5 Really Hard Things No One Told Me About Long-Term Unemployment
Bricolage | Shutterstock Being unemployed is depressing. Being unemployed long-term is beyond depressing. Long-term unemployment is a beast; it's really hard, and try as you might, it will change your thought patterns — perhaps forever.
Here are 5 things no one tells you about long-term unemployment:
1. Tweaking your resume means nothing
I’m nearing the half-century mark in my life, and one thing I’ve learned is your resume tells a lot about you and can also reveal hidden parts — and none of it will win you the job. My resume has my education, jobs, skills, and interests.
What it doesn’t show is my struggle to earn a Bachelor's or Master's degree due to school debt. It also doesn’t show the sleepless nights of trying to learn Python Programming in the hopes of mastering the language of machines. It certainly does not show missed days of learning AI due to losing my home.
I am determined. I’m hopeful. I’m getting older. The resume does not show this, not exactly. Tweaking it so that it matches job descriptions or letting AI peer at my documents to be sure it is perfect did not help me land a job. The resume becomes your mirror. The more you look at it and tweak it for 5,000 jobs, you begin to hate yourself.
2. You are stupidly hopeful at the 3-month mark
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3 months. 90 days in.
It’s still fresh in your mind that you were let go, and for some reason, the world views three months as the absolute longest you can go unemployed. Probably because jobs don’t consult with your landlord and light bill company to please halt the bills until you get on your feet.
During the government shutdown, did any landlord or company say, “Hey. Let’s halt the bills until they have income.” Nope.
Never heard of that. So for three months, you may be fine. Go through your savings. Make promises to friends and loan companies, because this will be a short run, right? Just make the promises and keep using that savings, because this is month three — your struggle is about to be over.
But that’s being stupidly hopeful. You’ve applied for at least 100+ jobs at this point, and still, you are waiting for an interview. Or you had the interview, and they decided to go with someone younger and prettier or older and wiser. Can’t win for losing.
3. You’re envious at the 6-month mark
“Hey Erica! I found myself a job. Finally!” Says your close friend. One half of me jumps for joy. But you know what the other half is doing?
Snarling, seething in anger that my efforts have not been rewarded yet. Bills are now long overdue at the 6-month mark, and you question your intelligence and begin to wonder how you ever had a job to begin with. It should be easier to find work.
Six months is half a year. In half a year, I was jobless, and things took a turn for the worse.
4. At 12 months, you no longer hope for the best — you get desperate
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12 months of unemployment means you’re begging for money. You’re doing those stupid surveys for spare change. You’re cranking out YouTube videos on the most trendy topics you can find(I see you). You’re rethinking your entire existence.
You either really want to work badly, or care at all about working anymore. What’s the use? I felt all of this and more. I’ve done all of this and more.
5. Then something crazy happens
At 16 months of unemployment, two companies finally wanted me: a tutoring company and a call center. I chose tutoring because it is directly related to my Associate’s degree and experience. Call center work is doable, but it is high-level stress for me, and I am trying to watch my glucose levels, which are directly linked to stress.
The problem is that the call center would have paid me slightly more. For you, it could be that no job has come through, and you have less faith or more faith because of it. You’re leaning away from your God, or closer. You are either giving up or moving forward.
It could mean that your YouTube channel or blog has finally gone viral and you are paying your mortgage with the money, as this woman did. What no one tells you is that losing a job wreaks havoc on more than your finances.
It completely reshapes your brain and your faith. You don’t believe in yourself anymore. You view life as a foe because, with no job, how can one live? I’m here to tell you to hang in there. I won’t sugarcoat it. It’s rough. It doesn’t make sense. But you’re not alone.
Erica Jean Smith is a writer who explores the intersections of culture, class, and capitalism. Her work critiques the polished fantasies of work life and narratives fed about each generation and reveals the hidden privileges and pressures beneath. She's the one exposing those who gaslight you. Erica holds an A.S. degree in Social Science.
