Personal politics rarely stops people from acquiring more wealth for themselves, but it is commonly used to prevent others from acquiring your wealth; or to prevent others from acquiring more wealth for themselves. Let's face it, people are selfish and hypocritical. See Bush for details.

[Edited on March 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM. Reason : -]

3/26/2009 4:56:20 PM

Quote :

"Most of us drawing unemployment would rather be in a real job. I know the compensation/benefits I get from doing real work probably amounts to 10x what I get via unemployment."

Oh yeah, I'd definitely rather have me a real full-time job than be unemployed.

I'm just saying it'd be nice if they gave just a little more incentive to be looking for a job... there are probably some people who are happy to be on unemployment, and never apply for jobs while on it since it's not required.

3/26/2009 5:43:33 PM

Haha, I just got contacted by a legit recruiting company (you know, they're headhunters, but at least when they send you a lot of info by email you can verify that they exist rather than those phone conversations with people you don't know). He even included the city and company name of the business. That makes me trust them based on that alone (and I checked, it's a real business and the job description matches what they do!). Totally amazing...

This guy may end up saving me next week if my potential employer decides to re-offer the job to somebody else.

[Edited on March 26, 2009 at 10:27 PM. Reason : I even have previous experience for this position.]

3/26/2009 10:27:31 PM

^^ i dont find this to be the case

3/27/2009 10:50:36 AM

Quote :

"Most of us drawing unemployment would rather be in a real job. I know the compensation/benefits I get from doing real work probably amounts to 10x what I get via unemployment."

You pull in 260K/year? Damn.

3/27/2009 11:19:09 AM

Been unemployed for over 2 months, but I start my new job a week from Monday. Hoping to win my ESC hearing so my former boss has to cut me a $4k check.

3/27/2009 11:21:22 AM

must be nice to know you have a vacation until then. good for you.

is the new company hiring?

3/27/2009 11:22:26 AM

NC umployment rate has risen to 10.7% - the highest since the state started keeping records. (so probably the highest since 1940) Good luck with your searches.

3/27/2009 11:42:40 AM

Plenty of people are hiring, but you will probably have to do what I did. Take a drastic pay cut just to get back in the work force, then at least you will be collecting a paycheck higher than your unemployment payments while you continue your search. Plus, companies are much more eager to hire someone that already has a job rather than someone that has been unemployed for a while.

^ and actually, we started keeping records in 1976, and the previous record was 10.2% in February 1983.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/27/ap6222812.html

[Edited on March 27, 2009 at 12:07 PM. Reason : a]

3/27/2009 11:45:59 AM

Haha, we're 0.2% worse than California right now!

I wonder if the rate is so high in part due to people that are still moving to this area because it was still rated as one of the top places to live. I figured out after reading some other online forums that apparently people will take a gamble like that quite often.

3/27/2009 3:07:07 PM

I was lucky enough to get a job at the end of Jan after being unemployed for a month. Man I was desperate! Unfortunately, my unemployed friends aren't so lucky AND are as motivated, I guess.

i wasn't quite sure if it was a lack of motivation or that the scenario still stinks, but i think it's mainly the former.

3/28/2009 4:17:50 PM

aren't*

3/28/2009 4:21:42 PM

Quote :

"there are probably some people who are happy to be on unemployment, and never apply for jobs while on it since it's not required."

Quote :

"i dont find this to be the case"

a whole lot of construction workers in unionized areas take the summers "off" on unemployment.

3/28/2009 5:18:32 PM

doubt it

3/28/2009 5:44:56 PM

Quote :

"You pull in 260K/year? Damn."

No, unemployment is only going to give me 12.5 total.


[Edited on March 28, 2009 at 5:53 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2009 5:52:42 PM

The problem with a lot of people isn't a matter of motivation. It's that unemployment pays more than the jobs that are hiring right now. Why take a shitty job that pays $400 per week when unemployment pays you $450? Especially if you were used to making $60k+ per year before you got laid off.

3/28/2009 5:54:50 PM

Quote :

"Why take a shitty job that pays $400 per week when unemployment pays you $450?"

yeah i get that people want more money... but i wonder if potential employers would rather hire someone who is employed (no matter where) vs. someone who is unemployed. i think that would motivate me to want to work SOMEwhere. plus i'd be bored after a month or so of no work

3/28/2009 6:33:15 PM

^ You are correct. That is why I took a shitty job just so I could make myself more hireable down the road.

3/28/2009 6:39:02 PM

Shit yeah, collecting more on unemployment means vacation for most. Ride out the wave until people start hiring again.

Won't be too long now I don't think...

3/28/2009 7:30:05 PM

Sprint is hiring for a number of positions in Raleigh.

3/29/2009 7:56:37 AM

Quote :

""Why take a shitty job that pays $400 per week when unemployment pays you $450?""

The main reason being you look more "in demand" than the other hundred unemployed folks that are after the same job. Especially if it is a job that you do not already have a background in. If you have direct experience it really stands out.

3/29/2009 7:59:42 AM

But what if you are trying really hard to get a job and can't? What if those shit paying jobs pay less than the unemployment, so much so that you can't pay your bills anymore?

Right now you are fighting with hundreds of other people for one crap job, if you can wait it out, search for a job you WANT in the meantime, network, get shit together at home, and live off unemployment, I think you might be better off...instead of wasting time you could use to look on a craptastic job.

[Edited on March 29, 2009 at 7:13 PM. Reason : fj]

3/29/2009 7:12:29 PM

You were also under the impression that one could roadtrip across the country for a couple weeks for only a few grand, so when it comes to subjects where you've had to actually think about something (and the logistics of much of anything) in order to contribute...your input is melamine-laced milk formula from china, in the american market.

[Edited on March 29, 2009 at 8:03 PM. Reason : ...]

3/29/2009 8:01:17 PM

3/29/2009 8:26:24 PM

monster.com is having some kind of job fair on tuesday

3/29/2009 11:56:47 PM

yup at the hilton off wake forest...i work in the area

3/29/2009 11:57:25 PM

fabulous

3/29/2009 11:59:00 PM

kiwi is a stupid vapid cunt

3/30/2009 12:02:21 AM

lol hambrosia is just mad she has to work 10 jobs just to make ends meet.

3/30/2009 12:31:29 AM

yes and kiwi your insight and 'contributions' have been oh so invaluable.

what is your day job again ?

3/30/2009 12:35:44 AM

It's a lot of things right now, Photographer, Business Owner, and Dog Trainer currently.

Thanks for playing!

I didn't realize an opinion going against the grain would lead to such insults, especially in the lounge! God forbid people lay down OPINIONS.

It's cool, ambrosia's just pissed she lost that butt plug up her fat ass.

3/30/2009 12:39:34 AM

Actually people are upset because you're turning a serious and helpful Lounge thread into a circus freak show act, basically the message is take it elsewhere unless you are either unemployed, offering employment or can add useful or insightful information.

3/30/2009 12:41:49 AM

I figured it was useful. It is what a lot of people are doing right now. By all means go out and look but it seems silly to take a lesser paying job than what you're pulling in form unemployment because it hinders your ability to find a good quality job, work up networking, get things done around the house. I don't have to be unemployed to hear the opinions of several around me, or to talk to the labor board, or to know just how hard it is out there right now...

[Edited on March 30, 2009 at 12:53 AM. Reason : however, I digress, good luck to those searching]

3/30/2009 12:49:45 AM

To somewhat steer this thread back on track, I hear back this week whether or not I landed that geotechnical engineering job. I sure hope I can get an answer tomorrow or the next day. If I don't get it there's a lot of jobs that close in early April that I wanted to apply for (and at this point if I don't get this job I'm open to moving anywhere along the east coast or gulf coast, which will greatly expand my opportunities, but suck because I'll have to move away from family).

3/30/2009 1:11:55 AM

im curious if that job fair at the hilton is worth going to or not.

3/30/2009 9:26:35 AM

Quote :

"It's a lot of things right now, Photographer, Business Owner, and Dog Trainer currently."

You forgot painter.

3/30/2009 10:32:33 AM

I would say no, and that the most valuable thing you'll get from it is the directory of companies.

See my post a couple pages(?) ago from the joblink one.

Quote :

"lol hambrosia is just mad she has to work 10 jobs just to make ends meet."

This is what people are talking about. You just can't seem to make any valid contributions anywhere, and you're bringing your tripe to a very serious thread. And the unfounded personal attacks. I.e., you're acting like dnl.

3/30/2009 10:32:45 AM

^ You're not helping the matter by making sure to point out any problems you have with Kiwi in any thread she might happen to post in on this site. And you've been doing it for years. Get over your inadequacies and stop shitting up threads even more than she is doing by feeling the incessant need to reply to her. I mean...didn't you tell your then boyfriend he could hook up with her when you were out of town once?

Quote :

"You were also under the impression that one could roadtrip across the country for a couple weeks for only a few grand, so when it comes to subjects where you've had to actually think about something (and the logistics of much of anything) in order to contribute...your input is melamine-laced milk formula from china, in the american market. "

For fucks sake, she isn't informed, big fucking deal...do you really need to foam at the mouth about it? Here, I'll show you how to contribute to her, and the thread in a meaningful way.

Quote :

"But what if you are trying really hard to get a job and can't? What if those shit paying jobs pay less than the unemployment, so much so that you can't pay your bills anymore? "

You are a bit misinformed about unemployment. There is an allowance on how much you can make per week on top of what unemployment will pay you. For me, the ESC gives me $410 a week (after taxes) and will let me make an additional $240 a week on top of that. Anyone that is currently drawing unemployment knows their financial situation and they'd have to be brain dead to take a job paying less than the ESC will pay them, the perceived benefits of being employed to a potential employer aren't going to outweigh this.

Quote :

"Right now you are fighting with hundreds of other people for one crap job, if you can wait it out, search for a job you WANT in the meantime, network, get shit together at home, and live off unemployment, I think you might be better off...instead of wasting time you could use to look on a craptastic job"

People that really are in dire straights would do both. Work during the day to eat and then doing a hefty amount of website scanning and job submitting in the evenings.

[Edited on March 30, 2009 at 10:40 AM. Reason : .]

3/30/2009 10:40:05 AM

North Carolina currently 4th worst in the nation behind Michigane, SC, and Oregon.

http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/gapmap/index.htm

3/30/2009 12:37:32 PM

Quote :

"The main reason being you look more "in demand" than the other hundred unemployed folks that areafter the same job. Especially if it is a job that you do not already have a background in. If you have direct experience it really stands out."

That statement has some holes.

'If' i was recently laid off and took a job that paid me far less than what I was previously paid to 'get me through' the tough time, I would NOT put it on the resume. From my experience (I am older than most of you), the salary for any real job offer is directly proportional to the salary you were previously paid. Taking a filler job will not help you look more desireable, and in many cases, will severely hurt your earning potential if you end up listing it on a job application.

For that matter, unless you are more than halfway through your employment benefits, I think it would be folly to take a job that pays less than your benefits.

3/30/2009 1:00:39 PM

Thanks FailBoat, I completely agree.

In TN it's a little different, the highest weekly payout is only $275 with a weekly earning allowance of $68. Sixty-eight dollar a week!!! Now that is a serious shit paying job. And that's what I based my opinion on. If you can go make $240/wk that's not bad and definitely something to consider.

3/30/2009 1:03:23 PM

I'm still unemployed (about 5 weeks now) and still haven't gotten any unemployment! Apparently there is an "active issue" with my claim. I have no clue what it is, since no one has contacted me about it, but I've been on hold for about 20 minutes now trying to talk to someone.

3/30/2009 1:11:35 PM

you can get an appointment at the local office. There is on in Cary at Chatham and Maynard. Probably easiest to go in there in person and talk to the receptionist and schedule an appointment. Probably nothing available within several days, but once you do get to your appointment, it's much easier to be able to go into the office and talk with a person who has access to all your records. All the people at the ESC office that I have talked to in person have been very friendly and as helpful as possible, given their circumstances (i.e. they are completely understaffed and swamped with the rising numbers of unemployed)

3/30/2009 1:24:41 PM

^ i agree, i give those people credit who work in the unemployment office.

3/30/2009 1:39:23 PM

My girlfriend just got a part-time job at the ESC, working like 30ish hours a week for decent money. More people desperate for a paycheck should think about hitting them up.

No doubt they are swamped with work with everything going on. Maybe they can't hire people, but who knows...worth a shot.

3/30/2009 1:39:51 PM

Quote :

"but I've been on hold for about 20 minutes now trying to talk to someone. "

did you ever get to talk to someone?

3/30/2009 1:45:30 PM

My unemployment situation (combined with a certain major Raleigh university's astonishing ability to lose key parts of my grad school application) is probably going to force me to live with my parents for a while. It has some benefits:

-Free room and board
-My parents have connections in Greensboro, whereas here my network is essentially nonexistent
-I'll be forced to cut back substantially on smoking and drinking, which won't do much for the employment but will improve my health

And some drawbacks:

-They don't actually live in Greensboro, but more like 45 minutes away in the middle of nowhere
-Benefits to my health will largely be negated when I hang myself

3/30/2009 1:58:07 PM

I have a second round with a company this Thursday or Friday on a pretty amazing technology.

3/30/2009 3:50:47 PM

Good luck! I am going to an open house with a company that I am applying to and attempting to put my Marketing degree to some use.

3/30/2009 7:02:08 PM

Quote :

"Apparently there is an "active issue" with my claim. I have no clue what it is, since no one has contacted me about it, but I've been on hold for about 20 minutes now trying to talk to someone."

This happened to me too. After I was on hold for about 30 minutes some guy answered and fixed up my account really quickly.

3/30/2009 8:14:59 PM