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Allison Linn
Long-term joblessness can be one of the worst things a person has to go through, but job seekers have to brush aside the pessimism and take action.
Economy reporter Allison Linn has covered the labor market throughout the tough economic times of nation has faced in recent years and Tuesday wrote about how the long-term unemployed were losing benefits. She was on hand Wednesday to offer some words of encouragement and some reality checks for readers who tuned into our live web chat looking for advice.
One reader was down in the dumps about overall job prospects and asked:
How do you stay encouraged when you've been unemployed or underemployed for a long time, and what's the best response to prospective employers who ask, "What have you been doing during your period of unemployment?"
To that, Linn advised:
That is such a good question and something that many long-term unemployed people struggle with. The first thing I would say is to expect that any employer will ask about your resume gap, so come up with a good answer. If you've done any volunteer work in your field, gone to school or really had anything happen that may seem relevant or make you look eager and hard-working, that will help.
And, she added, “Don't dawdle on that answer, though. Address the elephant in the room and move the conversation toward what you can offer to the employer.”
Linn, who you can follow on Twitter, took on topics ranging from updating your job skills to work-at-home scams.
You can view the entire Q&A with Linn here:
Leave a Comment:
The long-term unemployed need to be down right mercenary as long as Obama is in office.
Long-term jobless need to be proactive - Duh Ya Think?
Funny how the propaganda machine shifts. If Bush was president, the article would be all about how Bush's policies are forcing folks to stay on unemployment and we need to extend to forever their benefits.
With Obama in office, the blame rests squarely with the lazy workers.
It is that way with socialists and Marxists. The media are liberal progressive Obozo shills.
Hello Bea, let me preface my comment by saying I'm a political atheist, I don't care what political religion one wants to attach themselves to.
You do know that the largest recipients of social welfare in the history of the world are our "Free Market, Capitalist" banks and financial institutions, right? Remember the bail outs? John and Jane Q Taxpayer has bailed out the banks to the tune of tens of trillions of dollars and with the derivative fiasco going on with the Greek default and the credit default swaps it will only continue.
Take any job you can get. It doesn't matter if you think it's "below you." I worked doing landscaping for a couple of months after graduating. Any money in your pocket is better than no money at all.
Sorry but I have ZERO sympathy for folks who have been COMPLETELY unemployed over the last 2 years. I was layed off when my defense contract ended. I temped, consulted, and took "permanent" jobs that ended after only a month or so because the funding or tasking never came through. I didnt sit home crying waiting for a "perfect" or "permanent" job. I took any job that gave me a check, sometimes with benefits, sometimes without. I went online and applied for any job that could use a skill I had and I went to job fairs every week. I sold stuff out of my closet on Ebay and I helped write master's theses and grant proposals.
My unemployment check for 3 weeks when I was first layed off was the hardest money I ever earned; if I had really needed it to live on I would have starved and been foreclosed long before any money came through (took 3 months to get approved and the check cut with weekly visits to the unemployment office). I do not understand how anyone could live on check you get (in most states it is capped at $400 or 30% of your working salary) or stay on it for more than a couple of months. It isnt enough and is too much trouble to get!!
Thank God I found a temp job before my severance ran out! I kept my house and car and managed to pay the minimums on my credit cards. Yes I went through my savings and maxed out my credit cards and lines of credit but I am now employed and paying them back.
I keep hearing about the people who have "given up looking for work." Seriously? When did THAT become an option? People always have to eat and need a place to live so they will always have to work!
I have no sympathy also I refuse to participate in the recession. They can eat cake for all i care any more I will spend my hour to get a job and they can spend the next 5 years looking for all i care. I had it for a year or two but no more get a job.
@tunatofu
my, my, my.....aren't we the righteous one.
It's idiots like you that drag the name of morality and compassion into the ground. Guess what happens when the amount of people in the country is greater than the amount of jobs available? Some people will be unable to work! It's common sense, or at least it should be.
BTW, nobody cares about your lame story, people like you are a dime a dozen, the one's that live off scrap's while supporting a system that forces people into wage slavery.
Your not smart or ambitious, your just afraid of the alternative. Your like a lap dog, you would rather get beat and live off scraps than try to fend for yourself.
The truth is....you did all those things out of fear of the alternative, and you expect everyone else to do the same. Talk about no balls.
Jrt looks like your feelings were hurt. Ill give you a hint we have never had enough jobs in the history of the USA. So Go live off the scraps From the Government I will work and make a living.
Nobody is looking for sympathy, especially from the "Hey, look at me!" crowd you belong to. They want jobs, not BS, and your net contribution to this problem's resolution is a big, fat ZERO. God had nothing to do with your finding a job. Neither will a god have anything to do with others not finding a job. Get off your high horse, now!
What high horse? it is very very very easy to find a job.
Wow, apparently working hard to keep a job is a bad thing these days. Guess that explains the unemployment rate...
You're lucky you could find any job. My spouse has been unemployed for over a year and can't find ANYTHING full time. And believe me, he's looked, applied, interviewed, etc. He worked in the building industry and most of his skills are non-transferrable - yet he did not qualify for retraining - probably because of his age. So, please don't get all high & mighty about it being "his" fault that he's unemployed.
For me luck has nothing to do with it.
Afraid of the alternative...like homelessness or starvation? Like shame at not being able to pay my debts? The oppression and stigma that comes from living on government money? Yeah that kind of afraid...
Sorry but I would rather just work and pay my own bills thanks.
I was laid off in early 2010. I worked really hard to find a job, but for the life of me, I could not laid full-time employment. My benefits ended (thank goodness I have a spouse with a full -time job and benefits, and I also had up and down days. I did some volunteer work and finally decided to start my own consulting business this year. Not everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit, but I came to the conclusion that I had to do this and make it work.
Mod, you are absolutely right not every one has the entrepreneurial spirit, but i don't get how people can just throw in the towel, I can only imagine how hard it is to look for a job for so long but at the same time you have to fight not just for your self but for your family as well..
good luck with the new business and to everyone else looking don't quit
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain."
-Isaiah 10
By the way, one of the most overused, and consequently meaningless words in the English language is the word "proactive". As soon as I read that word, my eyes glaze over, knowing full well the the author has no idea how to make a point.
And what action would that be? The article turns to the example of telling a prospective employer (someone who you mailed a resume to via Careerbuilder and 3 weeks later contacted you to set up a personal interview) about your gap of unemployment. So this is where we become Pinnochio and start filling in the gaps with b.s. like how we voluteered at our local pet shelter, held the door open for little old ladies or took an online class on the Klingon language- just to make it look like we're eager and hard-working!
Give me a break- employers can look through the fluff; they know you've been at home the majority of the time eating Cheetos, watching Judge Judy reruns and sweating off your arse looking at Monster.com hoping for 'the job' to appear. What it comes down to is exerting your personality and standing out by showing them what you can do for their organization. I think taking a creative approach is in order- sell yourself to them that you're actually 10' tall and can save them money- or make them money by ____— fill in the blank. Play up your strengths, be truthful about what you've been doing, let your track record shine and have some good references. If they don't like what you have to offer, ok fine! On to the next! Pretty soon you'll magnetize some outfit your way and you'll end this time of unemployment despair.
The Economy Reporter is a Big Blabber Mouth, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah!
Listen up! Until these so called experts aka ms. reporter, have experienced long term joblessness,which ms. Expert never did then Shut Up or Walk a Mile in My Shoes,and then come back and open your mouth,until then all the advice you're giving is a lot of HOT AIR!
You don't know squat unless you yourself have experienced it!
I like the comments of
jrt077,
my, my, my.....aren't we the righteous one.
It's idiots like you that drag the name of morality and compassion into the ground. Guess what happens when the amount of people in the country is greater than the amount of jobs available? Some people will be unable to work! It's common sense, or at least it should be.
BTW, nobody cares about your lame story, people like you are a dime a dozen, the one's that live off scrap's while supporting a system that forces people into wage slavery.
Your not smart or ambitious, your just afraid of the alternative. Your like a lap dog, you would rather get beat and live off scraps than try to fend for yourself.
The truth is....you did all those things out of fear of the alternative, and you expect everyone else to do the same. Talk about no balls.
Mymomdidnotraiseafool
By the way, one of the most overused, and consequently meaningless words in the English language is the word "proactive". As soon as I read that word, my eyes glaze over, knowing full well the the author has no idea how to make a point.
#8 - Wed May 16, 2012 11:06 PM EDT
Mod Chickvia Facebook
I was laid off in early 2010. I worked really hard to find a job, but for the life of me, I could not land full-time employment. My benefits ended (thank goodness I have a spouse with a full -time job and benefits, and I also had up and down days. I did some volunteer work and finally decided to start my own consulting business this year. Not everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit, but I came to the conclusion that I had to do this and make it work.
#6 - Wed May 16, 2012 6:14 PM EDT
First, I am not a doctor-where that came from I have no clue. Second, I am currently unemployed b/c the business I worked for closed. The very first thing I did was ask my boss for a reccomendation letter (which she did); then I filed for unemployment (where I live you can do it on-line;it takes no more than 10 minutes). Then I re-wrote and updated my resume. I called every business in town and within 40 miles who might need a person with my skills...and the wasn't easy to do. A week later, I started putting no longer wanted or needed items on Craigslist. I've cleaned houses for friends; and about a month later got 2 part time jobs-not a lot of money, but enough to keep me afloat; and shows my future employers that I can take a bad situation into a good one. And I can tell my story truthfully. Most employers appreciated the fact that I made the effort-it showed them I had "gumption", "grits", "conjones", intiative, etc. And, no, I did not wear a short skirt and a blouse that showed cleavage.!
I was laid off three years ago at the age of 60. I can count on my fingers the number of job interviews I've had in three years, but when asked what I've been doing, I reply, "Looking for a job."
Love the finger pointing that occurs. Losing a job is very tough, finding one equally so. Lets find a solution to this mess, and get jobs back in this country. For many of the rest of us, keeping our jobs has meant stagnant wages, increasing work loads, and lost benefits. Better than unemployment, but still sad. To all looking for work, best wishes.
Tea Party activism is making our political system impotent. Congress is the one that needs to be proactive. Do not blame college graduates, underemployed professionals, over 55 job seekers and all the rest for not finding work. Our legislators are responsible for putting into action laws that encourage job creation. When the right wing zealots like Mitch McConnell and company say their number one objective is to stop Obama from being reelected they should be ashamed. They are elected to serve the people, all the people and to do otherwise is Un-American.
Heh heh, no mention of having to drive 80 miles round trip for a part time job. In many rural areas that is what one would have to do lol. At 63 years of age, it's not worth it heh heh. Not only that, by the time one pays the high price of gas doing part time work in a city that's 40 miles away, one wouldn't have a pay check LOL. Give me a break heh heh
I hate people who think they know what is going on out there. Their ignorance is palpable. And more than a bit annoying. Tired of the platitudes and stupid advice. We need action and we need someone to LISTEN to us and understand that the US is in a crisis situation. It can longer be ignored and people can no longer stick their heads in the sand. We are in an unemployment gulag. There are even advertisements for jobs stating "unemployed need not apply." I have also seen "recent college graduates only." And even....."not hiring 'til Obama is gone." Real patriotic. I don't believe this woman should be reporting on this topic, when she is clearly clueless about the challenges that the unemployed are facing.