Why you can't find a job?

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:31 pm

I just really want to hear why you think you cannot find a job? What caused it and do you believe it will continue? I'm going to list a few examples for why I feel finding a job is very near impossible at this point in time.

1. Human Resources - They want to look busy so they create fake job listings they never have any intention of filling, and if they do they draw the process out so long they waste your time and mine because in doing so they are seen as doing more work than they actually do. In my opinion they do nothing but hire, fire, or cause trouble and if they filled jobs based only on qualifications they'd be filled in 1-2 days not weeks! Then their hours would be cut since they aren't working.

2. Social circles - Friends employee friends therefore anyone not as good at making friends and fitting in will have a harder time getting employed, especially at a place that is retail because there you WANT friends to kill time with and make your life less dull. So for me it's hard since I basically have no friends and am outcast, I keep to myself mostly.

3. Baby Boomers - I blame them considerably because they sent the jobs overseas while I was growing up only caring about themselves and planning for retirement, but oops wait what's that you say THEY cannot find jobs now and cut into those very retirement savings to stay afloat? Oops....... So in the end they didn't help themselves either, only a small percentage are rich and not loosing money. I understand not all baby boomers are to blame but they grew up and could've prevented this by looking further down the road and seeing it - I was not working when they were alive. THINK AHEAD.... the ironic thing is they wanna take the social security away and medicare cuz the government overspent so they're just as screwed as me now.

4. The People - I blame alot of this on people too, you know the ones who took low wage jobs instead of ignoring or demanding more money. If every person working negotiated for a fair wage or didn't take the job then we'd all have fair WAGES and be much better off, but nooo you have them taking minimum wage jobs 2 or 3 and that means companies can do whatever they want not just to you but everyone that they employ.

5. Government - I blame them yes, they are bad people that TAX us like hell and spend it on frivolous nonsense that doesn't help US. Exactly why would I want my tax dollars spent to pay for a military base in another country or some war that doesn't benefit me? How much oil did the wars they fought BURN UP? More than they got in exchange? I don't recall giving them my permission to tax the death out of us to spend the money abroad do you?

Anyways I can go on but am also interested in your ideas. I blame Human Resources first though because they keep posting fake ads for jobs, the you go and it's either entirely a different position or they never call you back. You know why they don't call you back???? Because they're just trying to look BUSY and get hours like everyone else.

by lendmeflight2 Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:43 pm

I agree with all of that except the tax thing. We are taxed in this country lower than we ever have been (since the income tax was instituted). Most big business pays no tax at all.
I do agree with the notion that we are spending tax money on wars that don't benefit us but can't find money to pay for more unemployment benefits that are obviously needed.

by Guest Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:52 pm

As a 56 year old baby boomer who worked full time since 1972 I take offense to your comment.

As for someone who would take a lower paying job to feed herself or her family and not demand wages, let me introduce you to life after 2008. No parent or single person with absolutely nothing will turn down any employment. Right or wrong, they won't and shouldn't. It's easy to have principles when you have someone who will pay your bills or feed your kids, but when that is gone, principles and demands don't feed your children or pay your bills.

Is there waste in government, you bet. Should we be angry, you bet, but not at one another. Many, many people not only lost their jobs after 2008, they lost their homes, their savings, their pensions and 401k's and are currently just as unemployed as you are tonight and we aren't happy, we're scared. But, we don't try to blame one another for whatever mistakes we made in our personal lives, we try like hell to keep each other going. Why you can't find a job? 34243

by Guest Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:13 pm

3. Baby Boomers - I blame them considerably because they sent the jobs overseas while I was growing up only caring about themselves and planning for retirement, but oops wait what's that you say THEY cannot find jobs now and cut into those very retirement savings to stay afloat? Oops....... So in the end they didn't help themselves either, only a small percentage are rich and not loosing money. I understand not all baby boomers are to blame but they grew up and could've prevented this by looking further down the road and seeing it - I was not working when they were alive. THINK AHEAD.... the ironic thing is they wanna take the social security away and medicare cuz the government overspent so they're just as screwed as me now.

I hope you didn't give this excuse for not finding a job to your dad. Looking at your age, I would guess that he is a "baby boomer" and probably resents every word in your statement.

Like Mary, I have worked since 1972 - I had my first job when I was a junior in high school. Sorry, but I didn't work all my life, doing everything I could to make a better life for my family thinking of only retiring! Just look back on those years that the "boomers" worked. We built this economy up, we worked through the "technology revolution" keeping up with the changing times so our children could have better lives. Now we are the ones who are suffering for it. Yes, we have spent our retirement money because we had no choice, we have to survive and no one will hire us.

I suggest you rethink your "reason #3". Could this be the reason that "Dad" is upset with you now? You sound like an ungrateful, spoiled brat.

by TOO OLD TO HIRE IN PA Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:16 pm

First of all, I second everything Mary Kay said, as we are from the same generation. While there are many young people like you out of work, YOU HAVE TIME ON YOUR SIDE! Things will get better for you. Those of us 55 and over are RUNNING OUT OF TIME. We have slim prospects of getting another job and Congress wants us all to DROP DEAD so they will use our money to keep Social Security and Medicare solvent for future generations. Oh, and did I mention job discrimination against older workers? The sad thing about it is that we cannot prove it. American companies need to rethink their hiring criteria for older workers and see us for what we really are; a valuable resource that will work hard, be loyal, and not care about climbing the corporate ladder.

by TOO OLD TO HIRE IN PA Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:18 pm

DesperateInRI wrote:
3. Baby Boomers - I blame them considerably because they sent the jobs overseas while I was growing up only caring about themselves and planning for retirement, but oops wait what's that you say THEY cannot find jobs now and cut into those very retirement savings to stay afloat? Oops....... So in the end they didn't help themselves either, only a small percentage are rich and not loosing money. I understand not all baby boomers are to blame but they grew up and could've prevented this by looking further down the road and seeing it - I was not working when they were alive. THINK AHEAD.... the ironic thing is they wanna take the social security away and medicare cuz the government overspent so they're just as screwed as me now.

I hope you didn't give this excuse for not finding a job to your dad. Looking at your age, I would guess that he is a "baby boomer" and probably resents every word in your statement.

Like Mary, I have worked since 1972 - I had my first job when I was a junior in high school. Sorry, but I didn't work all my life, doing everything I could to make a better life for my family thinking of only retiring! Just look back on those years that the "boomers" worked. We built this economy up, we worked through the "technology revolution" keeping up with the changing times so our children could have better lives. Now we are the ones who are suffering for it. Yes, we have spent our retirement money because we had no choice, we have to survive and no one will hire us.

I suggest you rethink your "reason #3". Could this be the reason that "Dad" is upset with you now? You sound like an ungrateful, spoiled brat.

Another great post from another of our fellow Baby Boomers. Way to go Desperate!

by lendmeflight2 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:20 pm

I don't really think dreamslides meant that the way everyone is taking or else I would disagree too. I think he meant that the people outsourcing jobs are of the baby boom generation, NOT that baby boomers started the problem in general. I think the statement could have been clearer.

It would be nice to hear from dreamslides, him/herself though.

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:20 pm

Well I welcome other opinions, how about you guys who responded any thoughts?

by lendmeflight2 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:25 pm

Ok, maybe he DID mean it the way he said it. lol.

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:28 pm

lendmeflight2 wrote:Ok, maybe he DID mean it the way he said it. lol.

I just meant it like you mean, they outsourced jobs and built companies based on unsound principles, I didn't say all of them though :L It's only 1 thing I mentioned others have influence too ;Z

by Guest Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:33 pm

My opinion on why there are no jobs - the fat corporations that hoard their money while enjoying the benefits of the Bush Tax Cuts and expecting one employee to do the work of three or four.

Actually, it is pretty dumb on their part. Less consumers = less $$$ spent = lower profits. Guess they will just have to learn the hard way, you can't spend what you don't have, and more and more people in this country are going without now while they get richer and richer.

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:36 pm

How long do you think it will go on? Do ya think it's eventually going to collapse the corporations or will they throw everyone in jail that's homeless unless we buy their iPods lol :Q I see no reason homeless cities can't be established with police regulation and help from the govt, it would be far better than spending it on wars that lead nowhere.

by lendmeflight2 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:41 pm

You are right about that. What would be even better than that is spending all that war money on extending unemployment benefits for everyone until the economy improves. If the benefits continued these people, like you and I, would still be spending money in the economy and it would turn around just like it did at the end of the great depression. If you CUT spending the economy gets worse. That is what Hoover tried to do in 1929 and the great depression just got worse.

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:48 pm

Do you know how other countries handle unemployment, do they also give benefits?

by Guest Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:52 pm

dreamslides wrote:Do you know how other countries handle unemployment, do they also give benefits?

They take care of their citizens a lot better than this country does. At least I would have healthcare if I lived in Canada.

by dreamslides Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:56 pm

I forgot about Canada having free healthcare yes, I know a friend there he got it and his sister has cancer and they help her free, pretty unreal to imagine here huh

by lendmeflight2 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:59 pm

In England, you can get unemployment benefits as long as you aren't working. Some people spend their entire lives on benefits in extreme cases. I have a friend from England who is unemployed and 71 years old. He just goes to his local office every two weeks and then they pay him as long as he is looking for work. It's not like here though. He actually has to go into an office with his work search record but he knows he will not run out of benefits as long as he is looking.

by nfpexec Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:31 pm

We already knew that a job that was posted months ago and is still mysteriously showing up online might just be a computer glitch, especially if it looks like it got aggregated from an aggregator that found it online on some other website. (In other words: that three-month old posting on the company’s own website has a better chance of being legit—but that means they really take their time about hiring, or are just seeing whether they can live without paying an extra person.)

And super-tight deadlines don’t do anyone any favors.
But the third tip presented in Ruth Mantell’s On The Job column for Marketplace today is a good one, we think.

If you’re looking at a job ad where the desired employee characteristics sound far too specific, says Larry Katz, a labor economist at Harvard University, it might mean that the company already has an internal candidate but is required by company policy to post the opening publicly anyway.

“Sometimes when there are odd requirements, that’s a way to justify hiring the person they want. They are just generating applications to satisfy some bureaucratic process,” Katz said.

by TOO OLD TO HIRE IN PA Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:23 pm

dreamslides wrote:I forgot about Canada having free healthcare yes, I know a friend there he got it and his sister has cancer and they help her free, pretty unreal to imagine here huh

Again, it really depends on who you talk to in Canada. I have a friend who says you can wait over a year for heart surgery and other major operations. Not every plan is perfect, but having some healthcare is better than none.

by invisiblecitizen Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:31 am

I think No. 6 should be "Fake Job Ads." Lots of information is collected from resumes - valuable information than can be sold. Your name, address, phone, email - and some resumes include hobbies. Marketing our personal information can be very profitable, but no one wants to buy old information - that is why the job ads keep reappearing, updating marketing information. Don't you ever wonder how all these strangers got your email address? Don't you ever wonder why your great job application is met with silence? Older workers are rock steady. But who cares?

by TOO OLD TO HIRE IN PA Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:22 pm

invisiblecitizen wrote:I think No. 6 should be "Fake Job Ads." Lots of information is collected from resumes - valuable information than can be sold. Your name, address, phone, email - and some resumes include hobbies. Marketing our personal information can be very profitable, but no one wants to buy old information - that is why the job ads keep reappearing, updating marketing information. Don't you ever wonder how all these strangers got your email address? Don't you ever wonder why your great job application is met with silence? Older workers are rock steady. But who cares?

For every legit job reply we get, there are hundreds of scam emails. The unemployed are being preyed upon because they know that some of us are desperate. There is also alot of email hacking. My husband got an email from a good friend who is also out of work. The email was personalized and he stated that he was making 450.00 to 600.00 a day. It had a link and said give it a try. We smelled a rat immediately and called him. He apologized and said he was in the process of calling everyone on his address book to tell them not to click on the link and send money to the scammer. His email was hacked and because he puts the real names of his friends next to their email addresses, the hackers were able to personalize it. Sometimes we really hate the Internet and feel like everyone knows our personal business.

by rprp Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:59 am

Well, first, I think a lot of what the OP's post says is true. However, to blame the "baby boomers" is to paint with too wide a brush. My SIL has gotten both of her sons jobs at Apple and ONLY because she worked there. Those kids were handed a lot and I think a lot of younger people have been handed a lot too. I also think a lot (not all) might not have the work ethic of the boomers but young likes to hire young so they're all used to texting or checking their facebook during the day. I tell you, when I was working I had zero time to check my personal email and only made personal calls on my breaks.

Now, as to why I haven't been hired, well, I have zero self confidence and feel like I really have nothing to offer. It's awfully hard to apply for jobs and go to interviews when you feel that way. Plus, after my dad died last year and all my friendships ended I got pretty depressed and that is not conducive to getting a job either. I only have a house in this town and that is it - no connections, etc. I pretty much burned every bridge when my dad was dying and I am just done here so I don't look.

I also think going on 52 does not work in my favor nor does being overweight. I don't know what to do with my hair and that doesn't help. I am not a fashionista, IOW. My confidence was crushed over a couple of job interviews last year that I know involved discrimination. I was offered one job collecting on junk debt but it required speaking in Spanish all day and I thought I would get fired and could not afford one more short term job on my resume so I declined. Plus, I refused to call people and hassle them over an unpaid $25 Verizon phone bill when so many are just trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Basically, I think I am a discouraged worker and until I get out of this depression I'm in I could not work a job and keep it. So I am focusing on getting out of the depression.

There are many reasons people are not getting hired but as has been said, it does no good for one group to blame the other (as in blaming the boomers for outsourcing or my resenting the fact that I am discriminated against by younger people).

My two cents.

by Hunterforjobs Sun Jul 31, 2011 11:46 am

1. Discrimination against obesity or being chubby. Since obesity causes higher health care costs.

2. Being a smoker. A lot of discrimination against smokers again rises the cost of health care.

3. Bad teeth. If you don't have clean white straight teeth and though you may have tons of qualifications you wont get the job.

4. Myth about skills being outdated. I have not seen any job where there are up to date skills. Its a lie or an excuse they use. Skills don't get outdated.

If you did hotel reservations ten years ago and applied for a hotel today do you think you you'd forget how to make a reservation, charge a credit card, send confirmation letters. Or if you were admin assistant or whatever. Nothing has changed in those jobs.

Amateur HR or Hiring managers. Don't know what they're doing ask all the book questions that has nothing to do with the job.

Self Esteem and unsure of self. Happens when you're unemployed and you get one rejection letter after another or don't hear from anyone at all. And not knowing how to fill in that unemployment gap on your resume. Sux.

I know no one owes me a living but no one is willing to offer a chance.

Don't know if age discrimination is a factor because I hear a lot of 20 somethings are also having hard times finding jobs. BUT my 17 year old niece and 16 year old nephew and their friends had no hard time finding work. Hmmm.

by Guest Sun Jul 31, 2011 3:02 pm

Over qualified, was paid decent livable wages over many years. Considered too old to work in a young persons environment, if they do want you, it's to do their job and yours as well for much lower wage. You may question them as to "why", they are frankly afraid of hiring us. HR thinks we have lost all of our skills, we are not trainable anylonger, we have become obsolete in the new working life, everyone is no longer moving foward, they are running forward trying to stay one step ahead of the competition, you can be left aside of the road in a blink of the eye.

by lendmeflight2 Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:31 pm

Hunterforjobs wrote:1. Discrimination against obesity or being chubby. Since obesity causes higher health care costs.

2. Being a smoker. A lot of discrimination against smokers again rises the cost of health care.

3. Bad teeth. If you don't have clean white straight teeth and though you may have tons of qualifications you wont get the job.

4. Myth about skills being outdated. I have not seen any job where there are up to date skills. Its a lie or an excuse they use. Skills don't get outdated.

If you did hotel reservations ten years ago and applied for a hotel today do you think you you'd forget how to make a reservation, charge a credit card, send confirmation letters. Or if you were admin assistant or whatever. Nothing has changed in those jobs.

Amateur HR or Hiring managers. Don't know what they're doing ask all the book questions that has nothing to do with the job.

Self Esteem and unsure of self. Happens when you're unemployed and you get one rejection letter after another or don't hear from anyone at all. And not knowing how to fill in that unemployment gap on your resume. Sux.

I know no one owes me a living but no one is willing to offer a chance.

Don't know if age discrimination is a factor because I hear a lot of 20 somethings are also having hard times finding jobs. BUT my 17 year old niece and 16 year old nephew and their friends had no hard time finding work. Hmmm.

I agree with your assessment in general but would boil it down to "pretty people get jobs". Everyone likes pretty people, people who are liked get hired so pretty people get hire. It's always been the case but with so many people to choose from it makes much more of an impact.

I think that 20 somethings are having a hard time finding work because they just got out of college and are shooting for the moon. They are not applying for that minimum wage job at target that I am overqualified for.

16 to 17 year olds have no problems because they are NOT overqualified for that target job and get hired over me.

As far as self esteem goes, I almost don't care anymore. I am less motivated to look for a job now than I ever have been.

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