Quote:
Originally Posted by radcliff
I must be toxic to employers because I've been looking for a job for six months with no success. Job searches are stressful enough, but my job search is coming off two years of dealing with severe depression which makes it even harder. I'm really starting to feel hopeless and that everything is futile.
The problem is that I haven't worked in four years (I'm 23) and haven't been in school since 2015. I had to drop out of school two years ago because of depression and haven't done anything since. So here I am looking for a job with very little experience and no degree. I'm starting to feel like no matter what I do, there will always be more attractive candidates with more experience. This is really killing me because I have student loan payments breathing down my neck and I literally only have $50 in my checking account. Everyone keeps telling me to write a resume but that won't change my past. The jobs I'm applying to are minimum wage jobs in food service and retail, and those job listings get well over 100 other applicants. There's nothing I can do to make myself stand out from that many people. There just isn't.
I'm so tired of people telling me that I have great attributes and to "stay positive." I know I can do the work and the employers probably know I can do the work too, but they're never going to pass over someone with more work and college experience for someone like me, who hasn't done anything in four years. The longer I go without work, the more toxic I become. The sad thing is I didn't have any trouble finding work in 2012. I got several interviews after just looking for two months, and multiple job offers. Now that I'm 23 and dealing with depression and a lack of job experience, finding work seems impossible.
I haven't posted here in over a year, but this job search is killing me and I needed to vent.  |
First of all, don't undersell yourself. A degree isn't everything. Interviewer's make a lot of assumptions about potential employees and just the fact that you have some college might be an issue to some. They might be looking at that and thinking, "he (or she) is going to work for awhile, then go back to college and I'll have to train someone new".
A resume won't change your past, but you can highlight your strengths in ways that you can't by filling out an application. You can state your goals in way to make it apparent that you are looking for a long term position, and add flourish to any volunteer activities you've done.
Don't give up. In the meantime, while you continue to search for work, look into some of Darkness's suggestions.
Good luck.