Awkward Phone Interview

Just finished up a phone interview which I felt did not go well. The interviewer did not realize that I was laid off 1 1/2 years ago and not several months ago. There was the long pause and right then I knew everything I said from that point on was a lost cause. When being unemployed for more than a year is the new normal I don't understand why it comes as a suprise to these interviewers to come across a long gap in a resume.

Just imagine a 5 year gap! I was laid off in March, 2008, at the beginning of the recession. You should have heard the phone interview I had yesterday! I was in tears when I got off the phone. I felt useless, washed-up, stupid and old. Broke down and cried most of the night, because maybe this recruiter was right.

I have been embelishing my recent work record for some time...

whos to say what a "vo;unteered position" is, a walk around the block
could be the local nieghboorhood watch

Yeah, these recruiters are in their own little worlds with their heads up their butts, just like the people on Wall Street. They ACT AS IF we were in a mild recession that started in late 2007 and ended in June 2009! They pretend that they're winners who always act and think positive, that there is no job crisis, and that anyone with a gap in their employment is either lazy, incompentant, have mental issues, or all 3. In short, they're delusional!

The problem's not with us, it's with them and one day we all will be on their side of the desk, except we won't be looking down our noses or over our glasses at someone who is struggling in a bad economy.

I wonder how these mental midgets gained so much power.

I'm disabled today but I confronted a few in my time.. I told a few, that they were peons themselves just as prone to being unemployed and were there just there at desks weeding everyone out and they had no consciences.

I get the feeling in the recruiting field that people with consciences, creativity and the rest get drummed out.

Springflowers wrote:I wonder how these mental midgets gained so much power.

I'm disabled today but I confronted a few in my time.. I told a few, that they were peons themselves just as prone to being unemployed and were there just there at desks weeding everyone out and they had no consciences.

I get the feeling in the recruiting field that people with consciences, creativity and the rest get drummed out.

Yeah Springflowers, these "people" are part of the problem, not the solution. They're the ones who need to be weeded out.

Stop blaming the past or the present. Tomorrow is another day. So many face heartache deeper than employment get a grip and give it all your might! For gods sake just do it!

I'm tired of the whining. I'm tired of the essays posted here to flaccid the situation. I only know every minute of yours should be spent in posting, not in prothericating!

Look it up.

smindles wrote:Stop blaming the past or the present. Tomorrow is another day. So many face heartache deeper than employment get a grip and give it all your might! For gods sake just do it!

I'm tired of the whining. I'm tired of the essays posted here to flaccid the situation. I only know every minute of yours should be spent in posting, not in prothericating!

Look it up.

Hey smindles, I just got back from 1 of the 2 jobs I work that "I just do". Having said that, who is your rant directed at???

I'm not ranting, jmainframe. My post, hoping that its clear enough, is directed only to those that continue to look backwards in time and additionally seem to spend too much time on this forum providing hopeless scenarios and commensurating with each other.

I'm trying to drive home the point that it takes a lot of effort and drive to find a job, and encourage everyone without one that there's hope.

There currently is a lack of tips and good advice on seeking jobs. Like I'm sure you know, there's a lot of effort and discouragement along the path to securing a job. I as well am fortunate to have a contract position, and when it ends I will be back to square block 1 "unemployed" again.

My post was a reaction to most attitudes I see on these forums these days and not at all directed at you.

smindles wrote:I'm not ranting, jmainframe. My post, hoping that its clear enough, is directed only to those that continue to look backwards in time and additionally seem to spend too much time on this forum providing hopeless scenarios and commensurating with each other.

I'm trying to drive home the point that it takes a lot of effort and drive to find a job, and encourage everyone without one that there's hope.

There currently is a lack of tips and good advice on seeking jobs. Like I'm sure you know, there's a lot of effort and discouragement along the path to securing a job. I as well am fortunate to have a contract position, and when it ends I will be back to square block 1 "unemployed" again.

My post was a reaction to most attitudes I see on these forums these days and not at all directed at you.

A little over ten years ago, i returned to school while working for a few years...It was a combination of full-time work, part-time school, and a lot of effort for several years.

I then switched carreers into full-time IT work for four years, it was HARD to get that first lob being 40 something plus at the time..

we than had the big crash and there was nothing for a while...

for neary the last 2 years i have gotten several 3-4-5 month contracts and a multitude of one, two week stuff..

all my contracts have been with the financial industry in one form or another..

I am called by recruiters for many projects that dont pan out, by recruiters that dont speak english, dont think a 200 mile comute is unresanoble etc.

I have applied for countless jobs, but the only thing that pans out are the ones when a recruiter spots my resume and calls me...

just finished a contract a month ago, and expect a call anytime from tommorrow till 6 months from now..the point is the ONLY thing that has worked for me is about four different job hunting sites that i have a resume posted on..

Other than update my resume (which will always get calls) AND keep current with job skills, I am at a loss as to how to get a regular full-time position somewhere.

I think this is the way IT is, because i have worked with crews that describe similar situations...

If you go to free wifi spots (ncdonalds) and see a 50ish yr old man on a laptop, thats an IT guy out in the field. (se them all the time)...

contracts here and there with UI filling the gap seems to be what my future holds, and that is WAY better than nothing at all...

I got the rejection email today...thanks but no thanks. I didn't really want that job anyway. The woman doing the interviewing sounded snooty and cold. I almost replied to that effect, but thought better of it.

elvis44102 wrote:I have been embelishing my recent work record for some time...

whos to say what a "vo;unteered position" is, a walk around the block
could be the local nieghboorhood watch

You are absolutely correct. I have putting down my 15 year volunteering job as an actual part time position....and the volunteering place agreed to it. Truthfully, I don't believe many employers actually call past employers anyway. When they do call, they don't get any feedback that would help them anyway...all your past employers can do is confirm that you have worked for them. They cannot give you a bad reference, so it's pretty much a waste of time for perspective employers to call them.

smindles wrote:Stop blaming the past or the present. Tomorrow is another day. So many face heartache deeper than employment get a grip and give it all your might! For gods sake just do it!

I'm tired of the whining. I'm tired of the essays posted here to flaccid the situation. I only know every minute of yours should be spent in posting, not in prothericating!

Look it up.

Lucky for me, I not on here all the time posting...but while I am not, I at least have a little more compassion for those that might be using this place to vent. Who are you to even post such a thing? I finally took on a part time job in retail, a job that everyone has stated was a waste of time, because the minimum wage wasn't worth losing all the other benefits. But I took the job anyway to get out of the house to feel worth something again. But everyone was right....it's not worth it. Because I took the job right before the Holidays, I was given alot of hours, which resulted in me losing my food stamps. But as soon as the Holidays were over, I lost all those hours, and have had to re-apply for food stamps again. And I will probably have to do this over and over everytime my hours change.

The managment sucks big time...after working in a professional office career all of my life, I am in awe at the attitudes of retail management. When I told the store manager that their training had alot to be desired, he litterally agreed with me...and just smiled. Pretty bad when the store manager doesn't even try to make changes, and this isn't some hunky dory little retail store....this is an upperscale one. There communication stinks, nobody is on the same page...everyone is doing something different, and the supervisors are not only rude to their help but to the customers as well.

Why do I stay there...because I actually feel I am doing something in my life, so it's not about benefits anymore, it's about me, and how I want to feel. But I am also staying there to prove to people like you, that I want to work, and willing to take what is available, so I am not on the list of lowlifes who do nothing but sit and post on a computer.

However, when I want to vent, when I want to get angry....this is where I go. Nobody else wants to listen to us, so why not vent our feelings to a faceless computer...at least it stops me from releasing my anger to the real faces I meet up with dailey. I stay away from here and other sites once in awhile, because it can get depressing, but the last thing everyone needs, is your criticism and sarcastic comments. We have no one else to vent to, so don't take this away from people who need it!

So, bottom line...if you don't like to listen to the whiners, don't come on here. I