Months ago I wrote an entry about losing my job. It was the first time I have ever lost a job. I have worked since I was 15 and have never lost a job before. As I said then, the whole process was a new experience for me -- one I hope to never experience again.
If you've never been unemployed, let me tell you that it's a less than enjoyable process. You're taking home less money than you were making. Even less if you have taxes taken out (a simple percentage in Kentucky). You have to go into the unemployment office from time to time to report your job search process. When this first started for me, they were saying that there was to be a pilot program to have this be an electronic reporting process. Seven months later, its still paper.
The most eye opening thing for me was the amount of people not wanting to find a new job. I actually had to listen to someone argue with an office worker that they didn't plan on looking for work, they just wanted their check. Amazing. And I had someone else tell me that he had no intention of taking less money than he earned before. I was willing to take a $20k a year pay cut if it got me working again. And here's the kicker -- now that I've found work I asked about the process to get off of unemployment. Just simply don't request a check anymore. It makes me wonder how accurate the unemployment numbers are that the government is giving out. I would venture to guess that it is higher.
As I mentioned in my other entry, the job hunting has been a bleak process at times. No responses to applications. Blind calls from headhunters that lead to nothing. Few if any interviews and being told that you are no longer a candidate after waiting to hear something for months. A frustrating process that I wasn't expecting.
So how did I find a job finally? Not at one of the many job fairs I went to. Not from one of the hundreds of resumes I sent out either via email or the standard snail mail. I found it via one of the oldest ways that I know of - an old acquaintance called me and asked what I was doing. As soon as he found out I wasn't working, he was starting the process to get me hired. I am thankful for my new job like you wouldn't believe. And the best part is that I will be making more money than before. I am excited to begin my new position today (July 11th) and hope I have this job a long time.
If you're looking for work, good luck. It's a tough market at the moment. But there is hope out there if you can just hang on.
- Thanks, David
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