Fitting it all in

As I said in my last post its been awhile since I've written for my blog. There are two reasons for my absence. The good one, which I mentioned a couple of days ago, was my long, long-awaited vacation to Antigua. The second reason – I got a job.

Now here's the tricky part – I should be jumping up and down for joy and I guess a part of me – the part that likes a regular, decently-sized paycheck – is very happy. But part of me is completely resentful. Though I am currently an independent contractor for the company I am working full time, that means 7 to 8 hour days – that means no more extra time to work on my novel, or my blog.

And that's where the disappointment and resentment comes in. I was enjoying writing my novel, I was enjoying making progress every day, seeing the story take shape and even starting to get a feel for my main character. My first reaction to realizing I had a fulltime job was fear. Fear that I was going to have to give up my dream of being an author. I've made more progress on my novel since I lost my job than before. I don't want to go back to making no progress.

So now I'm back to where I was before, at my old job. I can't write in the evenings because I can't write when my husband is in the house. He's just too distracting. And, I'll admit I also like evening TV. On the couple of evenings I have nothing to watch I try to get in some reading --- I have a book review due at the start of January and I haven't started reading the book yet.

In the first two weeks of this new job I've written not one single word for my novel, and until two days ago, I hadn't written a single blog entry since mid-November. I felt like I was starting to see my dreams dissolve.

And then I read a thread on the Sisters in Crime Guppies listserv about trying to fit it all in – work, family, writing. And reading how other people are managing was both inspiring and helpful. It helped me look at my life and my schedule and figure out how I can get it all in.

So I've decided a few things. First of all Saturday mornings before my husband wakes up will be writing time. I should be able to get in 2 to 4 hours before he gets out of bed. Second, every other Tuesday I go into New York City to visit my newborn niece. On the ride to the city I'll write blog entries (guess where I'm writing this??). I'll also try to write at least one blog entry every weekend. That should keep me at 3 to 4 posts a week, which is fine with me.

But most importantly I will start getting up earlier on the weekdays (I work from home so have no commute time) and write for an hour before starting work. Even if I only get 1000, 500 or 200 words written a day, that will be forward progress and that's all I can ask for.

I will not give up my dream just because I have to work a full-time job. Most authors work full-time jobs and are still successful writers. If they can do it, so can I. It's not going to be easy, it's going to take hard work – but as I've said before, writing IS hard work.

And I feel ready to tackle the challenge.

How do you fit it all in?

Unemployment inertia

It's happening. I can feel it. Every morning when my alarm goes off at 8:30, it strikes. Unemployment inertia.

Why bother? What's the point? Not another day of nothing. I think I'll just go back to sleep.

For the first seven weeks or so of my unemployment I got up religiously at 8:30, or earlier, every morning. I treated each work day as a regular work day. Start work at 9:00 and finish up at 6:00 or 7:00. Around the seventh week, that schedule began to change, and is still changing on a daily basis -- except for early in the week. Mondays, and usually Tuesdays, I can still get up at 8:30 without a problem, it's as the week progresses that the problems begin.

At first it was just the snooze button. The alarm when off at 8:3o and instead of jumping up out of bed, I hit the snooze button. Then I began hitting the snooze button more than once. I've now gotten to the point where my alarm goes off on a Wednesday or later, I hit the snooze button. When the alarm goes off again, I re-set the alarm for anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour later. At this point, when the alarm goes off for the re-set time I am dragging myself out of bed, though I'm becoming more and more reluctant to do so.

My working days are ending sooner too. By 5:00/5:30 I'm basically done. And even worse, instead of "working" five days a week, I'm down to four -- though I'm usually heading into New York City one day a week to take care of other things, so I guess I can excuse that.

The thing that frightens me is that I'm only just a little over two months unemployed and already inertia has set in. I have to force myself to work on my novel sometimes, force myself to check the job boards, force myself not to just drop onto the couch and give up for the rest of the day. Each day my apartment feels smaller, more like a prison. Each day my computer looks more and more like the enemy. So you want me to work, do you? All right damn computer, show me a job I can apply to for f***'s sake!

And if this has happened after only two months, where am I going to be a month from now?

I want my term of unemployment to represent freedom, a time to do things I have been wanting to do for months or years but have never had the time before. I do not want to let inertia past the front door, but boy is it a sneaky devil. Just when I think I'm feeling motivated, it rears its tired head, begging me to put it all off, despair of a better future and just vegetate.

Maybe I need some sort of charm to ward off inertia. Perhaps there is a spell to banish it from my dwelling? Or maybe I just need to take my own advice to a friend who tends to wake up in the middle of the afternoon -- when the alarm goes off, just get out of bed. Don't think about getting out of bed; like the Nike ads have told us for years, just do it.

First bite!

I came home from a day trip into New York City yesterday to find that I had a message on my voice mail from a potential employer!!

This is the first time since I was laid off a little more than two months ago that I have gotten a call to discuss a job opening. And if that's not thrilling enough, I didn't even apply for the job that's open. The company saw my resume on CareerBuilder.com and thought I looked like a match, so they called me!

I know that getting a call doesn't mean I'm going to get the job. Getting an interview doesn't mean I'm getting the job. But after two months of no one being interested, no one even acknowledging my applications, it's so nice to just hear from someone.

I think that's one of the worst things about applying for jobs in these times. Because so many people are applying for the same job, the chances of getting a call in response are minimal. So you keep putting yourself out there and no one replies. It's like you don't even exist. And that's totally disheartening.

So to have someone call me and tell me they're interested in me, well, that gives me my existence back. And gives me hope that I may actually get a job again someday.

An interview with the founder of the Love Your Job Search classes

For women, especially young women, looking for a job is a frightening prospect, especially when so many women aren't aware of what their own strengths are or what job would bring them the most fulfilling life. And even for those women who know what they "want to be when they grow up," finding the right job is difficult, especially during these tough times. But help is available. Suzanne Grossman, the founder of Love Your Job (LYJ), a blog and job search class, offers the expertise she has gained from years of working with young women to empower them in our world, as well as the knowledge and know-how her own job and self seeking experiences have taught her.

Gink's Thoughts recently spoke with Suzanne about LYJ and what makes her uniquely qualified to teach women about finding a job they'll love for the rest of their lives.

What is LYJ?

LYJ stands for Love Your Job. LYJ started as a group blog I began with like-minded friends and colleagues. It came about after a group of us were talking, writing and thinking about topics related to career and how having a life that was fulfilling through your work was important and possible. Around the same time, I was putting together career topics for my CUNY students and I realized this information would be equally helpful to women job seekers outside of the university setting. So earlier this year I launched LYJ Search, which is a five week class for women jobseekers in New York City. A version of the class also will be available in Washington, D.C. in October, taught by my colleague Alyssa Best.

What types of skills LYJ Search students learn?

The class incorporates important job seeking skills including resume writing, interviewing, networking and salary negotiation.

Because I don’t believe anyone should be doing a job search without first having a clear idea of what they want to be doing and where, I also take my students through a series of thoughtful exercises through which they envision their ideal work setting and focus on their strengths in order to develop clarity on where they should be directing their job seeking efforts.

I also work very hard to match each woman in the class with professional acquaintances who can be helpful to each woman’s job search.

How did you get involved in the creation of LYJ Search?

I have a significant background in teaching leadership to women, including having worked at the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University and the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership. My efforts at both organizations helped me to develop a variety of skills related to job seeking and helping women reach their full potential. Along my journey, I’ve learned the importance of a solid resume and how informational interviews can lead to jobs that I can then pass on to the women in my classes.

I, myself, did many of the same exercises that I use in the class and came to see that one of my strengths is helping others find jobs and encouraging them to aim for work that is truly going to make them happy. I realized I could put this to good use, especially at a time when so many people are struggling with unemployment.

Who can benefit the most from LYJ Search?

The class tends to draw women in their twenties and thirties who are unemployed or ready for a change from their current situation. Having been in the working world for more than twelve years, I can help this demographic the best, partly because I relate to the particular challenges they are facing.

However, I also believe the LYJ Search class can benefit women with more experience in the working world because the skills the class addresses apply universally to any jobseeker. I also am open to working one-to-one with male clients, though for now the classes are for women only.

What do you like best about LYJ, the blog and the Search class?

I enjoy having a space for women to come together and support each other with their job searches. As one participant said before the class, she felt like she was alone against the world with her job search and that can be an overwhelming feeling. With LYJ each of the women in my class receives positive encouragement not only from me but also from each other.

Where can people find out more about LYJ and LYJ Search?

To find out more, visit http://lyjnow.wordpress.com/ or http://lyjnow.wordpress.com/lyj-search/.

NY State Unemployment is the worst!

Beware rant ahead...

It really makes me sick that we work and work and work, always contributing to our own unemployment funds and then when worse comes to worst and we get laid off, we have to keep working to get the State to give us the money we've already paid for!

Now I can't really compare New York State's Department of Labor to every other state in the country. I can only really compare it to New Jersey, the state in which I live and in which my husband claimed his unemployment when he got laid off. And there were a couple of snags along the way, but compared to what New York State is making me do, he seems to have had it pretty easy.

Of course a lot of the bullshit we both went through is the same. Long, long wait times to actually be able to speak with anyone. It took me five calls, each one about 10 minutes of maneuvering through the lengthy menus, before I was finally put on hold to wait for someone today. The first four times I would get to the point of being put on hold and the automated voice would say the operators were too busy and I'd have to call again. Why not just put me on hold and let me wait an hour? I'd rather do that and know I'm going to get to speak with someone eventually than have to continually call back and hope the timing is right!

My husband had a similar experience when he actually went to an unemployment office. He got there almost an hour before the office closed but because there were a lot of people waiting to speak to someone, he was told he would have to leave, even though the office was still open. How is that right?

I also don't understand why one State can offer a certain amount of unemployment and others can offer a different amount? Isn't it supposed to be based on what you earned? Because I worked in New York City, I have to claim in New York State. But New York caps its unemployment at $405 a week, no matter what you earned!! If I were claiming in New Jersey I'd be getting about $160 more per week! Again, how is that right?

New York State then gave me the runaround during my initial claim because I hit the wrong button while filing the claim, which had to be done by phone since I'm an out-of-state claimant. And of course there's no back button when you claim on the phone. I tried to communicate with a person about the mistake to fix it, but was told it would all have to be done by mail. I was sent a form asking me to explain my claim. I don't remember the exact dates but for argument's sake, let's say the form was dated July 1. I received it on July 6 and on the bottom it said the form had to be received by New York State within seven days of the date on the form. Hello! If I get the form six days after that date, how am I supposed to get it back to them in seven? In hindsight I should have overnighted it, even though that costs a lot more than a stamp. Instead I assumed (which of course makes me the ass) that there had to be a slight grace period and filled it out and sent it back the day I got it. A few days later I got a notice in the mail telling me that they've "determined" I was still employed. I had no choice except to go through a hearing process. Again, I tried to call and explain. I tried to e-mail the department and explain. In every case I was told I have no choice except to go through the hearing. I spoke to a employment lawyer who told me once it gets to a hearing it could go in either direction because the people who make the decision are underpayed and their decisions depend on their moods. I was in full panic mode for at least a week. And then, in the mail, I get a notice telling me the determination has been reversed and a few days later I get all my back unemployment payments. My guess is someone finally realized they had the form I'd sent back explaining and finally used it. But why did it take so long, and why couldn't I speak to someone?

Now I am once again waiting for my payments to be released because I declared the pay from a freelance article (which I'm allowed to do but legally obligated to declare). When my husband would work a temp job during his unemployment, he would declare the weeks he got paid and of course would not get unemployment for those weeks. If he didn't work in a week, he claimed and they sent his unemployment no questions asked. Easy peasy. In New York, if you declare that you made more than the $405 one week, the next week they put your payments on hold and send you a form to fill out in which you have to prove employment and the reason for your unemployment again. It does not apply to those who are self-employed at all! But it puts a full stop on payments anyway. I am very lucky I have my husband's salary to rely on. If I had only the unemployment, which has this wonderful tendency to stop and start, I'd be in big trouble. I'm sure there are others, having that problem. How does New York State justify this?

I will say I got to speak to a very nice woman named Jess today who was able to fill out the form on my behalf over the phone, which she said would speed up the release of my unemployment. She also told me how to fill the form out in the future, although my payments will still be held until the form is received. She did agree with me that for those of us who manage to earn a small amount of money through self-employment it is a confusing process. Jess was very nice and she was very reassuring. But I won't actually feel better until I see the money released into my bank account.

Who wants to take a guess at how long that's going to take? Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to say I'll get my money at some point before the end of the year.

Job application frustration

I applied for a job today. The job is beneath me, an assistant editor position at LIFE.com, but does sound like it could be interesting. The main responsibilities are managing the Travel and Animals channels on the Web site. I think I would enjoy that very much, even if it didn't bring in very much money.

But I know I will not get a call for an interview. How do I know? In spite of the fact that I'd be a perfect candidate for the job and fulfill all of their requirements I've got three things working against me. One, I most recently worked as a senior editor so I am over qualified. Two, I have worked primarily in the trade publishing world and consumer publications are incredibly prejudiced against trade writers. Three, my resume was most likely one of about 500 resumes Time Warner will receive for this job!

So what are the chances my resume will even get looked at? I'd say they're the same as my winning Mega Millions (I won $7 in last night's drawing by the way!).

In this new world of massive unemployment and online job applications, there is no way to make sure your resume stands out. No way to make sure that someone will even look at it. This is probably the 15th or so job I have applied for since I lost my job over a month and a half ago. I was qualified for every single job, fulfilled every single requirement, sent a great resume and cover letter for each one and, as of yet, I have not received a phone call for a single one!

What else am I supposed to do? When I'm just one of hundreds of people applying for a single job, how can I possibly expect anyone to call me? It's incredibly frustrating to know I am doing all the right things but also know none of that matters.

A new fad - suing others because we're unemployed

My mother sent me an e-mail yesterday with a link to an article on CNN.com - Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job

The article details the story of a 27-year old woman who is suing the college she graduated from because she has not been able to get a job.

She alleges that the college's Office of Career Advancement did nothing to help her get a job. She is particularly upset that the staff in the office have not contacted all employers who list jobs on the college's e-recruiting web site and told them to call her for an interview. According to her, it is their responsibility to see that she is called for interviews.

She also alleges that the Office of Career Advancement is more likely to try to help students with grade point averages closer to 4.0. She has a 2.7 grade point average, but she emphasizes she has a solid attendance record.

She is suing for the full cost of her college tuition, plus (I love this part!) an additional $2,000 "to compensate for the stress of her three-month job search."

When asked by the CNN reporter if she would recommend a similar strategy to other college graduates who have not yet found work, the woman said yes. "They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned."

I'm curious. Hasn't anyone told this woman we're in a recession? That the country's unemployment rate is the highest its been in decades? And since when does graduating from college guarantee you'll get a job, within three months?

Hey, I understand the need to lay blame. But this woman is old enough to know that life doesn't always go the way we planned. I certainly never planned to be laid off just as I was really getting a foot hold in my chosen industry.

So based on this woman's law suit I have decided that anyone who has been laid off should sue their former employers for breach of contract (regardless of whether there was a written contract or not.) All of us laid-off folks probably had solid attendance records, put in lots of hard work and effort, delivered on what was expected of us, but our employers did not come through for us. So it's their fault we're unemployed. It's even their fault we can't find another job because too many of them have laid too many of us off. Therefore they should pay us for loss of income and especially compensation for the stress we all feel from being unemployed and trying to find a job at a time when job applicants are flooding the markets.

What do you think? Can I find a lawyer to represent me?