If laid off in last 3 yrs, how long were you unemployed?

[Colleen27]

I have applied to anything I am qualified for in my area: technical, clerical, food service, warehouse, hospitality, retail, etc. and don't even get contacted for interviews. I knew I wouldn't get anything close to the salary or benefits I had prior to the lay off but I never expected not to even be considered as a candidate for minimum wage jobs... It has been a very humbling experience.

The problem is that no one wants an employee that is going to be looking for something better from day one. One of the best pieces of advice we got in DH's job search was to tailor his resume to the level of job he was applying for. More specifically, to leave off his builder's license and college coursework so that he'd "fit" a skilled laborer profile if that's what the job called for. That was enough for him to start getting interviews, though he is terrible at dumbing it down in person and was told outright that he was overqualified at a couple of those interviews.

 

[pigletto]

Just as an update to my earlier post, dh had an interview request in his email about 5 mins after I wrote my post. This is for a position he applied for back in November. Fingers crossed!

 

[pate59]

DH laid off Jan 2009 (jewelry industry). Found a job with a temp company starting Sept 2011. Found a permanent position November 2012 with a well known jewelry company in Rhode Island.
Total months without a permanent job - 46 (yes, you do keep count).
We were/are fortunate & blessed, I have a decent job and we have always been good savers.

 

[tasha99]

Those who have been laid off- Do you wait until a job like your last one opens up or do you look for anything available? Like our mall has tons of openings for associates and managers. Grocery stores are hiring, Target, Walmart, etc. I've noticed around here people tend to try and find the same exact job with the same exact pay. Friends will say how retail jobs are below them or how the unemployment would pay the same as getting a new job. If its a few dollars less per hour they won't even consider it. The one family member who was laid off from a job of $25/hour just found a job within a few weeks(3) for $18 an hour. Same job, less pay.

I wouldn't even consider a job outside my field unless I was nearing the end of unemployment and had no savings. I've done retail and it's not "below" me, but I worked hard and paid a lot of money to get the skills and credentials to do my job.