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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?

#431

Post by mixmastamyk »

Aurornis wrote: post #199
comment95198 wrote: post #52

I had a bout of poor health. And now I'm isolated and I don't know how to get reconnected to other people. I'm not coping terribly well. I think what is most distressing is that I am observing a decline in my capacity. I feel mentally sluggish. I frustrate more easily. I tire more easily. Probably most worryingly to me I get spikes of aggression that lead to combative outbursts. I feel less empathetic, even mildly sa…

> I'm not coping terribly well. I think what is most distressing is that I am observing a decline in my capacity. I feel mentally sluggish. I frustrate more easily. I tire more easily. Probably most worryingly to me I get spikes of aggression that lead to combative outbursts. I feel less empathetic, even mildly sadistic at times. Very hard to control the envy and the average person I interact with evokes envy. This i…

What’s the difference between “depressive” and depression?

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

#432

Post by egeres »

ornornor wrote: post #377

For anyone here struggling with being unemployed and not finding a job, I’d suggest looking into “never search alone”. It’s a book and program to develop a system for finding your next job along with a community and support system. It’s free beyond the cost of the book (which you can probably find in your public library) and has helped thousands. Good luck!

Recently, I found out a couple of friends were looking for jobs and I convinced them into creating a joint notion database for companies, job positions, networking events etc... So far I think it's been positive, it makes the job search less isolating and it certainly helps to see further away in the market

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

#433

Post by insaider »

wvlia5 wrote: post #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…

2 hours everyday trying to find a wife! What does that entail? Do you have some very specific requirements/high standards?

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

#434

Post by anonzzzies »

erulabs wrote: post #386
wvlia5 wrote: post #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…

Not trying to counter you but this is the definition of rich. This modern idea that rich means you have infinite money and many Lamborghinis is odd - rich is being independent, with the ability to travel and do whatever you want, for the rest of your life. It’s OK to be rich, it doesn’t reflect poorly on you!

But doing whatever you want is very personal ; for some people that's driving a different Lambo every day of the week, sitting on a yacht with staff, owning private jets. For others it's travelling and doing whatever they want. For others it's staying home and just having a nice life. I would say if what you consider a good life you can do that until you perish, you are rich.

My best friend lives of about E500/mo; hates travelling (so never does) and has been the happiest person I know since he moved from north EU to south. Sold his company before the move for a few 100k and as such can do what he wants the rest of his life. Most people would not consider him rich ; quite the opposite, but most people want 'stuff' and travel, both of which are usually costly.

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

#435

Post by kulahan »

kulahan wrote: post #271
DwnVoteHoneyPot wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition to possibly being a scammer, some people found my resume to be less believable without a linkedin profile. One interviewer thought I was lying about my previous job title.

What? I just put “computer programmer” for every position listed on LinkedIn - why would that be any more valid?

[flagged]

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

#436

Post by FreakLegion »

pluc wrote: post #290
sanswork wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've applied to 400 jobs and had 3 responses and no success to be blunt your option about what you need to do to get hired is worth zero. You refuse to change anything about your process, you aren't working to improve it, you are arguing against people telling them you don't need to do common/standard things. This thread is a pretty good insight into why you are failing and what you need to work on.

Like I said, i had a legit linkedin account before i closed it and it never felt like it did anything for me. I have changed plenty about my process, from cv iterations and reviews, ai assistance to cater to job posts in cv and cover letters, etc. Of course i think all the information is great, but i also have first hand knowledge and experience. If you think all that's missing is a furnished LinkedIn account then i…

> If you think all that's missing

They said it's necessary, not sufficient.

I have a couple dozen open roles right now, at a 50-person company. Each posting gets thousands of applications. Most are fakes, or AI-generated, or AI-generated fakes. Realistically, we're going to respond to 1%, maybe 2% of them, because again, 50-person team. Half the time, you get someone named Ralph McGuinness on for a quick code screen and they have a thick Mandarin accent or something equivalently implausible.

The best first filter we have at the moment is to programmatically toss out any resume that doesn't have a LinkedIn, that has a hallucinated LinkedIn that doesn't resolve, that resolves to a name that doesn't match the resume, that has no connections or history, etc.

It's an absurd state of play that hurts those of us trying to hire and those of you trying to get hired, but also a trivial hurdle for you to clear, so stop arguing and just do it.

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

#437

Post by Uptrenda »

jalapenos wrote: post #418
Uptrenda wrote: post #239

I've been unemployed since 2013 and honestly... the whole thing has been beneficial. I went through a long period of trying to find work initially, and ended up self-sabotaging offers due to intense stress. Then after that I kind of felt worthless and depressed. Took some introspection to realize I was being ridiculous and that I was more than a job. I would say even before this all went down things were going badly…

So explain this, it means you're a trust fund kid?

Why do you feel like a stranger has to justify their finances to you?

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

#438

Post by Dayshine »

johnh-hn wrote: post #41

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're in the UK: take advantage of the various schemes that allow people with disabilities to get guaranteed first interviews.

If you need any software job you might even have luck with graduate schemes at companies like BT who I believe will have similar shortcuts through recruitment for those with disabilities.

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

#439

Post by gamblor956 »

no_nobud wrote: post #308
apsurd wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a nurse is not the janitor of healthcare jobs. Your first hand experience with how brutal the job market is is real. And it definitely feels like zero sum when it comes down to "a woman gets hired for reasons over me" but i must call out how dangerous this line of thinking becomes. Also obviously not anyone can become an engineer. please don't be so dismissive of others. if you're willing to put in the learning to be…

>nurse is not the janitor of healthcare jobs. I don't know but among healthcare practitioner apparently it's seen like that. It's brutal, but out of all white collar jobs, only engineering is suffering, and especially males, yes, women are hired for 'reasons' over males, you can check any unemployment rate between males/females, now it's called he-cession https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-08-05/us-job..…

To be blunt, if you're expressing those views on a public forum it's not a surprise you're still unemployed.

You're the exact kind of toxic employee that companies avoid hiring.

If you ever want to have a good job again you need to change your attitude.

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

#440

Post by balamatom »

balamatom wrote: post #272
autotune wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I developed a new set of symptoms that I did not have before jail. Cartoons and characters saying different things as voices when I get overly self conscious about certain things.

Ooh, that's one of "fun" ones alright. Can happen if the perceptual validator has encysted the behavioral corrector. (Or vice versa I guess; I just ripped out mine since they were known bad; other story - point is, being unable to examine things too closely is part of the whole predicament) Jail as liminal space makes total sense as the environment for habitual workarounds to fray and the underlying issue to manifest…

Why the downvotes, (purportedly) sapient ones? Don't yall ever debug yallselves? Figures...
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