The ABCs of Unemployment
Maybe I’m mentally regressing, but for some reason, I'm in the mood to recite the alphabet. I feel like painting you a simple picture of what it’s like to be unemployed (especially, what it's like to be unemployed for about 20 months now).
A is for the tedious job Applications they force you to fill out online.
B is for the Bad news I’ve received too many times when I didn’t get the job.
C is for Counting my blessings and appreciating the good things I have in my life.
D is for being able to Dress in jeans and sneakers all day, every day.
E is for Enjoying the time I spent in my sunny backyard this summer.
F is for Family and Friends who give me encouragement when I feel discouraged.
G is for Going back to school for another degree while I’ve been out of work.
H is for my Hot tub, a peaceful place to unwind from the chronic stress of job hunting.
I is for the Interviews I’ve been fortunate to secure a few times a month.
J is for a Job. I want one! I need one! Please offer me one!
K is for getting to Know myself better through introspection and reflection.
L is for Laughing at this whole drawn-out process because otherwise I might cry.
M is for the too many Millions of us who can't find a job these days.
N is for my Need to share what unemployment feels like with you!
O is for the Opportunities I’ve had to ask for help from others in my network.
P is for the bad Posture I’m developing from sitting too long at my computer.
Q is for the Quiet in my neighborhood when most people are at work or in school.
R is for my Resume, endlessly being tweaked and tailored to fit specific jobs.
S is for (guiltily) Sleeping later than I should on weekday mornings.
T is for Trying to stay upbeat and positive and to keep things in perspective.
U is for Underestimating how much I really wanted a particular job (when I don’t get it).
V is for the rewarding Volunteer work there’s more time and energy for now.
W is for Waiting impatiently to hear something – anything – after a job interview.
X is for sometimes feeling like I’m eXisting in limbo instead of living my life.
Y is for observing how Young the people are who’ve been interviewing me.
Z is for the number of job offers – Zero – I’ve received so far. (It only takes one!)
Don
4:05 am on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Please try to save your money. Don't assume you'll get a job next week or even next month.
Don
9:33 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Don't neglect freelance work. Freelance work/consulting can often be as rewarding or more rewarding, than working for someone else.
Plus you can decide what skills you want to learn, avoiding the potential pitfalls of being stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over for somebody else.
Those script-following positions are the kinds of jobs you don't want to get stuck in.
Have you ever thought about travelling to do what you like elsewhere? Friends who are working overseas now seem to like it. Many other countries are far more welcoming of Americans than we sometimes are of other peoples.
Fran Hopkins
2:31 pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011
Good advice, Don. I think that even people with jobs are well-advised to protect their nest eggs now.
I'm definitely open to freelance work, which as you say, can have the advantage of enabling you to pick and choose your projects. I wouldn't rule out moving to another state for better job opportunities, but I have no desire to leave the USA.
Don
11:05 pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011
I'm watching a great show on WLIW about how people who rise above adversity, do it. This is a really great show. They rerun shows, I would see if it will be rerun, and watch it. If anybody finds out its going to be on, post it, I'd like to record it but I came in too late tonight. Its on WLIW world...
Don
11:12 pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011
This is it: http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/series/episodes/3
Don
11:06 am on Sunday, October 2, 2011
If your computer skilis aren't what they need to be (and whose aren't?) a lull between projects is a good time to learn new things. Windows users are rapidly being blessed by all sorts of free goodies from the open source world that are becoming increasingly windows-available. Go to http://sf.net and check some of them out.
Databases are a great thing to know. PostgresSQL has a great Windows installer that makes it easy to add all sorts of things that are still a bit of a pain to get working together on *nix.
If I was on Windows, this is the one I would install:
http://www.enterprisedb.com/products-services-training/postgres-plus/download
Also, there are bootable live cds that people can try without even touching their windows (or other linux) distribution.
http://pglivecd.org/
If there is one kind of skill that is essential in modern workplaces its database skills. Everything is based on databases. What do you think Patch is- its content.. in.. a big database-
Get what I am saying? There is no time like the present.
Don
11:16 am on Sunday, October 2, 2011
Access is not a database, its a mess.. MySQL is better, but not by much.
PostgreSQL is a real database, like Oracle. It has no problem handling terabyte-sized databases and hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous transactions. It does replication and fallover well. You can have several, the best number is four - redundant servers, all running slony, one on each continent, and be prepared for ANY eventuality. Even if three go down (say a large asteroid strikes the Earth!) if even one survives, you won't lose data! ;)
(of course, that will probably be the least of your problems.)