Everybody’s Hiring, But Nobody Wants to Work, Right?
I don’t know about you, but there are signs all over the city where I live that say, “Now Hiring,” “Help Wanted,” “Sign-On Bonus $xxx,” etc. By all appearances, almost all restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and retail establishments are extremely short-handed.
Yet, in my experience, it’s difficult to even get an interview. I have been looking for a job since the beginning of October. I left my last job as a waitress due to low pay, toxic management, and customer behavior…not to mention the fact that the restaurant where I worked allowed servers and cooks to come to work sick.
In August, I got very sick with bronchitis, which medical professionals believed to be COVID due to my cough. They tested me 4 times in one week (all negative) before diagnosing me with bronchitis. Then at the end of September, I actually caught COVID. My doctor said it’s very likely I was exposed by multiple people since I both worked with and served people who were against getting vaccinated or wearing their masks. (I myself am fully vaccinated.)
I was on quarantine with COVID until October 10th, but I started putting in applications online before that. Since I have been out of quarantine, I have had 3 interviews out of dozens of jobs I applied to. The first and second were both with restaurants, one of which rejected me, and the other never even interviewed me. I sat in the restaurant for over 30 minutes after talking to the hostess, and the manager never came to the table to speak with me. So I left.
Today, I had my third interview, but I’m not sure how hopeful to feel about it. The interview went well, but it’s with a large company, and there were many other applicants. Despite the fact that I am qualified, and had a 6.5-year career with the post office until last December, it feels difficult to stand out in the crowd. There are people all over my city — and the nation, really- in the same situation as me.
Conservative rhetoric would have us believe that “nobody wants to work” because of the extra federal unemployment (which no one in my state is getting any more, and I never got), or because of the stimulus (which, other than the extra child tax credit some people are getting, haven't happened since earlier this year).
The reality is there are thousands of people out there just like me who are spending hours each day applying to jobs, only to receive more rejection emails (or worse, no response) than interviews. My experience is not unusual, unfortunately.
So the next time you judge someone for being unemployed, no matter what the reason, consider the fact that they may be doing more than you know behind the scenes to try to find a job. Nobody wants to lose their home, or to be unable to pay their bills, or to have to ask friends, family, or strangers on the internet for money. It’s demoralizing being in this situation.
