Any forum members resigned; given up on the job market? (collecting, apply)

[smoky_topaz]

Does anyone on this board feel like the only option is to give up on the job market? Have you decided that you are just be going to have to learn to be happy jobless? I am so done with the job market that I've about decided to give up. It is hopeless. Time to start thinking about collecting cans on the side of the road perhaps...I've applied to about every place I can think of, and all I hear is silence or rejection. I mean EVERY place I can think of. Anything and everything that i am qualified for. I even make a list of places I have applied to and check them off. The job market is not just bad, IT IS TERRIBLE! Who the hell is getting jobs these days I wonder????
A little about my situation:
I get Social Security Disabilty Insurance and SSI...so it doesn't feel like a dire need....but working identifies you as a person and makes you feel like you are contributing to something....anyway, I am employed by a company called West..which is work at home with Live Opps, customer service, etc. I have ZERO COMPLAINTS about this company except for one essential one: the hours stink! and lately there has been a LONG DRY SPELL with NO, that's right, NO hours available...Heck I would stay with them as long as possible...but the hours need to get better! The last time there were any very good hours was Christmas...but lately it has been terrible, and just yesterday I scrounged up a bunch of stuff I plan to sell on eBay....I have a year of experience with eBay, think they are a great company, and if I get more experience maybe I could look into becoming a trade assistant or opening an eBay store...
Anyway I HATE HATE HATE this job market and if you feel like i do you are not alone. I have a friend who is jobless and is getting a lot more in Social Seurity that I do...If it weren't for the fact that Im getting married soon I would get ahold of them to appeal for more money.

[BROCKEN IN N.J.]

Just keep up hope.

[smoky_topaz]

And furthermore...

The 1990s and early to mid 2000s...It was a hell of a lot easier to land a job than it is now. 2007 seemed like my last good year to get one. I'm not saying it was easy in 2006 or 2007, but case in point-I could fill out five to seven applications and maybe get one callback for an interview. In 2008 I applied left right and up and down and got maybe six interviews (in one year total!) but zero offers. These days I could apply to 20 places and not get ONE d*mn callback! My two cents...

[Jesse69]

Hey Smoky - why do you get SSDI? I got it for Paranoid Schizophrenia and I proved this disability cost me jobs. I get $1095 a months on 6 years credit of work, what do you get?

My worst unemployment lasted 4.5 years when I was on probation and no one would hire me during probation.

I'm now on my 87th week of unemployment and I still search and apply for jobs... nothing else you can do except hope to won the Lotto. I treat my unemployment time now as a mini-retirement.


Smoky - when you get married Social Security has to know and they might do something to your benefits.

[smoky_topaz]

Well aware of that and my future sister-in-law is on SSI and married. I have major depressive disorder and take medication for it. Still I don't think I have that many issues holding a job.

[rjmclau]

Have you considered volunteering for the time being? I have major depressive disorder and social phobia, and I too am jobless. My therapist recomends volunteer work until I can get back into the job market. I might be getting on the Vocational rehab program too. They not only help you to get a job, but they follow your progress to make sure it's the right job for you. Deffinitely a plus for me since I had an anxiety attack at my last job and ended up storming out. A block away from my job, the ambulance came and had to help settle me down.

[cityhopper]

[Before,] I never understood the concept of people giving up hope or exiting the job market unless they were near retirement or could rely on spousal/family income. Now, experiencing the hardships, firsthand, when months turn into a year, it's understandable how morale falls and you get tired of fighting and seeing no results. Just think, many before faced this and was only given regular benefits and then they were left with nothing.

I have begun to realize we American's have to let go of that sense of entitlement; there are simply no guarantees and your employer will always view you as a resource versus an asset (i.e., dispensable and replaceable). It's duly important that we do things to safeguard our finances and career, such as having savings and seeking new training and educational opportunities without relying on the employer to fund it. This entire process has been a fight from start to finish. Certain choices I made for progress have come back to bite me in the bum. It's not hard to get tired of fighting effortlessly and simultaneously watch everything dwindle and wither down around you.

However, I always try to keep in the forefront things that are important to me and reminders of why I should continue to fight. I could have never stopped the scandals my employer was involved in, which ultimately led to the company-wide layoff. More than anything, it was those events that made me reevaluate and reassess myself and value.

All that being said, it's okay to feel. This situation has its' hardships upon hardships and everyone's experience will vary in some degree. I only ask that you not let the "unaffected" change the good things about you. Don't let them detract your skills or quality. Be ready to present the best of who you are at any time. Take this time as an upper advantage to be update with your field's trends and skills (as much as it's possible to do so) compared to your employed counterparts. Remember, you determine your self worth and what you think is worth fighting for. Let the bad moments (days) pass and try to do better the next day.