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You know what I wish? That the currently employed stop taking their jobs for granted and realize how lucky they are right now. I find a lot (read, not ALL) of employed people who act like there wasn't an economic crash and they think the job economy is good. They think that people are unemployed because they are lazy, freeriders, or simply not working hard enough. They also think they are employed because they "worked hard" and "applied themselves" to their profession.
STOP. If you think that way, YOU'RE WRONG.
Maybe it takes being on the other side of the fence to really realize how bad the situation is. I'm unemployed now for the second time in 4 years, was laid off both times after a grueling hunt to even get the offer in the first place. I get so sick of people acting like I'm not trying hard enough, all while they COMPLAIN about their well paying and stable jobs. Seriously, the job complainers I can't stand. No one should ever complain about their job right now unless there is something seriously going wrong at it, but yet day in and day out I see people on my Facebook complaining how their jobs "suck" and they "deserve" better jobs. These employed people need to stop complaining about their employment and be thankful.
Truth is, there is a whole bunch of people out there right now who would wish nothing more to find work again, but they just can't. They are doing everything right, networking, making connections, applying literally everywhere, interviewing right, sending good resumes, it's just a really terrible market now, and more often than not I just see offers going to the person most liked or has the best connection with the company rather than the person most qualified. It's painful being on the unemployed side of the fence, trying to find work is a harder job than any job I worked before and I put in the hours to match...
Sorry for the rant, but just needed to vent about how naive currently employed people act towards unemployment..
(EDIT: One clarification to be made. I meant to say in my first paragraph that many employed people act like they work harder or apply themselves more than those that are unemployed. I'm sure there are many employed people who worked hard to get where they are, but I sure as heck know there are lots of unemployed who have worked much harder than those that are employed. To think you got employed because you worked harder than those that are unemployed is a faulty mindset. )
Last edited by the_grimace; 03-11-2014 at 07:39 PM..
They also think they are employed because they "worked hard" and "applied themselves" to their profession.
I just have an issue with this point. In this market where there are so many highly skilled individuals who need jobs, you think anyone is getting a free ride? If an employed person stopped working hard and applying themselves, they'd find their asses on the street if their employer was at all concerned with productivity.
You seem to think that the only people who have jobs are people with executive connections or something, and this is as naive as thinking that all unemployed people are lazy dirtbags.
I can understand the OP point. I will agree that I see a lot of friends looking for jobs getting passed over because of something stupid. There is no one on one interaction with the employee-employer anymore and I understand that with the employer having so many applicants but having to go through twenty steps to get a job seems a bit overkill.
To understand the faulty mindset used by the "all unemployed people are bums" folks, look up the Just World Fallacy. It'll give you insight into their strange viewpoint. In short, deep down, they really do believe that "everyone gets what they deserve in life" which leads to the corollary, "if bad things happen to you, you deserve it." It's a failure of a belief system since it doesn't hold up to facts. For example, take the starving child born into poverty who then dies young - how did that child "deserve it?"
"The just-world hypothesis or just-world fallacy is the cognitive bias (or assumption) that a person's actions always bring morally fair and fitting consequences to that person, so that all noble actions are eventually rewarded and all evil actions are eventually punished. In other words, the just-world hypothesis is the tendency to attribute consequences to—or expect consequences as the result of—a universal force that restores moral balance. The fallacy is that this implies (often unintentionally) the existence of cosmic justice, desert, stability, or order, and may also serve to rationalize people's misfortune on the grounds that they deserve it."
Much of this failed belief system is no different than the Dark Ages misapplication of "God's wrath." Back then, if you were out of work or otherwise suffering, you clearly "were a sinner who had offended God." Nowadays, they just hide the religious overtones and slap a new coat of paint on the same old thing, instead saying that people who are out of work or otherwise suffering, "deserve it" or "lack skills / work ethic / whatever."
Many people who buy into this belief system do so to fluff up their own egos. They need to believe deep down that one only gets what one deserves in life to justify their own good fortune. They need to convince themselves that luck played no role in their success - that they are "entirely self-made men" - and thus deserving of everything they've received. They then easily fall into the corollary belief - that those who have had misfortune "deserve it" - but they cannot abandon the Just World Fallacy since so much of their sense of self-worth is tied up in believing that they "earned" every good thing in their lives.
I just have an issue with this point. In this market where there are so many highly skilled individuals who need jobs, you think anyone is getting a free ride? If an employed person stopped working hard and applying themselves, they'd find their asses on the street if their employer was at all concerned with productivity.
You seem to think that the only people who have jobs are people with executive connections or something, and this is as naive as thinking that all unemployed people are lazy dirtbags.
Let me rephrase. I meant to say "worked harder" than everyone else, or "applied themselves better than anyone else. I'm sure there are many employed people who worked hard to get where they were, but I sure as heck know there are lots of unemployed who have worked much harder than those that are employed.
I also feel strongly that many more people get jobs (whether they are qualified or not) because of executive or company connections. In my own short career of 4 years since I've graduated, I've seen way too many people get hired or heard stories of people getting hired because they knew someone that was basically able to hand them the job. There are a lot more people working because of connections than one would like in this country.
It was worse a few years ago. You would think that even the employed knew enough unemployed people. But some were cloistered in their offices unaware of how bad things were. At most they might have noticed their employers were treating them worse, but had no idea why.
I have been unemployed for 6 years now, and if I knew I wouldn't even be able to get a part time job I would have never given up working at Meijer. But I've been sending out resumes for hours every day just like the OP explained. This is so relatable, my dad's 60-something year old girlfriend thinks that I'm not applying myself just because I can't get a job ANYWHERE. Same with my mom. They think that I can find a job online, maybe if you go to a government site they'll accept you somewhere. Yeah, that would be nice. I really don't understand why the economy HAS to be the way it is, but until it gets better I'll just practice living off the land. You never know, I might need those skills someday if inflation or a stock market crash ever occurs!
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the_grimace
I also feel strongly that many more people get jobs (whether they are qualified or not) because of executive or company connections. In my own short career of 4 years since I've graduated, I've seen way too many people get hired or heard stories of people getting hired because they knew someone that was basically able to hand them the job. There are a lot more people working because of connections than one would like in this country.
Networking has always been key. Maybe a bit more so now.
The solution is to develop these connections. There is a reason why so many of the young people (and honestly, mid career people) do so much networking, work with charity groups, alumni associations, or political campaigns during nights and weekends, and go out for lunches/coffees during the day (an informational interviews). There is nothing wrong with this, being able to develop social connections/relationships is pretty darn important in almost every job I've had.
I have been unemployed for 6 years now, and if I knew I wouldn't even be able to get a part time job I would have never given up working at Meijer. But I've been sending out resumes for hours every day just like the OP explained. This is so relatable, my dad's 60-something year old girlfriend thinks that I'm not applying myself just because I can't get a job ANYWHERE. Same with my mom. They think that I can find a job online, maybe if you go to a government site they'll accept you somewhere. Yeah, that would be nice. I really don't understand why the economy HAS to be the way it is, but until it gets better I'll just practice living off the land. You never know, I might need those skills someday if inflation or a stock market crash ever occurs!
So you'd rather be unemployed than to take a job with the government wherever they have an opening?
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