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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?

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think you developed Bipolar in gaol or was it just a late onset?

> gaol The only time I've ever seen "jail" spelled this way was in Elden Ring, and I had to look it up to see how it's supposed to be pronounced to learn that it's an Old English way of spelling "jail" and is pronounced like "jail". Curious if you've been playing a lot of Elden Ring or if there's another reason you chose this spelling.

Obnoxious attention-seeking Australians like to do this. It's best not to respond to them, you're giving them exactly what they want.

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

#252
I've been happily unemployed since 2022. Not planning to be employed ever again. Have enough money for the rest of my life already. Not because I'm rich, but because I live cheaply.

Working on self-improvement: excercise, eat/sleep well, defeat phone addiction, become social. I enjoy drugs once a week. I travel all year in some beautiful places. Spend ~2 hours every day trying to find a wife.

In 5-10 years (wifed up or wifeless), I'll buy a house in the forest and spend the rest of my life playing piano, studying math, and creating tech for fun.

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

#253
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making games in rust in retirement is my plan. Not, you know, good games (zero game dev experience), or games that anyone would realistically want to play, but seems like it would be interesting to learn.

Yeah exactly :) I had no experience and, if I'm being honest, I was shit at game dev, but boy is it a nice means of creative self-expression. ( https://github.com/MeoMix/symbiants/ / https://ant.care/ ) It's really fulfilling to be able to show people your work and have them play with it. It's so different than like.. spec'ing out a new database schema and then building some APIs over it. They're both coding, but one…

Not to push you into the rabbit hole but... have you looked into bolting some sort of scripting language onto your Rust program for quick prototyping?

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

#254
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess my experience hasn't shown value. I think people think of LinkedIn like Facebook - it only works if everyone agrees to stay hostage. I don't like the platform, I don't like that Microsoft is being all Microsofty about your data (have you looked at the new settings lately? That they added without telling anyone? Settings → Data Privacy → Data for Generative AI Improvement) and being a data-aware netizen, fuck…

Hiring manager here. It's standard practice for every hiring manager I know to review the candidate's LinkedIn as an additional input to the hiring process. Not finding a LinkedIn page for someone can range from a neutral signal to a negative signal depending on the hiring manager. I personally don't read anything into it, but I know many hiring managers who feel that lack of a LinkedIn page is a negative sign. I don…

I’m a manager in a cybersecurity consulting firm. I’ve hired half a dozen people for my team in the past year. I always check LinkedIn as well.

If someone isn’t on it, the chances are significantly higher they are fake or trying be be “overemployed.”

Does not having LinkedIn mean you’re not qualified or not real? Certainly not. Does it mean I will pass your resume over when sorting through a stack of qualified applicants? Absolutely.

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

#255
post #203

I've been out of work coming up to six years. I had to look after my dad during the pandemic. I've been looking for work in London, UK, since January. During that time I've had a total of 2 interviews. Recruiters, who seem to do a keyword search only, message me from time-to-time on LinkedIn. I reply and they almost invariably never respond, presumably because they look more closely and see the large gap in employmen…

You looking at startups? I’ve seen a few started by people who turned their deafness or blindness into a new idea / product.

I've had one idea in mind for a few years now. It's outside of my normal skill set so it's risky to pursue at the moment. But maybe I should start putting a little time into it even if it's just to help recharge my batteries somewhat.

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

#256
post #68

Left my job in 2022, thought I was going to just take a short break. Been applying to jobs but I really struggle to find something that motivates me enough to pass the interviews. Probably have gone through 20 processes. Got one offer, but also managed to get a grant to work on my side project for the last year, so I did that instead. We see what next year will look like, but I am not too optimistic honestly.

I find this mentality very strange but maybe it’s because I don’t have as much saved as I’d like to have. If I were out of work I’d find significant motivation to do whatever I could to pass an interview and at least make some money while looking for something better.

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

#257
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the charges? Please be honest.

Obstruction of justice (???), simple battery of a police officer (I ran into a police officer while trying to flee).

Not that I'm in charge of hiring anything, but I'd consider "has fought a cop" as a strong positive signal for any sort of computer programming role.

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

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not obvious what a better method would be.

Personally I think it is obvious what a better method could be if it could exist. The question is how to get that thing to exist.

If you think there is a better way, explore it and find out. I mean that sincerely. What is obvious to you isn't necessarily obvious to anyone else. You never know what may come of it.

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

#260
post #228

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).

MMOs in general, but EVE in particular, make you feel like you're part of something, which can be a huge comfort when you lose a job and some sense of self-esteem. Not to justify his behavior at all - I'd highly recommend getting him away from EVE - but I wanted to point it out. I hope you guys work it out.

“Working” on quests in video games can feel very rewarding. Quitting EVE might be a good idea but I think should be complemented with something equally rewarding because otherwise they might feel empty and slide back into it. Developing that rewarding feeling might take time though.
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