The unemployment war

Did you know we were in battle? That those who are unemployed have a harder time than those who are employed to even find a job because employers won’t even consider you? How is this going to repair the state of the economy if companies refuse to even consider people whom aren’t currently employed? I heard months ago that McDonalds, the fast food chain, was only considering people with a current job. Joking I said, “I guess that means I can’t even get a job at McDonalds,” but the jokes on me, since I really can’t.

It seems it is better to be underemployed than unemployed. I’m sure that most unemployed people would agree, if they could even get underemployed. I received a phone call in reference to a job I applied for, and the woman on the phone said she actually had another job in mind for me that they had available. She said I applied for a job under my education level. Wow, someone actually read my resume. Then came the dreaded salary question.

Sure it is appreciated that I was actually told the salary this time, but when I put my normal positive spin on the low number, she basically told me not to hold my breath on being promoted or getting out of that range while in that position. She then mentioned my charity work. Yes, I didn’t get paid for that, but this is not charity, this is a profit based operation, I don’t feel like working “for free” for them. The original thought was to get an entry level position where moving up was a possibility, that image seems to be shattering as well. Is growth not a foreseeable future with these companies? What happened to the days where you started out in the mailroom and years later you are the Vice President of Operations?

We are in battle people. It is happening right now.  In this battle those who have a job you are battling to keep them. For those who are underemployed to be pushed up into the ranks of the fully employed. For those whom are unemployed to finally join the masses of the employed. Every day you must be prepared to wage battle, because one misstep is all it takes in these hard times. But do not settle, aim high, because we might be wary but we are stronger than we think.  

Help wanted

So as the time passes and I apply for job after job, there is a question that has arisen within me. Do I really want to work? Well, let’s be frank, does anyone really want to work?! The reason I went back to college was because I did not want to work anymore. Is this confusing? Of course it is!

I went back to college so that I could get a career. Climb the corporate ladder, as they say in the business world! But now that I am applying for jobs, the realization has occurred to me that I don’t want a job, I want a career. Research shows that people who actually know what job, what title, even what company they want to work for, have a much higher success rate. People such as myself, who blindly apply to any job that my resume might look appealing to the employer, aren’t anywhere near as successful. I stopped looking for who is appealing to me.

When we date, we look for the perfect match. We don’t just settle for anyone. Well sure, maybe we go to dinner or get a drink with them, but you don’t enter into a relationship with someone just because they were the only one who asked you out. But when the right guy does come along, you have to go for it! Why can’t I be pickier with where I apply? Why can’t I say things on my cover letter like, “we are a perfect match, and I don’t want to see other companies, let’s be exclusive!” But alas, it comes off too clingy, and no one likes that on a first date.

The job market is like being at a school where there are 7 girls for every guy. The guys are lucky, but the girls have to work extra hard, and for what?! All the guys are not that hot, and they don’t all have great perks and benefits, but the thought of being without a guy at the dance is all too much for some girls, so they take the first thing they can get. If there is anything in all the years I spent and wasted dating the wrong guys (you know who you are) it’s that I’m better than that. Yes, I know I should take any job that is offered to me, but honestly I have not been asked to the dance if you know what I mean. In the movies the girl who holds out always gets the best guy…in this metaphor it’s a job though, I already have the great guy!