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Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#241

Post by squigz »

unretiring wrote: post #232

Thirteen years. Maybe not what you were expecting to hear. It's hard to remember beyond vignettes, but around when I left my last regular job it felt like my world was collapsing. I'd drifted out of a relationship, I was struggling with mental health just as my physical health was improving, my social and political environment started feeling uncomfortable, the small startup I worked for was struggling to pay me (at…

> It's brutal, though. Hard to even find the words for this post, and read them back and wonder what I'm doing with/to myself. And the world is different, too.

I feel this. I don't know if I can/will post. I wish you the best of luck.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#242

Post by james_marks »

pluc wrote: post #153
selectodude wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiring managers check you on LinkedIn 100 percent of the time. Not having a LinkedIn is a huge issue.

I have to disagree. I looked for a long time before I found my last gig (that ended in 2022). I had a LinkedIn and it wasn't much different, it took me months to find something. I still have a linkedin account to look for jobs, but that's it. No connections, no work history. What's relevant is on my resume anyway so I don't see what having a regular linkedin account would do. I deleted it when I found that job becaus…

No connections and no work history, I would blacklist as spam.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#243

Post by Insanity »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #165

My husband. Financially we’re fine, because he wasn’t in tech anyway and made 1/4 of what I do. Emotionally I’m really starting to resent it (he is not on the “I sent out 1000 resumes” track, he’s made a lot of progress in EVE).

My ex-wife didn’t have a my stable job the last ~6 years of our marriage. She would find a job, say it made her feel miserable, and quit within months.

She would often be “dragging her feet” when it came to applying for jobs.

I’m convinced it’s part of why our marriage failed, it created a lot of tension between us. It’s not the only cause, but it contributed. I’m not sure what I could have done differently, but I empathize with your situation.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#244

Post by squigz »

sho_hn wrote: post #19
fvgvkujdfbllo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I finally came to understand why people like watching sports. Can you help me understand it too? I don’t get it either.

Watching some of the Netflix docs like the Formula 1 one or the Tour de France one is a good gateway drug into "sports watching". It turns out it's all just for the stories, and a bit for the game.

If you're talking about Drive To Survive, keep in mind it's specifically backstage F1 drama and doesn't really capture the sport itself.

As for me, and most motorsport fans I know, it's very much about the sport and skill involved. Sure, there's other aspects to it (people like their drivers/teams/etc) but I would say it's primarily for the sport, not the stories. I can't really speak to any other sports though.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#245

Post by mvdtnz »

pluc wrote: post #153
selectodude wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiring managers check you on LinkedIn 100 percent of the time. Not having a LinkedIn is a huge issue.

I have to disagree. I looked for a long time before I found my last gig (that ended in 2022). I had a LinkedIn and it wasn't much different, it took me months to find something. I still have a linkedin account to look for jobs, but that's it. No connections, no work history. What's relevant is on my resume anyway so I don't see what having a regular linkedin account would do. I deleted it when I found that job becaus…

I don't think you're in a position to arbitrarily disagree with advice.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#246

Post by rahimnathwani »

fschuett wrote: post #178

Technically 2.5 years here (I had a shitty job in the meantime for 4 months, but it wasn't a tech job). I have a decent GitHub portfolio though and I've made sure to never waste my time. So, I'm unemployed on paper, yet always "employed" building open-source software in reality. I have tried to finish building my cartography startup and my mini-browser engine. Once I have that, I can hopefully support myself with non…

If you like LLPSI and you're in your twenties, you may also like this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44771202

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#247

Post by whamlastxmas »

it_is_beautiful wrote: post #186

Throwaway, to do away with the polite fiction that I usually present. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown / Waiting for someone or something to show you the way At 11 I started writing software, with entrepreneurial aspirations helped by my parents. Over my teen years I must have designed a dozen sites I never published. I did alright in school, but I was never on time. At 18, out of high school, I g…

i also thought i wasnt disabled/traumatized for a long time until i came across reading material of symptoms that perfectly described me, and life experiences that perfectly match my own.

trauma and disability can look like a lot of things, and the things in your life that you may think aren't a big deal actually can be, and you have no idea because you've never had it any other way.

realizing i have intense trauma and C-PTSD and a real disability made me shame myself so significantly less, and while it doesnt make me act like a victim or that im helpless, it gives me a butt load of compassion for myself. because the real basic things that people find easy, i find difficult, and to get the same results requires 3x more effort for me. people can view this as me being lazy when in reality im working much harder than they are.

not trying to diagnose you. maybe just keep an open mind, because the way your life is operating is not typical, and there's probably reasons for that.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#248

Post by kilroy123 »

ravloony wrote: post #83
kilroy123 wrote: post #44

Yes, but intentionally. I am not stopping until I am a successful entrepreneur. I refuse to go back to a full-time software job. I have had to do some long stints freelancing or agency work to make ends meet. Gotta do what you gotta do. But I'm not going back or stopping until I make it.

Same here! We should have an e-coffee or something. I'm currently building my second indie project. I would love to compare notes

Sure! I'll send you an email.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#249

Post by it_is_beautiful »

bix6 wrote: post #210
it_is_beautiful wrote: post #186

Throwaway, to do away with the polite fiction that I usually present. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown / Waiting for someone or something to show you the way At 11 I started writing software, with entrepreneurial aspirations helped by my parents. Over my teen years I must have designed a dozen sites I never published. I did alright in school, but I was never on time. At 18, out of high school, I g…

To get out of the isolation cycle you have to stop isolating yourself. Go for a walk and talk to a stranger. I talked to a random dude for 45 mins the other day and he showed me all the fish he’s caught. Epic. Sounds like you like software. Go to a software meet up and geek out. The friends will come but even a 5 min conversation can have a huge impact on your psyche so just get out there in a way that you feel comfo…

The issue is deeper, I think. When I go to software meetups, I feel bitter. I used to have friends in technology, but most of them I cut off without a word, and those that reach out I resent. When I'm outside of my hometown, I feel like I can't relate to anyone, and when I'm back... it's hard to describe. I'd rather disappear than have anyone see or think about me. It's hard to even go get groceries now. I used to have "my people", but now I don't have anyone (except a few family members, -ish) that fits that. The common denominator, of course, is me.

I have times of regularity, where I'm charismatic and talking with people. But even then I find that all my stories end with "... that person drives me crazy!" ... Well of course they do, seems like everyone does.

The faults I judge the most in people are the ones I struggle with, or ones I've seen other loved ones struggle with where I wasn't able to help. I want to be kind, to be empathetic really, but I feel so afraid, so incapable of helping, guiding, or even listening empathetically in any way that my reactions are ...bad. Unkind, or alien.

I've been trying. But it's been getting worse.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#250

Post by [deleted] »

yogorenapan wrote: post #17
OsrsNeedsf2P wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So apply to thousands of jobs then? That's only a couple applications a day for 2 years. And I'm not saying this from an ivory tower, my first job took 700 applications in 2021. But until you have a job, your job is to apply 8 hours a day

What are people doing to need 700 applications? If you went to university, usually you'd be able to get an internship after 4-5 applications & a return offer. Then afterwards just stay put when the economy isn't doing well and hop around when it is.

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