Just think how rough it must be if you're not a comic or an actor/actress. There are times that Times is just too much itself.
Years ago an acquaintance said that he made people very uncomfortable at parties in Washington when they asked him what he did and he replied, "Nothing."
> Carmen Morales, an Orlando-based stand-up comic who collected unemployment for a year and a half
> "Really, it was God’s plan for me to move back with my parents at age 30?"
I read articles like this all the time about joblessness and they always choose examples like this.
Why choose a standup comedian as an example? Thats one of the hardest businesses to get into... and has been a long time.
I've read lots of stories of artists (and startup founders such as the founder of Mint.com) who moved in with their parents to pursue their dream despite the low chances of financial success.
If you're trying to find sympathy among readers, at least choose good examples of struggling individuals. For example, the thousands of well educated law or psych majors who are unemployed.
At least she's reasonably funny in her complaint. But your point stands - standup comedy as a job decision is about as stable as trying to break into Hollywood as an actor.
I doubt she was unemployed from being a stand up comedian (can you even claim unemployment for that?) While she identifies as a stand up comedian (what we identify as really is a fascinating discussion on its own), I suspect they mean that she was unemployed from relatively normal jobs.
Does it mean that your job search consists of looking for "stand up comic" positions?
Does it mean that you have experience in stand up comedy and you are now unemployed but considering other positions?
Does it mean that you are practising stand-up comedy whilst you are unemployed but not making enough income for it to count as "employment"?
I have friends who identify themselves as "musicians" because that is what they see as their profession (they went to music college etc) but their actual income comes from elsewhere.
Er... just quote a teensy bit more of that sentence, and this will make more sense...
> who collected unemployment for a year and a half five years ago
She's a stand-up comic now, five years later, and was unemployed from whatever she was doing back then.
Edit: ...though it does strike me as very weird that out of the few people interviewed for this article, two of them are comedians. "Hi, I'm writing a fluff piece about talking to unemployed people -- know anyone willing to say something clever or interesting on the subject?"
Interesting article, but the ending felt a little misplaced.
For reasons similar to those mentioned in the article, I've started to instead ask, "What do you do for fun?" The answers can end up being more interesting, and it allows people to define themselves in a way that's not tied to what they do for money. Unfortunately, the question can catch people off guard at times.
What's really annoying is when rich folks release TV shows like "Unemployed" and "How to live with your parents for the rest of your life" thinking it's going to be "funny and relatable". It's not.
“But I think you should take it, just so people learn not to give their money away. Because once those people are unemployed, I’m not giving the money back! This is not a return on investment.”
Wow. That's so cynical I barely know where to start. I've helped many of my friends monetarily in the past, and they've been nothing but grateful. Why do I do it? Certainly not because I expect them to pay me back with interest... I do it because when I was at a terribly low point in my life, someone I barely knew gave me $100. It was enough to get through the month and let me continue job hunting without wondering what I was going to eat.
It's not a financial investment. It's an investment in a person.
Agreed. I've had down times (a certain financial disaster and a silicon valley startup comes to mind), and friends and family were there to give us the support, financially and emotionally, we needed to get back on our feet.
If I have the means, I never hesitate to help a friend or family member in need, and rarely ask for anything in return, I would never ask for interest, and rarely even place any expectations on such a loan. "Pay me what you can, when you can," is common terms of repayment for loans such as these.
These are the problems you face when dealing with any kind of miserable person. It isn't unique to the unemployed.
You can't relate, but you sympathize. That's seen as condescending. You feel compelled to offer to help, and that's seen as insensitive and condescending.
Eventually the walking on eggshells around this person starts to make you miserable, too. But it's misery of a different kind, so it doesn't love the company.
The wide majority of us have been unemployed at one point or another.
Was it annoying to hear my parents suggest I should just take a job at the supermarket when I was unemployed? Yes. Was it equally annoying when I'd be connected by a friend to someone who had a job but in an area I had no interest in? Absolutely!
When I was unemployed, what got me out of it were chance conversations with people. I doubt I would have gone past the small-talk stage had I lashed out or fumed about the annoyance of being unemployed.
In the end of my six-month unemployment stint, I sent out nearly 120 copies of my resume to various places. Yes, I counted out of curiosity as well as to keep track of status and follow-ups. Toward the end, I had two offers both out of chance/networking encounters because I rolled with these small-talk punches.
In short, unemployed folk, be patient and kind. Very kind. And don't listen to this drivel.
I haven't been unemployed in a long time, so I may not really understand, but I think that people who give off the emotional vibe of being desperate and frustrated don't tend to make people want to hire them or otherwise associate with them. Which can put some unemployed people into a nasty vicious cycle - it's tough to just stop being desperate and frustrated when you can't get a job.
I have also tended to be a bit skeptical of getting a job by spewing resumes all over the internet. I doubt that this works well, unless you have some really impressive stuff on your resume. I haven't looked for a job in a while, but I would bet that it's more effective to meet people in person by going to whatever events you can find or even the offices of companies you might want to work for. For software people, internet links to things that you have actually built is probably better too. Of course, driving around and going to conferences can eat up a good bit of money too...
I was raised to believe that asking someone "what do you do" is a politer variation of "where do you work", itself a pry into their income level, and the proper response is to describe your hobbies or goals.
See, that's fascinating! I was raised to believe that asking "what do you do" demonstrates interest in having a conversation with someone. Until now, I had never ever posited that asking "what do you do" is a pry into income level.
Likewise. The bulk of America's workforce spends a majority of their waking hours on "what they do," so it's a perfectly valid introductory topic that expresses interest in communication.
Seriously. If you wanted to have a conversation with me and it was something other than "what do you do?" I don't think I'd know what to tell you. If I'm not at work, I'm taking care of my baby, and you probably don't want to hear about poopy diapers...
The real answer here is you probably wouldn't want to have a conversation with me anyway.
How you, or whoever you ask, responds to the question can tell you a lot about them too. In my interpretation, if the person responding interprets it as an inquiry into their income level, then most likely they either want to brag about their high income to try and impress people, or are insecure and uncomfortable about their low income. In either case, what specific income level is high or low is in the mind of the person responding.
I intend the question and respond to it as an inquiry into what kind of work you enjoy doing and spend your day at. Like are you a teacher, rocket scientist, software engineer doing Ruby for a startup, etc. I'd rather talk to people about what they're interested in doing than some income pissing contest.
In some countries, like France, asking someone you barely know "What do you do (for income)?" is considered vulgar. There, you ask what people are interested in, what they like doing, and so on. I like that. A lot.
It's kind of always been the case. It's mentioned in "How to Win Friends & Influence People". It's not rude just because you may be speaking to someone unemployed, but because it immediately makes your discussion take a turn for business. People like to be appreciated for who they are, not what they do.
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Years ago an acquaintance said that he made people very uncomfortable at parties in Washington when they asked him what he did and he replied, "Nothing."
> "Really, it was God’s plan for me to move back with my parents at age 30?"
I read articles like this all the time about joblessness and they always choose examples like this.
Why choose a standup comedian as an example? Thats one of the hardest businesses to get into... and has been a long time.
I've read lots of stories of artists (and startup founders such as the founder of Mint.com) who moved in with their parents to pursue their dream despite the low chances of financial success.
If you're trying to find sympathy among readers, at least choose good examples of struggling individuals. For example, the thousands of well educated law or psych majors who are unemployed.
Does it mean that your job search consists of looking for "stand up comic" positions? Does it mean that you have experience in stand up comedy and you are now unemployed but considering other positions? Does it mean that you are practising stand-up comedy whilst you are unemployed but not making enough income for it to count as "employment"?
I have friends who identify themselves as "musicians" because that is what they see as their profession (they went to music college etc) but their actual income comes from elsewhere.
> who collected unemployment for a year and a half five years ago
She's a stand-up comic now, five years later, and was unemployed from whatever she was doing back then.
Edit: ...though it does strike me as very weird that out of the few people interviewed for this article, two of them are comedians. "Hi, I'm writing a fluff piece about talking to unemployed people -- know anyone willing to say something clever or interesting on the subject?"
For reasons similar to those mentioned in the article, I've started to instead ask, "What do you do for fun?" The answers can end up being more interesting, and it allows people to define themselves in a way that's not tied to what they do for money. Unfortunately, the question can catch people off guard at times.
That's interesting. I'm curious why that would be or how it's manifested. Is it possible that some people don't have much fun?
Wow. That's so cynical I barely know where to start. I've helped many of my friends monetarily in the past, and they've been nothing but grateful. Why do I do it? Certainly not because I expect them to pay me back with interest... I do it because when I was at a terribly low point in my life, someone I barely knew gave me $100. It was enough to get through the month and let me continue job hunting without wondering what I was going to eat.
It's not a financial investment. It's an investment in a person.
/soapbox
If I have the means, I never hesitate to help a friend or family member in need, and rarely ask for anything in return, I would never ask for interest, and rarely even place any expectations on such a loan. "Pay me what you can, when you can," is common terms of repayment for loans such as these.
You can't relate, but you sympathize. That's seen as condescending. You feel compelled to offer to help, and that's seen as insensitive and condescending.
Eventually the walking on eggshells around this person starts to make you miserable, too. But it's misery of a different kind, so it doesn't love the company.
Was it annoying to hear my parents suggest I should just take a job at the supermarket when I was unemployed? Yes. Was it equally annoying when I'd be connected by a friend to someone who had a job but in an area I had no interest in? Absolutely!
When I was unemployed, what got me out of it were chance conversations with people. I doubt I would have gone past the small-talk stage had I lashed out or fumed about the annoyance of being unemployed.
In the end of my six-month unemployment stint, I sent out nearly 120 copies of my resume to various places. Yes, I counted out of curiosity as well as to keep track of status and follow-ups. Toward the end, I had two offers both out of chance/networking encounters because I rolled with these small-talk punches.
In short, unemployed folk, be patient and kind. Very kind. And don't listen to this drivel.
I have also tended to be a bit skeptical of getting a job by spewing resumes all over the internet. I doubt that this works well, unless you have some really impressive stuff on your resume. I haven't looked for a job in a while, but I would bet that it's more effective to meet people in person by going to whatever events you can find or even the offices of companies you might want to work for. For software people, internet links to things that you have actually built is probably better too. Of course, driving around and going to conferences can eat up a good bit of money too...
The real answer here is you probably wouldn't want to have a conversation with me anyway.
I intend the question and respond to it as an inquiry into what kind of work you enjoy doing and spend your day at. Like are you a teacher, rocket scientist, software engineer doing Ruby for a startup, etc. I'd rather talk to people about what they're interested in doing than some income pissing contest.