Job Market Struggle

Young, educated and unemployed

A few years into my first “big girl” job, I was laid off. No notice. No severance package.

I was disappointed, but fairly optimistic that I would find a new job, maybe even a better-paying job, in no time.

I was twenty-five then and had worked since I was sixteen. My work ethic was not in question. I wanted to work, so this should be simple. I would be unemployed for nearly nine months.

I learned I would receive $330 a week in unemployment benefits prior to taxes. It worked out to about sixty percent of my previous take home pay. I experienced what can only be considered a total meltdown.

This was not good.

Would I even be able to scrape by if I didn’t find a job soon? How would I pay my student loans? Six months prior to being laid off, I was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease. Dropping my $250 a month health insurance was not an option.

Before this was over, I would deplete my savings.

I sent in applications almost daily. It didn’t matter if I was qualified. If I thought I could fake it, my resume was sent. I was the queen of the follow-up phone call.

This wasn’t a vacation, but I got this reaction from too many people: ‘You just aren’t trying hard enough.’ They had no idea. I was in my mid-twenties and on the verge of financial ruin.

Friends and family would frequently ask about the job hunt. Eventually, they stopped asking. Inquiring, no matter how well intentioned, only led to an awkward conversation. 

I put every ounce of energy I possessed in to this job search, and it was pointless. I was a disappointment, embarrassed, and ashamed. I never fathomed that I would find myself in this situation. You work hard in school and you get a good job. Wasn’t that the deal?

Wilmington resident Lindsey Skinner was laid off in 2008. After months of searching, she was hired at a local bank where she still works.