I couldn’t wait to post this, because this expresses a tragic truth of the job search. It’s expensive and you are dug into a hole very difficult to get out of. Thank you to guest writer and fellow Twitter peep, Ed Tsyitee Jr. @GreenChileAdict.
Here is the cold hard truth that career advisers and coaches will never tell you-job hunting is expensive.
I’m tired of hearing of all the free services that’s available to you when you job hunt. Non-profits that offer resume writing, or free career counseling services at the local Workforce Solutions Center (the unemployment office). I know that.
But, job hunting is expensive.
While I sit here-unemployed-looking for a job, scouring the internet, reading my e-mail alerts, doing research on companies, my bills are piling up.
Rent is past due. Hello eviction notice.
Utilities are past due.
Cable/internet is off. Not that big of a deal-there is the library with their open unsecured internet service.
What about professional clothes for interviews? Have you ever shopped thrift stores for interview clothes that didn’t scream “Boogie Nights”?
Here’s the worst of it. The phone is off. There is no way to contact me other than e-mail.
Sure, I can apply for a survival job. Bring in money. But guess what? That takes at least 30 days from date of hire to first paycheck. Should I suspend the job search for 30 days? What if there is THE job I’ve been looking for?
Yeah, job hunting is expensive.
And when things get expensive, you stop doing them.
No wonder so many people give up looking and take whatever is available.
Great post. In Australia, it’s the same situation. We too are told – ad nauseum – how we can get free advice on applying for jobs at our nominated government job seeker service. It’s all terrific, however, there’s no such thing as a free lunch – so expecting to get expert advice from the employees running such places, can be like banging your head against a brick wall. However, at least we justify such persons holding onto their jobs – even if they appear clueless.
Hi Ed,
Your recent post on the costliness of unemployed was so spot-on! I regrettably, at age (62), fall into the category of “long-term unemployed”. I was laid off, unexpectedly, from a job I loved for twenty two years. Within a short time, I received an adjunct teaching post at an area community college for one semester. I have been in constant search for re-employed for a little over a year.
I have survived, using practically all of my savings, and those monies are almost depleted. I have a college-bound daughter in another year, and I’m frantic with concern about keeping my head above water. Where might extra monies come from for those of us who are still in search for employment? What are our realistic options out there in a society, whose primary focus appears to be on youthfulness?
Dear Michele,
I’d been a month since I saw your last post. Have things improved? If not, I have a couple of questions. You mentioned your “job of 22 years that you loved.” What was it that you loved? How can you turn that into a book or a service to help someone else? At 62, the outlook for another job may not be great, but YOU are likely filled with ideas and valuable experience that many people would love to get access to! How to reinvent yourself as “expert consultant?”
I don’t want to make it even worse, but you haven’t mentioned the costs of training to get new or updated skills, the cost of networking luncheons (or even a networking-over-coffee meeting), and, of course, gas to get to these places. Yes, looking for work IS expensive. The best job search plan would lay out costs with a timeline so you could see how to prioritize, share, eliminate, etc.