What is the longest period of time you've been unemployed?

[Uberfuhrer]

This is a pure information gathering thread.

I'm just curious about how long most people have gone a period of time without being able to find employment.

And this doesn't have to be profession, but just a simple job, such as working at fast food or something. What is the longest period of time you've gone through without being unemployed?

If you were unemployed for any length of time, did you start losing motivation for even finding work? Did you begin to lose a sense of self and identity?

[JustDave]

I'll bite.

The longest period I was unemployed for was three months. My internship had just ended and since I was in my senior year of college I decided to focus all my energy on my last semester. Then in January, right after I graduated, I started looking for work.

[Little Linguist]

Well, I did not work before I was 18 because my family thought I should focus on school. I took about one-and-a-half years off before I started studying, during which I did not work. After I started studying, I did various on-campus jobs. After I graduated, I had three months off before I went to Germany. Then I had a one-year contract that was extended another year (it could not be extended any further) and then it took about two months to find another job. After I decided that job wasn't for me, I went directly into the job I had now - so I had about four days off.

So I guess the one-and-a-half year gap was the largest, but I had an internship during that time for three months as well.

[Jae Rae]

I just got a job last week after not working since the end of September, although I had a one-week stint proofreading in October. In December I took a volunteer position at my local library, and I also did a some volunteer jobs for my synagogue.

Yes, applying for jobs and not hearing back is hard and begins to affect one's self-esteem. We're in a downturn, so that kept me from feeling worse than I might have.

[Anonymous]

About 7 months. I quit my previous job because I was starting college, and they were notorious for not caring about how few hours people wanted, giving those who didn't want anymore than 25 or so 40. Then I found a job which I've been working for about a year, but it gives too few hours. Figures, can't really find anything in the middle.

[Modern Nomad]

sweet avatar...

longest i been was for a year during the internet bust.

[ZiL]

I'm in college and living off scholarship money, but I did have a job about 9 months ago. I'm familiar with unemployment though - my dad has been unemployed two times since I was born for over a year each time. The second time was due to a previously misdiagnosed bipolar disorder. It sucked both times and I'm deathly afraid of it for myself. He definitely lost motivation in finding work; he was heavily depressed.

[Wyst]

I've been unemployed twice since I was 16.

First time was for about 2 months.
This time, a little over a month.

[Uberfuhrer]

Originally Posted by ZiL

He definitely lost motivation in finding work; he was heavily depressed.

Yeah, that's me, too. I lost motivation. I've been unemployed for almost two years and I've been turned down employment at several places since then. And I've been turned down countless more interviews.

The trouble I'm having is how do I explain to an employer the two-year gap in between jobs?

It used to be a one-year gap, and the interviews I did score in the past asked me about that. I'm thinking that was what hurt my chances for employment.

[Jae Rae]

Originally Posted by Uberfuhrer

Yeah, that's me, too. I lost motivation. I've been unemployed for almost two years and I've been turned down employment at several places since then. And I've been turned down countless more interviews.

The trouble I'm having is how do I explain to an employer the two-year gap in between jobs?

It used to be a one-year gap, and the interviews I did score in the past asked me about that. I'm thinking that was what hurt my chances for employment.

If you have a disability that's kept you from working for awhile, they shouldn't hold that against you. In fact, there are employment programs for people in that situation.

I recommend job counseling. I went a few times and it was very helpful. A professional should be able to help you handle the job gap question.

Volunteering in an area in which I wanted to work, taking courses that could benefit me in future jobs and keeping physically active were all useful for staving off discouragement.