It has been 56 days since my job was eliminated and I joined the “Unemployed Club”
My first job was stocking the coolers of the Mug & Bops Gas Station with a large variety of soda pop. I had to load the wooden crates of glass bottles onto a janky dolly that were stored in a small building across the street. After overloading the dolly, I proceeded to play my own version of Frogger to get to the gas station. Some days the streets were covered in the sickly sweet smell of Mountain Dew. That was 40 years ago.
Not having a job is weird. It feels like I have always worked. Not a fan of unemployment.
I have been documenting every job I have applied for since that day in August. Here are the stats:
- Applied for 35 jobs.
- 1st interviews for 7 jobs.
- 2nd interviews for 2 jobs.
- 16 employers correspond to me after submitting an application package.
- Applied for jobs in 15 different states.
The biggest surprises:
- Employers who don’t acknowledge receiving an application. How hard is it to send an automated confirmation?
- Director salaries that don’t match the local cost of living or housing market. I’m not moving somewhere I can’t afford to buy a house.
- How hard it is to find job postings. I check five different places every morning.
- How long it takes to hire a public library director. I want to work NOW!
The biggest lesson? My empathy for library patrons searching for work on public computers has quadrupled. I’ve been fortunate to conduct my search from a home office, and even with that advantage, it’s exhausting.
I am confident that where ever I land, I will have new experiences that will help me better serve others trying to find work.
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