Job hunting's a bitch

I am digressing a bit from my blog today to discuss a topic that I've been dealing with for nearly 2 years.  Yes, it's the dreaded...job hunting.

I live in Central Oregon, an area with high unemployment.  Compounding this is the fact that I am not young and have been out of the work force for several years, raising my kids.

I have applied for dozens of jobs.  Even had some interviews but in the end they all resulted in a big fat zero. To say that I'm frustrated would be a supreme understatement.

I have taken some online classes, hoping to bolster my chances; Excel and Quickbooks.   Have they helped?  I'm glad I took them for knowledge's sake, but they haven't helped my employment chances.

I'm not giving up...I can't.  But do I feel hopeless?  You bet.

What does this have to do with history?  Of course, what comes to mind is the Great Depression.  Jobs were few and far between then too.  I think things are better now in some ways.  But there are a glut of people fresh out of college at this time who have new skills and, let's face it, have a longer "shelf life" in terms of being in a position.  So people like me have little chance.

But we seem to be emerging from this recession (at least I didn't say the "D" word!) so maybe things will be looking up for us middle aged ones.

Fingers crossed!