On the Dole Again: A thread for out-of-work/unemployed/laid-off Ilxors in 2010

A thread for

-commiseration
-job-hunting
-drinking before 5pm
-bad interviews
-worse job expos
-the bizarro shit that passes for daytime television
-marathon video game sessions
-hilariously aschew sleep schedules
-bothering the neighbors with music practice during dayling hours
-repeatedly posting resumes to the local craigslist/job board/badly distributed classifieds

I got laid-off from my skilled-trade/blue-collar whatzit job last thursday. Since then, things have been weird/fun/whatever.

Today: already visited the backcracker, had about 3 beers, began to update the resume, played FFXII for a coupla hours

Oh yeah, and randomly, the Sci Fi Channel is showing 8 eps of the Eccleston Doctor Who series in a row today. Click down a few channels, and there's a show on TLC with a woman giving birth in a bathtub. A couple more, and you got a demolition derby.

I've been out of work since I finished my MA at the end of December oh and guess what? My husband was laid off today. Fun times. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Yikes! That's terrible.

Yeah, I know. Things were about to get tough anyway since I'd expected to have something by now but the timing is just so shitty. Part of me honestly doesn't believe it yet. He'll get some severance but still - it really really sucks.

Oh jeez. I'm sorry.

oh wow, E. I'm sorry to hear that

Christ, I'm sorry to hear that.

yow, that's bad :( I'm unemployed but it's just general woes of "where is my life going?" etc. not tough times and shit, sorry to hear that.

Thanks guys. We'll be ok for a little while and I have a few leads in the works which is good. It's just been hard enough for me to find something and I really don't want him to have to go through that now too.

Sorry to hear about that, ENBB. Lemme know if you wanna get in cahoots and go on the grift.

Sticky Fingers ILX Crew

Hahahahaha. We'll see how it goes but I'll let you know if it comes to that.

In the meantime I should probably start enrolling in clinical trials and medical experiments for cash and then start a thread about it, y?

I'd be fucked nine ways til sunday if me and my lad both lost our jobs right now - we have high rent and no savings :( I'm reasonably confident my job is pretty stable, only the company going under alltogether would lose me it, but you never know at the moment do you?

*hugs* to ENBB and Kingfish :(

Thanks Trayce. We also have a lot of bills and no savings. :-( L will get a package so that he gets paid for the next 5 weeks during which time I will hopefully get one of the many jobs I've already applied for. I figure something good has to happen sooner rather than later.

Good thoughts to you both, E -- yipes. Hope everyone's holding on out there.

aw, so sorry e!!!

Its so frustrating, its like... wtf, they cant just fire *everyone* because the economy is bad, people still gotta make our cars and clothes and food! U&%^$%%^$ corporate asswipes.

jesus, E, that really sucks! atm, both our jobs *seem* pretty safe... but all these ppl getting laid off has me pretty worried. for those of you laid off recently, how much warning did you get? did kind of feel like things were headed that way for awhile, or was it pretty sudden?

we'd be pretty fucked too - we've got some savings, but that needs to pay for the massive immigration costs we have coming up over the next few months.

He was told this afternoon and next Friday is his last day. He will then get five weeks pay after that. He knew that the company was making cuts and since he was the highest paid administrator it makes sense that they would cut that expense but he didn't actually know his job was in danger.

My situ is cool right now in that i don't really have many bills aside from rent + student loans.

And my car has no 4th gear, so there's that. At least I can still purchase health insurance thru my old company for like 6 months at a great rate.

Yeah the health insurance is a big one. L's meeting with the finance people first thing Monday to find out all those details. Glad things are ok for you right now. I was fine with my search taking a while but now it just seems that more urgent. I'm trying not to get too freaked out though because hopefully it'll all turn out for the best etc.

I have done most of those things on your list btw and tomorrow I think I may add drinking before 5.

The anxiety part is the worst of any of it. As long as you can survive the anxiety part, and this took me years to figure out, you can handle damn near anything else. Kava kava tea and ativan helps a shitload.

I'd get so fucked up internally that i'd start to freak out and try to find a job, any job, just to kill off the anxiety.

Yeah, you're totally right. I actually have an existing anxiety disorder so happen to have ativan on hand. May have to try the kava kava. I know that if I let myself get too anxious about everything it'll just be 1000x worse so I'm trying my hardest not too.

i'm hoping my job is safe right now, but if the company starts making cuts, i'll probably be one of the first to go. the ceo recently reminded everyone that the company does not pay severance for layoffs, though, just to motivate everyone to work extra hard.

Been unable to find work for three weeks now. On the plus side I've been watching a lot of Battlestar Galactica, Adult Swim and Hitchcock movies.

yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(;_; @ ENBB and Robbie S - I know you're watching from on high and I'll send a li'l prayer your ways)

Thread should have been called "Good Times, Great Memories: A thread for..."

just so that the greatest Dom meme of them all could live on...srsly I use that one pretty much every time I am forced to contemplate despair

http://freeringtones365.net/wp-content/funeral-for-a-friend-e28093-beneath-the-burning-tree.jpg

the ceo recently reminded everyone that the company does not pay severance

Is their no legal requirement in your country? That’s fucked. In the UK we have statutory redundancy terms of 1 weeks pay (up to £350 p/w) per year worked at the company, plus notice I think (and that seems shitty enough to me).

the US has no such thing.

I got so lucky, I was laid off in December but had six weeks notice, got two and a half months severance, and wound up with a job two weeks after my last day of work. Of course now I'm anxiety ridden all the time, I work twice as hard for the same amount of money, and am constantly worried that I'm about to get sacked. The job market is fucking horrible right now, I can't imagine looking for a job again. I fucked up so many interviews before I nailed this one.

ach this sucks

enbb - if it makes you feel any better my company did layoffs back in january and two of the folks I kept in contact with have subsequently found jobs in boston, so it's not hopeless.

Hey Edward that does help some. There is stuff available here - just not tons. I've been looking for something pretty specific but will now have to broaden my search.

I think L will have an easier time finding a job because he's not looking at something so specialized. He's on a conference call right now with the office and they're discussing the layoffs. 19 people in total were let go and there decision to let him go was def related to the level of his salary.

Anyway thanks Edward - that is helpful. I've also been looking at jobs in Providence because the commute wouldn't be so bad if I found something good and it can only be helpful to look everywhere possible.

I'm only underemployed, not unemployed (and temping at the unemployment office, lol) but I thought I'd share this contemptible bit of fuckwaddery with all you worthless deadbeats.

Rick "The Prick" Perry rejects stimulus money for expanding unemployment benefits.

Oh yeah -I applied for unemployment in December and it was contested so I'm still waiting to speak with an adjuster and it's been almost 12 weeks now!!!

Have signed on with three temp agencies and was told it's very slow right now. grrrr.

Just piping up to say fuck Rick Perry.

i was surprised (although i guess i shouldn't have been) too by the lack of laws regarding redundancies. pretty sure you can't lay someone off in new zealand, esp after the 1st year of service, without some notice and pay-out.

I have a job but I don't have a place to live, and apparently my future roommate and I can't get approved for an apt because everyone is so leery right now of extending credit/trust to anyone with a less than stellar record. Which is confusing, because everyone in NYC has to live SOMEwhere, right? So how does everyone else get an apartment?

I'm really discouraged and don't know what else to do but give up and take a share with a stranger for another 6 mos to a year, until something better comes along or the market changes.

:(

you would think in this economy they'd be glad to have someone paying rent?

i'm glad i never had to look for a place when i moved here, because from all accounts it sounds like a nightmare - tenants have little to no rights in this country.

in foreign country with no recourse to public funds. Need to find a job by the end of the month. can't afford to fly back to the US either. all badness.

I've also been looking at jobs in Providence because the commute wouldn't be so bad if I found something good and it can only be helpful to look everywhere possible.

― Too Into Dancing to Argue (ENBB), Friday, March 13, 2009 11:10 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

you'd definitely be going in the right direction traffic-wise. too bad RI's unemployment rate is #2 in the US.

what type of work are you looking for?

We'll my field is Women's Health and specifically the sexual and reproductive health of young women. Ideally I'd like to work in either education or policy work around that which probably means either at a non-profit or gov org. At this point though I'm basically looking at any and all administrative positions. If I'm going to have to be an admin again I'd like it to be in a healthcare setting but am pretty much willing to consider any admin type position at this point.

in foreign country with no recourse to public funds. Need to find a job by the end of the month. can't afford to fly back to the US either. all badness.

reminds me of the horrifying nyt dubai article. what foreign country?

there are a lot of healthcare orgs in providence and brown medical so maybe it's not a bad idea for you to look in providence

I know you're looking for gov/non-profit stuff, but lifespan is a big local chain
http://www.lifespan.org/services/hr/

and women and infants are well respected, I can personally attest they have a great nurse midwife practice
http://www.womenandinfants.org/body.cfm?id=832

xp

Wow - thank you so much E3. That is really helpful. I'm going to look into all three of those today. :-)

this is a good thread idea. sorry to hear about R Spiralli btw...

I'm in contention for a job right now which seems a rare chance to do something exciting rather than just whatever comes along, so seriously praying I can get it.

Made my first call about a job today. And am starting to update the resume.

It's weird to look at the thing, since it was written when I was still in 'the engineering industry', instead of what i've been doing for the last 19 months which has been alarms work. I got shit like 'yeah, i know matlab and unix and any number of HP benchtest equipment' when this last period has been me climbing thru attics or crawlspaces to find out where rats/squirrels/rodentia of any kind have munched the wiring or figuring out why somebody's smoke detector keeps giving off false alarms or climbing down into street vaults filled with 18"+ of water to diagnose why the waterflow tamper switches keep shorting out.

That kinda thing. Yeah it's all troubleshooting and electronics and wiring, but the differences between industries can seem a wide gulf.

At any rate, time to go get a haircut and load up on caffeine. There's tonight's free BSG-screening to plan for as well.

Got an interview on thursday, finally posted my resume to CL, had one headhunter contact me, we'll see how this goes

in other news, playing the Star Ocean PS2 game along with all the others i'm juggling right now

unemployment is great for jrpgs

got offered a job for an initial 8 weeks at radio 1

At long last a proper replacement for Peel.

haha god i'm so far away from actual presenting but would love to present one day (prob more a replacement for bruno brookes). they asked me today in what was a chat/interview if i knew about pop music and even tho i feel confident i do i actually said "yeah i mean i know about YOUNG PERSON'S MUSIC." then struggling further "erm...of course i do because i am a young person myself", how i got the job after that is a mystery.

well done

:-) Good going.

While I'm here, does anyone have advice about getting a job in a town that you've just moved to?

Second that. I've just been using craigslist and a few city-specific job sites.

thanks guys...

Offered the job. Taking it because it is work. Money is about the national average. I hope I can handle the mind-numbing drudgery.

and the shit hours.

hmm didn't get that guardian job i went for, but they told me i did a good interview and directed me to apply for another. so good thing i've got this radio 1 thing till january. still waiting on sky...fingers crossed.

gukbe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McQT-XH3wGA#t=21s

pretty otm. I'm grateful for the job, and looking forward to making some ca$h money. it's just...disconcerting when the guy interviewing you makes the job out to be pretty horrible. He actually said, "You think you can do it? I could never do it, but..."

bon courage

Again, I'll rep for hitting up a bevy of staffing companies on a weekly basis.

resigned today after 7 years here

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/Jack_VS.._The_Kraken.JPG

My goodness. Totally voluntary resignation, or was there pressure/incentive?

I am dying for my bf who's waiting to get onto a new project that will pay 3x my annual salary. One phone call away from being able to function even remotely normally....

no intentional pressure, just wanted to get out for the end of the year - v stagnant here, chronically underworked etc. i can chill+freelance for a bit hopefully. bring it.

Kudos to you, then.

jeez gutsy move. Good luck

thanks! come springtime i'll either be making crazy (or just, like, some) bank or be a hobo - exciting. good luck to your bf.

xp thanks! good luck to your bff (modric)

modric is part of a long term project earning phat cash, he'll ride out the worst of it i'd say.

Appreciated, but I almost feel like luck is wasted on us at the mo. Just keep catching one bad break after another.

xp Forget I said that, tell your bff Modric to donate some of his skinny little elf luck to a fellow countryman; it would help us AND give Liverpool a break.

waste of time, dude never puts his hand in his pocket. Sits out his round too, the lot

Oh go easy, it's embarrassing to go up to the bar when you have to stand on a phone book to see over.

luckily, i wouldnt know, i was quite tall for a 15 year old.

did well enough on the phone interview to get an in person interview at a place that I would really, really, really like to work.

spending my next 3 days studying for the interview. in some ways I'm almost disappointed when I get responses and interviews, like suddenly everything's in my hands....

does anyone know if I can claim JSA for the period between my old job ending (today) and my new job starting (in jan, so roughly three weeks)?

i reckon so. bastards cut my final week of jsa cos i missed a meeting after getting a call at 9am telling me to send my cv TO THE PERSON WHO GAVE ME MY CURRENT JOB asap. i am appealing them into the middle of next week as soon as i can be bothered to write them a letter. it's like chinese whispers, when you go to the centre to explain you have to dictate what happened to a guy who keeps misinterpreting you and can't communicate clearly. can't help but feel some of the people working in jobcentres were given jobs there to get them off eternal jsa, so incompetent.

in other news the job i started at radio 1 have said there's a job for me till the end of march if i want it. i said i do obviously as i've nothing else, but kind of weird as i had to also say i'm expecting interviews for other positions.

the decision i'm left with is sort of tricky. radio 1 is a brilliant job in the sense of it being a promotion, more money, a job title that's recognisably well above my last one, and a lot of responsibility. but it's also a return to online news, being in an office all day, quite a serious environment, no comedy stuff like newsround etc.

i know i've worked hard in my first week there and shown them i'm well able for the job but i feel a bit like the 3 month extension is meant to mean i don't look for other jobs. when i sort of would like to still be looking.

i guess overall a really good situation, i feel i should be ready to knuckle down a bit and realise that even though this is a v serious environment it also shows something that i'm being trusted to do a more serious role, but i can't deny i miss the fun and frolics of children's telly.

just can't tell if my desire for a funny workplace and more comic elements to my actual work is immaturity, or a genuine knowledge that news is not for me (tho maybe after a few more weeks this job might be a little more fun.)

anyway prob not the thread for this, i should be celebrating today but for third time in my life i am breaking the promise i made to myself to buy a bottle of champagne if "job situation x comes through", cos when it actually happens just think "okay."

You could buy yourself a very small bottle of champagne.

i feel a bit like the 3 month extension is meant to mean i don't look for other jobs

Don't feel guilty about looking for other jobs. The contract has a fixed end point, unless something comes along they'll let you go then, and it might take the whole of the 3 months to line up something else.

"celebrate your victories imho" - o. winfrey

does anyone know if I can claim JSA for the period between my old job ending (today) and my new job starting (in jan, so roughly three weeks)?

― smoke on this^ one (cozen), Wednesday, 8 December 2010 16:39 (2 hours ago)

You might not be able to claim any actual money, but it's worth it just so that when the Inland Revenue pop up in 10 years and say "oh what were you doing during those three week in Dec 2010? Were you earning any money? We have no record of any tax paid for that period and would like to investigate" you can say "I was on JSA, eff off and hassle some rich people instead".

Yeah, you can and should be looking for gigs even if you're in a good position and no employer should have the right to have an issue with that as long as 1) it doesn't interfere with your work and 2) they don't ever find out about it.

I wouldn't stop looking, march is only 3 months away. If they can't offer you anything more than 3 months then you shouldn't stop look and interviewing etc. That's not to say you shouldn't be subtle about it because who knows if anything will turn up and this could roll into something more permanent if you seem committed.

xpost

yeah i wouldn't feel guilty, but reckon it could be an awkward one...i think also prob a likelihood i'd be extended again after the 3 months, in bbc you're sort of expected to just not even think about how short your contract is.

x-post might wait till weekend, in at 6am tomorrow and have to do some filming despite my skills being rubbish. (in the land of radio the blind former tv worker is cameraking)

x-post to forks, yep true, the prob i might have is i could be getting this extension on a casual basis, ie no contract, in which case i'd have to ask for (unpaid) days off rather than just booking them. tho the plus side of that would be utterly ludicrous money.

at the moment i basically said i wanted to do any interviews for anything i'd applied for already, if they are offered, even though i made a gentleman's agreement that i would stay in this job. that was my way of ensuring i can build a few links and even if i turn a job down i've still put myself in with another employer.

I was in a similar situation with my current job -- an 8 month temporary stint. I was to be laid off at the end of November, but starting from the first interview I said I would: 1. make myself indispensable in case an opportunity to become a permanent hire came along and 2. keep looking for work because I had to take care of myself as well. After I had a few interviews elsewhere (one which was even semi-arranged by my current boss), a colleague left our work and bingo, I was in permanently.

yeah permanent is so rare in bbc but a 6 month or 9 month contract provides a certain amount of confidence. i guess at a certain point, and i'm on the bite point of this, i prob should just back myself and just say "fuck the length of a contract, i'll get another job," at a certain point. or be ready to be moving all the time, i think i am finally settling into that "this is just another job, for a time" mentality which is prob quite important in the bbc, but hard to come around to when you've had a bit of disruption early on in your career.

Two weeks into my job and it is horrible. The only thing getting me through is the thought of just quitting in May, as I want to go overseas for a week for a friend's wedding and they won't let me take the time off. It's tricky then, deciding when to start actively looking for new jobs. It looks better applying for other work when you're currently employed.

Also this job has awful hours, is far below my intelligence level, and it doesn't pay quite enough to allow me to move out of my mother's.

Just popping in here to say i'm still enjoying my gig. I'm now helping to write procedures and training docs along with the repair stuff.

^^ awesome, great to hear

Also this job has awful hours, is far below my intelligence level, and it doesn't pay quite enough to allow me to move out of my mother's.

What a coincidence--I can say the exact same thing about my job.

3rd and final round interview tomorrow :/

I have a potential job available for a web designer/administrator if anyone's interested? Pays between 2 and 2.5K; we're a not-for-profit so we ain't got a lotta cash but I can't imagine it'll take longer than two months to accomplish. I need a site remade from Joomla into Wordpress, lite redesign and general improvement of functionality/looks, archiving of current site, site maintenance for the duration of contract, etc. I need someone with a decent portfolio/multiple examples of finished work online to show to folks on our board to justify the hire. I'd prefer you to be in the NYC area but if you can convince me (and our board) that you can do it remotely, I'll entertain a pitch.
Drop me ilxmail with your contact info and an online sample or two and i'll get in touch.

I eventually got a job btw (two jobs strictly speaking)

legal market is fukt in scotland. good luck, lawyers

Is there a 2011 one of these yet?

So, I need to do a 5 year salary history, but I have been in grad school during that time and most of the work I have done has been big on responsibility but low on salary. Now I am looking for a grownup job with a grownup salary, like the one I had before I want back to school.

What would you advise? Also what format do these take? Never done one.

Just to clarify-been in school for 3.5 years of last 5.

Probably should update the year for this, or get a new thread

Best thing would be a new thread--this one has almost 3000 posts, after all.

Another Day, Another Dole: A Thread for the Out of Work (and those who love them) in 2011

xpoxt

Best thing would be no thread and we all had jobs :)