Looking For Jobs the Worst Job of All

Dude, I’m tellin’ ya……….

So I’m still looking for work in this country after 14 months. Somehow when I turn on the TV and watch those six (and seven) figure newscasters spout off that the recession is over and the economy is on the upswing, I just don’t know what planet they’re really on. Of course the same goes for the entire White House and anyone associated with government. Out of all the people in the United States…….everyone from Hollywood actors and actresses…..to pro athletes……..to the homeless…….to doctors, nurses, lawyers, garbage men, teachers, and even high school kids………

it is those two factions (government officials and news media people) that seem to be the most clueless and out of touch with their own nation. And when I say government officials, I’m not talking about lower-end government employees like postal workers and the good, helpful folks at the DMV or the unemployment office. Those folks are just regular people like most of us.

I’m talking about Senators, Congressman, the Cabinet, chief advisors, the President, the VP, and those sort of people. You know…..the ones that believe they have the pulse of the nation, but are actually oblivious to what is going on with citizens on a daily basis. Like when Obama made that statement admitting, “We realized that the economy/recession was a lot worse than we even thought after the election and taking office.”

He had just completed a months-long tour of the nation making one speech after another in struggling regions and (allegedly) talking and listening hard to the constituents whose votes he desperately sought……..and he still couldn’t grasp what he was seeing and hearing.

I’ve heard it said numerous times now—-by media and the White House only—-that the recession is over. I myself always considered it another Great Depression. But whatever it should be called, according to these people, it is over.

So I guess like them…..Obama, Senator Bunning, the head of the Federal Reserve, newscasters and talkies like Brian Williams, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Bill O’Reilly, et al……….we can all go back to our mansions in our hired cars and have our nice hot dinner before climbing under our silk sheets for the night. All is well again.

Even those journalists who like to portray themselves as our friend; our “buddy”; someone who thinks they actually walk in our shoes and share similar daily problems…….they are not our buddies, they could care less about us really, and they are as out of touch as the competitors (in their field) that they mock and bash every night as not having a clue.

I say all of this because except for those two groups of people (government officials and media bigshots), no one I know thinks we are even close to being done with the recession. No one I know has any confidence whatsoever in the economy. Everyone I know is still scared shitless and wondering when their unemployment extension is going to run out. None of them are sitting back and enjoying “the handouts we’ve been getting” . Everyone I know has a similar work ethic to me and wants desperately to be back to work and regain their sense of worth. Yet, about 60% of the top 100 people in my life are still out of work.

Since January 1, 2010 I know of one friend who has found a new job. Just one. And he found it by working his contacts and network system to death—-same as myself and all my other out-of-work friends and acquaintances do. But he got lucky to have one of them work out and land a position. He took a $15 K  paycut and he’s clicking his heels about it.

On the flip-side, I know of six more friends/acquaintances that have lost their jobs since 1/1/2010.

The recession is over? The economy is rebounding? Give me a freakin’ break !!

So today I spent the entire day—-as I do almost everyday—-looking for work in this “recovering” economy. And it was another day of “fake jobs”, lowballing, and general deceit by those companies still in existence that have turned to any means they can to stay afloat.

I’ve actually been to a half-dozen interviews in the last 90 days. Sounds pretty encouraging, huh? Like there are opportunities to be had ?

On three of them, I “got” the job. They said they loved me. I was perfect for what they need. Great interview and outstanding resume/experience. Boy, they would take me on in a second……if only they really, actually had a job to give.

These places actually reached out to a personnel agency that I hooked up with and asked them to send them viable candidates. They had the agency waste time and money by weeding through their files and finding the best candidates to send over. They wasted my time by pulling me away from my own job searching and spending the gas money to go out and see them. Plus the costs of haircuts and dry cleaning my suits, etc. And finally, they wasted their own firm’s time and money by actually recieving these candidates in and interviewing them.

Just to call the agency back and say they absolutely loved me but unfortunately, they don’t have a job to offer me. They “thought the economy would have rebounded by now.”

They thought they “had a chance at landing a huge new client/account, but the firm pulled back due to the still poor economy”.

So they apologize profusely for stringing everyone involved along and going so far as to have an agency do all sorts of search work……for a phantom job.

This has happened to me three times since November 1, 2009.

Then there is the job that also loved me and felt I fit all of their requirements. And this time there really was a job. They wanted a college graduate with purchasing experience. They wanted someone very computer literate with SAP (business management software) experience. They wanted a seasoned person familiar with procurement, inventory, vendor relations, and more. And they found him in me.

And then they said that the position started at $8.00 per hour. No shit. That’s not a typo. Eight dollars per hour……aka White Castle wages. That is what a leading retailer in this country wants to pay someone with those credentials. And why? Because they know the economy is nowhere close to improving. They know the recession is FAR from over. They know that eventually someone that qualified will be hungry enough (by that I mean literally starving in their stomach area) and desperate enough to take their $8

Which is just about how every company in the US is operating right now. Ninety percent of the jobs posted on the internet do not tell you what the salary will be. Not even a loose range they can toy with the candidates on. They know that they simply don’t have to list a salary because they will have 1000 applicants for the position and can low-ball somebody into taking minimum wage. It’s sickening, really.

And then there’s the sales jobs where the company figures to get a free month of work and market penetration out of a person before they quit because they haven’t made a single sale or made a dime for their dinner tables. Nobody is buying a damn thing in this “recovering” economy. Sales jobs are available by the hundreds because you don’t make anything. That’s OK with the firm doing the hiring, though. They still get their territories covered….knowing nobody is buying anything……and they get a free month’s work out of some poor sap. And when he moves on, they simply turn to the next sucker who applies. They might not have to pay a commission all year—-but they still get the market saturation they aimed for !! They’d love some sales. But at least they accomplished one of the company goals.

Post a resume on careerbuilder or monster and you’ll get six emails from Aflac, two from Prudential, and maybe one from Liberty Mutual by morning. Plus all of the payment processing companies (use our credit card payment processing system !! ) out there. They’ll take on anyone who responds.

At least those places actually do respond to applicants. Nobody else does. Just the sales industry. Not the big, elite companies who pride themselves on communication and integrity. Probably because the job they posted is another one of those “phantom” positions. And they know it.

So please White House officials and million-dollar newscasters……quit acting like you empathize with us. Or know what we’re going thru. Or think you are even close to being “one of us”. You’re not. It isn’t even close. The truth is, you don’t have a clue what is going on in this nation.

After all…….you’re all working.