Those that know my family, and/or have suffered through my blog know that me and my spouse are both looking for work. Too much fun for humans is a pale description of the aggravation we have seen so far, especially my husband. I don't think I've seen anyone try harder to find a job than my spouse and yet remain unemployed. He is getting plenty of interviews but no offers. We are scratching our heads over this but I have a few theories. I'm afraid it has do with our ages. We have had to remove the years of college graduation from our resumes and Linked In profiles to help in our searches.
We are both very convinced that there is a "grey tax". People don't want to hire a person who looks older bacause of the expense. My spouse, God bless him, understands that he may have to "start over" and has adjusted his expectations accordingly. We think, however, that employers may be thinking if we hire this guy for dirt, he's going to leave as soon as he finds something better. It would appear that he can't win for losing! If hadn't already been losing his hair, I think he'd be pulling it out.
I'm still getting used to the idea that you don't get a response to the applications you send, either. I still have memories of those have-a-nice-life postcards people would send. My spouse is very big on following up to the point where he is spending almost as much time working the phones as he is finding places to apply. I haven't followed up much myself, mostly because I have gotten used to sending out writing submissions where that's par for the course.
I was also rudely surprised to find that not only do employers not mention training in any of the job descriptions I've been seeing, when it is mentioned, they expect you to pay for it! (No, it's not reimbursed, either.) The whole problem of being unemployed is that you don't have any money, hellloooooo! Then there are the paid subscriptions to allegedly "help" you find work. Who are these pondscum and how can they take advantage of people when they're down??!! (Ok, I admit I'm naiive but that's just uber slimy.)
So here we are, mid March, as of this writing and both still unemployed. I'm open to suggestions, dear reader.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Monday, November 11, 2019
The search continues
Welcome to my mid life crisis - still going on. It's irrational but I find myself getting jealous of other people's success. My brain knows that it comes from hard work and persistence, not sitting around stuck. The problem seems to be with me being home and needing a clear direction and focus. I recently saw a career counselor and so far, it's only been one visit but she's given me a lot to think about. I want to be aware that these visits are not going to be some quick magic cure. Besides still not being clear on what I'm passionate about, the other problem is discipline. It's a big ingredient in progress and I used to have it. So what happened?!
I'm guessing that a big part of this mental flotsam is our current family situation. There is no money coming in, as of this writing, and so I am working to find a grown up job. My age, however, is still screaming in my ears "What are you meant to do with your life?!" . There are reminders everywhere to not give up chasing something I enjoy. Humor seems to be at the heart of almost everything for me, but I'm wondering how do I use that beyond just surviving a Tuesday? There is a small bit of hope. I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens, it will not end up perfect and not only is that okay, that's was never the goal anyway.
I'm sure I've been setting my bar too high, I always have. I do tend to ignore my own progress. Seeing a counselor when I'd been talking about it for months is just one example. Baby steps are still steps. I think I need to have that tattooed somewhere. There is also a limit to what I can control. Once you've tried your ass off, the rest is out of your hands. It's a job just finding things to apply for, and so far I've managed to find around 30. (I've even gotten 3 responses!) Not giving up is the most important thing I can do, besides being a mom, of course.
The most important opinion about this entire mess is my own. I also have to remember that crisis or not, we still have bills. Being a grown up doesn't mean giving up. Practicality can be a necessary detour, for now. Stay tuned.
I'm guessing that a big part of this mental flotsam is our current family situation. There is no money coming in, as of this writing, and so I am working to find a grown up job. My age, however, is still screaming in my ears "What are you meant to do with your life?!" . There are reminders everywhere to not give up chasing something I enjoy. Humor seems to be at the heart of almost everything for me, but I'm wondering how do I use that beyond just surviving a Tuesday? There is a small bit of hope. I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens, it will not end up perfect and not only is that okay, that's was never the goal anyway.
I'm sure I've been setting my bar too high, I always have. I do tend to ignore my own progress. Seeing a counselor when I'd been talking about it for months is just one example. Baby steps are still steps. I think I need to have that tattooed somewhere. There is also a limit to what I can control. Once you've tried your ass off, the rest is out of your hands. It's a job just finding things to apply for, and so far I've managed to find around 30. (I've even gotten 3 responses!) Not giving up is the most important thing I can do, besides being a mom, of course.
The most important opinion about this entire mess is my own. I also have to remember that crisis or not, we still have bills. Being a grown up doesn't mean giving up. Practicality can be a necessary detour, for now. Stay tuned.
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