Tag Archives: unemployment

Losing that one, sure thing

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Having no car to get around can really be a test; to your pride, your independence and so much more. I’ve pretty much gotten used to it to the point where I don’t make any bones about it – for the most part.

You see, about 5 years ago when I was still living in Alabama I was living what we’ve been told is the American dream. A cushy job, making bank, driving a Mercedes – everything appeared perfect. I even met my current husband during this time. Who’da thought it could have gone sour. It was the good-life.

After having been married 18 lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng years to someone who really didn’t care about having the best cars I had always dreamed of owning a Mercedes and just knew I would have one someday. After my divorce I first had a really cool black Mustang with red leather interior. That car was sweet! I had an amazing job in which I had worked hard to attain, was making really good money and was traveling quite a lot with work and those Mustang seats were killing my back when driving long distance. It was great to look at and had superb speed but it wasn’t very practical.

I would occasionally do a drive by the local Mercedes dealership just to keep my dream fertilized and one day I just decided to stop and take a look at a couple newer models. There it was. The car I had dreamed of. Nothing too fancy. A C230 Kompressor. Black leather interior. Black exterior. I sat in that car and took it for a drive and I knew I had to have it. I had always thought some man would buy me my dream car but I was so proud of myself after having been through a very difficult divorce and walking out on everything – pretty much starting over, that I could actually finally afford this car.

I was approved for financing (because I had worked so hard to repair my bad credit from previous mistakes) and drove that car off the lot within a week or so of first test driving it. Did I mention, I loved that car?

About a year or so later, I met my husband Nick. We dated for a while after having been friends for a year and we married and he left his home in Chicago and moved to Alabama. We found an amazing house and bought, moved in and all was good until I could tell things at my job were getting weird.

I was a top salesperson in an industry dominated by men and guys were getting testy, jealous and since I was the only woman, my boss and the fellas got together and decided to throw more work at me, that I could start coming into the office and do a little paperwork along with my other duties. I was livid. After all, I was making this company a decent amount of profit and I felt I had the best work ethics, follow-up and customer service out of all the rest.

I wound up telling my boss, I’d have to think about his offer of more work and laying aside my being able to work out of my home office to come into the corporate office 2-3 times a week to file (or whatever it was he wanted to conjure up for me to do). I took my 2 weeks vacation and told my new husband I felt I was being forced out of my position and that I felt it was time to quit and find something else or start my own business. He agreed and I did. I even left about a 50,000 commission on the table. When it’s time, it’s time. One month later, my husband was laid off of his job.

We wound up moving back to Illinois and taking over our house here that we could not sell (It was in 2009, and the market had crashed) and I left my family in Alabama and moved to a whole.nother.world. and although I had joined a friend’s company and was making a little bit of mulah, Nick was still not working. He has been in the home-building business for over 25 years and there wasn’t any work available in that industry.

We kept trying to pay our bills as we could but eventually we had to file bankruptcy, turn in my Mercedes back to the bank, sell our house in Alabama on a short-sale, and just try to keep our head above water. It killed me to give up that car. It represented all of my independence and hard work.

That was over two years ago and I am still without a vehicle. I haven’t wanted to just go get a junker (no offense to those who own junkers) and I’ve been working from home with my past business and current business so it’s working for now.

I have experienced giving up all pride attached to not having a vehicle, being stranded at the house and asking neighbors if I can borrow their car or have them take me to the grocery store when Nick is working.

I’ve been asked by several of my friends here that I used to meet up with at networking events “Why I suddenly dropped off the face of the planet and never attend any after hours networking events” to which I shrug my shoulders and may or may not divulge the fact that I have no wheels.

Life is tough. The economy sucks ass. People are losing employment that they’ve counted on and trusted in for years. I was one. And then suddenly, the rug seems as if it’s pulled out from under you and you don’t think you’ll ever survive. But you will.

You may have to give up some things along the way. You may have to swallow your pride and ask a friend for help. But you will survive. It may not be the American dream you dreamed of, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started from scratch with nothing. I’ve had and lost and had again. It will come back around.

And those clients that can’t meet me virtually will have to work around my best friend and neighbor Lorrie’s schedule (She’s been so great to loan me her car – along with a few other folks who I owe). That’s what friends do and I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and connections, not only here in Chicago, but all over the planet.

Turns out, all I really wound up losing was my pride.

In the end, it could be a blessing in disguise. My twenty-one year old daughter is moving here to Chicago the end of this month. Because my business has expanded and things are getting better financially, I have a little extra to get a decent vehicle now and I’ve been thinking to myself, “Wait.One.Minute. If I don’t get a vehicle, I can honestly respond to my daughters call for taxi (that’s me) to come and cart her somewhere with, ‘I’m sorry honey, I don’t have a car.’”

The qualms of helping family members find work

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This past year has been really difficult for a lot of people and 2012 seems not to be getting any better as it relates to the folks out there who are unemployed.

In fact, several family members who have been receiving unemployment benefits have recently been cut off without any warning. Some of them were continuing to look for employment, some were not actively looking. You know, you have those family members too!

They were completely dependent on their unemployment (I just threw up in my mouth at the thought of being completely dependent on the government) to pay their bills and buy some chow.

This past week was no different when they filed their certification as always, on the very day they were to file, it was approved and they went on their merry way only to find out on Thursday, there was no money in the bank.

So what happened?

According to this article at NPR, which stated that “Unemployment peaked in October 2009 at 10 percent and while the decline since has been slow, the fact that the numbers are trending down means that people who have been unemployed for an extended period are going to have a harder time collecting benefits.”

Under a law enacted in February, Congress has started ratcheting down the length of time that the unemployed can receive cash assistance and as a result, more than 135,000 workers in 15 states have seen their unemployment checks run out in April alone, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group.

Back to Work

So, when my family member realized their funds were not in the bank as promised, they made the call to the local IDES office only to be told “You just need to go find a job! You have no more benefits!” Problem solved, right?

So let me get this straight, I should have been looking for work all along? Did that (Well, a couple of them).

In the same article above this statement was made “Unemployment is not permanent support, so you have an incentive not to find work. If you lose a job, it’s a good idea to spend a little time searching to find a good match, but you don’t want people to be too selective.” (says Greg Acs, an economist at the Urban Institute)

From what I hear, you have people with a four year degree applying to work in sales at Penny’s just to pay the bills. Granted, not all of them do this and instead try and wait it out for something in their field. But as you all know, there are about  200 applicants to every position applied. And jobs are hard to come by, especially in the areas in which one may have always worked.

I get that some people (including family) are hoping to stay on unemployment as long as they can because the jobs they’ve applied to don’t even pay minimum wage yet they keep making an effort. And I also get that you’ll always have those that try to work the system. They’ll always be those who we even extend our hand to help (ahem, especially family) that perhaps don’t take our advice, won’t call folks back that you’ve taken the time to refer them to, and will never make an effort. Those folks, I don’t feel comfortable helping anymore, as it relates to referrals and such.

And then there are those who actually take your advice, do what you tell them, make the correct resume changes or go on the job interviews…….and still, nothing.

So what’s the solution? I’d love to hear from you on this.

One of the worse jobs ever!

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Almost once a week, while driving into my small suburb of Chicago, I drive past these characters. You know the ones in the Statue of Liberty costume at the corner of traffic lights. They’re always waving, dancing or trying to get your attention in some form. Yeah, they’re annoying and I never drive by them without thinking to myself, “Gee, that has to be the WORST JOB EVER!”

And it never fails - even in this crappy Midwestern weather, be it blizzard conditions, these folks are still out there – to make the almighty dollar! Surely they don’t accept this job because they want to. Because they’re actually enrolled in some kind of drama classes and they think this is going to further their career.

While I was back in Alabama for the month of January I was having a little coffee one morning with mom and she was filling me in on all that was going on with my siblings, nephews and nieces, she proceeded to tell me that one of my niece’s, who works a full-time job at a local hospital while caring for a three-year-old is looking into and has even applied for one of those “dancing statue of liberty people” (as my mom called it) as a second job.

My first response was, “Why does she need a second job? Isn’t her husband working?” To which she replied no, that he is having a tough time trying to find work.

Wait one minute! I know you guys are thinking the same thing I am …… “Well, shouldn’t he be applying to be dance-master el statue of libertere?”……. And mom just shrugged her shoulders.

Now as I hear it from inside sources, this job currently pays $10.00 an hour (and that’s in Alabama earnings). I’m sure with the cost of living difference here in Illinois that rate of pay is somewhat higher (probably $2 – $3.0o). And I suppose one could see this as “earning an honest living.” Did you know that is more than someone with a degree in accounting is making in that same geographical location?

Heck, who knows if I’m not forced out there soon (but I’ll choose Florida and the beaches to dance on).

Let’s face it –  Things are tough, unemployment is still at an all-time-high and people do what needs to be done. That’s admirable. They are doing whatever it takes to pay the mortgage, make the car payment, or put food on the table. We gotta give ‘em love for that!

Just don’t make me look them in the eye when I’m stopped at the light. Awkward!

Photo Credit: Newsminer

Boomers, Networking and Baby Showers

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Since I am on the road traveling, I thought I would pull one of my guest posts out for you guys this week: Take it away – Joan.

A NOTE TO MY FELLOW BOOMERS - Back when you and I began our professional lives, the term “networking” was not in widespread use. We got our jobs and presumed that if we worked hard and long at them, we would stay working. No one spent time deliberately trying to cultivate a professional network for future job opportunities. If you had a professional network, it was created as a necessity of your particular job.

The economy was shifting underneath us, though. The country was gradually moving from manufacturing goods to providing services, and technology allowed businesses the flexibility of geographic moves and fewer employees. So when the economic bubble finally burst a few years ago, many of us had no professional network to turn to when they lost their job.

Yes, there are job boards and job fairs and even old-fashioned want ads. But statistically, most people get jobs through referrals. In fact, around 60% of all jobs are filled by referred candidates, because studies show that they make better employees.

But being referred means having a network of people willing to refer you to their boss, colleague, or acquaintance. And it is your responsibility to make sure that the world, or at least as large a network as you can grow, knows you are looking for work.

I recently attended a baby shower. As luck would have it, I ended up sitting next to a woman who had recently left the hospital accounting department where she and the hostess worked together, and was in the market for another job.

“I’m an HR consultant,” I told her, “and maybe I can help with your search. Do you have a business card or other contact information with you so that I can put the word out on my network?” Sadly, she had nothing to give me other than her name and piece of paper with her phone number scribbled on it.

In the job search world, this woman didn’t exist.

The lesson here? Treat every event in your life as a potential networking event. 

Networking means establishing conversations with people you meet, being prepared to explain your needs if the opportunity arises, and offering to help them if possible. It’s never too late to start, and there are many opportunities to network that you may not even consider. Use them all, and develop a network even if you are employed, because, as a wiser person than me once said, you should expect the unexpected.

Oh, and carry a business card with you. Always.

About the Author: Joan Ginsberg, JD, SPHR

From police officer to law professor to HR manger, Joan has traveled a unique and interesting career path. Recognizing the common and vital thread running through those fields – a commitment to communication and honesty – Joan has fully embraced both in the new and exciting field of social media management. She writes about HR and workplace issues at her blog Just Joan ( www.joanginsberg.com)  and Women of HR. (www.womenofhr.com) She is the president and co-owner of Castanet Social, a social media services company for small business, and the Director of Social Media for the Human Resources Association of Greater Detroit (HRAGD). She is highly active in the online HR community through social media outlets like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

joan@joanginsberg.com

@JoanGinsberg  (Twitter)

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