A thread for the Unemployed

[Chocolate Moose]

I'm not unemployed but I am working way less hours then I need to.  I knew this was a risk when I took my current position in November but I had a really healthy 'quit my job' savings fund.  Sadly, the hours are less then what I imagined and unexpected expenses are coming at me like I have never seen before (like well over $1000 gone just last week) so I'm really racing through my savings.  I've been looking for a job with better hours or a supplemental job, but so far I haven't worked up the confidence to actually apply for anything.

Luckily my FH got his work contract renewed for the next year - it was a last minute decision from his employer we had previously been told he would be laid off.  If he did get fired I dont know how we would have payed for the wedding, as is I think we're just having to scale back or cancel the honeymoon

[McCutieBelle]

I have been out of work for nearly a year now. I have had a bunch of temp jobs but mostly I have just been on unemployment. The thing that one has to look at while on unemployment is, yes you want to work but you have to look at your hours/wage/travel and compare it to how much you will make working vs. unemployment...

So I figured out the absolute lowest I can make and still get more on unemployment. I took a part time job for now, but I have to be careful with that too when it comes to my UI, it is only a day or 2 a week. If I don't get another temp job soon, I am going to move back home and save my UI money to move out of state. Regardless I am hoping to move this summer and go out to LA.

It is frustrating because I have a Masters, so I am over qualified for many jobs but say I take off my schooling I have HUGE unaccounted for chunks of time where I was not working on my resume.

[tartxcherries]

I'll hop on the wagon here. I got laid off at the end of Feb. BF who lives with me is unemployed as well. I have a temp agency that has found my previous 3 jobs, so besides searching myself I'm hoping they can come through for me again. It is a very stressful time, but I always try to sit back and think...well...it could be worse, and just try to keep on keepin on.

[Chocolate Moose]

ok after my last post I realized how disappointed in myself I am for not being more proactive about searching.  So I finally got my act together and applied for something.  And I have a few leads to follow for Monday.

Anyway,  The whole thing reminded me about all the little details of filling out job applications and how I'm always wishing to get a second opinion before submitting things.  If any of you e-hellions want someone to double check your work I'd be more then happy to, just send me a PM.  I check my e-mail like 8 times a day so I can reply pretty fast.

[Animala]

Well, I haven't had a paycheck per say since last June and I have been unemployed since last August.  I worked at a private school whose enrollment dropped by at least half. 

Last semester I put in to be a sub at two local school districts and I had arranged my college schedule so that I could work two days a week subbing.  I never got called once on a day I could sub.

I have applied for several other jobs but my schedule this semester is a disaster and I really don't have anything I can do with my kid.  It's been really frustrating.  So I am living on student loans.

I hope to bake and make goat milk soap over the summer that I can sell at the local farmer's markets.

[SquishyMooMoo]

I've been camping at my BF's apartment in BF's Town since last Thursday, hoping to find a job and move here... I have an interview at a temp agency tomorrow morning (I stopped by Friday and they had me fill out some paperwork and they sent me some tests to do over the weekend--typing tests, 10 key, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PP, etc...) where I think they will decide if I'm someone they are willing to hire out to people. I don't exactly know how that entire process is supposed to work, but it's something.

I also scheduled to look at a couple of cheap apartments tomorrow afternoon.

BF told me to make sure I'm looking at my glass as being half full. I told him I am, but I'm also looking at how much I'm going to be drinking out of that glass in the next few months with no guarantee on when I'm going to get a refill. 

[zoidberg]

I'm not unemployed yet, but as I'm pregnant, I won't be working that much longer. Nevertheless, I'll be getting 67 % of my salary for the next year (thank you, German parental leave benefit!)

My BF is finishing university in September and will have the joy of applying in a near comatose labour market. With the added pressure of being provider for a family. He'd stay home and look after the baby so I can keep working, but as the afore mentioned parental leave benefit depends on your income, we'd actually loose money this way. My salary isn't bad, but not enough to feed two people and a baby. Not to mention it wouldn't look good to stay home right after your graduation (ah, yes, the joys of having "no experience").

While I'm a stay at home mother, I plan on adding an MA in Labour Psychology to my resume, so I can justify staying at home after only working 1,5 years. The added bonus: I can teach Economics at high-schools if the job market doesn't pick up. We'll see. I'm still positive, but it *is* really scary having a baby with all this uncertainty around. My parents could help us out if push came to shove, but I'd really, really rather not. I've not been dependant on my parents for a while (even though they were very generous in paying for my education) and I'd hate to start again just when I'm having a family of my own.

Hopefully, this won't be an issue as BF is very smart, has good grades and an HR manager  as a coach (me  ). I'll make sure he's a grade A interviewee.

Sending good vibes to all the unemployed Ehellions out there, especially the US Hellions. I know that the situation is a lot tougher where you are. 

[sbtier]

I'm in pharmaceuticals and it was announced that last year was the lowest growth in drug sales in 57 years.  This was completely unexpected, as drug sales were projected to keep growing as the baby-boomers aged.  Sleeping pill sales, though, are up 27% because more people have insomnia because of worrying about the economy.   

[SquishyMooMoo]

Today was an eventful day... I filled out all the paperwork to be employed by this staffing service, so I can now get placed at jobs. I'm still going to keep applying and looking for something full time, but if I can do some temp jobs in the interim, that would be nice.

I also signed a lease/put down a security deposit on an apartment. It was a very very nice place for the price (which is very low!) and it's available immediately. I am scheduled to check in/get keys a week from today (next Monday.) It kind of has me panicking because now I have 2 apartments. My roommate says he has a place he can go and wants us to try to get out of the lease. I was kind of hoping he'd be willing to finish it out and I could just be taken off the lease... which would have been easier for ME, but oh well. Tomorrow I get to try to figure out how to switch apartments. I'm kind of dazed right now. Too much happening at once. A week ago I had a job.

[Warbaby]

I've been where a lot of you are, but it was a long time ago.  My solution led to my career, but it was one that I do not recommend to anyone.

For what it is worth, I am keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers.  I know how tough it is, having been there.

[Sandi Papaya]

Fortunately, I'm not unemployed (yet), but another round of budget cuts is coming at the end of next month, and if they extend deep enough, that means I'll be joining you all, if only temporarily.

I'm keeping my hopes up because I'm bilingual and my language skills are desperately needed in my line of work, so I have less chance of losing my job than someone who is not bilingual (and/or not bilingual certified, which I also am). While sometimes I think it'd be nice to have a vacation from my job, I'd really rather it not be an enforced vacation because I don't really want to lose medical/dental/vision benefits or my salary, which is actually on the decent side for a single person with no dependents.

I'm scared, but at the same time, I know I always land on my feet, so I should be OK.

[Miss Vertigo]

*raises hand*

I'm a contractor in the web industry - mainly editorial these days - so I'm used to periods of unemployment, but usually only a couple of weeks at a time. Up until about a year ago, you could finish one contract and near enough walk straight into another one. This one is badddddddd. I've been out for about five weeks now. Prior to that, before I had my last contract, it was about three months. Savings rapidly going down the toilet; very depressing. Temping agencies for general office work locally just aren't taking on any more people - they're already saturated for the vacancies they do have. And the specialist agencies are competing ruthlessly over the few web editorial jobs there seem to be, which is driving the rates down for the contractor.

I'm in London, where the job market has been remarkably buoyant in my field over the last few years, but over the past six months or so not only has the number of vacancies in my field dwindled down to almost nothing, but the hourly/daily rates have halved in some cases.

Apart from the obvious money worries, the thing I'm finding hardest is structuring my day. I spend a bit of time applying for the jobs that *are* out there, then sort of lose the will to live

As a firm believer in the 'everything happens for a reason' idea, I'm actually toying with the thought of using this as a springboard to set myself up to do what I've always wanted to, ie, become a clarinet teacher. I'm not quite sure how I'll go about it yet, but plans are sort of whirring around in my head.

Hope things start to look up for everyone soon.

[sbtier]

*raises hand*
Apart from the obvious money worries, the thing I'm finding hardest is structuring my day. I spend a bit of time applying for the jobs that *are* out there, then sort of lose the will to live

I can identify with that but losing my will to live has taken the form of watching court-TV shows.  At least the snow is off the ground here now, so I can start taking advantage of all my museum memberships.  At this point between contracts, I always feel guilty for not doing volunteer work, but it's difficult, because I never know how long unemployment between contracts is going to be and charities around here want a stable committment.  I do some 'freelance' charitable work like sending care packages/cards to the troops but I still have too much time on my hands!

[MDefarge]

*raises hand*
Apart from the obvious money worries, the thing I'm finding hardest is structuring my day. I spend a bit of time applying for the jobs that *are* out there, then sort of lose the will to live

I can identify with that but losing my will to live has taken the form of watching court-TV shows. 

Oh boy, I'm with ya sister! I can only watch so much though before I start yelling at the tv (is it just me or are some of these judges making up rules as they go???) Even worse the BF LOVES them so when he's home from school we watch too.

[Hijinks]

I am not unemployed .. yet.  My job is tenuous because I work in human resource management - we are the go-between between client companies and contract agencies.  With companies hiring fewer temporary employees, I have less to do.  I'm trying to get a digital scrapbook designing business off the ground, but there aren't a lot of paying customers for that sort of thing these days either.

My DH is unemployed.  He was told last April (he is a computer programmer) that he would be laid off in November.  He started looking for a job but not seriously - he didn't think he'd have a problem finding something else.  He had one interview in October and they offered him a job, but for $10k less per year.  He asked for another $5k and they said no.  So he lost that opportunity and he's been kicking himself for it ever since.

He had a job interview in November and they said they wanted to hire him, but then a hiring freeze started there in the beginning of December.  He calls them every week and they say Nope, hiring freeze is still on, but feel free to keep calling, blah blah.

Two months ago, he got a job "offer" - I say "offer" because it is a company that's sort of giving him the runaround now and it looks like they don't actually have a job to offer - they're basically a headhunting company that didn't have the contract yet.  We're not holding our breath on this one, the guy keeps promising to call him and let him know what's going on, then he never calls.  Then when DH calls him, he says "oh no one called you on that?  I'll find out what's going on and give you a call."  Then we wait and no call, etc ad nauseum.

DH's vacation pay from his old job will last us until mid May.  Then our tax refund will last us another 2 months.  After that, he'll have to cash in his 401(k) which will last us a year.  After that, we're in serious doo-doo.