Hard to find a job

[Risen]

has anyone here tried finding employment in the past 6~8 months? Have you had a lot of difficulty finding work, or have you not noticed anything out of the ordinary? For me, being a college student with very limited work experience as it is, its been a 2 month long search. There are just very few people hiring right now in my area of California (unemployment 11.6% state wide) and employers have been unusually adamant in finding people with prior experience, something that I know wasn't a big issue back in the 2007~2008 time period. From what I've experienced, recession = major job suckage.

Now that I've finally found my dirt paying job in the sky, I just have to hope that the company wont get hit with layoffs come the next big unemployment wave and economic downturn before the end of the year.

 

[Nonsensical]

I'm an unskilled 17 year old with 11 years of schooling under my belt searching for basic crap jobs and I have had no luck.

This is such a coincidence that you posted this, Risen, because I was wondering today why it was so hard to find a job! It's such a small world..

I have applied to no less than 10 places in my town. To be a dishwasher at a few joints, a waiter, a cashier, to sell tickets at our movie theater, to rent out movies, and to work in the library and haven't heard back from a single place. I have talked to a few of my friends and they've said that nobody has been hiring recently.

It's really annoying, because I need the money to go to Italy, pay for my car, and gas. It's a pain and I'm sick and tired of filling out application after application.

But that's the real world and other people have it harder and I should be happy because I am fortunate enough to even be able to get a job. It's still tough, though. Getting a job didn't seem like such a hassle, because all of my friends had gotten jobs before me.

 

[Athenian200]

I'm honestly to the point that I wish some of these older, more qualified applicants would just die and get out of my way already. I'm tired of not having an opportunity because they're still breathing!

I don't have any compassion left. I don't care if they have a family. I don't care if they need it more. I don't care if they deserve it more. I am tired of sitting here, trapped in a situation where I can only spend money and not make it. Where I can't gather the resources I supposedly need to get one in the first place. I do not want to sit here and accomplish nothing for the next few years.

I am out of patience, and would advocate any solution, no matter how bloody or cruel. I am no longer willing to accept this state of affairs.

 

[jenocyde]

Athenian: I you.

 

[Metamorphosis]

I have a college degree and years of work experience and I can't even find a job that only requires a high school diploma...so yes, I'm having a hard time.

 

[Clownmaster]

White male
No experience
Criminal Record
Some college completed

Even if I could find a job, affirmative action would make virtually any other applicant more appealing

 

[poppy]

Yeah, I second (third, fourth, 8th) what everyone has said. I tried to get a job but no luck (I live up in the Bay Area). People with degrees, people with children to support, middle aged men and women are all applying for jobs that would normally be a good fit for me (18, no college, a little work experience). I went to a bookstore to drop off an application and the three people in line in front of me were there to do the same thing. It's madness.

 

[Risen]

White male
No experience
Criminal Record
Some college completed

Even if I could find a job, affirmative action would make virtually any other applicant more appealing

I think JCPenney (was just hired there) actually has an initiative to promote a diverse workplace (minorities) based on some info I've dug up about the company. Works for me I guess, though it's still just as/more hard for an unskilled black man out there as it is for anyone else.

What i don't get about this company is the wacky female to male ratio. I swear It's nothing less than 4:1 females to males. There's like tons of women and a handful of men in that store, with at least half of the few men being in upper management positions. It will be interesting working in a mostly female environment, for good or for bad...

Not my type of job at all, but at least i have something. I'd probably rather be washing dishes (and likely getting paid more for it without the BS of retail), but alas, I've been told I'm not "experienced" enough to wash dishes. Mother f***er, how much experience does it take to clean of some goddamn plates and stick them into a dishwasher!? Must be s***ting me.

 

[jenocyde]

White male
No experience
Criminal Record
Some college completed

Even if I could find a job, affirmative action would make virtually any other applicant more appealing

I don't think affirmative action is your problem, but if you want to make that your scapegoat, then so be it.

 

[ring the bell]

I'm in the same boat.. I got laid off back in January. I have a college degree but yet can't even get a job filing or answering phones. I'm going back to school in the fall, but it was damn scary before I got all of that lined out. Otherwise, it has been the most interesting government subsidized vacation I've ever had... but for the love of god I freaking need to work my brain again!!!!!!

 

[Risen]

Man, unless you're in a technical field like engineering and coming out of school with some good training, as far as I know finding jobs as a new college grad sucks. The engineering field seems to have the opposite attitude where companies like to take on new guys who can be easily trained for that specific job. Unfortunately, it'll be some 3~5 years before I'm able to tap into this holy grail which is nothing but saddening.

 

[jenocyde]

Is it possible that you can create your own job? Do you have any interests or skills? The SBA grants loans out all the time, or can assist you in finding one. Or you can get $100 from every family member as a donation or a loan, for seed money. Advertise your interior painting, lawn mowing or dog washing skills on craigslist, or just start selling shit on ebay. You can also bartend, or wait tables. Get creative and proactive. It's not easy out there, and it's much harder if you are just waiting for other people to get creative and proactive with you.

 

[Asterion]

I'm in the same situation. But I was just told that a majority of those other 200 people applying for the job you want that requires very basic skills, are rejected based on the fact that they have the skills to get work elsewhere. I think you really need to have a positive outlook at the very least, if you think about it, the average person you find working in a local store is just about retarded most of the time, half the people who are still trying to get the job, are just blithering idiots and don't know what they're doing. You're competing with about one or two decent people all in all (that's a fair guess, but seeing the positives really helps I think). I've also really noticed that the whole process is incredibly skills focused, if you've worked in retail, people in retail will hire you... which sucks, because I want to develop a wider set of skills . I'm planning to volunteer, develop some skills and then own everyone oh, and also, if you're lacking skills, apparently you are best off door knocking, to show that you have enthusiasm and are willing, and stalking companies is acceptable... I mean, you're desperate right?

 

[wildcat]

has anyone here tried finding employment in the past 6~8 months? Have you had a lot of difficulty finding work, or have you not noticed anything out of the ordinary? For me, being a college student with very limited work experience as it is, its been a 2 month long search. There are just very few people hiring right now in my area of California (unemployment 11.6% state wide) and employers have been unusually adamant in finding people with prior experience, something that I know wasn't a big issue back in the 2007~2008 time period. From what I've experienced, recession = major job suckage.

Now that I've finally found my dirt paying job in the sky, I just have to hope that the company wont get hit with layoffs come the next big unemployment wave and economic downturn before the end of the year.

Somebody wins, somebody loses?
A bucket can only hold so much water.

Both sides win in an exchange.
Otherwise exchange would not take place.

It is not about the water.
The job is only where it changes hands.

 

[Clownmaster]

I don't think affirmative action is your problem, but if you want to make that your scapegoat, then so be it.

I don't minimize the effect of my criminal record. The fact that there's a dark mark on there at all is discouraging in this economy.

I only mentioned affirmative action because in my city, whites are a minority, but still treated like the majority for affirmative action, which only adds difficulty to the challenge that my criminal record has already dug so deep.

 

[jenocyde]

I don't minimize the effect of my criminal record. The fact that there's a dark mark on there at all is discouraging in this economy.

I only mentioned affirmative action because in my city, whites are a minority, but still treated like the majority for affirmative action, which only adds difficulty to the challenge that my criminal record has already dug so deep.

Hey, we all get into trouble sometimes and we all deserve a second chance. Some of us deserve a first chance. Either way, best of luck with your search. It's tough out there for everyone.

 

[Edgar]

Some advice for you kids from an older, distinguished gentleman such as myself... if you are thinking of going back to school to weather the storm of recession, don't. You will be just as unemployed plus student loans on top of it. Just keep looking, its the best thing you can do.

 

[INA]

I'm honestly to the point that I wish some of these older, more qualified applicants would just die and get out of my way already. I'm tired of not having an opportunity because they're still breathing!

I don't have any compassion left. I don't care if they have a family. I don't care if they need it more. I don't care if they deserve it more. I am tired of sitting here, trapped in a situation where I can only spend money and not make it. Where I can't gather the resources I supposedly need to get one in the first place. I do not want to sit here and accomplish nothing for the next few years.

I am out of patience, and would advocate any solution, no matter how bloody or cruel. I am no longer willing to accept this state of affairs.

tell us more about your Kampf.

 

[professor goodstain]

Is it possible that you can create your own job? Do you have any interests or skills? The SBA grants loans out all the time, or can assist you in finding one. Or you can get $100 from every family member as a donation or a loan, for seed money. Advertise your interior painting, lawn mowing or dog washing skills on craigslist, or just start selling shit on ebay. You can also bartend, or wait tables. Get creative and proactive. It's not easy out there, and it's much harder if you are just waiting for other people to get creative and proactive with you.

True. As of the last couple months i've been making solar panels from scratch on site. Very cheap to do. i only charge for parts, labor and installation of the finished product. A glitch i've found from the get-go....an electrician WILL rack the hell out of a customer for wiring it into the breaker box. So i have to mention that while giving a bid. i still don't quite understand how to report the income from it. So i'm thinking i'll just get a fake social like immigrants do and not worry about it. i'm in kind of an immigrant safe haven city. There are most certainly ways to bypass affirmative action. Go immigrant on em

Somebody wins, somebody loses?
A bucket can only hold so much water.

Both sides win in an exchange.
Otherwise exchange would not take place.

It is not about the water.
The job is only where it changes hands.

This is part of the philosophy that got us all in this situation in the first place.

 

[Halla74]

Some advice for you kids from an older, distinguished gentleman such as myself... if you are thinking of going back to school to weather the storm of recession, don't. You will be just as unemployed plus student loans on top of it. Just keep looking, its the best thing you can do.

+1!

Find a wealthy, generous, single older person with a terminal heart condition.
Woo them in any way necessary.
Obtain a sweet spot in their will.
Cry at the funeral.
Live well!



Cheers,

-Alex