My best friend is back on the job market after being happily situated for the past 5+ years. I was thinking about her today and about my own life and I realized that I've never actually had to go hunting for a job. Any time I've needed work, some opportunity or another has presented itself. There have even been situations where I didn't want the job, but after months of discussing it, I was convinced to take it (which was a great choice, by the way: I had loads of fun in that position).
I'm lucky, that way I guess. I've always managed to know just the right person at just the right moment. I've been reading about all the things my friend has been doing to try to hunt down a good job and I'm amazed at the hoops most people have to go through just to get that next paycheck. I know it's going to be a long road for her and I just keep wishing that she could, amongst all the people she knows, find the right one for her moment of need.
For now, I'm just going to keep thinking good thoughts for my friend while I give thanks for my own happier situation. And I'll hope that I never have to start jumping though those hoops. I'd be lost!
I'm lucky, that way I guess. I've always managed to know just the right person at just the right moment. I've been reading about all the things my friend has been doing to try to hunt down a good job and I'm amazed at the hoops most people have to go through just to get that next paycheck. I know it's going to be a long road for her and I just keep wishing that she could, amongst all the people she knows, find the right one for her moment of need.
For now, I'm just going to keep thinking good thoughts for my friend while I give thanks for my own happier situation. And I'll hope that I never have to start jumping though those hoops. I'd be lost!
9 comments:
Excuse me, please, if I sound disrespectful. I hope I don't. It just strikes me that this post is, well, a little cold-hearted. The job market sucks right now. Everybody is cutting costs, letting employees go. Unemployed people are not eating out or purchasing things, resulting in lower sales, less manufacturing and more layoffs. So many people are competing for what few jobs there are. It seems unkind to make this comparison between your maybe-I-will-and-maybe-I-won't employment - gained in better times and, if I recall rightly, with no responsibilities - and your friend's very real plight. These people, lots of them, are facing homelessness and hunger.
I know a young man myself who turned off his electricity to cut costs, and I watched him dig in his pocket last Sunday and pull out eight cents for the collection basket. A small item lost or broken is a big deal for him; he can't afford to replace it. It is compassion I feel for him. I'm glad you have a "happier situation", but those of us who do also have a responsibility toward our fellow man. What can we offer of what we've been blessed with? I've got eggs. And milk. I feed the hungry when I find them. Like this young man. Even such a small thing makes a big difference to people on the edge.
Jennie, I understand your point. I was simply writing what was on my mind. My friend is not in a terrible plight because she has wisely and luckily been able to save enough to cover her expenses for over a year. She's comfortable and if she wasn't, she knows I'd be there for her, doing whatever I can to help her. You seem to have somehow decided from this post that I am not charitable. I suppose you may think what you wish, but I am confident that my friend, who knows me very well, will understand this post in the light it was meant, a realization of how lucky I am and a hope that she will be equally lucky in the coming weeks.
No, I'm not accusing you of being uncharitable. I know that we're fortunate to be in the financial position we're in, too, and I know it won't always be like this. But there's a certain smugness in saying things like, "I'm lucky, that way I guess. I've always managed to know just the right person at just the right moment." I don't think you'd know the right person at the right moment right now. It's like comparing apples and oranges, deciding whether or not to take a job you don't really need and wanting ANY job so that you can feed your kids this week. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Jen, you are acting as if I don't understand having no money. I do. I've been at that edge and it's not pretty. And I know that YOU know I've been there. That's not her situation and that's not what I was writing about. I know the job market is horrible and I'm simply grateful I'm not out there searching for work. You are looking at a situation in your own life and assuming that the situation is the same for my friend. For her, I'm grateful that it isn't. Whatever you took issue with here, I'm sorry you did. This is why I don't post much anymore. I love you. I'm going to go make dinner now.
Clearly we're having communication issues. This: "Whatever you took issue with here, I'm sorry you did. This is why I don't post much anymore. I love you. I'm going to go make dinner now." Not helpful. Prideful, but not helpful. I'm not trying to put you down, and I know your situation.
I do hope you have a delicious dinner. We are: parmesan crusted fish. We seldom have fish. Too expensive. ;-)
Jennie, sometimes all we can do is throw up our hands in frustration and walk away from an argument with you.
Are you taking issue with the fact that she was NOT thinking about all of the people that she doesn't know who have lost jobs and are on the brink of homelessness? It turns out that she doesn't know anyone in that situation, and so it was not on her mind. But her friend who has the luxury of a bit of time and money was on her mind. And brought on reminiscenses of her own employment history.
And just for the record, sometimes, even in these terribly hard times, it is knowing the right person at the right moment that pulls you back from the brink.
I too, love you, but sometimes it's hard to talk to you.
All right, y'all. My apologies. The tone of the post came across - to me - as more boastful than compassionate. Sorry about the miscommunication. Love to you all.
Oh good golly.
Okay, being the friend Sandie is referring to, let me put in my two cents.
1) Jennie, I understand why you read the post the way you did. However, if I was really in trouble, I know that Sandie would be RIGHTTHERE. Literally. I know that when the dirt hits the fan, I can rely on Sandie for help.
As Sandie said, I had the forethought (I suffer from anxiety) to put aside money. So, while things will be tight, I will not be in serious trouble until about July of 2011. I doubt I'll be out of work that long.
2) I have been lucky this job search. I have had 8 interviews between Monday - Wed, and I have two set up for tomorrow and two set up for Monday. My interview yesterday went fantastically - so even if I don't land the position, I feel good about my search. I have a decade of experience, 8 of those years in my field.
3) There really aren't any hoops. Cover Letter, Resume, References and apply apply apply. This is nothing new or different. Sure, I've had to be a little more cunning in this job search (like finding the fortune 500, by state and applying through the company websites). But, there really aren't 'hoops'. But, then again, this is the opposite side of HR - my chosen field. So maybe that's why I don't see hoops.
3) Sandie was right, I know what she's saying. And, she's just saying what she's thinking. She's not trying to laugh in my face because her life is glamerous and I've hit a major bump in the road. She's not being boastful, but noticing that she's been lucky when it comes to employment - and that she appreciates what I'm going through.
On the flipside, I couldn't have done the things Sandie had - being a full time mom, helping her husband run a business. Okay, I could do the 2nd half. But, not the first. I'm not the mom-type, and I certainly couldn't have done the superb job that she has.
So, let's hope I land one of the good opportunities that have come my way. And then we'll laugh about this next week.
Your best friend is now working (and have been for a month and a half) in a job with growth, a better salary, and a really good boss. Your best friend is happy. She hopes you are too.
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