The Fourth Week

Tonight begins the fourth week of unemployment.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, four weeks without a job is not a huge amount of time. There are people in this country who have been without a job for much longer than a month.

I told myself that I would be fine. This is not the first time I have been between jobs, it probably won’t be the last time.

But the truth is that it is a nerve wracking experience. The reality is that for all of the applications that a job seeker will send out, it is likely that he or she will only receive a call for interviews for only a handful of jobs.

I know that I will find another job. I did it before and I can do it again.

It’s just a matter of time. I hope.

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A Needle In A Haystack

Those of you who have been following my blog recently know that I was laid off over the summer.

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to be hired temporarily. This job, even though it is temporary, has been one of the most emotionally and professionally satisfying jobs I’ve had. But like most temp jobs, there is a finite end date which is coming up quickly.

The issue I am coming across in my search for long term, more permanent employment is that despite the fact that the government and the press keep saying that the economy is getting better, I don’t where the jobs are. The jobs I do see advertised are usually hover around $1o/hr salary wise. While many of these jobs are entry level, some are not, but still pay an entry level salary.

I am not entry level, I have not been for quite a while.

Is it me or am I just being foolish? If I am being foolish, please tell me so.  All I want is a job that fits my background that will hopefully be long term, that pays a reasonable living wage and provides reasonable benefits. Is that too much to ask? Or is this elusive white professional rabbit as easy to find as a needle in a haystack?

A while ago, I met a friend for dinner. He told about a neighbor of his. This neighbor has had a successful career as a librarian for a number of years. When the economy went under in 2008, like many people, he lost his job. To make a long story short, a man who has had a successful high level, high paying job for years and should be slowly moving toward retirement, had to move back to his parent’s house because the only job he could find was a minimum wage retail job.

I know I am not the only one who is unemployed or under employed. There are millions of us who simply want to get back to work to take care of ourselves and our families. I don’t think it is too much to ask, but every night that I go online and apply, it feels like I am looking for a needle in a haystack.

Another Week

This week marks a full month of unemployment.

Looking back, I can see that the it was meant to be. Does that mean that it is easy to be unemployed or that it doesn’t hurt? No.

I believe in the duality of hard work and fate. Are certain things meant to be? Absolutely. But I also know that it takes hard work to reach our goals in life.

I fully believe that my hard work will pay off and I will soon have a job that fulfills all of my needs. I trust that my creator has my back and will guide me to this job. But I also know that I need to the work and send out my resume.

This past month has been a difficult one.  I’ve been through enough to understand that there are good times in life and bad times in life for a reason. Whatever my path is, I know  that I have to trust that there is a purpose to my current state of  unemployment and another week of unemployment opens the door to professional possibilities presently unknown to me.

 

Unemployed

You might or might not have figured it out by now, but I am currently unemployed.

I won’t go into detail about the reason for my unemployment, but I will say that it has been quite a few years since I have been in this situation.

It’s been a short time and I have had some interviews, but not a lot. The extremely scary thing about unemployment is that it is unpredictable. I could have two or three interviews in one day and then have none for the rest of the week.

My expertise is in customer service. I have addressed issues from the most mundane (status of orders, billing questions, etc) to the very difficult and detail oriented questions that require research and sometimes going to other departments.  The issue is that I am not entry level, but I also know myself enough to know that I would not be a good fit for a manager position.

I want to work, I need to work. Not just for the paycheck, but for my mental and physical health. I get a physical rush when I am able to go to work and I feel like I am wanted. I have an exhausted high (if there is such a thing) when I come home from work, knowing that I have accomplished something during the day.

While I love to write, it is just something that I do on the side.  I hope it may be my full time profession one day, but for now, it is a hobby.

I know there are a lot of us out there, looking for work. Employers seem to be pickier than ever. Salaries and benefits are not what they were. It’s not like it was back in the day, when someone got a job straight of out college and had it until they retired 30 or 40 years later.

I know that my next job is out there. I just don’t know when I will get it.