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What If You Still Cannot Find Work?
“Economy, in Sweet Spot, Adds 313,000 Jobs. It May Get Sweeter.” — Washington Post
So, here I am, in month five of not working. Failed to land a client on my first pass at consulting. While my wife found a job after 15 years of not working, After 25 years of working, in the greatest recovery in that 25 years, I cannot get anyone even to interview me. I have taken advice. I have networked. I have submitted lord only knows how many resumes. I have changed my cover letter for jobs. I have met with a dozen people in “informational interviews.” Either I don’t hear back, I am told “someone else is better qualified” for jobs I could do in my sleep, or I get “You have a strong resume, and you are going to find something.”
Now, I am not using this thread to complain, for am I actually in better spirits than ever, all things considered. For one thing, I am almost walking normally. No, this thread is more about the general idea of those left behind. In a world gearing up for the millennial crowd, folks like me are left out. Oh, in theory, my age is a protected class, but age discrimination in the workplace is alive and well. Overqualified just means “you are going to cost too much.”
What I think conservatives need to acknowledge is that we have a culture where working is needed to survive. We value work, and rightly so. However, the fact I cannot find a job to hire me, even stuff I am very overqualified for, shows that “get a job” is not much of an answer. Sure, we can say that no employer owes anyone a job. But, what do we say to someone who plays by the rules, did nothing wrong to lose his job, and cannot find someplace to take his 25 years of experience? I have heard already all the advice on how to obtain a job. It has not worked. LinkedIn has a group full of people in my age range, and they all have similar tales to tell. So, I am not owed a job, and I have to earn it. Great. I did that and the outcome was losing a job I had earned, and thus far, no one will offer me another chance. Not even a chance at an interview.
What I expect to see in this thread, is lots of advice on that boils down to “well you must be doing it wrong.” Classic conservative response, which is to blame the person with no job. Believe me, I am doing everything I have been told to try, networking, and I am working hard, daily to launch by business, TalkForward. I do think that is my long term right path. I just have to try to support my family in the meantime (another conservative “should”).
I’d like to avoid the advice giving, and concentrate on what our message should be. Right now, we tell people they must work hard to get ahead, that they have no right to a job, and that if they work hard, they will get a job and succeed. OK, gang, I am a model of a hard worker, I am not lazy, I give my all to every task I am assigned. I worked from the bottom of an organization to the top. And it was taken away for nothing I did wrong. I am doing everything conservatives have told me to do, and I am not getting the American Dream. What do you tell someone like me, other than “Life is not fair?”
I feel if we cannot message better than this, then the Republican will always be the second party. I fear if we cannot find a message to address people like me, the left will always win in the long run, because it has a message to address it.
Published in General
What do you do? And how much do you want to get paid to do it?
FICA taxation has gotten us…what…in this sense?
Just asking.
Nanda, I could not get the sound to work when attempting to watch the video about starting each day by making my bed. But it seems clear according to the visuals of the video that if I don’t make my bed, I will soon be swimming with sharks. I am going to consider this whenever I think I can put off the day of housecleaning.
Dang, that sounds like encouragement to procrastinate on housecleaning even more. I have always wanted to have undersea adventures! ;-P
The entire hiring process is insane. Completely and totally insane. It is two complete strangers trying to figure each other out with minimal information. It is insanely frustrating for the applicant. When I was unemployed, I stopped viewing HR as human beings, as opposed to soulless abomination like fickle dark gods that you have to appease.
Bryan, my only suggestion is to talk with your friends and see if you can get into another field. I helped a history major get a job doing regulatory work and technical writing.
My solutions:
Make simple to enforce contracts that employers can use to require an employee to work for them or pay a penalty. The overqualified person is now much less of a risk.
Eliminate the minimum wage for minors, those with criminal records, and those who have not worked in the past 6 months or are otherwise losing unemployment benefits. Getting rid of the minimum wage is probably the best option
Allow unemployment benefits to continue during vocational training. We need more people learning skilled trades, and it would be worthwhile to encourage. I know this makes me an evil statist monster who eats babies (I actually eat libertarians, they taste better) , but I don’t care.
Massively cut immigration. We do not need more cheap labor. Cut the supply of labor, increase the demand for labor.
Freeze payroll taxes and corporate taxes long term, while slowing down regulatory rulemaking. Removing risks originating in government supports businesses taking risks on expansion.
Have an independent, private foundation rate and publicize businesses that are hiring workers. Give companies good PR for hiring people. This is not a government thing, something for an AEI equivalent.
Nobody is hiring a mid to late career person with a few paper certs, and experience well outside of the field, for frankly any position. I know someone who bought into that sick, inhumane, and frankly evil lie and ended up divorced homeless and dead on some other guys lounger.
There are the two reasons you are unemployed still. IMO. And while you can do nothing to lower your age, you can lower your salary|wage expectations–but only to then be met by an unspoken “there must be something wrong with you.” It’s a dispiriting position to be in, so I’m glad to read you are not dispirited. Write when you get work.
Hey Bryan, sounds like you’re having a rough time. Hang in there. Job hunting can be brutal – but no matter how many knock backs you get, keep in mind that you just need one yes. I lost my job about three years ago at a particularly bad moment for me (my father had died and I was in the middle of sponsoring my mother to come live with me, which meant I had to prove that I could support her) – I got lucky and found another (somewhat uncertain, certainly much less well paid) job, was able to do the needful and am still employed there – which I don’t take for granted. (Weird fact: I’ve never worked harder or gotten more job satisfaction in my life. Even with less money and less security.) Just from reading your posts my take (note: as a potential past client I think my viewpoint is relevant!) is that your skills and experience are valuable – and someone will recognise that. If I had a prayer list I would put you on it. Keep the faith. Zafar
I am just waking up. I have a puppy who is stealing the socks out of the laundry and zooming around the house like a mad man, so I cannot possibly read the many comments here before I take that zaniac for a run. However, I do want to say a few things.
First, your situation isn’t fun. It’s never feels okay when you want to work, know you’re competent, and there don’t seem to be any good options. You’re stuck in a weird limbo land where no one will even talk to you.
I went to graduate school the first time to become a teacher exactly when everyone and his brother was laid off so went into teaching. It didn’t matter that a lot of teachers are not… uh… great teachers. There were no jobs. All resumes were submitted via online systems, which meant there was absolutely no way to know if anyone was even reading what I submitted. (I suspect they didn’t.) And it succckkkkkeeed. (The point? I understand.)
To you: the truth is that there are no easy answers here. None. Nada.
One of the problems for older people is that they have become part of a protected class, which means that while it’s harder to fire such, it’s a real leap of faith to hire such. This actually hurts older people.
That’s the government creating a “solution.”
So you ask about the party’s messaging?
I answer this is not a political problem, apart from the fact that some of the political “fix its” have made things harder. (The schools in Georgia made that on-line application system so that all resumes would be screened “blind” to discourage any privileged people. But that just put everyone into a pile and made it impossible to drop off resumes. Principals look for the names they know just like anyone else looks for the names they know. We are working within human systems.)
What would you like any political party to say? It’s not your fault?
I’m no longer a part of a political party, but I can/will say that to you: It’s not your fault. These things happen. They are hard and difficult for any person. The system in which we work can grind up individuals. At the heart of capitalism is creative destruction, and that can… well… destroy.
Joseph Schumpeter believed strongly that people would thereby destroy capitalism itself and shift to a socialist states at some point instead of being beholden to any free markets.
Should that be the message?
I have nothing but sympathy for you. I think this sort of situation is especially hard for men. (Can I say that without being called sexist?) But I don’t know how to fix it with politics. I don’t actually think that can be done. I really don’t.
Any change in message is just carnival barking from snake oil salesmen.
Well?
Wish I had advice, but I never succeeded in finding a job and am grateful I never had to depend on my ability to find one. Everything just dropped into my lap from good luck. However as to the advice for Republicans for those who can’t find work, we know the answer and as a party have to stick to the truth and find ways to explain why government at all levels is the problem but that good simple law is essential to the dynamic and opportunity enhancing economy that enables folks like you to more readily find your nitch. These are abstractions we have to simplify and explain. Don’t ask me how to do that either.
Although I got poached, as an employer, several times, I always thought the poacher had overpaid. Maybe I just used that as solace for having lost a valuable employee, but I do not think so. An employer has to be very careful. It seems that even if nobody ever talks to anyone, the moment someone gets a raise everyone knows it. By paying someone more to keep the poacher away, an employer can sow dissatisfaction and jealousy and bitterness from the remaining staff.
I actually preferred hiring people “with experience”. Usually they had better work habits along with emotional maturity. Obviously hiring someone who had been earning $100K and only paying them $50K could be risky for many reasons. But in the right circumstance…perhaps my position offered less pressure or was geographically more appealing and the new employee had less financial needs for various reasons than he/she had before… it can benefit everyone.
Good luck Bryan.
Life is not fair. It’s only been five months. You should expect it to take a month for every ten thousand dollars of the salary you expect to earn.
After I was laid off at Dell I was out of work for two of the next three years. I finally got two fantastic job offers the same week the USMC reappointed me as an officer. I went with the Marines and then wen to law school.
You may not like the bromides but they still apply. Stop whining and find a way to feed yourself and your family. And don’t sit on your butt thinking that following old standards will get you anything.
It’s only five months. Get over yourself.
PM’d u
I think I stated in the OP that I was not whining, but looking for a discussion, using my own example, as to what conservatives should say to people in this sort of situation other than “that sucks”.
Apparently, your answer is “That sucks, and you suck too for even commenting on it. Stop being lazy and sitting around!”
I don’t think that is a winning strategy, especially when I already made it clear I was working on some outside of the box plans.
Hang out your shingle as a therapist, and find a specialty that is in demand. Addiction therapy is way in demand. Also, how about presenting yourself as an expert in “men’s issues”? Help white males deal with all the crap they are getting from all sides these days.
I may end up doing that. Like my consulting idea, I still have to build a client base, but it adds an office cost too. it is part of the mix. :)
Yeah. That’s what I said. Life is hard.
Claiming that you’re not whining doesn’t change the fact that you are whining.
Perhaps, then, I could ask what you would say to someone in your situation?
Oh that’s easy on a personal level. Lots of those things have been said, actually, either here or in PM. On this page Zafar has a great post:
One of the truths we need to recognize, is that it is quite brutal (to use Zafar’s word) for a conscientious person to be without a way to be productive. We see this especially in men around the nation. Telling them that it is their fault they don’t have a job or telling them any expression of the feeling of that brutal situation is just “whining”, I would say, is part of our nation’s general dismissing of the situation many men find themselves in. If the stats on men’s vs. woman’s suicide, for instance, were reversed, I imagine the NFL would wear some sort of purple gloves or something. Dr. Helen had written a lot about this issue.
So I would say, conservatives need to have compassion. That does not mean “support lazy people”, but if we cannot have an understanding of the pain the person is going through, then it is going to be hard to win over votes as we go through a huge technological disruption that is coming, and men are going to be hardest hit, because it is their basic jobs which are going to be replaced by automation.
Well the Ricochet marketing department can’t be encouraged that we are four pages into comments and there are no mentions of Zip Recruiter?
Here’s another idea, Bryan, that will obviate the need for office space. Make house-calls. Take your show on the road, and do your counseling in your clients’ homes. That might be a powerful incentive. All you’d need would be a laptop to take notes, and you already have your mobile phone. Here’s a name for your business: Counseling Outside the Box.
And I don’t even charge for the marketing help!
:)
That’s a little harsh…
I quit my job years ago because I was told 7.25 per hour was the top I could expect. I quit, bounced around a little doing freelance work, got another job before the year was out for 8 per hour, raised to 10 the next year plus a bonus. I went to the original place I had quit 3 years later for 12 per hour. People I worked with were still getting quarter raises.
If you aren’t going anywhere in a few years, the company will get used to you. That’s when you leave to go somewhere else. You will have gained skills that outsiders can see and use.
The company I worked for decided to only hire bachelor degreed people, and a bachelor d accountant (right from school) screwed up the books because she was afraid to ask questions. She was built up so much, she didn’t want to let on she was still learning. The lady that hired in from high school 20 years earlier (that worked with her) cleaned it up.
Did you just say something? Sorry, just automatically zoned out for a minute.
Article of the century.
This is what I keep trying to tell people:
You have to be realistic about how “the system” is getting in the way.
Any male over 45 who was in a “white collar” type of job is basically doomed. I got lucky when leaving a start-up at 48 and found something OK after 3 months, and then stayed for years. But generally, today a guy is better off learning plumbing or auto mechanics than going to law school.
It was meant to be.