Stay away from Tumblr

Once again, I'd like to begin this post with a few more comments from the Over 50 and Out of Work page left by people who have chosen to be victims and have huge attitude problems.

I am 56 y.o. who had the world in his hands before I lost my job due to downsizing 15 months ago. With 35 years of work experience (with several notable accomplishments) and being college educated,I am about to lose everything that I have worked hard for. My credit score was perfect until four months ago. I have since voluntarily repossessed my automobile and am behind in my mortgage payments. I face foreclosure on 6/1/16. Bank of America dumped my home loan of 15 years to Sentarus Inc and they are relentless in the collection of back payments. I cannot sleep without the aid of sleep medication, I have lost all hope and ambition. Trying to smile is a major task. I feel like a walking zombie. The future looks very bleak for me. I wish all readers here the best. My savings is gone and I have lost hope in the future. – posted April 25, 2016

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In May 2013 I lost the job I thought I would retire from. I worked for this company 2 months shy of 10 yrs. A large conglomerate bought us out and ate us up. 90% of the people that had worked there 10 yrs + are now gone...I've been looking for a new job ever since. I'm broke, completely. I can't pay my living expenses and am going to lose my home and have to go live with my 25 year old son. What if I never find another job? I'm smart, I have a great work ethic, I LIKE to work. Why don't interviewers see past my 58 yr old face and body and see the great person I am? I am really good at what I do because I've always loved it. I just don't get it. – posted January 22, 2016

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I am a 56 year old unemployed US Veteran at my wits end! I lost my job three years ago as a casualty of the Congressional sequestration in that my employer, a 501c3 that help[s disabled individuals, and relies upon US Air Force contracts for grounds, food service and custodial contracts as well as GSA contracts...I went back to school to work on a second Master’s degree in parallel with a Ph.D. in Information Assurance that was required for a college professorship position that I was offered. Midway through that Ph.D. program then Washington State Governor Gregoire imposed a hiring freeze, thus that opportunity evaporated. After employment terminated I could not afford to finish the classes and am less than a year away from finishing my PHD. The program paralleled with a second Master’s degree (MBA) from Jones International University which I did complete but cannot use nor get transcripts nor degree certificates from as they are out of business...After 37 years of working I drew unemployment. After the waiting period, I received unemployment for seven months until it ended in December 2013. I had seen people get unemployment for years, yet when I need it the program ends in less than a year. I have been able to suspend student loan payments on my $130,000 balance while unemployed, but now I am informed that the limit is 36 months. My student loan payments are now due and no longer “deferrable”. When first unemployed I was selective in applying for jobs, but in the last year I have applied for anything that I could afford to work for. Last November (2015) I applied for 47 jobs! I have had several interviews this year but no job offers. All of my degrees, certifications, my age and having not worked for three years are obvious issues with employers. I see no light on the horizon. The student loan people at NAVIENT tell me the payments are due and that my only option is to apply for an income based program that will encumber my wife with the responsibilities of these debts and attach to her income as well. Her $13 per hour income is all we have to exist upon as it is. – posted March 21, 2016

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Position was eliminated 3 months ago at 58 1/2. Prior to this unemployed only 3 months the past 41 years. I am a mid/senior level manager with a solid resume. Only 5 interviews only 1 was.face to face so far. I totally agree there is a bias against older workers. I try to stay positive but it is tough. I am articulate and good at what I do. Unfortunately most all cannot see beyond the “old guy” looking back at them. I truly feel for all of you who are long term unemployed….judging from the comments I have read you are all bright and capable people. I wake up at night and wonder if I’ll ever get another job. Wishing you all the best. – Posted Jan. 6, 2016

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It’s happening everywhere. Once you are hitting 40+ your in the firing line. I’m 46 and was a Senior Engineer with a Pharmaceutical Company. Let go last year but can’t even get a job on a construction site. Now painting houses to make ends meat. Jobs for life are a myth. – Posted October 27, 2015

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I will be 64 in February, 2016. Was downsized out of a decent paying job in 2010. Took four years, and having to sell my house, my car, almost everything I owned, sold my gold jewelry, plus depleting all of my retirement investments to stay afloat before finding a decent paying job in 2013. That lasted only 7 months before the company went through a big transition and my position disappeared. Am working now as a $12 an hour receptionist after having been a $60k per year executive director. I feel like a walking dead person. The person I was is gone; I have no life, just barely existing day to day. I have cut every expense possible, eat only one meal a day, and I have tried to hold on to a shred of hope, but eventually reality overshadows hope. Like many of you, I come to this page for something to be hopeful for. I am the sole provider for my financial needs. I am terrified and feel trapped with no way out. – Posted July 6, 2015

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I have been living a hellish life the past 3 years after being wiped out in the recession between 2010-13. I am about to move into a POS travel trailer on a property for a $500.00 a month work exchange, house/pet sitting, housework etc. From a talented interior designer and home staging assistant to losing it all, work, beautiful home, life savings trying to hang on, to living in a fucking trailer with no AC and working like a domestic slave at almost age 57. If it weren't for my 2 cats I'd be attaching a hose to my tailpipe and drifting off to carbon monoxide. It is NOT going to get better for many of us, only worse. Aging, illness and poverty, what a great finale to this one act play. From a bright, vivacious, highly creative, highly literate, optimistic women to wishing for a heart attack every day. The really sad thing is suicide is such a taboo subject and so you don;t even have anyone you can confide in that would support your choice to be done, and it is a choice based not so much on depression as hard core reality. How much suffering is one supposed to accept before they finally just say "I'm done." – Posted May 19, 2016

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I am ready to just end it all. Yesterday I interviewed for a place that tutors children. The place was riddled with 18, 20 somethings. They were gung ho when they saw the resume, however, the usual reply, someone else was more qualified. How could that be, I have tutored and hold a 30 day teaching credential? – Posted May 15, 2016

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I completely empathize with everyone here and have read story after story wondering how our country has disintegrated into something as bad as all the movies showing conditions centuries ago when royalty or the wealthy purged and burned villages, stole their belongings and left them to starve if they left them alive at all. I am so sorry for each of you and the heartbreak, loneliness (as our families and younger friends do not understand or don't want to think about it because they could face it soon enough) and anger you all feel...Everything is stacked against us. What is the U.S. going to do with millions of seniors, even young seniors living on the streets? If Trump wins they'll probably dig trenches, line us up and shoot us while telling the world we were lazy users of the system when every one of us wanted to work and to support ourselves. I don't know how we unite when the powers that be have all the money, make all the rules and in this state change them every week to take more and more money and options away from us. At this very moment my stomach is turning and I have tears in my eyes. I have two weeks of my Kickstarter left so have to show a happy face, positive attitude and it's taking every ounce of energy that I no longer have.
Like someone said, it's really hard to not show depression and anger in an every day conversation let alone an interview or new venture promotion. I sit stunned, numb every night wondering how this could be happening to me, an over achiever, worldwide award winner at a major international corporation and top of the sales force at other companies. I feel like you do - I don't belong here!!! The anger alone is destroying me. If I didn't have pets I would move abroad but which country? What would I do there? I know that I have given up on this country. I don't believe in God. God hasn't helped people who needed help far more than I do since the beginning of time. If starving and abused babies and animals get no help from an "all powerful" "all knowing" "all merciful" being why anyone believes has always been beyond me so please no one offer prayers. Taking care of each other like we would want to be taken care of is the only law we need, that good old golden rule and that has been forgotten by this world. I hope the person threatening suicide has not taken that step but I understand him/her if he/she did. – Posted May 28, 2016

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*Tsk*tsk* so many bad attitudes on display here! And how about that suicide comment, talk about playing the victim! 

Which brings me to yet another post about an experience I had on Tumblr (a continuation from this event), one that finally prompted me to walk away from that cesspool of a site. I thought I’d share it because it offers such a fine example of just how decrepit our society has become.

Ah, yes, it's always the victim's fault in this new America, isn't it? It's a woman's fault she gets raped and a black kid's fault he gets shot fifty times by the cops...But, seriously, some dumb kid on Tumblr is in no position to deem anyone else’s mind as “common” and “simple" (especially when they don't even know how to spell "bosom"). Scanning through the sea of mindless drivel this kid has posted over the past five years, one is hard pressed to find a single intelligent thought anywhere…perhaps the Dr. Phil-style nonsense was a sad attempt to sound intelligent? Oh well, too bad I won’t be around to react/laugh when she finds her “dumb self” officially too old for the workforce.

There was a time when sick fucks were ostracized, cast out and shunned by society. Today, America loves sick fucks. Very disturbing.

I'm now going to close out this topic with some very harsh and disturbing articles about more people with "bad attitudes" who "continue to be a victim." I mean, golly jeepers, what's wrong with people today?

Has despair led to a stunning hike in mortality rates for some Americans?

Study: Suicide Rise In Middle-Age Adults Linked To Recession

Workers over 50 are the new 'unemployables'

Age discrimination in the workplace starts as early as 35

Too poor to retire and too young to die

Women over 50? Help not wanted

Forced to Early Social Security, Unemployed Pay a Steep Price

Meet Jadelyn in HR

I decided to kick off this entry by sharing a few messages left on the Over Fifty and Out of Work page, mostly as a courtesy for those who are still completely clueless about what the economy and job market have been like for so many of us since 2008. I frequented this site daily, as it was helpful to see that I was not the only one in this deplorable situation.

At 54 and unemployed for 5 years now, I know I'll never work again (I've applied for 500 or so jobs). My student loans went default 2 years ago - $300,000.00 of them. No, I didn't borrow that much, it went from $101,000.00 to $220,000.00 over 12 years even as I paid what I could. Then the collection agency charged me a $80,000.00 "collection" fee and sent it to the IRS for ultimate collection (they did nothing but make phone calls at all times of the day and night). Because of that my credit is destroyed, I've used up all my savings and can't even get a job at a convenience store. I graduated with a M.S. in Biology with a 3.80 GPA and I spent 4 years in the Marines in the late 80s (the GI bill didn't exist then - it was called the VEAP and only paid $5700.00 total for 4 years). So much for serving your country. Now because of my credit I can't get a job, and because I can't get a job I can never repair my credit. You can't discharge student loans, you can't refinance them, you can't get a job, and because I can’t get a job I can never repair my credit. You can’t discharge student loans, you can’t refinance them, you can’t get a government job with defaulted student loans, and they’ll take as much of your SSN as they can, if there’s any left when I get to “retirement” age…wait, I am retired – retired from the life against my will. In this country it’s all about money. ALL about money. Once you can no longer make money for someone, or someone can’t make money off of you, you’re tossed aside, a liability to be ignored. I never thought I’d live to see a day when I couldn’t get a job…any job. I don’t mean to be rude, but the guy at the store can’t count change correctly and I’m sitting on my hands all day, every day, for 5 years. Two of my references are dead, so even when I do apply I only have 2 people to back up my employment, and that only goes back 10 years. I no longer have a car, the bus doesn’t run where I live (not that I could afford it), I haven’t been to the dentist in 6 years, I can’t afford to have the tests most people in this country should have in their 50s, so who knows what my health really is. If I get sick I just do the best I can. My wife works 2 jobs just to get us by, and I have to watch her suffer for me, for something she had nothing to do with at all. I have no hope, no future, zilch. To hell with everyone who says “it’ll get better.” I’m so sick of hearing that I want to scream. Sorry to say, but I don’t give a shit what happens to this country or its people. It’s amazing that I’m not a drunk, drug addict, criminal, or haven’t committed suicide yet. My wife and I live in fear of losing the little that we have at any instant. If you’re not terminally ill or in prison, you have it better than me. How is that for a story? I’m sure you won’t print it because it doesn’t fit into your reform, “It’ll get better” narrative. Bitter? You’re damn right I am. I truly don’t care what happens to the people of this country or the country itself. We claim to be so great…go take your flag waving somewhere else.  – posted June 20 2016

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I was laid off from my job in October 2014...I have held a job since I was 16. I am now 53 and feel like society has cast me aside. I have kept my skills up to date, went back to school a few years ago and earned a degree, but no one will hire me. The only jobs I have been offered pay $9-$10 per hour. I am a single mom. I can’t survive on the salary that a teenager just graduating from high school would be paid. I have managed to pick up some work from home doing consulting, but nothing long term. Because there are few jobs where I live, I have started to look for jobs that can be done from home. Tons of the tech start ups hire remote workers. These companies like to post photos of their employees. Take a look sometimes. While their ethnicity is mixed, the ages are not. Typically their oldest employee looks 30. My whole life I have worked with people of all ages, but these start ups act like anyone over 30 would screw up their new age way of working and turn them into a no fun zone.

It is demoralizing. Although I know it is not the end of the world, I totally understand now why some people go crazy when they lose a job. I go to the unemployment office and watch people who seem totally incompetent try to help me find a job. They always end up saying things like: Well, it looks like you are doing everything you can.” I had one lady take notes while I was telling her the various ways I look for jobs. Yet she has a job and I can’t find one. I know I have valuable skills. If I had any money I would start a business because I know I have the brains to succeed, but I have gone through every bit of money I have, my credit is now ruined and I will soon have to go to family to ask for money. Experience used to mean something. Now it just means you are old. – posted March 23, 2015

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I have nothing but sympathy for everyone in here who is struggling. I'm in the same exact boat. I'm 50 and I live at home with two elderly parents on a fixed income. Right now, I have $23.00 to my name. I no longer have a car, all of my savings are gone, and I haven't had a steady job since 2011. I've mainly been employed by staffing agencies. I've never been so scared in all of the days of my life. I simply don't know what to do. I don't qualify for unemployment or welfare. I've repeatedly attended college, trying to update my skills, but that doesn't help whatsoever. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm depressed. Honest to God, I don't know what to do. Apparently, we've been lied to. Finishing high school, and attending college has not led to a successful career for many of us. Don't see yourself as a failure. We're a PAWN in somebody else's game. God Bless, and good luck to all of you. – posted June 5, 2016

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I am 62, a former corporate legal secretary (25 years experience) and have been unemployed since 2011, with the exception of temp jobs and some part time employment (none in my previous field). I’ve net-worked, gone on on-line job sites, employment agencies and various sites such as Craigslist on a daily basis and cannot find anyone to hire me. The very few interviews I have had, I conducted myself in a professional manner, dressed accordingly and showed my interest in the position I was applying for. I am an active, physically fit and pleasant individual and I’d like to believe, intelligent. I’ve jumped through all the hoops and have more than willing to work for salaries that would barely keep a mouse alive. Still no job… I feel like I’ve landed on a strange planet. I have never in my entire adult life EVER been unable to get a job until now. I can’t even get a job as a receptionist or general administrative work. I’ve even been open to retail positions (no experience – really?). And now days you have to have some kind of degree or certificate for everything, no matter how menial the job. I just can’t wrap my mind around this. I’ve gone through all my savings and 401k, my unemployment has long since been exhausted and had no choice but to take my social security earlier than I had wanted to. Social security will not cover all my living expenses (mortgage, monthly assessments, utilities, bills and groceries). I have no family to help me and friends who are in similar situations. What is someone suppose to do? After working your whole life doing the right things … and now close to being homeless and/or hungry. And worse than anything discovering that no one cares about this situation. I’ve emailed the White House several times about this and their response (a month or two later) was a form letter with my name plugged in expressing their concern about the employment situation in the country today. Other public officials I contacted either just put me on their official sites to email me updates on all the wonderful things they’re doing for their citizens, or they don’t respond at all. I guess it’s true that our country just wants us all to just crawl in a hole somewhere and die. I am deeply saddened that this is what has become of our country. – posted March 23, 2015

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I grow weary of the “reinvent yourself” comments. Don’t you think those of us over 50 and out of work haven’t thought of that? I’m 53 and I’ve been out of work for 3 years; I have an M.S. and I’ve done just about every type of work you can imagine since I was 15 – but that doesn’t matter in modern America. I also spent 6 honorable years in the Marine Corps. So much for that…I doubt I will ever have gainful employment again, and that’s just a realism I’ve come to accept; I will continue to look for work, but all of these “Do this and that” comments are meaningless to someone who’s spent more time worrying about their future than you can imagine. At this point, I could care less what happens to America or its people…sorry, but even if I do work again I’ll never invest a dime into this country, and will spend only as much as necessary to survive. Why should I invest in a country that’s failed me over and over. Oh yeah, and the student loans I had are now defaulted, so there goes my credit. – posted June 2, 2015

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4 ½ years unemployed, no health insurance, lost everything, looking for employment every day and 2 ½ years with no income at all. Then people can’t figure out why I’m angry. The only thing they can say is be patient and positive. Seriously no really seriously get a clue you self absorbed morons. Give me a living wage job and my life back and I won’t be angry anymore. In America getting a job use to be a simple thing to do. Now when you say you want and need a job you’re looked at as asking for to much. – posted May 9 2015 

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ATH recently did a fine summary of HR behaving badly with "HR Managers: Do your job, or get out." As always, the comments are loaded with horror stories and a few demanding that someone from HR make an appearance and explain themselves to help us understand what makes human beings behave in such a deviant fashion. I thought I'd offer my own personal run-in with an HR twat to give some insight on just what kind of human being inhabits the role of HR today (with Corporate America's blessing, of course).

I had a Tumblr blog for a while where I shared my many MANY bad experiences these past few years in this sick fucktarded job market. This was at my absolute lowest point, i.e., before I discovered the English teaching route, and I openly posted that I had planned to end my life in a few months. One day another unemployment-related blog shared my story on their own blog, leading to lots of supportive messages from kind sympathizers. Unfortunately, the extra attention led to this darling little troll making an appearance in my inbox:

Yeah, right, because people act the same exact way they do in a job interview as they do when they're blowing off steam on an anonymous blog (insert massive eyeroll here). Say, how does one get the "atttiude" across when clicking the various "yes/no" fields in those ATSs?

My public reply was simple -- public because she then used Tumblr's blocking feature to block me from being able to reply to her personally or even view her page: 

I was just waiting for a message like this. I’m not even going to say anything to you. I’m just going to publish your lovely note so everyone can read it and walk away. I have NOTHING to say to you or your ilk. 

A few others had some very nice public replies to her, which slightly restored my faith in humanity: 

If having a bad attitude really meant you wouldn’t have a job then your basic ass wouldn’t have one either. How fucking gross is it to sit there and mock the people who are so desperately in need of work? What kind of disgusting attitude do you have to have to sit behind your desk sipping on coconut water and laughing at people who are critical, impoverished and angry about their lack of employment? They have the experience, they even have the willpower. You have a job and the gall to tell someone else they don’t have a job because of behavior? Well let’s take a look at your behavior. You have come across a blog of someone who is so inconsolable about their lack of employment that they are legitimately and openly planning on killing themselves over it - while still looking for a job mind you, they DO NOT want to die, they want job security - and you have decided to come into their inbox, tell them that they are unemployed because they have a shitty attitude and that if YOU had them as a candidate that you would have a “field day” “laughing” about it. You are scum and your carelessly worded message may cause someone their life - that they are fighting for as it is - and you don’t deserve the job YOU have. Miss “I work in HR but I’m a massive festering sphincter and have no idea how to actually give people resources towards getting a job.” 

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Like, that’s another thing. If jadelyn really cared about what she was saying, she’d maybe offer tips on how to deal with HR! Or something! It probably wouldn’t help, this person has probably seen and heard it all before, but jesus christ, going into a suicidal person’s askbox and telling them that it’s all their fault? Is THIS how we treat the long-term unemployed?? No wonder there’s so much discrimination against people who have been unemployed for a long period of time; because asswipes like jadelyn are manning HR departments all across America. 

I followed up with a final public response:

She didn’t offer one single justification or explanation in defense of any of the miserable companies I’ve encountered. It’s just ALL MY FAULT. I completely screwed up the “attitude” section of every online application! Wharton researcher Peter Cappelli tells about an employer that got 25,000 applicants for a routine engineering position — and the HR applicant tracking system rejected every single one of them. Yep, that’s 25,000 bad attitudes, it can’t possibly be an inept HR department!!!” Honestly, folks, I didn’t create my page for the sake of attention to what my future plans were. I thought it would be somewhat therapeutic to openly share my stories which could help the younger generation avoid my mistakes. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve removed the note on the left column of my page and disabled the “ask” to avoid hearing from any more trolls. As for this particular troll, I will take solace in the fact that this kid who appears to be half my age in her pic (she says she’s 28 on her Etsy profile) is going to find herself in my situation in another 20 years. And it will happen so fast she won’t know what hit her.”

Initially, I tried to just move on from this little “incident.” But, my curiosity got to me. I wanted to learn more about this oh-so-awesome HR “professional” who trolled my blog. The Tumblr blocking feature is fairly weak; all one needs to do to circumvent it is visit from a different IP address -- which I did. The description of her page underneath her picture -- and I am not kidding, here -- said "I am not a nice person."

Wow, way to make a case that you don't deserve all the hate being thrown at HR. I’d have to question just how the hell she keeps a job not being a nice person. Hmmmm…unless she’s just using her blog to blow off steam...isn't it ironic, dontcha think...

And this blurb is just adorable:

Right. Working in HR, NOT being a nice person, laughing at another's misfortune…great way to make the world a better place.

And, good grief, she openly crams enough personal information in that sidebar to make it very easy to locate her full name and address. Combined with all the narcissistic selfies and adult-oriented posts, I have to wonder, is it smart to put so much personal stuff on public display which can so easily be found by an employer? Answer: No, it's not smart. 

I realized I was not dealing with the brightest bulb here, and I kind of felt sorry for her (my pity only lasted until I remembered that she's the one employed while so many talented Americans are not). If I had criminal intentions (or was just nasty, like her) I could have done some serious damage with that information. She's VERY lucky that, unlike her, I *am* generally a nice person (the exception being that I'm not so nice to people who proudly declare they are “not a nice person" or who troll me on the internet).

There's a reason HR is now considered the sleaziest profession in our workforce, sleazier than used car salesmen. At least we have ordinances that dictate a car dealership cannot advertise a car that is NOT readily available to purchase on their lot; they get in big legal trouble if they violate this rule. There are no similar laws to protect us from the Jadelyns of America. Had she been as awesome of an HR professional as she claimed to be, she'd have apologized for the behavior of her cohorts who have smeared her line of work and try to do some damage control, i.e., "I assure you, we're not all bad, honest!" All she did was further prove that, yes, HR is full of sociopaths.

A fine observation from ATH (he left out "trolls the unemployed on the internet")...

And, another one (same blog, different post)...

Look at these eyes, folks, these are the eyes Quint describes in "Jaws"...black and lifeless. This is your modern HR professional. God help us all.

$12/Hour

Back in early 2014, having grown desperate (but before having yet discovered the teaching overseas option), I visited one of the state's "One-Stop Career Centers" for help in finding a job -- what a joke! As a "benefit" of being signed up with them, I'd receive a weekly email from them informing me of career fairs in the area. I'd peek at these just to giggle at the miserable positions being promoted, like pest control tech and dry cleaner delivery driver. But this one both shocked and enraged me.

What sparked my ire here? Take a look at the medical assistant job. Requires 1 to 2 years experience. Pays $12/hour.

If I may, I’d like to play Professor Peabody for a moment and invite you to step inside the Wayback Machine, set the dial for June 1992. George H.W. Bush was president. I was 24 years old, having just completed a year in my first permanent job after college, as a secretary in a Providence bank earning $7.50/hr. It was a dead end job in a small city with few opportunities. I wanted something better, so I began searching for a job in Shit City a/k/a Boston. I eventually landed a job as a medical secretary at New England Medical Center (now Tufts) for a whopping $12/hour (everyone in my old office was sooooo jealous of the "massive amount of money" I was going to be making, LOL). Now, I had no previous medical office experience, no medical terminology, no calendar management…but, I typed 130wpm, had a degree, and had a few years of office work experience, so I got the job. Would I qualify and be hired for that job today? Doubtful.

Keep in mind, that $12/hour adjusted for inflation translates to $20.55/hour today. (It's also worth noting that even while working at that bank for $7.50/hr I could afford to rent a studio apartment in Providence for $450/month.)

Now, I do believe that a medical assistant is a bit higher on the professional totem pole from medical secretary. I know they perform all the administrative stuff I did in my old job, but here’s what else they do (from Snagajob):

Medical assistants collect and prepare laboratory specimens or perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They also arrange examining-room instruments and equipment, purchase and maintain supplies and equipment, and keep waiting and examining rooms neat and clean. 

So, really, this is almost like a “junior nurse” role – collect/prepare laboratory specimens? That means DRAW BLOOD, something I never had to do for $12/hour in 1992. And I’m pretty certain the phlebotomist employed by our clinic was earning more than me back then.

I really don’t know what to say anymore when I see horrific salaries like this one, and I don’t know why I continue to be shocked. What I keep wondering is, has it always been this bad and I was just blissfully unaware? In other words, back in 1992 were there people working for a salary out of 1968? 

Sadly, as long as there are enough people out there “grateful” to earn $12/hour, we will continue to see these $12/hour jobs. So, step right up folks and get in line, that awesome opportunity with the 1992 salary ain’t gonna remain open forever – and the more resumes Spherion Staffing gets inundated with, the lower that salary will be the next time it opens up. Yep, happy days are here again...

From 2014: "DreamWorks Lays Off Dozens of Employees As ‘Dragons 2’ Continues to Underperform"

Back in 2014 I had a Tumblr account. One day that summer, this post appeared umpteen times in my dashboard, “DreamWorks Lays Off Dozens of Employees As ‘Dragons 2’ Continues to Underperform” along with orders from the rebloggers that we “go see HTTYD2 immediately! Save DreamWorks blah blah blah!”

I posted the following observations to this in my own Tumblr blog (I doubt anyone read it):

Unfortunately, asking everyone to “go see this movie ASAP” is another case of “let’s treat the symptom but not the disease.” The reason people aren’t going to see this movie (and lots of other movies) is because THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO. You wanna know who goes to the movies? Members of the middle class. And, in case you haven’t been paying attention (that’s okay, nobody is), the middle class is dying. I myself have not been to a movie since December 2013 (my going to see the 2nd Hobbit movie would surely have been deemed “irresponsible” by the Faux News crowd). It doesn’t matter how great a movie is. When you’re broke, you’re broke. What myopic companies like DreamWorks don’t get is that the people they lay off are also the ones our economy needs to go to the movies. A smarter move would have been for the CEO to take “personal responsibility” for the bad decisions behind making/marketing this film and take a temporary cut in his ~$5Mil annual compensation. But we can’t ask for that to happen, because that would be evil and the end of ‘murrica as we know it! Remember my “Fuck You, Hasbro” post? They partner with DreamWorks to create a bunch of crap merchandise to sell to – guess who? – the middle class. Will any of those 500 “old fart” former employees be going to the movies this weekend? Don’t count on it (recall, “Unemployed? You May Never Work Again”).

Modified version of the Hasbro post can be found here.  

CBT Architects / Childs Bertman Tseckares

This job appeared one day back in 2014 and, like so many job descriptions, made me laugh. Why? Well, let’s take a look…

So, to recap, they want the candidate to have: 

• Strong conceptual skills
• A strong portfolio of work
• Strong professional service and effective time management and be cost consciousness

All these traits are typically acquired over years of experience, especially that last one – you do NOT learn “professional service” from taking a college course!!!

And, what’s this…they want 3D modeling/rendering/motion? Hey, maybe I should apply for this job, I thought to myself at the time, because I’ve been using Cinema 4D for thirteen years.

• 0-3 years experience

I'm sure CBT of Boston had no problem finding their junior/intern-level designer with boatloads of professional experience (remember, Boston is a city rife with cronyism and incompetence, this is certainly a fine example of the latter). While I doubt the inept kid they hired knows anything about kicking off a client meeting or completing a creative brief, I have no doubt they got him dirt cheap. And, isn't that all that matters today?

EDIT, 04/28/17: They have been advertising a graphic design manager position for nine months. I have documented this in a separate post. D'OH D'OH D'OH...

How to become a jillionaire

When I get to China, I'm going to find a developer to work with me in creating an app that submits fake job applicants to company career sites. So when a company treats you badly as a job hunter (as in, duping you into inputting your personal information into their crappy ATS for a job that doesn't even exist), you’d just pull up my app, plug in all the job details directly from the description, and you’ll get a “new” resume to submit to the company’s ATS, including a fake name and fake contact number. Then when the useless HR twit sees that “perfect” candidate profile who has all 54 bulleted requirements, they call only to get the recording “we’re sorry, this number is not in service.”

Will charge $1 per fake profile, unless I can find a VC to sponsor, then it’ll be free (ad-supported).

Reap what you sow, Corporate America. (And, good luck suing me when I'm in China.)

Insanity at its finest

Throughout 2013 this insanity would happen on a weekly basis…I’d get an email from some recruiter (usually in India) about “a fantastic contract opportunity”…I’d call them, give them all my personal details (resume, salary reqs, etc.), let them submit me for the job, and then never hear from them again. Meanwhile, I’d receive several more emails from other recruiters about the exact same job…and then I’d see the damn job appear umpteen times on Indeed (see pic above)…which always made me wonder just what the fuck was the point of contacting me directly if you’re still going to advertise the job and get bombarded with applications? Isn’t the point of reaching out to someone in your database to avoid this mess? Oh, there’s the old me from 25 years ago talking common sense again…we all know where common sense fits in today’s world.

This phenomenon has somewhat dissipated, although it does reappear on occasion, like in July 2015, with Siemens. Read what I learned about what's going on here.

I keep wondering, if we had the internet 27 years ago when I first entered the workforce, would this insanity be happening…in other words, was it the internet that made hiring professionals stupid, or do stupid hiring professionals just not know how to use the internet to their advantage? Thoughts for the day…

File under "Disturbing Observation"

In May 2014, shortly after the Target rejection, I decided to pursue a TEFL certificate in the hopes of leaving this country. I spent June through August driving into downtown Shit City aka Boston to take the part-time course. I would enter the 75 State Street garage at 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, and what I witnessed each time just made me want to vomit. Nothing but huge honking gas-guzzling suburban assault vehicles -- note how many you can count in the above pic. I’d have the pleasure of almost crashing into them as they exited at the end of their busy productive job-creating days while I cautiously drove down in the opposite direction in my stinky eight-year-old sedan. As with typical underground parking lots, the driving lane is incredibly narrow, and making the U-turn to get to the next level was particularly fun. These fuckers would plow up each level and turn with no regard at all for whether or not someone was coming down in the opposite direction. I could see down to the right whether one of these monstrosities was coming and I’d flicker my lights a bit to warn them…do they give a shit? Fuck, no. They own this lot. And they own this world. I’d laugh when the ignorant fat-headed driver of one of these behemoths almost smashes into me (there is *just* enough room in the U-turn area for two vehicles, if you turn at the wrong angle, watch out) and they proceed to give ME the dirty look.

Just another fine example of what’s going on in this country.

Fake job alert: Oracle

Oracle posted this job as a direct apply on LinkedIn on May 20, 2016. It amassed 200 applicants.

I guess they just didn't like any of the applicants...or, maybe the number of applicants was just too much for their pea-brained recruiter to handle so she posted it again on June 28 in the hopes of starting over and getting fewer applicants. Good for her! You just keep trying, Ms. Arnold. I'm sure you'll get it right...eventually...

Summer 2014: Working for scraps

My last few "jobs" in the state of Stinkassachusetts were a bunch of "scrap" gigs in the summer of 2014 courtesy of TCG, which is rather ironic considering they were the first agency to find me design work when I began this miserable journey back in the late 1990s. Even worse, the hourly rate I earned was nearly identical to what I was paid in the 1990s as well. First, they placed me with some little company downtown for a week or so (Cartesian), when it was over TCG emailed me the same feedback I'd received 15 years earlier from every assignment, "could you please let her know that her design work was fantastic." *Sigh* They said they'd be hiring soon and I said "well, be sure to think of me when that time comes!" But I knew better than to hold my breath (after all, this is Stinkassachusetts). Next came a two-week gig in Natick (can't even remember the company's name); I completed the project in TWO DAYS, earning more awesome feedback. *Sigh* again. Where has doing a great job and earning top feedback gotten me in this miserable place these past 16 years?

I finally told the staffing rep that I'm done with this, I'm just going to try to enjoy these last few months in my home while I have it before packing it in and then hopefully heading overseas to teach English. She was sympathetic but tried to offer a pep talk, "I honestly think you do have the skills and ability to stay employed in this industry. I know it has been a challenging ride trying to find full-time employment but I do think at least for the time being, the few week/few month assignments that have been coming up is an indicator that the market is picking up. All of the piecemeal work may be opening more doors and getting you closer to your FT goal even if you can’t see the results immediately right now." You're damned right I have the fucking skills and ability for this industry, but that's not what counts today. I don't have the "age" or "looks." Sixteen years ago I was content to take piecemeal scrap jobs on the chance it would "open doors" and get me closer to a full-time gig. It's time to admit that in this miserable state there was never any chance of that happening.

I did one final few-day assignment with a company called Lois Paul & Partners. For this one I actually had to bring my laptop as they didn't have a computer for me. This didn't bother me. What DID bother me was the "graphic designer" I had to work under -- an inexperienced kid who didn't know what she was doing. This came to a head at the end of the project when she told me to put a really crappy image into one of the slides, and I explicitly told her, "This image is terrible, nobody is going to be able to tell what it is," but she overruled me. Well, the boss (some C-level exec) was reviewing the slides with her as I stood by taking notes for edits, and he pointed at that image and irately said, "I can't tell what that is! Why did you use that? It's terrible!" And he gave me a dirty look (since I'm the guilty one who worked on the slides). She just stood there quite visibly squirming in silence hoping and praying that I wouldn't call her out in front of the boss with "hey, YOU ordered me to drop that image in!" But, I didn't say anything. Why bother. At the end of the day, she's the one with the full-time job, and it baffles the mind. 

A fitting conclusion to my life in Stinkassachusetts.

I was here...where were you?

I have now shared my story of how a few bad decisions (pursuing “do what you love,” relocating to Stinkassachusetts) combined with the worst economy since the 1930s has led to my being unemployable in the new America. Assuming you care enough to wonder, the question now is, where will I go from here?

I spent the early part of 2014 pondering what to do with my life. Beginning over with no career at such a very very old age (47), there aren’t many options; twenty years ago a former graphic designer with so many transferable skills would be able to successfully transition over to any number of marketing-type roles, but, those days are long gone. 

Doing nothing meant accepting a menial job with a salary out of the Reagan Administration era, going on food stamps, applying for government housing (or living with my retired mother’s basement), and eventually dying in poverty. 

Going back to college for another degree made no sense at all – I couldn’t get hired at 45 and with loads of work experience...who’s going to hire me at 50 with no experience in a new field? And do I incur massive debt at this late stage in my life for a gamble that most likely will not pay off? 

Then there was the option of simply ending my life, which I was going to do on my birthday.

Call it an epiphany if you will, but it was following the rejection by Target that I “snapped.” I pulled myself together and said “no” to all of those “options.” For years I have wanted to go overseas, prompted by our failure of a healthcare system – I could write a whole other series just on my bad experiences alone with this issue. So, in May 2014 I enrolled in a TEFL certification course, which I completed in August 2014. This opens the door for me to finding work overseas and, hopefully, a better life. (So, here’s a simultaneous “fuck you” and “thank you” to Target!)

In other words, in order to have a future, I have to leave America. Say that out loud a few times and tell me that doesn’t sound completely batshit crazy.

I don’t know what more to say or make of it all at this point -- that the best my country can offer me are minimum wage shit jobs...that having more than a decade of experience automatically disqualifies you from a job…that if I stay here I will NOT do as good as my mother who emigrated here 48 years ago for a better life...that I'm in the same boat as the steelworkers in my Pennsylvania hometown who lost their livelihoods back in the 1980s...that I have to move to another country for a job because America could offer me none...

Folks, there is something very wrong here. I am well aware that I have made some very bad decisions in my life. But having my ability to earn a living completely stripped from me is a punishment I never expected (seems like being sentenced to death for shoplifting).

From the comments section of the "Ask the Headhunter" blog...

My mom left her native Macedonia with pretty much nothing (my dad married her and brought her here, then promptly abandoned her after she had me). She got a job at the local steel mill in my hometown. Her English wasn't bad but she had no work experience or skills and no college education. The job wasn't exactly fun (lots of toiling in the cold winter night on the midnight shift), but she got paid damn good money. And we had it pretty good. Had a nice house in a nice middle-class neighborhood. And NOT ONCE did we have to live without the heat on in the winter the way I did in January 2014 because I couldn’t afford it. I’ll say it again, something is seriously wrong here.

This is not the future I was promised. Nobody told me 30 years ago that I would be too old at 45 for a career.

And that the reason I am unemployed is also the reason I am unemployed makes absolutely no sense in a sane world, and proves just how myopic and stupid the folks in charge of hiring really are – don’t they realize that by excluding unemployed applicants their only resource is to raid other companies’ talent pools – and that this will eventually bite their own company in the ass as well????

From the comments section of a New York Times article…makes ya go “hmmmm”… 

  

I’ve been offered no shortage of “theories” from those around me on what made me permanently unemployable. These include my posting opinions online (I’ve learned that Spokeo offers corporations special “packages” that permit them to get past your Facebook privacy settings and view your posts) and having my Christmas ornament hobby/business website and corresponding Etsy store show up in a Google search. Another friend pointed out that my being subpoenaed for a lawsuit against Dreamworks probably landed me on some nationwide “master hiring blacklist.” Another colleague has warned me that my posting this story here will ensure I never work in America again.

Whatever. I'm done analyzing this mess or trying to even understand any of it. I am hereby rejecting this sparkling new future bursting with minimum-wage “opportunities” like stocking shelves and scrubbing toilets; I will dismiss anyone who has the nerve to tell me that I should be grateful for that “opportunity” to scrub toilets; and I will forever dismiss twentysomething twit “hiring managers,” to whom I’d like to offer this one hard truth: someday every one of you will turn 40 -- I know, I know, it’s hard to believe but it WILL happen! And the best part is that it will happen a lot sooner than you expect it to. Just wait and see.

 

From the previous NYT article…I would correct the commenter in that the age of execution in the movie “Logan’s Run” was 30 (21 in the book)…

Oh, and I will NEVER again hand over my personal tax returns in order to be considered for a job.

In conclusion, I don't know where my path will lead me from here (other than far, far away...right now, it looks like China is where I'll end up). And when I leave, I see no reason to ever come back. I certainly am NOT coming back for minimum wage at Wal-Mart! (Remember, I’ve already been rejected by Target…) And here’s an economics lesson for you Chief Executive Jerks who continue to run this country into the ground with your “trickle down” pixie dust and salaries straight out of the Reagan Administration era: You are going to miss this former member of the middle class. I was a good citizen; I spent a lot of my income on frivolous stuff that I didn’t need, but it helped keep the economy rolling. Had you permitted me to find a decent job I would have (a) finished renovating my main bathroom, (b) purchased awnings for my deck, (c) fixed my painful cracked tooth, and (d) purchased a new car, just to mention a few things. Instead, I’m leaving America, and I’m taking my future spending power with me. Enjoy your trickle-down, Chief Executive Jerks. And when more people like me jump ship and you lament “where did all the skilled workers go?” I’ll share the observation that I was here…where were you?

Air head chicky poos

“You are tech savvy, a blue-chip experienced software and network support guru plus a veteran sales exec who has sold over a billion dollars worth of product over the phone. You apply for a job that only requires a high school degree and “some sales experience preferred.” After learning about the job you realize it’s so easy it will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Your competition mostly consists of kids who might have a semester or two of community college at best and were in middle school on 9-11. You are the highest rated producer in your last two jobs — with years of high end sales success — in the entire company and most of your competition maybe worked a year or two at Verizon or AT&T customer service. You ace the phone interview and are given praise, you then score a 100 on the preemployment test. They call back all smiles and happy faces; it’s clear they want you. You know and they know they would be lucky to get someone like you. All that stands between you and employment is merely a formality, a face to face interview to make sure you’re legal to work in the US and a simple criminal background check. “But then you walk into the interview and the person conducting it is another 24-year-old kid…” Continue reading here...

I can certainly sympathize with this author. When I first graduated college 27 years ago, the term “manager” conveyed something completely different from what it does today. From me, that title generally evoked a good deal of respect. Based on what I observed, in order to be a successful manager one was required to have done the relevant work for a large span of time. One had to work their way up to that title, and someone who had indeed worked their way up to a “manager” more often than not had their act together, knew their stuff, and did a good job. Today, the qualifications to be a manager (and a hiring manager, in particular) are (1) to be under the age of 30, and (2) to have a hot supermodel-type photo on your StinkedIn profile. And that’s pretty much it.

And I am completely baffled by this phenomenon.

Comment from an Ask the Headhunter blog post. This old woman shares this man’s observations and frustration...

Here is the link to the Buzzfeed article mentioned in the screenshot above. 

Recalling the “hiring managers” I have encountered in applying for jobs these past few years, I see the exact same pattern as the Buzzfeed lineup. They were always “pretty young girls.” During every interaction I’d have with one of these twentysomething twits, they would prove themselves true to the stereotype…clueless, inept, unprofessional, useless. One girl was so inexperienced she didn’t even know she was supposed to shake my hand and say good-bye to me after the “interview."  Another kept me waiting for 30 minutes before emailing me she couldn’t make our scheduled telephone interview, and then she could not even be bothered to acknowledge receiving my email with a file attachment as a follow-up to said interview. (I use the word “interview” loosely as I question now whether these jobs were even real, but that’s a post for another day). I was fully prepared to share screenshots of these twentydumbthings' StinkedIn profile pictures here, but decided at the last minute to abstain from doing so, as that might be seen as “petty.” I have already called out their companies in my other blog.

From the comments section of Ask the Headhunter (PBS edition)...

My big question is, what kind of screwed-up company puts an inexperienced 24-year-old kid in charge of their business???? I certainly did not have the necessary skills to be a “marketing manager” at 24, and I sure as hell would not put my trust in any company who would bestow the title of “marketing manager” on a 24-year-old kid.

Unfortunately, I don’t see this trend reversing. The success of one “genius” kid named Mark Zuckerberg has rendered worthless anyone over the age of 30. So, good luck to all my fellow Gen Xers (and to the remaining Baby Boomers, too) on your next job interview with the 24-year-old “air head chicky poo.” I myself have made a personal vow to NEVER waste my time with an “air head chicky poo” ever again. 

From the comments section of an article in the National Journal. Where do we sign up for lessons?