Jobloss in America

I used to say that the big crisis in the unemployment numbers was the deficit of dignity. Then I got laid off and I knew what it meant first hand.

Unlike most people looking for work, I survived the 2008 layoffs. I worked for a small non-profit (a YMCA) and we had minimal layoffs. I considered myself lucky. In 2010, I found a new job with a $10k pay bump and thought everything was going in my favor. I had planned to change careers and teach, I took an administrative job at a Catholic School just as I had finished my MTELs. I planned to work there for a few years, work on getting my Masters Degree and eventually work my way into the classroom. 30 days shy of my year anniversary I was told my position was eliminated.
It seemed to make good financial sense. I was making, in some cases, about $12k more than the teachers. I handled it with grace –these things do happen – and went to meet with Human Resources. This is where my nightmare began. In short heres what I discovered:

• I was ineligible for unemployment. They weren’t required to pay into the State plan being a religious organization. They had their own unemployment insurance but I didn’t qualify – you had to work there for 1 full year. I was 30 days off.
• I was told that I would receive the full amount of what I worked plus whatever I was owed in vacation time. The real benefit here was medical insurance through the end of July.

June 30th was a Thursday. Having called about vacation time when the decision came down and still without an answer, the day before I was laid off I still hadn’t heard anything so I called again. That Friday, the first day I was unemployed, I received an email from the Human Resources saying that she was mistaken and my last day of work was the 25th, not the 30th, so I wouldn’t be paid for the final 4 days I worked. Again, the problem was the denial of healthcare. I had received this email on my phone, so I didn’t respond from the subway station. In the time between then and when I had returned home, I had another email from HR – I apparently was on the Teachers Vacation schedule and would not receive any vacation time.

Furious, I wrote to the President of the two schools I worked for and requested a meeting. She graciously agreed to meet with me but wasn’t back from vacation until Wednesday. In the meantime, I’d received the official termination paperwork, and to add insult to injury it claimed the my final day was the 30th, as was originally told to me, and it was addressed to Mary.

The President agreed that this was incorrect and she said it would be addressed. I received and apology from the HR Director and my check came 2 weeks later. Except it was for $0. I found this out after receiving an email saying my Checking Account was low. I thought that was odd since the day before $1000 should have gone into the account and minimum. I called home and asked my girlfriend to open the letter and she told me it was for $0.

I eventually sorted all of this out for a second time. I was officially unemployed. I had canceled all of my medical appointments (optometrist, dentist) because I wasn’t sure if I’d have medical coverage, and now, I’m hoping to get it sooner than later before my cracked tooth becomes a real problem. I’m avoiding anything especially hard or chewy in the mean time.

Since then I’ve been on the job hunt, and this is by far the worst part. The problem is that those hiring aren’t jobless, and there is no crisis for them. Applications are met with calls 3 to 4 weeks later. Meanwhile I do what I can to spend the least amount of money as humanly possible. I’ve gone on a few job interviews and had a few phone screenings. I even had one from a company whose products I used and really enjoyed their philosophy. After 2 rounds of interviews in which I had to make a sales pitch to them of their product, I received and email from their recruiter saying “they weren’t hiring any of the applicants.” This should encapsulate the real issue for the unemployed. Our crisis is our own, and the sense of urgency that keeps you up at night is something that the working world doesn’t see as anything serious.
I’m currently waiting to hear back from a job interview this week. I’ve met with them three times. I’ve invested plenty of my time making sure everything was just right, I’ve interviewed for about a month, and this week I might find out I’ve wasted and entire month. This is how people who can’t find work go from hunting to quitting. A protracted process met with apathetic rejection.

I’ve been so heavily invested in this latest job, being told I have the career experience to fit the job well, getting references from internal employees, and being invited back that I’ve actually lost sight of the end goal and stopped applying for jobs. This week, as I sit waiting by the phone I’m again firing off applications that I might hear from by the end of September.

But Americans are often defined by their jobs, and so much is tied in with them. I’m often asked about what I do for a living and I lie. I can’t bike or do anything mildly risky because I don’t have the medical coverage to fix it should anything go wrong. Friends have stopped inviting me places because they either think I can’t afford it or don’t want to insult me. Soul-crushing isn’t the hyphenated word. When someone loses a job, they lose a whole lot more. I’m told to remind people I’m looking, but no one wants to be a charity case, and we don’t want to harass the friends that will still call.

So I’m not sure where to go from here. An application requires immense attention to detail and if you really want the job, a tailored cover letter for each posting. Hours of work, anger at every missed typo you know equates to an immediate rejection. How do you continue to meet rejection with more passion and energy needed to give you half a shot at the next open position? I just hope someone out there is listening. Oh and by the way, Hug an unemployed person today, will ya? We could use it.