# I am a BBW and I am unemployed or shamefully underemployed



## fffff (Sep 4, 2009)

I thought we could maybe have a group hug thread for those of us out there who are going through the agonizing humiliation of searching for work. 

In the not very big town that I live in I was shortlisted for a job that payed 14k a year. They had well over a hundred applicants. _For a job that payed slightly over 14k a fricken' year._ I didn't really want it, but how discouraging is that? 

So, big hug for people going through the same.


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## Vespertine (Sep 4, 2009)

Count me in on the group hug, please. My hours got cut back so much at my job it is ridiculous, and I may be laid off at any minute. 99% of the people I know are either unemployed, underemployed and looking, or hating their job and looking. I want to go back to school, but I don't know what would be worth the expense in terms of getting hired after. Hard times.


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## katorade (Sep 4, 2009)

Yep, count me in, too, although I'm not actively job hunting. My arthritis in my hip rendered me disabled, yet somehow I was denied for disability by my (bitch) doctor, so I lost both my job because I can't continue to do it and my medical benefits, so now I can't even work on getting surgery. Bureaucracy.:doh:


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## fffff (Sep 4, 2009)

Vespertine said:


> I want to go back to school, but I don't know what would be worth the expense in terms of getting hired after. Hard times.



My anxiety about my employment is multiplied x1000 because of all the outstanding student loans I need to pay back.


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## bobbleheaddoll (Sep 4, 2009)

(((((((all))))))))

hugs to you all. i went through what you are going through about a year or so ago when the bank i worked for offshored my job and our office closed. I was looking for work and it took me months to find work...it is very distressing. there are limited jobs and hundreds of applicants per position.

i can give you a suggestion. 

www.indeed.com

it is a great website for job hunting. it is a search engine that pulls in from pretty much every site. instead of having to go to careerbuilder, monster or the specific company sites individually, it will pull in from all of them. try using keywords for the jobs you are seeking like 'teacher' or if there is a paticular system you are used to working on use that 'quicken' to help narrow the search.

also
www.usajobs.gov is the federal job posting site. the last time i was on there they were still hiring for the upcoming census next year...can't hurt to look! 

good luck gals!


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## Tina (Sep 5, 2009)

That is such a stressful time. I haven't been on a job interview for years and I think I'd faint were I to have to; I'd feel so insecure, having been 'off the market' for years.

Kate, have you considered applying for Social Security Disability? It'll never make you rich, but there are health benefits that can help, and if your doc won't cooperate, you can appeal and have Social Security's docs look at you, I believe. That all just sucks.


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## Shosh (Sep 5, 2009)

katorade said:


> Yep, count me in, too, although I'm not actively job hunting. My arthritis in my hip rendered me disabled, yet somehow I was denied for disability by my (bitch) doctor, so I lost both my job because I can't continue to do it and my medical benefits, so now I can't even work on getting surgery. Bureaucracy.:doh:



It is terrible that you cannot get disability benefits. You have a medical condition and you are entitled to it. I am sorry to hear this.


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## katorade (Sep 5, 2009)

Tina said:


> That is such a stressful time. I haven't been on a job interview for years and I think I'd faint were I to have to; I'd feel so insecure, having been 'off the market' for years.
> 
> Kate, have you considered applying for Social Security Disability? It'll never make you rich, but there are health benefits that can help, and if your doc won't cooperate, you can appeal and have Social Security's docs look at you, I believe. That all just sucks.



I'm waiting until after I move to apply for it because I don't know if there's going to be crappy paperwork hang-ups if I apply here in Ohio then move to California.

I was so unbelievably mad at my doctor. She seriously did not give 2 shits about what I was telling her and was just going by protocol. I'd been seeing her since March and needed her to push the date of my disability back to the end of June because that's when the cut-off date was for tallying up hours worked to see if you qualified for benefits the next quarter. 

Since I've been like this since last November, I had to seriously cut back on hours in the last quarter and even demote myself because I couldn't work enough hours to stay in a leadership position. I didn't make the hours cut-off, so the only way I'd be able to continue my benefits was if I was on short-term disability that started on a date during THAT quarter. I figured it would be no problem for her to give it the okay for June since she'd been seeing me for months prior to that and KNEW what condition I was in at the time.

No go. She kept saying "the point is to be able to get you back to work." Guess what, dumb shit. I'm not going to be able to get back to work if you keep feeding me medications that are barely working and take a minimum of 12 weeks to even show signs of efficacy! I'm not going to be able to continue to work if I run myself into the freaking ground and just aggravate the situation! I need to recuperate! I can barely walk and you expect me to take ONE day of work off a month when my job requires I stand for 6 hours.:doh:

I swear the way she came off sounded like she thought I was just trying to suck the government dry for money so I could just do nothing. Yes, I really _wanted_ to try and live off of $600 a month because that would be SUCH a pleasure cruise. Yeah, don't do me any favors.


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## mossystate (Sep 5, 2009)

Katorade...ugh. Wouldn't it be nice if doctors truly saw the person in front of them?


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## BubbleButtBabe (Sep 5, 2009)

katorade said:


> I'm waiting until after I move to apply for it because I don't know if there's going to be crappy paperwork hang-ups if I apply here in Ohio then move to California.
> 
> I was so unbelievably mad at my doctor. She seriously did not give 2 shits about what I was telling her and was just going by protocol. I'd been seeing her since March and needed her to push the date of my disability back to the end of June because that's when the cut-off date was for tallying up hours worked to see if you qualified for benefits the next quarter.
> 
> ...



Just a little side note.Make sure before you move to get every bit of your file from that Dr or other Drs that have seen you for the same condition..Ask to see the file before they copy it for you that way when they do give you a copy you can make sure it has each and every time you complained about your condition..This will give you a head start when you file for disability..


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## Vespertine (Sep 5, 2009)

fffff said:


> My anxiety about my employment is multiplied x1000 because of all the outstanding student loans I need to pay back.



Me too! I'm in trouble with them already since the hour cut back. And it looks certain i will be laid off. A lot of people will :/

I will look at indeed.com, haven't been there for a long while.


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## theladypoet (Sep 6, 2009)

Can I get in on the group hug? I'm working two jobs and still getting less than 20 hours a week.


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## Tau (Sep 7, 2009)

*hugz you all* praying for all you ladies that life gets easier sooner rather than later


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## thatgirl08 (Sep 10, 2009)

I know I'm only 18 and not fully living on my own, so I'm sorry if this isn't the right thread for me to air my concerns as I realize I'm more fortunate then some but.. I'm unable to find a part or full time job to help pay for college and to pay for my car insurance, car payment and gas. It's so tough. I've applied for over 30 jobs the last 3 months, had 6 interviews, but not one single job offer. The city I'm in has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. I've come to realize that even for part time jobs or minimum wage jobs I am competing with adults who are looking for a CAREER as opposed to just a job. Soo many people out of work, just forcing them into jobs that teenagers would've previously had. My funds are getting super, super, super low and I'm just hoping I get a job before my car gets repossessed. :/ Hug?


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## Elfcat (Sep 10, 2009)

Anxiety I can understand, but shame, no. No one who is honestly looking for work should be ashamed of anything. The people who claim that the system as it stands is capable of providing outlets for such people need to be held to their words for what is happening, and that includes those in the current administration who claim that we are headed for better days.


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## Tooz (Sep 11, 2009)

fffff said:


> I thought we could maybe have a group hug thread for those of us out there who are going through the agonizing humiliation of searching for work.
> 
> In the not very big town that I live in I was shortlisted for a job that payed 14k a year. They had well over a hundred applicants. _For a job that payed slightly over 14k a fricken' year._ I didn't really want it, but how discouraging is that?
> 
> So, big hug for people going through the same.



My world. You're in it. It's awful, and it has dragged me down to some truly dark places. I ended up going back to school...


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## itsfine (Sep 11, 2009)

I have a BFA in Graphic Design, as well as experience, a solid volunteering history, and a diverse list of qualifications outside of the computer realm.(First Aid and CPR trained, experience with children and delinquent teens, food service, sales and marketing, customer service, and of course design and all of the word applications.)

I have applied for over 100 jobs since April, including multiple employment agencies, online applications, stopping into businesses, both for professional work or for low paying jobs. I got two calls for interviews. 

One at Payless, and another in the food industry, at the bottom of the ladder.

Payless was offering min. wage and like 10 hours a week. The food service offers 40 + hours of fairly intense work, but a shift of 4pm-1am. I took the food service. I am currently working with atleast 3 other people with BA's in the same position. The job isn't bad, my coworkers are nice, but I am left with this feeling of failure, and constantly feel anxiety overly tired.

But, I am thankful because I can get overtime, my boss is actually very nice and understanding, and in 90 days I will have health care.


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## Visceria (Sep 17, 2009)

I can't find a job. I have a BA in psych, I have some a little experience in everything, but not alot in any one thing if you know what I mean. Like, I worked in retail for 7 months, and also volunteered in an old age home for 7 months, and in a nature preserve caring for bats and feeder mice for two summers. Insurance filing for 3 months. Some other stuff. But none of it matters. At all. anything under 2 years doesn't matter. The little checky box "under two years experience" is what I have to check. And that looks terrible. So I can't get a job.
Borders and Petsmart don't even accept applications in their stores where I live, or do interviews, its all electronic. You fill out a retarded POS survey with POS questions for a POS job with POS pay. And the POS companies with POS employees don't even contact you to say, "sorry, your application was a POS. We wouldn't hire you if you were the last unemployed person on earth."


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## fffff (Sep 17, 2009)

Visceria said:


> I can't find a job. I have a BA in psych, I have some a little experience in everything, but not alot in any one thing if you know what I mean. Like, I worked in retail for 7 months, and also volunteered in an old age home for 7 months, and in a nature preserve caring for bats and feeder mice for two summers. Insurance filing for 3 months. Some other stuff. But none of it matters. At all. anything under 2 years doesn't matter. The little checky box "under two years experience" is what I have to check. And that looks terrible. So I can't get a job.
> Borders and Petsmart don't even accept applications in their stores where I live, or do interviews, its all electronic. You fill out a retarded POS survey with POS questions for a POS job with POS pay. And the POS companies with POS employees don't even contact you to say, "sorry, your application was a POS. We wouldn't hire you if you were the last unemployed person on earth."



I know all those POS questions by heart. My favorite is, "It is maddening when the courts let guilty criminals go free." 

Of course I can't get those POS jobs because I'm overqualified. I can't get slightly less POS jobs because I'm underqualified.


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## Saoirse (Sep 17, 2009)

I was scheduled to do an interview on Monday at a store, but they cancelled last minute on me and haven't called back.


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## bobbleheaddoll (Sep 17, 2009)

hi gals...just another suggestion...when you search for jobs, instead of looking for a paticular job you have in mind...just put in whatever experience you may have...for example...instead of an actual job put 'ba psychology' in the search field. this will pull in all the listings that want that type of education. you would be surprised at the wide range of jobs that are offered that are looking for just that quality. this would work as well for key words like '2 years retail experience' or such. 

(((all)))

you can also try applying for a lesser job to get your foot in the door at a great company. take for example my field, banking. teller is one of the worst jobs in a bank. customer facing, stress and high turnover...but it is well known if you can stick out a year (or less depending on the co. posting rules) you can post for another job within the bank. tellers have an advantage because they have learned alot about banking working in branches...once they do their time they move on to better jobs in the bank.

many very large companies have rules about when they can hire outside of the company. many companies have to post a job internally first and only if they can't find a qualified candidate then they can post externally. 

just a few things to try to help. good luck!


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## Saoirse (Sep 18, 2009)

I called the store and asked what the hell was up, and they replied that they had called everyone to reschedule.... well YA FORGOT ME! SO I have ano interview on Monday.

I already feel really shitty about it.


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