Fifty second week-"Celebrating" one year of unemployment

It's funny when you really stop and think about it. You want to cry for all the lost time where you could have been productively working. No one ever tells you about the day to day struggles you'll have to keep motivated while at the same time trying desperately to prove that you're worthy of being employed by "fill in the blank" company. Everyone instead tells you that you have to keep your chin up and keep pressing on.

When you are in your twenties, it's easy...so they say. Yet I know for a fact that it is just as hard if not harder for people in their twenties as it is for those that are in their thirties, forties and fifties. I'm guessing that quite a few young people have given up on the job market for a variety of reasons. If you have been following this blog religiously then you know that I do list at least two major factors which don't have anything to do with age.

I guess that makes some of us feel a little better. Do I feel like celebrating? No. I don't think any of us that are still struggling to find work after a long period of time have anything to celebrate. Yet, like I said in my last post, I can't give up hope. I can look forward, and reassess where I go from here. I do like the fact that in my state that I can get the help I need to reassess my options, and maybe get some retraining.

What everyone who has been unemployed as long as I have wants a potential employer to know is this: "Please give us a chance. We just need a chance to prove ourselves to you as a good worker. Please stop discriminating against the long time unemployed and bring us to the top of your list for employment. We may pleasantly surprise you."