Did You Really Just Say That?

Sometimes even the smartest of people say something and it makes you wonder "did that really just come out of their mouth?"

I lost my job last November. It was a huge shock and quite annoying as it was right after my wedding and right before the holidays. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't heartbroken. I wasn't feeling like I was living up to my potential and I was quite bored working where I was so I tried to look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to finally get the career of my dreams.

Since then I've been actively searching for new employment. Every week I apply for jobs that I could see myself doing and enjoying.  I have gotten a few interviews but not nearly as many as I would have gotten if the market was in better shape.None of the interviews have panned out.

I was under the impression that someone with a Master's degree and a skill set like mine would have an easy time finding a job. This has not been the case for me. I've gone to the employment office where I live and taken free courses they offer and I even signed up to take online training courses for the field of work I hope the be employed in. I've applied for countless numbers of jobs, only to get rejection letter after rejection letter in the mail without even getting the option to interview.

It is frustrating and has taken a toll on my self esteem. Every week that more and more people lose their jobs a little glimmer of hope of finding a job fades slightly for me. Still I push forward and try  to have faith that there is something better out there for me.

The hardest part of not having a job is meeting new people or seeing people you haven't seen in a long time. My husband has a large part of his extended family that I have only met once, at the wedding. They live down in the south and we never see them. Recently they came to NY and we made the effort to visit them and hang out. I knew the question was coming, the one I always dread because it makes me feel like a loser especially after all this time.... "what do you do?" and then it came, and I had to answer that I was unemployed.

There really isn't a reason to feel the way I do about it. I shouldn't be ashamed the way I am because I didn't get laid off for being a poor worker. I have always surpassed the greatest of expectations that my bosses had for me. I got laid of because the economy took a dump and that dump affected the small business I worked for. These are facts I know and yet I still cringe a little inside when people ask me what I do and I have to tell them I'm unemployed.

I totally understand people wanting to know what you do for a living. But what I don't get is when you tell people that you got laid off and are currently unemployed and they sit there and look at you and then open their mouths and this comes out, "well, are you looking for a job?" I seriously can't believe that people ask me this time and time again. I'm not going to lie, I get pretty angry when people ask me this.

Here I am- someone that got laid off due to the economic bad times and they are sitting there thinking I'm just hanging out with my free time not doing anything. I wanted to work. I didn't choose to quit working. And yes, I am looking for a job -thanks for asking.

If anyone is out there reading my blog and you meet someone who is currently unemployed, I beg of you, don't ask them if they are looking for a job. Most likely they are, unsuccessfully, and you will just remind them of this fact.

What are you least favorite questions to be asked while unemployed?