They said unemployment would be a respite.
They said that while the stress of not drawing a paycheck might wear down my fragile psyche, it would be worth the short-term financial burden. For not having to clock in each morning would afford me the time to reflect, to meditate, to discern the true nature of one’s self.
They said I would have time to write. They said I would have time to read. They said I would have more time with Baby.
Of course, they lied.
"They" being friends, family, career counselors, headhunters. To a person, they all said that while getting the axe sucks ass, at least I’ll have the time to catch up with life.
Apparently, all of these people are employed.
In the 21st Century, looking for a job takes far more time than actually working at one. It is more time-consuming than the pursuit of sex, reading Tolstoy in Russian, or trying to find the perfect pasta lifter. Looking for a job is not something you can do in one’s spare time, like, say, blogging or relieving oneself.
Add the fact that jobs are about as plentiful as Mormons in favor of gay marriage, and I am an extremely unhappy fellow.
They also say that a project expands to the amount of time allotted to it, and for this, they are correct. The ironic thing about searching for work in this Internet-dominated, 24-7 environment, is that what makes finding job leads so easy makes actually getting a job so difficult.
Take job hunting in the Dark Ages, when I was 22 and a freshly minted college graduate, in the late 1980s. One interviewed with companies who sent recruiters to campus. You found a few companies you liked, and sent your resume off and waited. If you were a loser, you scoured the newspaper’s help wanted section.
The Dark Ages
Or, in my case, I sent out my resume and writing samples to several newspaper editors, one of which apparently laughed at my clips so hard he suffered a seizure and inadvertently hired me.
These days, it’s not so simple. Looking for a job is like starting a relationship. You are completely paranoid about every single aspect of the search. You obsess about the things you said, and worry about the things you didn’t say.
Did I apply to the right job? Should I update my resume on Monster.com? How many contacts can I add to LinkedIn? What additional research should I do on Company X, in addition to the 18 volumes I’ve already downloaded?
Even as I write these words, I think of e-mail to write and answer, Web searches to do, resumes to upload. And that doesn’t even count the calls I need to make and the meetings I’ve been trying to schedule.
Is there an echo chamber in here?
Now, I know everybody here wants to know what I think of Roberto Bolano’s 2666, the death of the literary best-seller, and the sorry state of short fiction. You want to know about what I think of our nation electing an African-American president (holy fuck! It actually happened!), the long-term prospects for the Democrats, my learned opinion on Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
It’s not that I don’t have opinions, or that about 9,334,222,798 other blogs have written more and better words on these topics than I could ever hope to do. It’s that I haven’t had the time. I mean, literally. Anybody reading this who has a blog and who I haven’t visited or commented — that would be all of you — I don’t apologize, but rather say, give me a job, please.
Not because I simply need the money (I do). It’s because I need a life.
dont call it ply tricks for nothing
It does take longer to get a job than to have one. Looking for work is frustrating and difficult, especially when a job market has gone south like yours apparently has.
Best continued wishes for a new job soon! Being as positive and upbeat as possible during an interview is your best weapon in the job search, by the way. I say that as a former personnel manager and recruiter.
I’ll give you a job if you give me one.
Have you considered a new kind of job? I mean, fuck it. Why not? Is the kinda work you were doing actually helping you to achieve your goals?
Just checking in. Hope things are looking up!
Aaargh! I’m sorry, I had no idea. I hope this ends soon. For your sanity, so you can get writing again, oh yeah and the salary thing too.
I know of a job… but it’s in NYC, and it’s children’s book publishing, and it’s a job I quit a year ago and I guess my replacement just quit too. So even if you were here in NY I couldn’t recommend it to someone I didn’t wish to suffer
Good luck.
now u know that was not the dark ages lol
They are bastards for lying to you.
I face the same challenges with my writing. Freelance seems pretty dried up these days.
I wish you lots of luck. Maybe it’s one of those, “When you stop looking, you’ll find it,” things?!
Happy Thanksgiving old buddy!
My thoughts and well-wishes are with you, man. I’m living right now with the constant threat of being one of my company’s “cutbacks.” It’s not a good feeling, and I’m terrified of having to scour the want ads in such a poor economy. I wish there was someway I could help you.
I hope that things are looking up by this point.
Hey, bf, checking in after many months – I’m so sorry to read this post and hope the holiday has put you in a more positive frame of mind. I’m a fellow member of the unemployed masses and I know just what you’re feeling. I can only urge you to keep your chin up, read something inspiring, and try to enjoy the time with your family, knowing that you WILL get a job. You will.
Actually, If you happened to live in my area, I’d direct you to Staffmark because they recently hired me to do some tech writing for a company here. it’s a Temp to Permanent type of gig… then about a week into the job, they called and asked if I know of any other people with writing experience who might be interested in a job. (the company I’m assigned to needs another tech writer). the cube next to mine is empty, waiting to be filled. It’s only $11 an hour, but that’s not too bad for this neck-o-the-woods in which I live. Of course, I suspect you don’t live anywhere near me.
sorry to hear bro. hope shit works out for you soon.
Hey Bookfraud – Sending good vibes your way. Hope things are working out for you and Wife and Baby. Hang in there.