What's the longest you've been unemployed?

[Matt S]

Best of luck finding a job, though! Things will look up.

Thanks.......glad to hear it worked out for you. Once I do score the next job, consider my ass humbled. Like deeply humbled

 

[AllisonAmy]

Best of luck finding a job! The company I work for just laid off 38 temps a week ago.

I got my first part-time job (paid into social security) in 1985 when I was 14 years old. I have never been between jobs, since.

 

[VASith]

I swear if I get a house I will pave over the grass, I don't give a crap about how the yard looks.

In April, may, June and October it's nice. Other humid months no way..and with a baby on the way? Nope.

 

[VASith]

No it's not. Do you know how embarassing it is to have to present 3 forms of I.D.
and a 500 dollar cash deposit just to rent a donkey for an hour

You forgot the 3 Columbian pot bellied pigs..2 of which have still not been found. Despite numerous MRI scans.

 

[VASith]

Nope. Son of a career govt father who is now a senior partner at Booz Allen Hamilton. I can remember when I didnt do my college essays on time he threw the paperwork around my room and said I had 72 hours to do them our I was kicked out nd joining the military. It's rubbed off though...I don't accept ____ or excuses from my employees..do the job or get out.

 

[ProgMatinee]

Is it really that bad out there, such as, if you went to Safeway or Piggly Wiggly you can't find something?

 

[The Ween]

I've been working since I got out of high school. What's sad to me is that I'll never be able to retire.

 

[BadMoon]

I hear you. That was my first alteration with bills: cutting my own grass, and living in Texas, its hot here too, but I love it. Don't have the responsibilities of being a parent, so that helps me But damn, those weed wackers are a pain to keep threaded right! Congrats on the child coming!

Decided to go exercise instead of having that margarita. Glad (not literally) to see others were/in same position I am now. Guess it helps knowing its not just 'you'




I was once there too - right out of school ended up working a security gig for a museum when I lived in Ca. It was a terribly boring job, but paid the bills. hang in there, it'll happen




I bet you'd be a fun guy to share stories with at the local watering hole...LOL





Tell me you are a recruiter for the Marines, man!!! Cause if you are typical of the current workforce mindset as I believe you are, am I screwed!!!!

Nothing wrong with joining the Marines. If you are that hard up there are plenty of benefits to doing just that. Although if you want it nice and cushy join the Air Force.

 

[Darth Madden]

I was out 10 months before I found my current job. I probably went on 30 interviews and had another 10 phone interviews... it was rough. Just haing in there... something will come up.

 

[devilof76]

<------ready to enlist.

 

[Jen]

I've been working since I was 14 as well. The longest break I've had in between jobs was 3 weeks when I moved from Idaho to Seattle. I've had my current job for 15 1/2 years.

A good friend of mine got laid off almost 2 years ago. He had several job offers after he was laid off but none of them paid what he was getting before, so he passed. Now he would give anything to have those offers again because right now he's getting nothing. He had one possibility (didn't pan out) about 7 months ago that was for much less than those first offers he got. It's a tough market right now.

 

[Dark Passenger]

I work out of the electrical union hiring hall. Being unemployed has become part of my life since 2008 off and on. When work picks up, it is a very high paying job with great benefits.

 

[shocktrooper_au]

I was out of work for 18 months after a redundancy, went from a nice comfy office job to unemployment & had to get a factory job for half the money until something good came along (which it did), that was 8yrs ago... so maybe try something totally different, don't aim to low as sometimes they know your going to jump to the next opp, but it'd good to get anything just to say your employed at the next interview

 

[Matt S]

jacked up thing, i actually interviewed and got hired by a place 2 weeks after I lost my job, but due to my stupidity with communication, I lost that offer.....argh......I did end up taking 3 months off, but partly out of the situation. Should have realized market is worse than I thought.

Yeah, told myself if I don't get something quick, gonna deliver pizzas or anything just to bring in some dough (pun intended). With a Tom Tom, shouldnt get too lost

 

[Darth Cruel]

18 months. The market sucks and even while looking constantly you get told no a lot all that leads to a gap in your resume. Something else to think about is some companies won't hire you if they think after training your going to jump shop for the next better thing. I know part of that is what kept me from getting a few.

I agree with you on this. If I ever find myself without work again, I am going to go to a staffing company. At least there will be a paycheck and they don't expect you to stay forever.


Also...many companies are hiring that way now. Although that might not work so well for a teaching position...for many other positions it is a great way to get a permanent job.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I was out of a job for about 9 months in 2001-2002. The company I was working for closed down their NY office around June of 2001. I wasn't too distressed initially, but after a few weeks of looking and not getting anywhere, I started to worry. That was around the time when the internet startups bubble burst. I got on unempolyment but it really doesn't pay much--just barely enough for me to keep my apartment. Worse still is my wife (fiance at the time) and I were planning our wedding and were getting ready to close on a house. Luckily all the financial paperwork was done when I actually had a job. Then September 11 happened and that dashed any hopes I had for getting another job. The economy went further down the toilet. I moved out of the city into our new (fixer-upper) house in NJ, and it was even more difficult finding work in the city, now having to commute for just the interviews. I still had some freelance jobs here and there, and they definitely helped. Then around March 2002, a former manager from 2 jobs before told me she knew of a spot opening up. The position was lower than what I was in previously, but I went on the interview anyway. I got the job right there and then, and I took it, even though I felt a little bad that I was overqualified for it. But I figured I could always keep looking. Hey, it was money, and it was in my field. Well, I stayed there for 6 years and I really ended up liking it. I especially loved the people I worked with. Great crew. I left that job in 2008 and I still miss them.

As far as my 9 month employment gap, I put down "freelancing" which is true. The extent of my freelancing need not be known. I mean, I was really only doing a few weeks cumulative worth of work in that 9 month span. But in the resume, you don't have to specify the actual dates of employment. So yes, I truthfully did freelance work during those 9 months!

 

[AllisonAmy]

I found out last night that my brother turned down a six figure salary to go back to community college and finish his associate's degree. I think he is crazy for turning it down, but I am glad he is going to finish what he started. I hope there will be opportunities like that for him, again.

 

[devilof76]

That is crazy. I like money so much more than school, and I can still go to the library if I'm rich.

 

[The Ween]

That is crazy. I like money so much more than school, and I can still go to the library if I'm rich.

Really, and why waste more money on school? You can always do that later if you want to finish it.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Five months from the end of 2004 to the beginning of 2005. As a government contractor, the company I had been with for about a year was losing a contract and essentially laid off anyone without a final security clearance. I thought I was safe; but then I turned out to be one of the ten employees that have final clearances included in the reduction in force.

18 hours. Heard rumors of a buyout for 6 months. Once we were bought we knew jobs were going oversees. I had been submitting applications since I heard the rumors. Went on an interview, nailed it, was offered the job one week before the company closed. Got my severance package and started my new job the very next day. Got really lucky.

Smart man. Hubris got the best of me. I thought, I have a TOP SECRET clearance, I’ll get a job easily. I didn't, and I wasn’t willing to take lower-paying "menial" jobs at the time (in hindsight, I should have). I was receiving what little unemployment compensation I was eligible for, living off credit cards (BAD IDEA) and making a little money under the table at my old college employer, delivering food.

To make matters worse, my girlfriend was pregnant with our first child. I was re-hired by old company on a new contract, but that five months of unemployment ran up my debt, so we made the tough decision to move back in with my parents.

It all worked out though, I've been with my company for seven years (eight if you count my first tour of duty) and have almost tripled my pay since I first started.

I swear if I get a house I will pave over the grass, I don't give a crap about how the yard looks.

One of the reasons I bought a townhome closer to the city (Washington, DC) vs. a single family home farther out.

In April, may, June and October it's nice. Other humid months no way..and with a baby on the way? Nope.

I still mow my parents' yard for them; my dad and I don't have the best relationship, but he's getting up their in age and they have a pretty big yard. I would never forgive myself if he had a heart attack doing the yardwork in the Virginia humidity (knock on wood).

I was out of a job for about 9 months in 2001-2002. The company I was working for closed down their NY office around June of 2001. I wasn't too distressed initially, but after a few weeks of looking and not getting anywhere, I started to worry. That was around the time when the internet startups bubble burst. I got on unemployment but it really doesn't pay much--just barely enough for me to keep my apartment. Worse still is my wife (fiance at the time) and I were planning our wedding and were getting ready to close on a house. Luckily all the financial paperwork was done when I actually had a job. Then September 11 happened and that dashed any hopes I had for getting another job. The economy went further down the toilet. I moved out of the city into our new (fixer-upper) house in NJ, and it was even more difficult finding work in the city, now having to commute for just the interviews. I still had some freelance jobs here and there, and they definitely helped. Then around March 2002, a former manager from 2 jobs before told me she knew of a spot opening up. The position was lower than what I was in previously, but I went on the interview anyway. I got the job right there and then, and I took it, even though I felt a little bad that I was overqualified for it. But I figured I could always keep looking. Hey, it was money, and it was in my field. Well, I stayed there for 6 years and I really ended up liking it. I especially loved the people I worked with. Great crew. I left that job in 2008 and I still miss them.

As far as my 9 month employment gap, I put down "freelancing" which is true. The extent of my freelancing need not be known. I mean, I was really only doing a few weeks cumulative worth of work in that 9 month span. But in the resume, you don't have to specify the actual dates of employment. So yes, I truthfully did freelance work during those 9 months!

I hate to say it and I feel bad saying it, but 9/11 was the best thing to happen as far employment for those of us in the security field. I have a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, and planned to go to law school, but a few weeks temping at a big DC law firm changed my mind after I saw how hard those first year associates were working to get ahead. Sort of kind of fell into the security field.

I found out last night that my brother turned down a six figure salary to go back to community college and finish his associate's degree. I think he is crazy for turning it down, but I am glad he is going to finish what he started. I hope there will be opportunities like that for him, again.

Higher education isn't all it used to be from a pragmatic / financial standpoint. It used be that going to college was a way to learn life skills as well as prepare you for employment. Now some degrees aren't worth it, considering the amount of student debt that follows you afterwards.