It would be great to have a program like this in Pennsylvania. I am in my 40's, laid off from a position i had for 9 years in January 2010 and have not been able to find work since that time. I have sent out countless resumes and have had professionals rework my resume and still nothing. I can not even find a part-time job. My benefits ran out January of this year and my husband and I began to have financial issues without a second income. At this point the financial issues are so bad, its ruined my marriage as I am getting the blame for not having a job and causing our financial ruin. I am not lazy, I volunteer in my community and for several organizations. Unless you have gone through this there is no way to convey the despair and humiliation of unemployment and the financial pressures that come with it. I will be moving in with my sister soon, another humiliation for someone that has always been very independent and I will continue to look for a job there. All I need is a break, someone to give me a chance. I believe this is what most of those who are unemployed desire, as this news story points out. We want to work, we need to work and will be dedicated hard workers if we only are given a chance.
Not sure this will help but I am across the river from PA (lower Bucks) and when I check job sites, I see that they have some programs in PA for Senior Citizens. You are not yet there, but perhaps checking with these programs you will get some information on programs to help you. In NJ where I live, I asked about job discrimination openly given and was told by the Unemployment office that they did not deal with that. Maybe they do now but my approach now after struggling to keep my house so I took any job. This has been going on since I was 58. So now I am at the point that I will try to start my own business.
No too much I can add except to say I was there having been laid off at age 53 in 2008. I have a BA in Economics, MBA Finance, and 2 Microsoft Certifications. Was able to do sporadic consulting and even got a job knocking on doors for the Census. Still no work by the end of 2010 the point where I hit 99 weeks of unemployment.
It was not only the economy; I know it was my age even though I look in my forties. Since I was actually consulting, I could side-step the issue of appearing "unemployed" fairly well. But insult to injury my house value had declined to 100% LTV, so selling as a fallback wasn't such a great option either.
Aside from keeping focused and continually looking for gainful work, I bought a Dale Carnegie book called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living". It helped me to emotionally and mentally handle the situation and pressures so I could keep focused. I finally got full employment in my industry the first of this year.
My heart goes out to all those people in this situation because nobody understands what it's like to wake up in the night-- sometimes in a cold sweat, or feel like a worthless pariah while watching unsympathetic people drive off to work in their new cars while you're wondering if you're going to be living in a cardboard box.
Can relate to all the above posts and the much needed story. I went back to school in healthcare IT in 2005 and received 2 degrees, one of which is a Master's in Medical Informatics. Have had a few "underemployed" contract positions, but still waiting for the right position. Am amazed that health IT is in such demand, but so many people cannot find work. Am also amazed that hospitals are shocked when they are flooded by resumes. Also, when head hunters ask for your salary history up front, they are surprised when your salary was much lower than expected in a previous position. Do people who have full time jobs not watch the news?Would love an internship program like the one in the story. Schools often don't offer them.
I'm 42, college educated, and worked at my last job 18 years. I've been unemployed since '07. I have put tireless energy into the job of job hunting with no results. I decided to reinvent myself and got an AA in another industry. I went for it; I chased a dream. A year after graduating, still nothing. But no potential employer looking at my resume can tell me I've been sitting on my hands doing nothing. When I caught this segment today, I totally connected with what all the interviewees said. I've experienced disenfranchisement, anger, self-worthlessness, isolation and more. Mr. Carbone is doing a noble thing and he's right when he mentions the psychological consequences - erodes your self-worth and self-confidence. I've had the hardest time keeping my marriage livable and my kids have also suffered emotionally. I did not ask for this. I was a diligent, respectful and honest employee. The one man who said he was tired of all the lies, deceit and corporate America is absolutely right. It's bad enough we have to work in such an environment, but to lose our jobs and know that the deceivers stay employed at your ex-company, is truly disheartening. Watching this video has given me a spark to keep persevering. It is the hardest time of my life.
I agree 100%. I have been there felt the same way. I am still dealing with the disenfranchisement, anger, self-worthlessness, isolation. I have gained my self worth back. I was lucky to have a network of family and friends who were there for me. I am now employed as a contractor at my former employer in another organization(department) My layoff was political. I was not from MCI when they went bust. I was with Verizon Corporate. We purchased them some of them came into power and saved their own. They lost everything with Berni Ebbers and we as former Verizon ended up paying the price for it.
I have the same question as "underemployed in San Diego." Does a program like this exist in Southern Cali? If not, maybe we need to start one. I live in Los Angeles and I will be 55 yrs. young on 8/29 and the last job I had in my field of human resources was January 2008. I'm sure those of us who have taken the time to comment here are highly educated professionals with over 20, 25 years of work experience in our respective fields, have done all we have been told to do and all that we know to do to find employment. Of course, we never thought we would be where we are; not being unemployed or underemployed but being in this position for so long. Most of us, if not all of us, have exhausted our unemployment benefits and are working or have worked part-time or even at full time jobs which are significantly below our pay grade. Some of us don't have any income at all. We have dropped our pride and either are living with family or friends or begging folks (those who are still around and willing to help when we ask) to help us pay rent or other basic living expenses, living in shelters and/or collecting food stamps and in some cases collecting $200 cash a month from the state. And just because we walk around looking half way presentable with our suits and wears from years ago or what we purchased recently from Goodwill (because we can't afford to buy brand new clothes) and we keep our hair groomed (because we have to go on interviews the few times we get that call or email) it appears from the outside that we are doing fine, when most of us are one knot away from totally losing it. However, because of the stock we are made of and our faith in a higher power or whatever the faith is in and for those among us who are blessed enough to have strong support, it keeps us fighting and holding on. But with every passing day, week, month, that we go without real employment, we lose a little of our self-worth. How much longer can we go on like this... without similar wages to what we had before we lost it all? Why are so many people still just talking and not doing? How much worst is it going to get before this crisis is fix? Oh well, I'll get up tomorrow morning, go on a job interview for a temp job paying $15.61 an hour (when my last salary was $37.00 an hour) and hope I get this job so that I can pay my rent next month and put gas in my vehicle so that I can get to that temp job, if I get it. Then I will return home and apply for more jobs on the internet, go to my Job Club later in the week and listen to another speaker who will share with me and others like me (AGAIN) what we need to do to find gainful employment, check LinkedIn to see if there's someone I can connect with who might be hiring and willing to give me; someone with a Master's degree and 25 years of experience another chance at employment so I regain my sense of self-worth and the hope of the fulfilling the American Dream!!!!!! If I don't land next week, I'll get up next Monday and start the cycle all over again and if I learn something new to finding work, I'll try that and then I'll do it again the next week and again the next week, and still the next week until I land or until I fall. I hope this doesn't sound like a pity party...it really is not. WE ALL JUST WANT TO WORK AND WHILE THE MONEY IS IMPORTANT, IT IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS MEETING MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS, THE BASIC ONES...THE DESIRE TO FEEL SAFE ("Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property")!!!!!!!!!!
I'm in the Long Beach area, and I think the same thing. Interested in chatting about how to create something like this? If you do HR, I do marketing & program development... Someone else handles IT... ???
At the risk of a stupid amount of spam, contact me here. Slightly encloded as janerubyATyanooDOTcom but I think this can be done. GRASS ROOTS!
After holding a job for over 20 years I lost it due to discrimination due to my epilepsy. I have tried various government resources (ie Voc Rehab, Job Retraining, etc) with no success. I am currently on disability- I don't want to be on disability, I want to work. I have applied for more than 300 jobs over the last 7 years- all ranging from higher level office/budget mgmt to basic secretarial jobs; part-time, full time, temporary and permanent. I have continued to volunteer so I have current references. But, as indicated in your story I can't get my foot in the door. I don't get called in for interviews despite my excellent experience, abilities and training. I have even been willing to volunteer so that I have current references. I would be willing to take an internship- a chance to prove myself to the employer before they have to invest much in me. How do I get them to give me a chance?
I watched your newstory with great sympathy. At age 50, I was laid off from a 25 year job in 2003. I took part-time jobs to get by. My mother (who lived with me) died in 2005 and I had to sell my house and file bankruptcy. But all through this, my sisters stood with me and my faith in God kept me strong. I had to humble myself and take several part time jobs to keep afloat, but now, 9 years later, I've found a full-time job and I'm on my way back to financial stability - hopefully with enough time left to work and enjoy some retirement. To those in the same shape I was in, I say, stay humble, pray a lot, and keep persevering. You can do it.
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It was not only the economy; I know it was my age even though I look in my forties. Since I was actually consulting, I could side-step the issue of appearing "unemployed" fairly well. But insult to injury my house value had declined to 100% LTV, so selling as a fallback wasn't such a great option either.
Aside from keeping focused and continually looking for gainful work, I bought a Dale Carnegie book called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living". It helped me to emotionally and mentally handle the situation and pressures so I could keep focused. I finally got full employment in my industry the first of this year.
My heart goes out to all those people in this situation because nobody understands what it's like to wake up in the night-- sometimes in a cold sweat, or feel like a worthless pariah while watching unsympathetic people drive off to work in their new cars while you're wondering if you're going to be living in a cardboard box.
I hope this doesn't sound like a pity party...it really is not. WE ALL JUST WANT TO WORK AND WHILE THE MONEY IS IMPORTANT, IT IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS MEETING MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS, THE BASIC ONES...THE DESIRE TO FEEL SAFE ("Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property")!!!!!!!!!!
At the risk of a stupid amount of spam, contact me here. Slightly encloded as janerubyATyanooDOTcom but I think this can be done. GRASS ROOTS!