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I live in Canada, north of Toronto, and I am currently unemployed. I was laid off in 2010 because my crappy company couldn't keep their clients happy, so they all left, leaving me without a job. I only worked there for a year till they let me go. I have a diploma in accounting but all the jobs posting I find require work experience or a degree of some sort. I currently don't have enough money for university, and without a job to fund it, I can't get in. I'm not comfortable burrowing money because then I'll have to pay interest. Even if I do burrow money, I would have to find a job after school anyway. I heard people with university degrees have trouble finding jobs as well.

At this point it feels useless to do anything. If I apply for jobs online, my resume will be piled in with thousands of others, besides they probably only hire people they know from the inside or a reference. If I visit the business in person, they'll tell me to apply online, or check their website for careers. If I go back to school it will probably be a waste of money and time.

On the flip side, I kind of like being unemployed. I have lots of time on my hands to spend time with friends and family, and this hobby we all enjoy so very much. I remember when I was working, it was a long tedious stretch waiting for the day to end, so I can go home and do what I enjoy doing. The only reason why I want to be employed is for the money, and status. Not so much the latter, but it's kind of awkward when someone asks me what I do and tell them I'm unemployed.

Just tell everyone you are an accounting consultant. Then, you can still be broke, have plenty of time, and avoid the stigma of saying you are unemployed.

The job market is rubbish pretty much wherever you go. However, I find it hard to believe you can't sign up to some temp agencies to at least get some work on the cv and some money in the bank.

Any time out of work is bad as far as ever getting a (better) job is concerned.

Potential employer: "so, what are these two years with no employment history?"

Person A: "well, I spent some time with the family, messed around, watched tv..."

PE: "get out."

I know what you said, but this is all I heard:

"Hi everyone. I'm unemployed. I only want to work in a field that requires a degree, but getting that degree is too much work.

I don't even bother to apply for jobs, because it's too much work.

I like sitting at home and not doing anything. Please send me money."


Seriously, stop smoking so much pot and either go get a job that isn't ideal, or go back to school.

Hey Grakmar, don't blame the pot. It doesn't make you lazy.

Amaya wrote:Hey Grakmar, don't blame the pot. It doesn't make you lazy.

For a lot of stoners, they can function perfectly well and don't have any problems getting/holding a job.

For a select few, getting stoned is a great way to keep from getting bored (which is what you'd normally do sitting around the house all day), so smoking pot does let them keep being lazy.

CGBSpender wrote:If I go back to school it will probably be a waste of money and time

Probably, yeah. But its always a gamble, that's the fun of it.

CGBSpender wrote:
Not so much the latter, but it's kind of awkward when someone asks me what I do and tell them I'm unemployed.

Only because you make it so.

Anyway, my advice to you is the same advice my old man gave me: "Don't beat yourself, the world will do enough of that."

The length of a person's unemployment is highly correlated to their ability to maintain a standard of living without work.

I'm guessing the OP has some form of support, as he hasn't mentioned running low on savings or anything like that.

I wish I could remain unemployed for two years. As it stands, and assuming I somehow didn't get a layoff package type thing, I'd probably need another job in a month or so.

Calling yourself a "consultant" for that period of time might help. Otherwise, welcome to catch-22 hell. Jobs doing programming are equally as impossible to get in to, what with entry level positions somehow requiring 3-5 years experience (on top of a degree) and paying a pittance.

Well, you have the right idea in one repsect, at least your morale is still high.

Whenever I was in some gak hole, I always used to say things like "at least I can catch up on my reading" or "at least I can get fit and stay off the booze" or "at least I can save my money" rather than "Im stuck in a gak hole" or "I cant have a beer for months!" or "I cant play on my Xbox" or what have you.

I think a positive outlook is the most important thing, keep on ticking over and keep your chin up, enjoy your free time and your hobbies and something will come along eventually, it always does.

Most importantly, misery loves company.. remember that tens of millions of others are in the gak too!

Way around that:

"Why do you require 3-5 years experience at entry level?"

dogma wrote:Way around that:

"Why do you require 3-5 years experience at entry level?"

If you can get your foot in the door to ask.

I always just assumed it was copypasta from other job postings, but I suppose that might be me being a little too cynical of HR people.

One of my favorite listings was for a job that required an Associates Degree and 1-3 years experience in a job that required a Masters Degree.

I guess a lot of companies use a program that screens resumes for key words before it passes them off to HR. If it doesn't like your resume for some reason it just dumps it before a human ever even gets a chance to see it.

Ahtman wrote:
I guess a lot of companies use a program that screens resumes for key words before it passes them off to HR. If it doesn't like your resume for some reason it just dumps it before a human ever even gets a chance to see it.

I can confirm this, at least for my company. We had a contractor who was applying for a full-on position who had already interviewed and basically told that he was hired, but had to have a formal application and resume per company policy. His resume was apparently so bad it got kicked out of the system before even the HR drones got to it. They had to go looking for it.

At this point it feels useless to do anything. If I apply for jobs online, my resume will be piled in with thousands of others, besides they probably only hire people they know from the inside or a reference. If I visit the business in person, they'll tell me to apply online, or check their website for careers. If I go back to school it will probably be a waste of money and time.

Bolded for emphasis. Become that guy then. When I was in High School, my Economics teacher told the class that there is a better chance for a friend of someone on the inside to get a job than someone who is qualified. I got my first job at a sub shop because of that, I left that job after 2 years when I was hired to work in a Print&Ship (They hired me because I was qualified, but I first got considered because I had a friend on the inside who talked about how great I was).

It's a tough world out there (or so I hear. I still live with the Parents :3 ) So if the only way to get a job is to become that guy, then do it. I don't mean buddy up to some random sod who works where you want to work, But see what you can do to catch their eye. It may involve doing some free stuff for them at first, but once they see your finished product then you may have a chance.

I forgot to add that Job fairs are annoying because most of the reps at a job fair aren't there to meet people and discus jobs anymore, but just there to tell to go to their website and apply online. It isn't even about networking and getting to meet people anymore, just a redirect to their website, which you don't need to go to a job fair for.

Yeah, job fairs are useless now, which sucks since that would make my advise a hell of a lot easier to implement.

Having had the same job for nigh on 10 years, I can't really comment.

However, I'd have to agree with mattyrm on this, keep your chin up and stay calm. But don't fall into that 'unemployment is ok' trap. 'Cos it ain't.

Just keep plugging away, something will come up. And also remember that expeariance is cumulative. If you've had a years work here, 6 months work there, it could all add up to that 3-5 years that so many of these company's require.
As I said though, I'm lucky. Having 10 years expeariance and keeping up to date with my training and new medical methods means I could, theoretically, leave my job today and walk into another one by the end of the week.......

I don't see why everybody needs to work. As a culture, we tend to treat a work ethic like monogamy: something that admittedly works for most people, but just doesn't make sense for everybody.

It's one thing to have obligations to family that you can't meet because you won't work. But if you don't need the money, and don't enjoy working, why would you?

daedalus wrote:
If you can get your foot in the door to ask.

The trick is getting your foot physically in the door.

What are they going to do? Sue for trespass? Good luck, so long as you cause no damage.

daedalus wrote:
I always just assumed it was copypasta from other job postings, but I suppose that might be me being a little too cynical of HR people.

Well, not just HR, most people are average, and average isn't very good.

Push them, and they'll bend.

Polonius wrote:But if you don't need the money, and don't enjoy working, why would you?

Cheers.

CGBSpender wrote:The only reason why I want to be employed is for the money, and status. Not so much the latter, but it's kind of awkward when someone asks me what I do and tell them I'm unemployed.

Introduce yourself as a Man of Leisure.
Pronounce it LEAH-sure.

I used that term non-stop between college and law school. I graduated college in December, and didn't have a job until mid-march. Law school applicaitons only took through early January, so I went on a grand road trip, visiting friends and truly acting as a Gentleman of Leisure.

All your inputs are appreciated, serious ones and trolls.

The world is ending soon, and even if I survive the apocalypse it will create lots of jobs for me to do. And everyone will no longer take things for granted.

I would live with nothing but still have my family, and I would be a happy person. Death would be preferable if my family were gone, even though I still had all my most prized possessions.

My donkey-cave is itchy.

fether

I have a diploma in accounting but all the jobs posting I find require work experience or a degree of some sort.

The same for me. Most jobs I look at want 1 or 2 years of relevant work experience, and that's entry level.

Well, you always hop on a greyhound across the country and go work up in northern Alberta on the oil sands. It isn't glorious work, and its hard, but they pay you A LOT. Do that for a year, use the funds to pay for school, get a better job.

There's always the Forces too. They'll even feed and clothe you!

Either way, good luck.

Why not just list a bunch of freelance work on your resume, and get your friends & neighbours, etc. to be references for said freelance accounting work?

Or, y'know, go get a degree and use student loans ot pay for it. You don't pay any interest until after you have been out of school for 6 months.

CGBSpender wrote:
At this point it feels useless to do anything. If I apply for jobs online, my resume will be piled in with thousands of others, besides they probably only hire people they know from the inside or a reference. If I visit the business in person, they'll tell me to apply online, or check their website for careers. If I go back to school it will probably be a waste of money and time.

It sounds to me like you are just saying "what's the point. I won't get the job anyway". If you don't try you never know. Keep applying and eventualy you will find something.

My advice:

Make sure your CV is up to date and well written
Try and find some volunteer work and put it on your CV. Just because you volunteer dose not meen it dose not count as experience. There will be plenty of small charities that will jump at the chance of someone who can do their books (I'm asuming that you have enough qualifications to do basic book keeping).
Stop blaiming other people.
Doing further qualifications in accountancy is never a waste of time. I don't know what you need where you are but an ACCA or CIMA qualified accountant in the UK has no problem finding some sort of work. It may not be top pay, but it is work.
Apply for thins that you may not completly fulfill there requirements, but do have most of them. There is no harm and it is supprising how many companys will put what they WANT as what they NEED. They may say 3-5 years expirince when but when they don't get it they are happy to accept 1. (In the UK this has been made illigal for just this reason. They were stopping people getting jobs because they were not old enough to have the expirince and the jobs clearly did not need it. It is now required that if you put X years required you must be able to objectivly justify why you need that).

What I read is this:

"I don't have a job, finding a job is hard, school is hard, I like living on welfare."

If you want a job, then you would have a job by now. You might not have a job in the field you want or the company you want to work for. But there is always flipping burgers and other minimum wage jobs out there, as well as temp agencies. Might not be the job you want, but it would be a job. If you are unemployed for 2 years, then maybe it is time to quit being picky.

Go network. Attend seminars, job fairs, go where people in your field hang out. Make connections so you can be the guy with a friend on the inside.

Go to school.

I can halfway relate to the OP, what with constant fear of destination of his life. I'm not unemployed, though everything I've done has been late or later in life. I got my first job a year and a half ago at 21, I've spent five years in community college but only received two years' worth of education toward my current aspirations, and I'm living at home with no real idea of where to go. I know what I want to do, but I'm hopelessly unprepared with what I have now. At times I think of being thirty-year-old man living at home, alone, at a dead-end job, and it's honestly the most terrifying thing I can imagine.

http://minacs.adityabirla.com/Career/OpportunitiesinNA.aspx Canadian company, looking for people in Hamilton and Oshawa. Click on current opportunities. The work is easy, the pay ok and the benefit package is nice. If you need a reference from someone who works there, PM me.