Unemployment Rate Hits a Nerve

Unemployment Rate Hits a Nerve Wow, I didnt expect people to comment on my rant/whine/post from yesterday about the unemployment rate. The truth is, its been something that has bugged me since I started my job search. Because it was so low, people would be surprised to hear that I was *still* looking for a job. Get it? It provided proof that if I couldnt get a job, the problem was me, because this economic indicator showed that anyone that really wanted a job could get a job. Plus, it didnt help that I was still living with my own strong stereotype that if you couldnt get a job it was because you made bad choices, sucked, or just werent up to snuff its what I believed and now I had to apply those ideas to my own situation. At 32 I felt I was too old (they could hire kids from college for cheaper) and too young (I didnt have the decades of experience and wisdom of the baby boomers). Hows that for age discrimination? Theres gotta be something out there that says that GenX has been lost between these other two generations Anyway, as usual, the comments are smarter than the post. Heres some gems I picked out: From Daniel Johnson, Jr., he said that he used the unemployment rate as an excuse to why he couldnt find a job. Im guessing the unemployment rate during his search was higher than normal. From Daniel Sweet, who is a recruiter and has been at this job search stuff a lot longer than I have, he says my logic is a little messed up (or at least, he redefines some stuff I was trying to communicate) and emphasizes that we need to keep our skills current and make sure that we market ourselves properly. Katie Konrath has a really positive take on all this stuff which is refreshing to hear from Gen Y (usually the stuff I hear from Gen Y has to do with entitlement and bucking the system) she says that its true that they are expecting to have 10 15 career changes (mind you, thats not job changes !!) and that there are really lots of opportunities out there, even though there isnt really job security. David Armstrong comments on job happiness (where does that come up in government metrics?), a real job search (that is for another post perhaps next week!), and relationships. And thanks a TON for sharing JibberJobber with a large group a couple of days ago! Heather Mundell talks about our attitudes and succeeding even though the numbers say perhaps we should (divorce rate, etc.). Very cool strategy Heather! Scot Herrick talks about staying in a big company and the changes that youll see there, with reorganizations every 6 to 10 months. Its really interesting perpective considering I cant get a job at a big company and honestly, his comment doesnt make me want to :p Finally, M brings up two points that really, really bug me. First, as I mentioned in the post yesterday, the unemployment rate is subject to garbage-in-garbage out problems. M says that the unemployment rate doesnt take into consideration those that are nut currently filing for unemployment (where the unemployment benefits have run out). This is really common, I think, as I know lots of people who are well past their first six months of job search, or they havent found the one yet and continue to look. Second, M says that just because you get a job doesnt mean that its going to work. I was not in a position financially where I could go to general manager of a software company to a burger flipper or a Wal-Mart greeter. Not because I was too proud but because I could not afford to make $24k a year. Of course there was talk about age discrimination, career management, and other stuff. The comments really were quite insightful thanks to all that contributed to the discussion. I guess this boring topic (it was boring in college :)) really is quite interesting! Unemployment Rate Hits a Nerve Wow, I didnt expect people to comment on my rant/whine/post from yesterday about the unemployment rate. The truth is, its been something that has bugged me since I started my job search. Because it was so low, people would be surprised to hear that I was *still* looking for a job. Get it? It provided proof that if I couldnt get a job, the problem was me, because this economic indicator showed that anyone that really wanted a job could get a job. Plus, it didnt help that I was still living with my own strong stereotype that if you couldnt get a job it was because you made bad choices, sucked, or just werent up to snuff its what I believed and now I had to apply those ideas to my own situation. At 32 I felt I was too old (they could hire kids from college for cheaper) and too young (I didnt have the decades of experience and wisdom of the baby boomers). Hows that for age discrimination? Theres gotta be something out there that says that GenX has been lost between these other two generations Anyway, as usual, the comments are smarter than the post. Heres some gems I picked out: From Daniel Johnson, Jr., he said that he used the unemployment rate as an excuse to why he couldnt find a job. Im guessing the unemployment rate during his search was higher than normal. From Daniel Sweet, who is a recruiter and has been at this job search stuff a lot longer than I have, he says my logic is a little messed up (or at least, he redefines some stuff I was trying to communicate) and emphasizes that we need to keep our skills current and make sure that we market ourselves properly. Katie Konrath has a really positive take on all this stuff which is refreshing to hear from Gen Y (usually the stuff I hear from Gen Y has to do with entitlement and bucking the system) she says that its true that they are expecting to have 10 15 career changes (mind you, thats not job changes !!) and that there are really lots of opportunities out there, even though there isnt really job security. David Armstrong comments on job happiness (where does that come up in government metrics?), a real job search (that is for another post perhaps next week!), and relationships. And thanks a TON for sharing JibberJobber with a large group a couple of days ago! Heather Mundell talks about our attitudes and succeeding even though the numbers say perhaps we should (divorce rate, etc.). Very cool strategy Heather! Scot Herrick talks about staying in a big company and the changes that youll see there, with reorganizations every 6 to 10 months. Its really interesting perpective considering I cant get a job at a big company and honestly, his comment doesnt make me want to :p Finally, M brings up two points that really, really bug me. First, as I mentioned in the post yesterday, the unemployment rate is subject to garbage-in-garbage out problems. M says that the unemployment rate doesnt take into consideration those that are nut currently filing for unemployment (where the unemployment benefits have run out). This is really common, I think, as I know lots of people who are well past their first six months of job search, or they havent found the one yet and continue to look. Second, M says that just because you get a job doesnt mean that its going to work. I was not in a position financially where I could go to general manager of a software company to a burger flipper or a Wal-Mart greeter. Not because I was too proud but because I could not afford to make $24k a year. Of course there was talk about age discrimination, career management, and other stuff. The comments really were quite insightful thanks to all that contributed to the discussion. I guess this boring topic (it was boring in college :)) really is quite interesting! Unemployment Rate Hits a Nerve Wow, I didnt expect people to comment on my rant/whine/post from yesterday about the unemployment rate. The truth is, its been something that has bugged me since I started my job search. Because it was so low, people would be surprised to hear that I was *still* looking for a job. Get it? It provided proof that if I couldnt get a job, the problem was me, because this economic indicator showed that anyone that really wanted a job could get a job. Plus, it didnt help that I was still living with my own strong stereotype that if you couldnt get a job it was because you made bad choices, sucked, or just werent up to snuff its what I believed and now I had to apply those ideas to my own situation. At 32 I felt I was too old (they could hire kids from college for cheaper) and too young (I didnt have the decades of experience and wisdom of the baby boomers). Hows that for age discrimination? Theres gotta be something out there that says that GenX has been lost between these other two generations Anyway, as usual, the comments are smarter than the post. Heres some gems I picked out: From Daniel Johnson, Jr., he said that he used the unemployment rate as an excuse to why he couldnt find a job. Im guessing the unemployment rate during his search was higher than normal. From Daniel Sweet, who is a recruiter and has been at this job search stuff a lot longer than I have, he says my logic is a little messed up (or at least, he redefines some stuff I was trying to communicate) and emphasizes that we need to keep our skills current and make sure that we market ourselves properly. Katie Konrath has a really positive take on all this stuff which is refreshing to hear from Gen Y (usually the stuff I hear from Gen Y has to do with entitlement and bucking the system) she says that its true that they are expecting to have 10 15 career changes (mind you, thats not job changes !!) and that there are really lots of opportunities out there, even though there isnt really job security. David Armstrong comments on job happiness (where does that come up in government metrics?), a real job search (that is for another post perhaps next week!), and relationships. And thanks a TON for sharing JibberJobber with a large group a couple of days ago! Heather Mundell talks about our attitudes and succeeding even though the numbers say perhaps we should (divorce rate, etc.). Very cool strategy Heather! Scot Herrick talks about staying in a big company and the changes that youll see there, with reorganizations every 6 to 10 months. Its really interesting perpective considering I cant get a job at a big company and honestly, his comment doesnt make me want to :p Finally, M brings up two points that really, really bug me. First, as I mentioned in the post yesterday, the unemployment rate is subject to garbage-in-garbage out problems. M says that the unemployment rate doesnt take into consideration those that are nut currently filing for unemployment (where the unemployment benefits have run out). This is really common, I think, as I know lots of people who are well past their first six months of job search, or they havent found the one yet and continue to look. Second, M says that just because you get a job doesnt mean that its going to work. I was not in a position financially where I could go to general manager of a software company to a burger flipper or a Wal-Mart greeter. Not because I was too proud but because I could not afford to make $24k a year. Of course there was talk about age discrimination, career management, and other stuff. The comments really were quite insightful thanks to all that contributed to the discussion. I guess this boring topic (it was boring in college :)) really is quite interesting!