Unemployment is toughest job of all

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2011 (5516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If another person asks me, “Have you found a job yet ?” I might just punch them in the face. Not really, of course, but that question quite simply infuriates me. It sets up an impossible binary of success and failure. A person is only successful if they have found full-time work; anything other than that is failure.

I am aware that, perhaps, people don’t mean for that particular question to be so loaded, but it still feels demanding and limited to me.

Except for a few school years, I have never been unemployed. I worked diligently through high school to save for university, and during university, I worked every summer while my friends globe-trotted to Africa and Europe.

When I graduated from university, I entered the job market about six months before the economic downturn. I was employed when the economy tanked, and felt lucky to be spared.

Fast forward three years, and I am now unemployed, because my spouse had to relocate to Winnipeg to begin his medical residency. I foolishly convinced myself before leaving Calgary, and my steady job, that I would enjoy the break from work. I envisioned days spent painting my house and hanging out with friends, while still searching for work.

What I have realized is unemployment is more boring than you can imagine and lonelier than I care to admit. Most of my friends I have here are employed and can’t hang out in the middle of the day. My retired neighbours are lovely, but I can’t monopolize their time.

The only people I can call in the daytime are my retired parents, and I don’t want to worry them with my misery.

I realize now that my relocation to Winnipeg would probably have been easier if I had a routine formed by a steady job where I could meet like-minded individuals.

I fill the void of unemployment with a daily routine that includes dog-walking and exercising. I also schedule my day with chores and various tasks that need to get done, so when I complete them, there is the satisfaction of a job well-done.

But I feel frustrated by my inability to plan beyond the day-to-day. On one hand, I would love to register for a variety of courses to help me learn new skills or improve the ones I have. But I hesitate to commit, out of hope that by the time fall rolls around I will have work.

It is a catch-22 that leaves me signing up for a fraction of what I want to do.

Unemployment is one of the toughest jobs I’ve ever had. It feels like you are constantly on the cusp of something or perhaps nothing. It is a job of dashed hopes and slowly dwindling self-esteem. It is unenjoyable at best.

That is why I dread the question “Have you found a job yet?”

It feels like salt in the wounds. This closed question doesn’t allow me to explain the small successes I cling to, which help motivate me to continue this endless search.

I prefer the question “How is the job hunt going?” I can answer truthfully, highlighting the good, while still discussing the setbacks. Fundamentally, I can answer this question with my pride still somewhat intact.

 

Leah Weiss has a BA (Hons) in political science from the University of Alberta. Before relocating to Winnipeg, Leah worked for the Government of Canada in Calgary. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs.