How do you cope with long term unemployment?

From ERE Net |  posted by Kelly Blokdijk on Jan. 27, 2010

I
spotted this discussion post on LinkedIn recently and thought I'd keep
track of it as there are plenty of people wondering this same thing
these days.

How do you cope with long term unemployment?

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=79627&discussionID=12237157&split_page=1&goback=%2Eanh_79627

As I poked trough some of the comments, I noticed quite a few useful
ideas and supportive advice being passed around. Nothing too surprising
there, just fellow job seekers commiserating with their online peers...

Then I started to observe some other types of responses that were of
a far more intimate nature. Several people took advantage of the
opportunity to vent about how and why they wound up unemployed and all
of the dreadful situations arising due to that status. The more I read,
the more I thought TMI, TMI, TMI!!!

One person in particular actually posted a very Jerry Springer-esque
diatribe about all sorts of bad things that happened from one employer
to the next. Basically, they described going after the employer(s) for
various grievances. Other people ranted similar stories which also made
me cringe. Last time I checked, most employers aren't really fond of
hiring those who publically disparage previous bosses or have litigious
tendencies.

My HR/ER-radar went into full-alert mode over the most disturbing
posts by those who went into extreme detail about very private and
personal or family health issues and such. If someone is worried about
discrimination over such matters, why would they not go out of their
way to protect that aspect of their life versus broadcasting every
gory aspect to a bunch of virtual strangers?

The reason I found this fascinating was that by now, who doesn't
realize that what gets said or written on the Internet, stays on the
Internet - kind of permanently for the most part, right?

I can't quite comprehend why it hasn't occurred to these people that
their activities online are very possibly going to be scrutinized by
prospective employers during the screening process. Ironically, they
seemed to have figured out that LinkedIn is a useful tool in the job
search arena, so why the lack of discretion when it comes to airing
their dirty laundry and opening up the closet full of skeletons?

3 comments

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   Kelly Blokdijk

  
  1
  point
  
  4 days ago
  

  Brian and Maureen, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences on this topic.

  
  

  I agree that much of the frustration being expressed is justified.
  From a personal/professional branding standpoint, I have serious
  concerns when job seekers choose to be so open with their "issues." If
  they were expressing their drama in an anonymous forum versus a
  professional networking venue (LinkedIn) - with full names, photos and
  career history visible, then that would be much more understandable.

  
  

  Maureen - sorry to hear about the examples of poor treatment you've
  experienced. For what it is worth, I don't disagree that there are
  plenty of these unpleasant and clueless types running around in the
  recruiting and HR profession. I've encountered plenty of them myself : (

  
  

  Try not to take any of that stuff personally. It just shows how
  simple-minded they are and that they have no concept that bad
  circumstances can and do happen to many of us, through no fault of our
  own.

  
  

  My guess is that they have not lived or worked long enough to "get
  it." Or, they've been extremely lucky and can't personally relate to
  position eliminations or extended job searches.

  
  

  There are plenty of other discussions about ageism, etc., so I hope
  this doesn't turn into a debate about that. If I interview with someone
  who thinks I'm too old because I'm twice their age, well, then I don't
  really want to be a part of that anyway. To me, it's just not worth the
  effort or energy to sway their limited thinking.    

  
  

  Naïve/idealistic or not, I'm sticking with the belief that most
  employers wish to attract and retain the best talent possible for their
  organization's needs. Hopefully, those who engage in biased
  decision-making on irrelevant factors get what they deserve.

  
  
  
  
  
  


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   Maureen Siler

  
  1
  point
  
  5 days ago
  

  Brian,

  
  

  This is an interesting discussion. Myself being unemployed through
  no fault of my own, have been so now for 15 months.  This is the first
  time in my work life of 30 years that I've been unemployed for more
  than a couple of months.  I've been in my profession for 16  years, and
  have always been amongst the top producers. The challenges I've seen in
  my job search include three primary factors:

  
  

  -I'm 48 years old and recently only been interviewed by
  20-somethings.  I don't have any issues with that, but the interviewers
  cleary seem to. I was asked by one recently why I hadn't found a job.
  "Why do you think you're unemployable?"   I am???

  
  

  -My experience is largely from an industry that has over the past three years been demonized as a result of the housing crisis

  
  

  -I'm financially secure, with squeaky clean credit, and do not need
  to earn what I used to, but I can't even seem to get a job with the
  Census Bureau (apparently I wasn't qualified) - Really?  someone who
  has interviewed people and gathered information for the past 16 years,
  isn't qualified to work for the Census Bureau? 

  
  

  So like most other long term unemployed folks, I've now been placed
  in a category, by many employers, as "one of those unemployed people". 
  I spend my days, at least three to four hours searching for jobs ...of
  any sort. I have a great deal of experience, am a very hard worker,
  which is why the past year has driven me crazy.  I am connected on
  Twitter (although it's too busy most of the time), Facebook, Linkedin,
  and a plethora of other online career networking medians. 

  
  

  I agree with you Kelly about the "junk" people discuss on their
  cyber-pages, and I am absolutely infuriated when I see posts by fellow
  unemployed folks jabbering about their party nights, and
  "funemployment".  I know of a number of regular "Facebooker's" who are
  playing online, all day every day.  But that's not all of us.  Many of
  us long term unemployed are doing constructive things to keep us busy
  while also job searching.  We volunteer, we take self and career
  improvement classes.  I've done every possible home improvement project
  I can think of, painted rooms numerous times, just to keep myself busy.
  And at this point, my husband has demanded I step away from the paint
  brush because he's afraid we're losing square footage from all the
  layers! 

  
  

  Interestingly enough though, in my very large family, the people who
  are on Facebook countless times during the workday, often complaining
  about their jobs, are the ones who ARE employed. 

  
  

  I recently attended a Job Fair, and as a Recruiter, my instinct was
  to look around the event and observe which tables had the longest lines
  of candidates. I waited in the HR line for my job opportunity,  (they'd
  advertised a Recruiting position in the Job Fair Ad just three days
  before the event).  The 20-something interviewer looked at my resume,
  and said "so, if you were virtually recruiting, were you actually
  recruiting, or was that a class you went to?"  I then explained to her
  that the term "virtual" means that the employee is based somewhere
  other than a company office. So she said "well we are not hiring for a
  Recruiter, but we'll keep your resume for future needs".  I said to her
  surprised, "I'm sorry, I was sure I saw the position along with others
  in your ad".  She looked at me and said " Ok, Thank you".   

  
  

  I decided to stick  around and see who was invited to go to the 2nd
  interviews across the hall.  I casually listened to conversations
  between the vendors, and the candidates, and  watched as countless
  20-somethings were referred to another room for 2nd interviews, while
  the 35ish and up were told they'd receive a follow up call if an
  opportunity arose that matched their skills. I peaked into the 2nd
  interview room on my way out, and there were maybe 15 interviewers, and
  about 25 to 30 candidates in lines for their 2nd interview. Among them
  was a woman who was in line with me at the HR Table, She'd earlier told
  me she was there for the "Recruiter" position, was working as an
  Accountant, but doesn't like her profession). Did I mention she was
  24?  And this position was for a Recruiter with 7-10 years of
  experience in my field. 

  
  

   I have 14 years experience in this field, and had been told 30
  minutes earlier that a position was not available. I was glad for her,
  but this experience just fortified the belief that age discrimination
  is alive and as blantant as ever. Many in the HR community are
  blatently encouraging or at the very least, ignoring it. I think the
  tide needs to turn, and that turn can only turn with a shift in
  thinking by those in charge of the hiring for a company... The HR
  Department. 

  
  

  On that same note, I've been a part of HR for many many years, and I
  read the comments on the boards at SHRM, here, as well as others, and I
  agree that airing messy parts of your life  is not good jodgement, I've
  also noticed some very insulting and errogant comments posted by those
  within the HR community. 

  
  

  To sum it up, many job-seekers are frustrated, angry and yes, I
  guess resentful.  I know I was after leaving that job fair, but I told
  myself, they'll get what they pay for in the end.   And the HR
  community is probably so overwhelmed by shear volume and workload, but
  your workload and frustration doesn't make me a less valuable
  candidate.

  
  
  
  
  
  


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   Brian Schwartz

  
  1
  point
  
  5 days ago
  

  Kelly...thank
  you for your thoughtful comments. As a psychologist who specializes in
  career planning and who has worked with over 1700 clients in an
  intensive 20+ hour career reinvention or change process, I have seen
  people in very similar circumstances though the economic conditions are
  far worse now than before. Your wondering why people are airing their
  dirty laundry online goes right to the heart of the illness that
  afflicts our country...the breakdown of community and the emotional
  safety net that provides people who live in a "village" environment. As
  a culture, our hyper reliance on the philosophy of self-sufficiency has
  wrought havoc on us as people are, by their very nature, social beings.
  The mad drive for inanimate things as symbols of our status, success
  and power has seriously shredded the social nets that would protect
  many of us from the kind of desperation you see in these posts you
  refer to. While good advice to these people would be to talk it out
  with a trusted advisor, friend, relative, etc., the fact is that people
  are desperate and we need to be careful not to blame the victims of
  system that has driven 1 of 5 Americans out of work, the unduly tilts
  the power in favor of the rich and powerful who in turn buy the
  politicians who in turn shred the safety net and appoint Supreme Court
  justices who shred our democratic process by now viewing corporations
  as "people" with all the rights inherent in citizens. We are now living
  in a casino where there is no way for people in the middle or bottom of
  the employment pyramid to win. We have a political democracy that has
  been severely compromised and a dominant organizational culture where
  those with power have made life more than miserable for millions of
  people. Any survey of workforce attitudes about employers tell us that
  fear dominates in the workplace and in a serious recession that
  probably augurs massive structural changes in the economy and large
  unemployment for at least four years hence, people are being driven to
  distraction and worse. What you are seeing in these posts is people who
  are mirroring those filing for bankruptcy due to the horrors of our for
  profit medical insurance system, those walking away from their homes or
  being put out of them by a banking system gone haywire with greed and
  incompetence and a lack of accountability and people who are giving up
  on paying their credit cards as the massive push for consumerism sees
  its chickens coming home to roost. We are, at the end of the day, human
  beings with foibles and when those in power abuse their position and
  rig the system so as to undermine the body politic, the casualties are
  huge and good judgment and reason increasingly fade in the face of
  desperation.