Understanding the Unemployed

by Allison Floyd

You have probably heard that the latest unemployment rate reported was 9.2%. Yowzah.  While the outlook for 2011 grads looking for work is said to be a little better than it was for 2010, many of the unemployed are still recently matriculated college students looking to enter the work force. Speaking for that particular demographic, that is to say, recent college grads who have not been able to find work in their chosen fields, forcing them to either take jobs they don’t want and aren’t interested in, or leaving them broke and unemployed, there are a few things the average citizen ought to know about these young people.  They are out there, they are looking for jobs, and often, they are unsuccessful.

Firstly, I ask for some understanding.  We all know this is a tough economy, so when you ask a recent graduate why they are waiting tables instead of “putting their degree to good use,” (condescending much?) stop and think that maybe they’re trying to, but haven’t had success yet. The job-search process is a long, grueling one filled with applications, resumes, cover-letters, returned phone calls, interviews and most importantly, merely finding a good opportunity.  Maybe they have taken a part-time or full-time position at an establishment you feel is beneath a college grad to pay their bills while looking for a “real” job. They’re doing what they have to in order to get by.  Also, don’t assume that they got a degree in a useless subject. Right now the market is disadvantageous for anyone who didn’t major in Business, Finance, Engineering, or Computer Science.  So that leaves…pretty much every other major there is, so think before you put in your two cents about what makes for a useless degree.

Secondly, I ask for no judgement. It is wearing on a person to be continually asked “So, what is it you want to do with your life?” Often, graduates don’t know for sure, or if they do know and have been unsuccessfully trying to get into a specific field, you’re just reminding them of their failures and all the stress that comes with job hunting.  Please don’t look down on those who haven’t found their way yet. Don’t begrudge those who have taken jobs waiting tables or at Target, because everyone needs money to survive and there is nothing to be ashamed of when you are working to support yourself. Also, if a post-grad is living at home with his or her parents, don’t think less of them.  A person really can’t live on minimum wage, (I don’t care what the government says, you just can’tlive on eight dollars an hour or less without working a bazillion hours a week at multiple jobs) and if the parents are okay with it, and it is understood that the graduate is making a sincere effort to become independent, then let them be.  Don’t criticize someone who is getting help from their family.

Thirdly, I ask for you to walk in a post-grad’s shoes. Remember that those of us living on minimum wage jobs while we wait for our big break into the real world are hoarding our money like misers.  If they are like me, they are working their butts off to maintain a savings that will allow us to eventually leave the nest and become self-sufficient. Recognize, in that spirit, that now is not the time expect us to be anything but frugal with our precious dollars.  At Christmas time, on birthdays, or even Mother’s Day, please don’t be offended at our modest gifts. We’re trying to hard to save money that will one day be our rent, or our car insurance, or our grocery money, so please don’t expect expensive gifts from us. Plus, isn’t it supposed to be the thought that counts?

Basically what I want to communicate is that life goes on, whether you are employed or not. There are still bills to pay, cars still break down, and you have to eat, be clothed, and have a roof over your head. I now humbly ask those who are employed in a field of their choosing to be sensitive to those of us who aren’t there yet.

Feeling Dumb Despite Diploma

by Allison Floyd.

I have never doubted or questioned my intelligence and capabilities…until I graduated from college. At first when I entered the job search and found after countless hours of searching entry-level positions with no fruition, I assumed it was the poor economy. I poured over job after job thinking, “Hey, I could do that. Why won’t they even glance at my resume?”.  I stood tall on top of my diploma, pointless place mat though it may be, believing that having graduated college and a bachelor’s degree solidly under my belt, such jobs as administrative assistant, receptionist and office assistant were decidedly below my qualification level. (Side note: Just to clarify, I am not disparaging these professions, I am only pointing out that since I am endeavoring to find a full-time position in my chosen field, these positions are not desirable to me.)

And now, after months of stalking job boards and search engines for entry-level jobs in my field, and reading all of the descriptions and requirements for open positions, I have found I may not be as smart or as capable as I believed. Let me explain. At the end of last year, I graduated with my degree in English. I believe I am an intelligent young woman with common sense and a good work ethic. I believed last May that almost any job in my field was not entirely out of my reach if I started at the bottom and worked my way up.  Now, after reading how much experience positions require even if they are advertised as being “entry-level”, I am starting to question qualification for said positions. Sure, intellectually I know I could handle them, and would like to have the opportunity to prove it. But with so many companies breathing down my neck with their insistence that I have at least 1-2 years of experience, even in a very specific, obscure field, I’m starting to believe them–maybe I’m NOT qualified.

It is no secret that since high school I have been getting my paycheck from working in a restaurant to pay for my expenses while at school. Now, as I am currently unable to find a position in an English-oriented job, I am once again lending my services to a restaurant. Having spent the past five years learning the ins and outs of the service industry and getting a good grasp on restaurant work, I’m afraid I’m slipping into the dreaded inescapable quagmire that is the waitressing world. And I’m terrified. I find myself having thoughts like “Maybe this is all I can be good at for a job,” and “Oh God, even though I loved school and learning and culture in history and literature, all that education is going right down the toilet because I’m going to be stuck at this restaurant FOREVER.”

To sum up, I feel dumber now and less capable having graduated college than when I was living as an undergrad and believed I had the world at my feet. I don’t want to waste my interests and education working in a place where I can’t put them to good use. Money is money and I’m grateful to have a job. But I need to feed my soul, too. I need to find a job that gives me some intellectual satisfaction.  These constant rejections from jobs I know I could do are having a serious negative effect on my self-esteem and I don’t want to limit myself to working in a restaurant. My brain and my feet can’t take it forever.

Working So Hard To be Somebody Special

by Allison Floyd

It’s been a long time since I’ve added anything to All Pomp and Bad Circumstance. The reason is, I haven’t had anything to add that I could collect into a coherent post. Sure, there are about a hundred thousand issues having to do with job searches and finding a career and professional purpose that I have a great deal to say about, however I had a hard time thinking about it, let alone writing about it without wanting to scream, twitch, do physical damage to my belongings, or just crawl into my bed, pull the covers over my head and sleep for 11 hours straight.

I have mentioned before the dreaded Catch-22 of Experience. You cannot be hired without experience, yet it is decidedly impossible to gain experience in a given field if no one will hire you. I have recently gone on a job-searching binge, and there are literally no jobs in the field of writing, editing, publishing, or indeed any type of English Major careers that do no require at least 2 years worth of writing,editing, or publishing experience.  So my question to these companies is: WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR EXPERIENCED EMPLOYEES AND WHERE CAN I GET THIS EXPERIENCE IF NO ONE HIRES WITHOUT EXPERIENCE?

There, now that we’ve got that little temper tantrum out of the way, I must now address the point of this post, and that is the intense feeling of panic I have been feeling since I started my job-searching binge. Not only am I going stir-crazy waiting to hear from companies that I surely will never hear from, but I am positively losing my marbles spending hours (and I really mean it, HOURS upon HOURS) on job search sites only to come up with nothing. On top of that, I am once again experiencing the existential crisis that is associated with not knowing where your place in the world will be. I am seriously starting to worry that I will never find work doing something I want and that I’m good at. I am terrified I’m going to have to work at a job I loathe just to pay the rent and put food on the table. And that’s just not how I think a person should live his or her life.

Paul Williams composed a song called Special To Me for the film Phantom of the Paradise that has lyrics that are especially resonant given my current circumstances:

Well you told me one time that you’d be somebody/ That you weren’t working just to survive / But you’re working so hard that you don’t even know you’re alive / Working so hard to be somebody special / Not working just to survive

Ultimately I am terrified that this will wind up being my fate, working hard at a crummy minimum wage job, not putting my education, skills, or passions to good use and becoming miserable in the process. Let’s just hope that a great opportunity comes waltzing my way asap!

Scared for My Life: My Wackiest Interview Yet

By Anna Papachristos

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  In my case, the fear inducing has simply helped to placate my unease.  You see, last week I went on an application binge, devouring CareerBuilder.com like a giant slab of chocolate cake.  I applied to 23 jobs in a single day and posted a fresh copy of my résumé seeing as I hadn’t used the site in months.  However, the first response came from a company for which I could not find the application confirmation email.  Whether I actually willingly applied remains a mystery to this very day.

Initially, I missed this company’s call – we’ll call them the Marketing Group – because I went to the bathroom the very moment they called.  (Mind you, I was next to my phone for hours beforehand.)  They didn’t leave a message, so I Googled the number only to think that it belonged to a company I actually applied to, but I was gravely mistaken.  They called back again (while my phone was updating to the new iOS, no less), but they left a message that still didn’t clear up who they were.  Curiosity and desperation led a callback mere minutes after, but I only reached their answering service.  Days later, they still had not called me back.

In retrospect, maybe things would have been better left alone…

After two days, I called them back only to find they must have forgotten about my existence because the receptionist didn’t even remember why she called me.  We chatted awkwardly, eventually scheduling an interview for first thing the next morning.

As we followed the Marketing Group’s directions, we realized we were heading to a shady part of town, but gave them the benefit of the doubt until we finally reached the building, much to our chagrin.  (My mom drove me, hence the “we” and “our” usage.)  The building was almost entirely unmarked and the company’s name appeared nowhere on the outside.  Creepy people kept entering one door, so we assumed that had to be the place, though we both contemplated abandoning the operation entirely.  Bravely, I walked up the steps and through the door, only to find a few chairs, a makeshift reception desk and the most bleach-blonde, fake-tanned woman you can imagine.  She handed me a form to fill out and I joined the three men scattered around the supposed waiting room.

The office, in general, was tiny and rather unkempt, but the noise level coming from a back room continued to rise.  Suddenly, as if in some sports huddle, I heard chanting right before a massive group of people poured out of nowhere, louder and perkier than the most annoying person you’ve ever met. Honestly, I was waiting for them to drag me into the back and eat me alive, for they all hollered and moved about like rabid dogs on the prowl.  Oh, and none of them were over 30.  They dispersed, some coming through the waiting room to mingle and introduce their strange selves, while I peered around the corner to see if anyone looked presidential, like they were in charge.

And then I saw her.  Equally as blonde and fake-baked as her receptionist, if not more so, this petite, 20-something-year-old girl grabbed my form and called me into the office.  Babies, each and every one.

Think back to high school and recall that one hyperactive, perky girl with the gruff voice who played every sport imaginable and you should have a pretty great visual of the Marketing Group’s president.  She spoke at a mile a minute, so I could only assume drugs were involved.  Oddly enough, she loved everything I said enough to want me back for a second interview.  However, what the company failed to mention was that I would inevitably be working as one of those annoying people who harass Home Depot customers, trying to convince them to agree to the free home makeover consultation.

Pardon me, but I’m a writer/editor – did you even read my résumé?

The second interview would consist of me heading off into the wild outdoors with one of the weirdoes who petrified me in the waiting room so I could shadow them for an hour or two and observe the process.  I politely told her I’d get back to her to confirm and quickly hauled my butt back to the car.  With pedal to the metal, we left that complex hoping to never see or hear from them again.

Luckily, they seem to have already re-forgotten my existence, because no one ever tried to call and confirm the outing.  Though now I can never enter another local Home Depot without the fear of running into these creepy kids….

UPDATE: Don’t Worry, I’ve Got This

By Anna Papachristos

Remember the company that shall remain nameless?  Well, I’ve already emailed them once (two weeks after the interview), and another shall be heading their way in mere moments.  (It has now been exactly a month since the interview itself.)  So far, Man 2’s promise has not held true, for my last email was not answered quickly as promised.  Oh, wait… That’s right!  It was never answered at all.  Have America’s companies truly come to be nothing more than insensitive elitists who find torturing the unemployed to be their biggest thrill?  If only they knew firsthand what the horrendous job market was like, then maybe they wouldn’t abuse their minute, overlord-like position to leave the desperate billowing in the breeze.

What Do We Have Here?

A QUICK AND DIRTY UPDATE!

By Anna Papachristos

Things may have been rather quiet lately, but there always seems to be a lull right after an interview.  You don’t want to be that pesky applicant that calls and emails every other day to check up on their status, but you’re also dying to know what’s going on behind the scenes.  However, when you take a moment to remember I’m awaiting a callback from a company that wouldn’t even reply to a simple email, you’ll realize that my anticipation stems from my curiosity — I cannot wait to see if I will actually hear back from them at all this time, or be faced with the same unprofessional discourtesy as before.

And this magical correspondence may (or may not) come sooner than I thought.  Though it has been two weeks since I met with these lovely men, I was planning on waiting to email them until the beginning of next week.  Until I stumbled upon something peculiar, that is.  It seems the company in question has reposted their advertisement for the position in question to the very site where I discovered them the first two times!  Unfortunately, applying again might be a little over-the-top, so I opted for emailing both gentlemen I spoke with during my last visit.  I’m intrigued and simply cannot wait to see if one, both or neither of them reply, though the second man did specifically say I could email either of them at any time.  We shall see!  Update (hopefully) coming soon.

Don’t Worry, I’ve Got This

By Anna Papachristos

UPDATE! For those who have been following my continuing journey into the world of the company that shall not be named, here’s a basic rundown of yesterday’s events:

(Just so you know, no one gets a name – neither the company nor the men involved. These entries are simply for educational purposes, so why risk slander?)

The appointment was for 1 o’clock, and though I made it there with time to spare, I was stuck waiting outside their securely locked door for about five minutes because, despite having a front desk, I’ve never actually seen anyone sit there. Finally, a reluctant employee saw me through the glass door, rolled his eyes and pressed the buzzer that unlocks the door. He disappeared as I entered, leaving me to stand there unattended. Eventually he passed my way again and snidely asked if I was waiting for someone. I told him I was there for an interview with Man 1, so he yelled down the hallway to tell someone to tell Man 1 that I was waiting. Great second first impression, guys.

As I waited, some strange man with a bowtie yelled about the stock market on one television, while Fox News graced the other. (Your channel choices speak volumes.) Finally, Man 1 came around the corner as he walked another man to the chronically locked door. Somehow, when he turned the corner, I felt this sense of dread (on his end). He stared at me; I smiled. He mumbled a wavering “Hello, I’ll be with you in a minute”; I soaked up his awkward grimace like rays of sunshine.

Finally, he waved me into the same conference room where we last spoke – no polite chitchat, not even a handshake. Basically, he took a few minutes to bash my love for my iPhone, denounce Verizon and AT&T, and promote Sprint’s 4G network. (Either someone’s getting kickbacks, or they have a deep-seeded hatred for Apple.)

[Enter hombre numero dos.]

It seems Man 1 decided it’d be smart to spontaneously pawn me off on Man 2 so I’d learn more than the same spiel could possibly teach me. While this made sense, I couldn’t help but feel the entire setup was very spur of the moment when Man 2 explicitly told me he hardly had a chance to peruse my résumé. Man 1 claimed he had meetings to attend and left us to discuss different branches of the company. The conversation continued for quite some time, but I actually learned a great deal about how the company functions and what I would actually do if hired. Man 2 was friendly, informative and caring, so I left my snarky comments at the door.

After about 45 minutes, we wrapped up our discussion, but not before I specifically asked Man 2 when I should plan on hearing from them. However, he wasn’t sure, so he brought Man 1 back into the room so we could officially say goodbye. Before I left, Man 2 kindly brought up my question, which Man 1 awkwardly tried to dodge. Eventually, he formed a coherent sentence that didn’t just string together a series of “ums” and explained that the next six weeks or so happen to be heavy with travel. With half of next week consumed by interviews, he hopes to start sorting through candidates immediately, but he may need to “prolong the process longer than [he’d] like”. Such a response coming on the tail of Man 2’s “we’re looking to fill the position quickly” only contributes to my growing assumption that Man 1 is rude, unprofessional and determined to waste my time. But, being the passive-aggressive sweetheart that I am, I offered him my hand and left him with only the kindest of pleasantries. I bid both men adieu, pleased with my performance.

Now I cannot wait to see the remainder of the story unfold. Man 2 said I could email either of them with any questions I have about the position, but we all know how that turned out last time. Will I ever hear from these lovely lads again? Stay tuned!

For update announcements, follow me on Twitter! — @bonitianniti

Fool Me Once, Shame on You

By Anna Papachristos

For those who read my most recent entry, you will recall my cautionary tale about an unnamed company. Having interviewed there in late December, I wrote about their lack of decency and professionalism when it came to notifying me of my application’s status, even after I specifically emailed them to inquire about my candidacy. While I would like to think there’s a logical explanation for their ignorance, I simply cannot help but think that they thought taking a mere moment to reply was a waste of their precious time.

However, nearly two months after I initially found their listing on MediaBistro, the same exact advertisement reappeared. Confused, I spent a few days pondering my next move before my curiosity resulted in the most entertaining experiment. Knowing they had completely disregarded my existence the first time, I decided to see if they recognized my name or résumé in any way by reapplying using the exact same cover letter. (If you’ve ever read my cover letter, I’m sure you’d agree that it’s not all that conventional and would probably stand out if actually read twice by the same person.) I had nothing at stake, so I casually copied, pasted and attached all the necessary documentation without much care or thought.

And then the hilarious happened. They contacted me the very same day to set up an interview. Yet, after reading the email, I had the very strange feeling that no one involved recognized my name in the slightest. The editor’s assistant – actually, I have no idea what her title is, but she seems to be the one who does his dirty work – sent me nearly the exact same email she sent the first time they requested an interview. I laughed heartily as I reveled in their decision, and then I accepted their invitation.

All correspondence has me convinced that they do not know who I am. (Yes, they even sent me the directions again.) So, tomorrow at 1p.m. I will be heading into their office to meet with the same man one more time. If he does not recognize my distinctive curls or my work for The iPhone App Review (because we talked about it at length last time), I will honestly start to worry for his mental health. And once we get to the “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask?” portion of the interview, I’m going to do all I can to learn just how well they treat their employees. (How one treats their interviewees surely must reflect greatly upon any potential working relationship.) I’m pretty sure they’ll remember me this time.

And stay tuned! I will rehash the whole thing here once it’s over!

Do Unto Others…

By Anna Papachristos

After 17 years of schooling, I’m supposedly prepared for “the real world” (and I don’t mean the reality show). It’s true, though – I have all the necessary documentation to prove just how ready I am to take the leap from reading those books to writing them myself. However, schools consistently fail to tell you that the true lessons do not come from a page or a documentary, but the observations you make each and every day.

Class assignments were always deadline-oriented. If you didn’t get your homework in on time or complete your test in the time allotted, points were deducted from your overall grade. But no matter how hard you struggled to write your essay by the due date, when it came time to read them, grade them and pass them back, teachers took their sweet time. Obviously, there were some who valued punctuality enough to live up to their own expectations, but many graded extremely slowly, blaming their lag on a busy schedule. (Hate to break it to you, teachers, but with the course load and extra-curricular activities we were practically forced to join, all in hope of graduating with a top-notch résumé, our schedules were probably just as busy, if not more so, yet we still had to be prompt.)

But as I have begun to explore the world outside those walls, I’ve come to learn that many hiring managers employ the same tactics. As I have found on multiple occasions, some interviewers do not exhibit the same courtesies they expect from the interviewee.

Many job boards and websites come with the disclaimer that, if your qualifications do not meet their needs, you will not be contacted. Considering the high volume of applicants, this statement seems entirely fair. However, the real kicker comes when you have been asked to come in for a meeting. You arrive, answer their questions, learn about the position and send that ‘thank you’ note right after your talk.

And then you wait. And wait, and wait, and wait…

(Yes, this is all based on actual experience. No, I’m not bitter, just disappointed.)

Of course, you don’t want to inquire about your application status too soon after the interview because you don’t want to appear annoying or desperate. But once you hit week three of dead silence on their end, especially when you expected to hear back after two, a quick email seems logical. All you really want at this point is confirmation that they hate you, anyway, so a simple “no, we’ve gone in another direction” will do.

But how is one supposed to react when they do not even take a moment to answer your inquiry? Honestly, a simple “no” would suffice – yes, it’d be curt, but at least it’d be definite – except they seem to fail when it comes to professional courtesy. They make you dress up, put you on the spot, and make you feel as if your fate is in their hands, all just to toy with you later. Pulling at the strings of hope, they yank until you’re unbelievably tense, then snip the wire as they cut you down to size, allowing you to fall harder than ever before. You must jump through hoops, but they don’t even need to respond to your email if they don’t feel like it? Such behavior makes me glad I never received a callback, for I cannot imagine they treat their employees very well. How you treat a total stranger says so much about your character, and their lack of decency truly proves they are the bad seed.

When Post-Grad Unemployment Gets Scary

by Allison Floyd

Over the past few months Anna and I have reflected on the emotional, financial and professional difficulties that come with being a college graduate unable to find work pertaining to our degrees. Not only is this frustrating on many different levels, but it presents a serious issue with cash-flow.

Since many of us cannot find work in our specific fields, we take minimum wage jobs to pay the bills in the meantime. However, for people who are not lucky enough to still be living with their parents, this presents a huge problem. Minimum wage is, on average about $8.00/hr. If you are working a full 40-hour week, this amounts to less than 16.5K a year once taxes have been taken out of your paycheck.  And that is only if you are working full time. If you are only working part time, which is often the only type of position available, you are making far, FAR less.

This is  terrifying. If you are not living at home, you are most likely having to pay rent. You also have to pay for food/groceries, gas, car insurance, your phone bill, and perhaps the cost of internet. I don’t have to tell you that a person cannot LIVE on 16K a year, let alone less than that. If you’re paying say, 800 dollars in rent per month, which is on the lower end of the rent spectrum for a small apartment, that’s $9,600 from your original 16K. That leaves you a mere $6,400 for ALL other expenses. And I’m assuming off course that you need things like clothing and medical expenses and extra cash incase you get flat tire or your television breaks.

Sure, I am deeply disappointed and frustrated that I will have to get a Master’s degree if I want a job paying higher than minimum wage anytime soon. It makes me  feel upset, depressed, at times worthless, but all pride and dignity aside: how is a new graduate supposed to live if he or she can’t find a job that makes  enough money to cover the cost of living?