Unemployment breaks my heart

[Sneed]

I'm in Starbucks working as us unemployed writers do, transcribing interviews for a book I, like all writers, pray becomes a bestseller while sending freelance pitches out and blogging....but this post isn't about me.

It's about the guy sitting across from the, the guy who just had a phone conversation on which I just inadvertently eavesdropped.

"Is (Bob Smith) available?" he says. "Oh, hi, Mr. Smith. I just saw your ad for (insert job here). I was wondering if--"

He then pauses, clearly interrupted by a long-winded statement of some kind. When he eventually responds, his upbeat tone sounds painfully forced.

"Oh," he says. "Well....is there anything else?"

And those four words--"Is there anything else?"--just broke my heart a little bit, and I'm not even sure why. He had no ring on his finger; he was losing his hair; I've seen him in here for a few days in a row now, on the phone, making calls which must have gone no better.

And then I thought of all of us, the struggling-to-find-work writers or the scared-of-losing-job reporters. I don't know why, but I just felt like sharing. And I just feel like saying, press on. When all looms ahead, press on. Maybe we won't what we want--but at least we'll have tried.

EDIT: Making this update seconds after posting that, for just now, my email "blinged" at me, and there's an editor from a magazine replying to a query. And it's a good reply, so now I feel like there actually was a reason behind posting that.

Press on.

 

[imjustagirl]

Sneed: Congrats on the good response from the editor. A little bright news in your day.

I'm looking for a part-time job for my days off to save more money for some unexpected expenses. I've gotten ONE reply to set up an interview. I can't even get a callback from Starbucks.

It sucks out there.

 

[Madhavok]

Gosh, that does sound awfully familiar...

I've had two interviews after replying to about 20 ads. One looks good, but it's only till late July (free place to stay). Which would mean, time to get at it again till my usual winter job comes back.

 

[Sneed]

Thanks IJAG. For what it's worth, a famous line in an old thread from these boards comes to mind: "write good sentences." I say the following not to brag, but to encourage: the editor from the magazine said she normally doesn't reply to queries so quickly (I sent it 10 minutes before I heard back from her), but it was written so well that she stopped what she was doing to reply.

Again, I emphasize, I don't care about lifting myself up here. I just want to share that to encourage all of us to take pride even in the little things, like email queries for single stories. You never know what could make the difference. And like someone else once said, the big things happen because the little things get done. (Crazy paraphrasing going on there.)

Best of luck to all of us.

 

[RickStain]

It's just bad for the soul. You feel like a failure. You feel like you aren't contributing anything to your family or society. You have nothing to draw strength from in terms of your own self-worth.

 

[BYH]

Sneed, I'm still badmouthing you every chance I get in hopes of getting the gigs for which you are applying.

Great post, and to feel such compassion for us unemployed ****s at such a young age speaks well of you.

 

[RickStain]

My father-in-law is in this situation and it's heartbreaking. He was a buyer for a manufacturing plant for years before he got laid off. Then my mother-in-law died without health insurance (he made some weird financial decisions sometimes), and the week in intensive care pretty much wiped him out. He doesn't want to sell their house and leave the area, because he feels like he'd be abandoning the family.

But he lives in one of the many areas of this country with double-digit unemployment. So he's floating around from temp job to temp job that he's way overqualified for, just trying to keep busy. It's hard to see.

 

[sportschick]

Don't worry, Sneed, I have a tap in BYH's computer so I can follow his e-mails up with ones saying he makes love his cat while listening to Night Ranger. You're safe in your job seach

 

[BYH]

Dammit!

 

[dreunc1542]

Sneed, I'm still badmouthing you every chance I get in hopes of getting the gigs for which you are applying.

You're doing the same thing to me, aren't you? Now I know who to focus the blame on when I don't hear back from people.

 

[sportschick]

Sneed, I'm still badmouthing you every chance I get in hopes of getting the gigs for which you are applying.

You're doing the same thing to me, aren't you? Now I know who to focus the blame on when I don't hear back from people.

Just tell them about the cat. That should help!

 

[bostonbred]

It's definitely rough out there. In 2007, I received a part-time gig writing columns and covering college sports at a good-sized newspaper. I enjoyed it, even as I saw much older full-time workers around me at this paper being laid off. Thanks in large part to members of this board and the bleakness of the field, I've changed my career focus from writing to teaching. It's working out well.

I still love writing and will continue to do so, but for me, there has to be a fallback option. Now teaching 6th graders comes first, but I write a lot on the side as well. Best of luck finding work, Sneed.

 

[Sneed]

Thanks BYH. I just feel lucky to have contacted someone you hadn't gotten to yet.

And thanks, sportschick. Although I'm not sure what's worse: being a kittyf*cker as you say BYH is, or being a puppyf*cker as he said I am. [/crossthread]

Boston, I'm actually pretty set on returning to school within a year or two to pick up a masters and eventually teach in college while writing on the side.

Rick, I just skimmed back up and re-read your post. Hang in there, man. Seriously, hang in there. I don't really know you that well, but if you're working enough to give your family food and a roof, you're not a failure. Maybe things aren't ideal, but we live in a broken world, and these days far too often feels like the duct tape's run out. Cheesy as it sounds, though, you gotta keep your head up.

And if anyone wants some random inspiration, check this YouTube clip out--I just stumbled back across it, it's the final 45 seconds of the Division II national championship in 2007. Wild stuff. Puts me in a better mood whenever I watch it.

 

[RickStain]

Rick, I just skimmed back up and re-read your post. Hang in there, man. Seriously, hang in there. I don't really know you that well, but if you're working enough to give your family food and a roof, you're not a failure. Maybe things aren't ideal, but we live in a broken world, and these days far too often feels like the duct tape's run out. Cheesy as it sounds, though, you gotta keep your head up.

I'm fine and employed now.

I spent five months unemployed last year. And the worst part is, I wasn't laid off, I just plain couldn't hack it at the job I had and they eventually had to fire me. *That's* a soul-sucker when you've got a family.

 

[Sneed]

RickUnemployed guy/girl, Hang in there, man/woman. Seriously, hang in there. I don't really know you that well, but if you're working enough to give your family food and a roof, you're not a failure. Maybe things aren't ideal, but we live in a broken world, and these days far too often feels like the duct tape's run out. Cheesy as it sounds, though, you gotta keep your head up.

Altered to apply to others, ha.

Gotcha, Rick. Glad you're on your feet now.

 

[forever_town]

As someone who faced all the darkness that comes with unemployment and denied unemployment benefits, I know all too well the pain that is associated with seeing yet another rejection letter. I know what it is to see your bank balance dwindle to nothing. In fact, mine was in the negative triple digits for several weeks. I know what it means to have to apply for food stamps and wonder if people behind you in the grocery line can see how much of a desperate **** you are.

It makes getting a job sweeter. It makes winning an unemployment appeal nicer. It makes depositing a humongous check in your now-positive bank account feel like sweet vindication. It makes me feel as though I've now written the epilogue to the story about the bell tolling for me back in November.

Walking through the grocery store when you have no way to pay for anything you see is deflating. Walking through aisles when you can't buy what's there because it's not food is deflating, even if empowerment is one aisle away, is awkward. Walking through those same aisles when you know you can buy anything you want and you simply choose not to is a feeling you can't measure.

Thank you for your encouragement as I made the transition from indigent to empowered working person. On behalf of all of us who have struggled with unemployment, thank you for your encouragement here on this thread. If we ever meet in person, your first beer's on me.

 

[Sneed]

As someone who faced all the darkness that comes with unemployment and denied unemployment benefits, I know all too well the pain that is associated with seeing yet another rejection letter. I know what it is to see your bank balance dwindle to nothing. In fact, mine was in the negative triple digits for several weeks. I know what it means to have to apply for food stamps and wonder if people behind you in the grocery line can see how much of a desperate **** you are.

It makes getting a job sweeter. It makes winning an unemployment appeal nicer. It makes depositing a humongous check in your now-positive bank account feel like sweet vindication. It makes me feel as though I've now written the epilogue to the story about the bell tolling for me back in November.

Walking through the grocery store when you have no way to pay for anything you see is deflating. Walking through aisles when you can't buy what's there because it's not food is deflating, even if empowerment is one aisle away, is awkward. Walking through those same aisles when you know you can buy anything you want and you simply choose not to is a feeling you can't measure.

Thank you for your encouragement as I made the transition from indigent to empowered working person. On behalf of all of us who have struggled with unemployment, thank you for your encouragement here on this thread. If we ever meet in person, your first beer's on me.

Word.

 

[forever_town]

And keep us all posted on your job search.

When you get hired, let us all know so we can tip a few back in your honor.

 

[Freelance Hack]

When you're unemployed -- as I have been two times in the last four years -- you feel like you're in the penalty box. You feel like you're waiting on someone to spring you from that misery.

In all reality, the only one who can is yourself. I wouldn't just make calls about job opportunities, and I certainly wouldn't say "is there anything else?" And that's coming from a guy with a mortgage and a 5-year-old soon to start Catholic school. The last thing you want to sound like in that situation is desperate.

What people need to do is break down doors, elbow their way in, make their presence known, (add your favorite cliche here). Writing, like Sneed's doing, is wonderful, but so is volunteering or doing anything externally that showcases your skills and talents. It may not pay now, but you have to look at it as an investment in yourself that'll payoff down the road. Good luck, Sneed.

 

[Sneed]

Thanks guys.

As of right now, I'm going to begin working part-time for a newspaper later in June or July (depending on when I move to the paper's city), working a few desk hours a week and writing a few stories a week. I'm also doing everything I can to get freelance work with magazines writing features--that's probably my favorite thing.

My big project right now and probably for the next six months or so is this book I've been working on since March. I haven't landed an agent yet or anything but am talking to some local, regional publishers and just researching and writing. It's been great having all this free time to work on that, honestly, but I gotta start finding something to pay some bills.

My ultimate goal is to write for magazines. I love newspapers, as I've said before, but I also love in-depth feature writing, so that's my goal. Like you said, F_H, while I'm basically writing this book for nothing right now, I see it as that investment in my future.

I'm in a decent situation right now, but can't wait for it to get better. Thanks again for all the good wishes.