Finally found this community!

[JadeBlue]

I’ve been going insane over the last 4-5 years, and finally found a forum that is geared towards my needs. I am very sad to see that it is not as active now as it used to be, which probably means that people are finding jobs, but that almost makes me more angry.

I’m going to explain my situation as briefly as I possibly can, but there is so much to tell and until now I have had no where to tell it! Anyway, thanks in advance for listening to my sobs/rants.

I’m now a 26 year old female. I’m married, I own a home that my husband and I purchased when the market crashed (it was a fixer-upper, but a good investment.) I finished my degree in 2008 when everything went to hell. I graduated with a degree in education, expecting to wait a year or two before finding a position, but was pleasantly surprised to get a 4 month (maternity leave) position as soon as I walked in the door, followed by a non-steady daily sub position for the rest of the school year.

The next few months, I took other jobs doing camps and afterschool programs to supplement some income. At times, I was working 3 jobs weekly AND still collecting unemployment, it was so bad!

Even worse, my husband got let go from his position 2 years after we moved. They stated it was a mutual agreement (the company wouldn’t pay for the tools he needed to land more contracts), but they really wanted to hire someone fresh out of college for pennies. This was 7 weeks before our wedding…

I managed to stay “employed” for a good amount of the time, even if I had no work. My husband couldn’t find anything, so he focused on the business he already owns and operates on a voluntary basis. It’s getting there, but he cannot pay himself a salary yet, but it is (thank God) paying for our health insurance. Don’t even get me started on Health Insurance!!

Anyway, this is the longest stint of unemployment I’ve ever gone through. I’ve begun ruining my excellent credit and driving myself into debt trying to keep up with the bills, but I just can’t… I’ve been working for my husband part time for minimum wage and can’t even hope to get myself out of this hellhole unless something changes SOON. School starts next week and I’ve had two very good interviews- came extremely close to getting an offer a month ago, but I was 2nd choice. Story of my life.

All I want is a simple full-time job at a reasonable wage. An entry level position somewhere with a salary so I can start digging myself out of this and take the burden off of my husband. Am I not deserving of one? According to what I’ve been reading here, I’m of the right age and qualifications/experience, so why is it still so hard? I see all of my former classmates getting jobs at Google, Indeed.com, and generally doing well in life, and I feel left out in the cold! I can’t stand it! I do so much volunteer work for my husband’s organization, I take care of the house, I work extremely hard at everything I do, and I have nothing to show for it! No appreciation for the skills I have! Only punishment!

How are young people like myself going to start a family when things are like this? We can barely feed ourselves! And now we can’t refinance our mortgage to help because we both make nothing! It’s nonsense! I WAS NEVER EVEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO HAVE A CAREER!

My anxiety is now off the charts and I cry almost every night! I want it to stop!

[elvis44102]

welcome to the forum

[Jobless_in_Ma]

Welcome to UF2. I'm sorry to hear of your struggles. Rest assured you are not alone in this mess.

[JadeBlue]

Thanks for the welcome!

It's sad that things have become this way. People in my situation used to have more options for help, but job agencies and career placement groups have their hands full.

[Daveparts]

Welcome to the one place where people understand.

“...and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” - John Steinbeck

[TR11005]

What ever you do don't give up! You are not alone.

[MaryKay]

JadeBlue, welcome home. You can cry and vent as much as you would like. We are all with you, we are all experiencing some of what you are going through, although many of us have had careers and lost them. Sadly, you and your husband haven't yet had that chance. Either way, right now, we are all the "same age" as we are all in the same situation, lost credit, lost homes, income, health insurance etc. I am glad you husband is hanging in and hopefully, soon it will turn around for him. I won't get started on the education system and the need for good teachers and the lack of support for them.

Just know you are always welcome and we are here for you.

[snday]

welcome you!

[Hunterforjobs]

Its everywhere, across all age groups except if you're in high school, seems jobs knock on the door. My niece 18 and nephew 17 found jobs instantly as soon as they applied.
Myself, it is another story. Though I do admit I haven't been looking aggressivley as I got sick of the lack of acknowledgments. It is going on 4 years with me. I even enrolled in cosmetology school the minute I got laid off, but that license isn't panning out for me. I did that just to make some extra income while holding a regular job, and that worked out fine for, NOT!

Since you are an educator, took your praxis and are licensed, put your name in for subing.

I was beginning to think this forum died.

[MaryKay]

Hey Hunter, no we are here. Although sadly, some of our members have just stopped coming and posting.

Glad to see you, hoping you are as well as can be expected, given our circumstances.

[Guest]

Welcome, jadeblue.

[JadeBlue]

Hey all! Thanks so much for the warm responses while I was gone. To add to everything, my grandmother passed away suddenly in her sleep this week, so I was busy with family stuff. She went peacefully, though, and I'm sure her passing is a relief to my Father, who is the only one left who could care for her.

But I have slightly better news- I found a job listed in the town paper at a local plant supply company, so I wore a nice outfit and popped in (it's only 7 minutes away.) They gave me an application and told me to come back on Monday so I could talk to the manager.

I don't know what the job specifics are- sounds like they want someone to manage their online sales, but this company just celebrated their 200th anniversary and it's in an awesome old factory building, so it could be good for now. As they say, better to look for work while employed.

Oh, and my Father who was unemployed for 3 years just started working as a medicine delivery person, which doesn't pay too badly. And my Mother in Law just got a job offer on Friday for something in her field for the money she wants and it's 15 minutes away from her. So yay!

Hopefully this Labor Day will be a lucky time for everyone! The new financial quarter starts very soon.

[Guest]

Wow, that's great jadeblue! Congrats!

[Guest]

I hit send too quickly!! Meant to also say sorry for your loss.

[JadeBlue]

I hit send too quickly!! Meant to also say sorry for your loss.

Haha. Thanks for both replies. I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

[JadeBlue]

I just met with the manager of the place, it was a brief informal interview... He looked over my materials and I asked what the job entailed because it was a very brief description. He informed me that everyone does a little of everything around the place. I would be doing shipping and receiving, inventory, and also helping out in the nursery when the weather is warm- weeding, moving seed bags, etc. I could tell I wasn't what he was expecting, but I told him I'm an artist and not afraid to get my hands dirty. I also have my own garden at home, so it's not a problem.

I don't expect a call-back, I'm sure I didn't look ready for gardening in slacks and a sweater, but there was another frail little woman there filling out an application, so they may not get the applicants they're looking for.

If I had to do it over, I would have talked him up more and added some more things about myself and the heavy lifting I've done at other jobs. But I have no regrets about it, and at least I got to meet with someone. I have yet to get interviews this year for non-teaching positions.

Either way, he said he would start calling people by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'm working on two more applications.

[Jobless_in_Ma]

Best of luck Jadeblue!

[jmainframe]

Sorry to hear you didn't think it went too well, but who knows, maybe they liked you more than you think.

As far as the slacks and sweater, it's always better to over-dress for an interview than to under-dress.

No 2 interviews are ever the same. No one knows quite what to expect, unless they know someone on the inside. It's a very stressful and unfair process for the interviewee. Hindsight is always 20/20. We would all do a much better job if we knew then what we know now.

Keep it up, you're on the right track!

[MaryKay]

Agree jmain. Every interview is different. Sometimes it's just the one that seems sour that turns out sweet. Sometimes, the interviewer is just as nervous and the interviewee.

We'll all say a prayer and keep our fingers crossed JadeBlue. With your artistic sense and experience, I would think you would be a shoe in.

Please let us know.

[JadeBlue]

Thanks again, all. I appreciate the cheerleading on this site, it's hard to get that right now.

In a surprising twist of events, I got an e-mail yesterday morning from a school system, asking me to contact a district administrator about two open part-time positions. I finally got in touch with the woman, but she told me she would get back to me when she finished her meeting yesterday afternoon. It is now the end of day two, and she still has not contacted me despite calling her and e-mailing her. I don't want to be a pain, since hiring is not part of her busy job, especially at the beginning of the school year, but I feel if I don't move quickly I will miss my opportunity. The jobs are now listed publicly on their website, so I may not be able to pin down an interview before they choose someone else.

I sent them my application over a month ago as part of a referral from my agency, and they just now got back to me, and asked that I to talk to the person in contact with my agency, which makes me think I have a shot at these jobs, I just can't sit still and wait right now.

I'm thinking of contacting my agency tomorrow and ask if they know anything more about it, and could maybe contact her on my behalf?

So nerve-wracking.

[JadeBlue]

So, I finally got in touch with the district coordinator- she said the positions were filled internally... Uhh... Then why did they contact me on Tuesday?! Anyway, she called me back again because they have 3 long-term positions that need to be filled this year, one starts in a week, so she's been trying to find my application. Hopefully she is successful this time. Sub work in my field is better than nothing, as long as the pay is worth while. Plus, I would definitely apply for permanent positions while there.

But in another blow to my family- my sister-in-law, who got laid off LAST WEEK when her restaurant went out of business, had a miscarriage. It's so tragic. And she is the same age as me. It was her first child.

[503Depressed]

Sudden unemployment brings on so much stress, to both yourself and to your family.

[JadeBlue]

I have news, but I was waiting until everything got sorted out before I posted. I got a long-term sub position! I finally heard back from the district coordinator, and the next day I got a phone call from a principal who wanted me to come in for an interview and maybe shadow the teacher who is leaving for 3-4 months. That usually means a job offer, so I met with her and the teacher she shares a room with, and we all got along so well. We all graduated from the same program, and I actually took some classes with the part-time teacher who is completely new, so we will definitely work well together and help each other out.

And they all said they would recommend me for future positions- the school system I will be working in is quite large, and they always have people taking other positions, so this could be the door cracking open again for me. I'm not overly excited about the work I have ahead of me and the dismal pay they can offer me, but I can suck it up for a few months and work hard to have another offer waiting for me come January.

I'll be pretty busy starting next month, but I wish everyone luck, and I will probably be back here during the winter at the very least!

[Guest]

Congratulations jadeblue! That's fantastic

[MaryKay]

Congratulations Jadeblue, couldn't be happier for you. Please stay in touch, let us know how you are doing. Hopefully it turns out to be more than a temp assignment. I am sure you will do well.

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