It’s Not 2010 Anymore

…Or is it?

After two solid months of job hunting I can say unequivocally that this time around is much, much different than back in the bad old days of 2010. I mean, this week alone I have three interviews scheduled and two lined up for next week.

One of the interviews is a prized second interview. A real second interview, not one where the snotty HR lady erroneously called me in and then told me it was good thing because “at least it got me out of the house.” Hey, it was her mistake!

I remember I got a call for a job the first day of my search…four hours after I emailed in my résumé and cover letter. Wow! Since then, there’ve been times when I’ve been contacted mere minutes after sending out the résumé. To say I was shocked would be a gross understatement.

Let’s rewind the time machine back to 2010, when it was a full six months – six months! – before I was even called in for an interview and another 10 months after that that I actually got a job.

So I have to say that yes, the job market is much looser now than back then. Yet I’m mystified as to why. The economy is doing better, but no one, except the most optimistic fools, would say it’s going gangbusters. I further doubt the publishing/journalism business is doing all that great. If it were, I wouldn’t have been laid off, right?

So why all this interest in little ole me? I mean, have all the laid-off journalists gone to work in PR or Internet start-ups that package stories like "5 Ways to Make Money from Your Sex Tape." Candidly, I'm not that good.

In the past two years, I’ve gained experience in a new field and learned a whole new skill set in the social media/digital world. But I’ve also gotten four years older (in a profession that values youth…the offices I’ve interviewed at are seemingly populated by no one over the age of 35) and in no way could I call myself a social media expert (whatever that means…I think it’s a buzzy catch phrase meant to make the rest of us feel like dinosaurs). I know more than I did four years ago, but need to learn much, much more. Then there’s the stigma of having been laid off twice in the past four years. Hard to erase that sink hole on my career path.

And for all the interviews I’ve gone on (six so far, two coming up), I know I’ve sent out scores of résumés that have gotten sucked into the black hole of some robo-HR computer system that automatically weeds our undesirables (like laid-off losers).

No job offer as of yet either. In one instance, the company hired an in-house person to fill the position; in another, the firm decided not to fill the job until later this year. In the third instance, I think the company was looking for an entry-level person. Can’t be sure, but that’s the feeling I got. And that’s okay. I'm never angry when I don't get a job. Disappointed, but never angry.

During today’s interview, I’m pretty sure I muffed several answers. So I may have to cross that one off the list (although it would have entailed a hellish daily commute of one hour down the scenic NJ Turnpike).

Still, I’m confused by all this. On one hand, I’m encouraged that I’m at least I’m being considered for the job. But since I’m a bird-in-the-hand kinda gal, I can’t rejoice until I actually get a job.

So why on the days I have a job interview, do I wake up feeling angry and depressed? Perhaps it’s the muscle memory of my long, tedious, rejected-stuffed job search of 2010-11 that prevents me from feeling any ounce of optimism. Even though I keep my salary requirements lower than I should, I know companies would rather pay the lowest rate possible, and that my experience could automatically disqualify me for the job.

I’m also fearful of another job search that stretches past six months (which would put me in the undesirable category of long-term unemployed). I scour the news for any hint Congress will extend unemployment benefits (not bloody likely. Thank you John Boehner.).

It’s for that reason that I’ve tried to expand into new freelance opportunities and one of the jobs I’m being interviewed for next week is for a part-time copy-editing gig. If I don’t get a full-time job, part-time/freelance may be the way to go for me.

Sometimes, I do question whether I want to go back into full-time work. I would dearly love (and need) the steady paycheck and employer-sponsored health care, but at what cost? The trade-off is that your employer can kick you to the curb at any time, for whatever reason. Pack up your desk and leave. There’s always the risk of not being good enough in the new job, too. What happens then? I don’t think I can withstand a third layoff.

I’ve communicated with two former co-workers who have met the same fate, and they express the same emotions: a wish never to be at the mercy of a company’s decision-making machinations again and a lack of trust in any employer.

So you see, when I read how companies are having a hard time filling slots, I think maybe it’s partially their fault they can’t get good workers. They refuse to spend money to train new employees and they have no compunction against terminating hundreds of workers in one fell swoop. It’s understandable that good portion of working age people is turned off by their actions and simply would prefer to be their own boss, if at all possible.

Nevertheless, I will go on every interview I’m called for and pursue any freelance opportunity that comes my way. I’m not giving up, but I’m realistic about my prospects and well aware this could be another long slog of hopeful job seeking and crushing rejection. Months can turn into years so quickly.

Because I remember 2010 very well. Very well.