Have I said that I’m 58 years old? Ok, I know. Don’t start throwing out those excuses. That’s all they are. Excuses. But really, a few years ago the job market was looking good for the “seniors” because we baby boomers had so much experience and there was a poor work ethic in the next generation down and also not so many of them. With the economy the way it is though, losing the older, therefore more expensive, middle and upper management and hiring the younger less experienced, therefore less expensive, worker has become a fact. Well, 58 isn’t an excuse. It’s a fact. I’m too old to be looking for work and not old enough to retire. I think I heard that somewhere, maybe in my head at 2 a.m.
I spent a good portion of the first couple of weeks wrestling with the process of signing up for Unemployment. The people who work there really are very good, and very patient. They answered all my questions but one. Who was going to hire me?
At least the process of applying kept me occupied. I was up and at the computer every morning by 6:30 a.m. checking each new listing for possible job opportunities. I sent out multiple applications that first month and called multiple companies to enquire about possible openings. I learned a lot that first four weeks.
I learned that I could not accept a job that paid less then my unemployment benefit. I learned that even those companies that worked at employment search for their clients didn’t respond to applications when they had jobs open. I’m glad I have to keep a list of job search activities for Unemployment of who I called and who I sent application in to because, with few exceptions, I never heard from the employers to whom I submitted applications. I assume they received so many that they would have had to hire someone just to send rejection notices out. I could do that job.
I learned that my friends were really my friends. They have stayed in contact and kept my spirits up as best they know how. They know, and I know, it is going to be a long haul. Everything in the news tells us so. Everyone I know who had lost their job had told me so. It’s all true. I learned that fear is not my friend.