibility for the technology beyond the scope of the initial project) for a technology development project in January 2002. I spent nine months looking for another job, and applied for lots of call center/QA tester jobs at well below half of my previous salary (I have plenty of relevant experience in each area). Nobody was even interviewing me, because one look at the job titles I’d had told them that I was way overqualified and would be out of there at the first hint of a better-paying, more responsible position. And as a former hiring manager myself, I understood that. I always had a bias toward smart people without a lot of experience, since I was always dealing with products and technologies that almost no one has experience in, so I was going to be spending roughly the same amount of time training a twenty-year veteran of the business as I would a recent college grad, while paying a lot more for experience that wasn’t really relevant to our work. Granted, the maturity, judgement, and other characteristics one develops after working for a while are worth something, but not enough to make up the difference.
Anyway, I wasn’t really prepared for the onslaught of friends, relatives, and casual acquaintances who all seemed to assume that the only reason I wasn’t working was that I was holding out for a position comparable to the one I’d had before. I’d have happily gone and done a great job for someone who would have hired me for a lower-paying, less-responsible position, but despite my efforts, no one offered me the opportunity. By all means, don’t hesitate to chase down any and all leads, but don’t be surprised or discouraged when you don’t even get interviewed for positions that you could have done in your sleep for the last mumble years. It’s nothing to do with you personally, just the way things are.
The good news, if there is any in your case, is that the jobs picture in the economy is improving now, while it was still sliding two years ago when I hit the streets.
Thanks for your reply rackensack. I never really considered the whole “overqualified” aspect as it’s never been an issue before, but it does make sense now considering my last few jobs.
BIG time. I’ve got a Masters from a prestigious university in Music and Media Technologies - trouble is there are NO jobs in Multimedia here at the moment so I decided to go into administration. I have an OK (i.e. bearable) office job at the moment that does nothing much other than put food on the table etc. For the last year I’ve been applying for every arts admin job I see coming up (particularly in classical music institutions (I have a BA in Music too)). Even though they say they just want someone with some administrative experience and good computer skills for office work (that’s me) and some knowledge of and interest in music (that’s me) sometimes I don’t even get an interview. One place even told me they felt I would be ‘bored’ in the role they were offering. Arrggghhhhh… It’s so frustrating.
I think a lot of these jobs are filled to all intents and purposes before they’re advertised but because a lot of them are public bodies they have to be seen to be advertising and holding an ‘open’ competition for these jobs even though they’re going to promote from within.
Well - the struggle continues. After a brief period of tearing my hair out in frustration I’m now becoming more philosophical and calm about it. Who needs status anyway? All my basic needs are covered. What does it matter if people think I’m just a no-brain office-drone with no education or specialised knowlege?
:sigh: I should have done something more ‘useful’ in college. Damn that passion for music…Maybe I should write a few tortured songs about it
I’m trying not to take offence at this - you surely don’t think that all administrators are dumb, uneducated people working at jobs that are beneath you, do you?
featherlou, career administrator who is a little tetchy on the subject of people looking down their noses at lowly administrators.
