Read These Sad Unemployment Stories the Next Time You Complain About Your Job
Jimmy Fallon has the full-time job of his dreams.
On February 16, the comedian officially began his tenure on “The Tonight Show.” Bye bye Jay Leno. Hello Jimmy Fallon. The inaugural night opened with a bang.
Can Fallon consistently top the sketches from his old show like “Full House” Guys Reunion, “#Hashtag” with Justin Timberlake and “Gov. Christie Traffic Jam” with Bruce Springsteen?
NBC sure hopes so.
No doubt, Fallon’s first few months will have their share of hiccups. He might hear “He’s all right, I guess, but I liked Leno better” or “I just don’t think Jimmy is cut out for this.” It’s tough adjusting to a new job, especially one that brings stress, scrutiny and finger pointing. Who knows? Maybe he could get replaced by Leno himself. It’s happened before.
Know what’s worse than all of those headaches?
Not having a job at all.
Below are common complaints from people WITH full-time work contrasted with tales of woe (from the Indeed.com message board) by people who can’t seem to get hired — even those who have applied to HUNDREDS of jobs.
—
“My boss is a nightmare. I can’t stand working for him. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “I’ve sent out about 500 applications, some online, some in person. I’ve had ten calls back, and they were from companies that weren’t really interested (one even said the job had been filled, but he had a quota). I’ll be honest, I’m fed up. I’m either overqualified or underqualified, and I am very sorry that I don’t have five years of experience with your company-specifc program, but I don’t know what else to do…I can’t afford to volunteer, I can’t afford more college, I can barely get by with family loans.”
Note: Don’t submit a job application until you’ve addressed these seven critical questions about your resume/cover letter.
“If I have to deal with this obnoxious client one more time, I’m gonna lose it.”
“How am I supposed to finish all of this by the end of the day?? Impossible!”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “Dude, I’ve done EVERYTHING I can in INTERVIEWS:
“Worn a suit, not worn a suit. Taken notes, not taken notes. Spoke up and sold myself, not sold as heavily, acted humble, stood on my accomplishments. Worn my glasses, not worn them. Worn perfume, not worn perfume. had my hair up, had my hair down. Laughed at jokes, stayed serious. Been myself, and repressed myself…NOTHING IS WORKING…..IT’S H**L OUT THERE. : (”
Note: Job interviews are always unpredictable, but if you come prepared with these four questions, you might just control your own destiny.
“I do NOT want to work over the weekend. I swear, one of these days I’m going to up and quit.”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “I have a family I need to provide for, including a very angry wife (about my employment difficulties). I love them, I WANT to work, I WANT to take care of them. But this is NOT the world of our dads, many years ago, where you graduate, get a nice job for a good company, work there for 35-40 years, and retire with a gold watch.”
Note: Working weekends. One of the 15 milestones everyone should reach by age 30.
“I have the most dramatic co-workers ever. How am I supposed to work with these people on a daily basis?”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “I have been out of work for over 4 years now. Been volunteering at one museum for 3 years, another museum for 2. Where am I? Unemployed. Networked my ever-loving behind off with the people I know and have met. Where am I? Unemployed. Both museums will provide excellent references. There are simply no jobs for me to apply for.”
“You call THAT a raise???”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “I’m coming up on a year unemployed. I made a mistake with my last job, and thought i could easily get rehired again somewhere else. Yeah, live and learn. But I’m in that low low bracket of only knowing basic retail. That should be hiring all over right? Nope. Couldn’t even get something for the holidays. Losing hope for this year. Also limiting what i can do with anxiety/social issues. Yay me! Suggestions? I’m running out of old collectibles to Ebay to stay afloat.”
“Cold soup AGAIN in the office cafeteria? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Jobseeker on Indeed — “Would, say, somewhere from 500-700 job submissions and approximately 25 interviews be the point where one would break? That’s a 5% response rate at best. And a zero percent hire rate.
Really, how much rejection can one take? And what does it take to convince just one (1) person to give you a chance?”
Note: People don’t give you chances. You need to take chances. Here’s the #1 way to impress people in the work world.
How hard did you work to land your job?
Share your story below!
Feature photo: aflcio (Flickr)
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