The Century of the Job Seeker

Graduates: Create Your Own Job

by Ron McGowan

The biggest mistake graduates make in their search for employment is putting all their eggs in the traditional job basket. Their assumption is that someone will offer them a job, and when that doesn’t happen, they end up unemployed, or underemployed. They don’t understand that if the only option they give employers is to offer them a traditional job, they’re making it hard to hire them.

To succeed in today’s workplace, graduates must:

• Learn how to operate as freelancers or contractors. It’s not enough to be willing to do this; you have to learn how to do it effectively. Here’s an example of the world of freelancing: http://www.elance.com
• Learn how to find hidden employment opportunities. The majority of employment opportunities today are never advertised.
• Learn how to market themselves effectively. Graduates are often uncomfortable with this but their discomfort is based on ignorance of what it is all about. The good news is anyone can learn how to do it; it’s mostly common sense.
• Learn how to create marketing tools beyond the the resume/CV that are focused on the needs of the employer they’re contacting.
• Understand the role of the Internet and Social Media tools in finding employment opportunities and in creating an online presence that will attract employers and recruiters. A good resource for this is: http://www.bradanddeb.com/works.htm.
• Create a LinkedIn account. Spend as much time doing this as you would creating your resume/CV. In today’s world, it’s just as important.

For graduates who are interested in starting a small business, thanks to the Internet and modern communications tools, it’s easier to do this than it ever has been. Today, you can operate a business from your Smartphone and it doesn’t matter if you’re doing it from your living room, or your local Starbucks.

So graduates, stop shortchanging yourselves by settling for low paying jobs in the service sector, or unpaid internships. Take a position that you’re going to find paid employment in your field, just like millions of your peers around the world are already doing. It’s largely a matter of believing in yourself and refusing to accept anything less.

Ron McGowan is the author of the international bestseller “How to Find WORK – In the 21st Century”, currently in use at hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide. The 2013 edition has just been released by Thames River Press.

Research Study on the Affects of Unemployment in Ireland

Unemployment – The Irish Experience  

This UCD (University College Dublin) research study, in which you are invited to participate in, is focused on examining the well-being of a group within Irish society – the unemployed.

The study has an over-arching aim of capturing what it is like to be unemployed in Ireland at the beginning of 2010 – of putting a human face on the recession. In listening to your thoughts, perspectives and lived-experiences of joblessness, a snapshot of how a period of joblessness can affect your well-being will be acquired. In painting a picture of joblessness, your participation in the study will, it is hoped, shed light on how your material, emotional, psychological and physical well-being is being affected during this period in your life.

Participation in this research takes the form of a group discussion, and is entirely voluntary. A group discussion should be viewed as a form of guided conversation, where, you the participant, facilitated by a researcher, have the opportunity to discuss issues which are important and meaningful to you at this time. In this format, questions will be put to the group as a whole and not to individual persons. Each discussion will be 60–90 minutes in duration. As a gesture of appreciation for your participation in the discussion, you will receive a monetary sum (€ 10).

Furthermore, for the purposes of accuracy, the discussion will be recorded using a digital voice recorder. All information gathered will be treated as confidential and in order to maintain your anonymity, all identifying information (e.g. names, places) will be removed from any documents resulting from the data.

To conclude, if you would like to take part in this research, or you would like further information, feel free to get in touch with us…
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If you are interested in taking part in this project please forward your name and contact details to The Job Seekers Union - ucdresearch@thejobseekersunion.com 

2010 – A Word of Hope for the Unemployed

2009 was a difficult year for almost everyone. For the unemployed it was particularly tough.

In the first month alone over 30,000 people lost their jobs. I know what it was like, I was one of them. There was an atmosphere of doom and gloom. Every day the news was of more job losses and lengthening unemployment queues. People from all walks of life were affected: solicitors, estate agents, architects, as well as blue collar workers and construction labourers. Most had never been unemployed before.

No-one was able to offer any hope. It was the same everywhere. Ireland was in the grip of a world-wide recession. Our situation was worse than most though.  We were crashing from the heady days of the Celtic Tiger. Our banks were in freefall; reckless borrowing, greed and corruption their downfall. We were angry, frightened, bewildered.

As we enter the New Year, have things got any better?

The truthful answer is no. The level of unemployment in Ireland is still far too high. The majority of the people who lost their jobs are still unemployed. Job Seekers benefits have been cut. And yet things have settled down. The rate of job losses has stabilised. There are even signs that the economy may be about to show some improvement.

What has happened to all the people who lost their jobs? There have been no mass protests in the streets, no riots, no civil unrest. If we are honest, we are lucky. Ireland treats the unemployed far better than almost anywhere else. We may be getting less than we were before the Budget, but we’re still getting more than they do in Britain, and far more than the Eastern European countries that recently joined the EU. Maybe we should be grateful for small mercies – things could after all be a lot worse.

But unemployment brings other problems, not just financial ones. Boredom, hopelessness, low self-worth, stress and depression are the symptoms of long-term unemployment. To survive joblessness you have to be tough. You have to try to turn it to your advantage. The one positive thing it gives you is time; and time gives you the chance to do things you’ve never been able to do before.

I don’t want to underestimate the difficulties of being unemployed, but I would like to offer encouragement and motivation. I know how hard it is being without work. The worst thing though is to feel sorry for yourself. You have to try to be positive, to see unemployment as an opportunity not a burden. What can you do with the extra time? That’s the trick, to use that time constructively.

There are still jobs out there. There may be fewer than there were, but they are there.  Maybe you need to retrain to get one. If so what’s stopping you? What about your hobbies or those things you’ve always wanted to do? Let’s look at some of the possibilities. Starting a vegetable garden is interesting, physically challenging and rewarding; it can also save you money. Travel needn’t be expensive.  You can get to London by bus for €70. You can join the YHA and stay in a hostel for far less than you’d imagine. If you are creative you can write a book, take up art, or a craft like candle-making, embroidery, cooking. There may even be an opportunity to earn an income from your work.

That brings me on to the other great opportunity that unemployment offers anyone who is in any way enterprising – the chance to start your own small business. Getting into business is far easier than you might imagine. All you really need is the will to do it. There are thousands of different types of business: washing cars, domestic cleaning, door-to-door selling, child-minding, house maintenance, bookkeeping, buying and selling cars, bed and breakfast, repairing electrical equipment or computers, installing burglar alarms, couriers, dog-walking, garden maintenance, dressmaking, window cleaning, massage therapy, ironing, breeding chickens, selling second-hand clothing, party planning, mini-cabbing, furniture restoration, office cleaning, etc, etc ,etc.

If you are thinking of starting a small business, it would be worth talking to the County Enterprise Board. They should be able to help with useful advice and mentoring. You may also be able to apply for financial help under the Back to Work Scheme which allows you to keep your Job Seekers benefits while you are starting up your business.

Another source of income which might be plausible is to rent a spare room in your house. If you choose your tenant carefully it needn’t be as inconvenient as it sounds. Remember too that FAS run lots of training courses offering new skills and experience aimed at getting you back to work.

As we enter 2010 let’s be optimistic and make a New Year’s resolution to use the time unemployment offers us as positively as we can. If you are creative and enterprising you really can improve your situation. It’s up to after all; no-one is going to do it for you.

Copyright © David Jones 2010

Whose Recession Is It Anyway? part v - What Has Happened?

I’m hoping you can help me solve a mystery that’s been occupying my mind lately. I’ve been wondering what is happening to all the people who are losing their jobs?

So far 115,000 people have lost their job in Ireland this year. We are told half a million of us could be unemployed by Christmas. That’s over six Croke Park’s full of people, or more than three times the entire population of County Meath, looking for a job. That’s a massive amount of people. How come we never near from them?

I’m not being flippant; I just find it strange that so many people have lost their jobs without even a murmur of what’s happened to them all.

We’re told the 1980’s were bad. Indeed they were; our young people left in droves to find work in Britain, America, Canada and Australia. I remember the ‘send off’ parties which were a strange mixture of fund raising, bon voyage and tears. Well if things were bad then, they are far worse now.

1985 was the worst year for job losses in those bad old days; 24,000 people lost their job in the 12 months of that year. By contrast 36,500 people lost their job in the single month of January 2009 alone. I was one of them.

For those who lost your job in January, your ten month anniversary has just passed. Almost a year on the dole folks, hard to believe isn’t it? Should I be offering congratulations or commiserations?

Back to my question then, ‘What has happened to all those people?’ Have they found jobs? Have they gone to Australia or Canada, or some other place where things aren’t so bad? Have they just settled for unemployment, accepted their lot so to speak? Are they just marking time until their redundancy cheques run out? Is the dole enough to live on? Are they happily sunning themselves (between the showers) in their back gardens? Are they bored and depressed and devoid of hope? Or are they working away on the black market, pulling in nixers and living the life of Reilly? What about the migrant workers, have they gone back to Poland, Lithuania or Latvia? What has happened to everyone?

This recession and the consequent huge number of job losses is arguably the biggest social catastrophe to hit Ireland since the famine; yet we know almost nothing about what is happening to the people most affected by it. I think it’s amazing that hundreds of thousands of our population could be thrown out of their job and then just disappear. No-one seems to be protesting, there’s been no Jarrow style marches, no picketing of TDs’ offices; nothing seems to have happened.

I set up The Job Seekers Union to give a voice to unemployed people. I wanted to create local job clubs to help job seekers support each other, to come together to generate work perhaps on a co-operative basis. I expected to be flooded with applicants; it’s free to join after all. I have to say, I’ve been surprised at the lack of interest. It makes me wonder, have the unemployed found a contentment that the rest of the population doesn’t know about? They have after all, been christened the ‘Fun-employed.’ Could it really be true; is it fun to be unemployed? Somehow I don’t think so; certainly not if my experience is anything to go by.

Maybe we’ve all lost our tongues? Perhaps we’re ashamed or embarrassed to speak out? Maybe that stigma of being without a job still holds true? Whatever it is; it’s still amazing that such a huge percentage of our population could suffer something as profound as losing their job, yet we know so little about what has happened to them.

According to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, “You take my life when you do take the means whereby I live.” Is that true? Is losing your job a disaster?

County Meath has been particularly badly hit by unemployment. The commuter belt has gone a bit quiet this year; you only have to drive to Dublin on the N2 or N3 in the rush hour to see the impact of the recession. More than 10,000 people are signing on in Meath. We’d like to hear their stories. Tell us what it’s been like for you.

Write to David Jones. You can email me at david@thejobseekersunion.com.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Part five of a five part series. For previous installments check the archive pages on The Job Seekers Blog. 

Dealing With Unemployment

As many of this week’s readers are aware, losing your job will be one of the most traumatic things that will happen you in life.

When you first get the news that you’re losing your job, you might break down and become overwhelmed with emotion.  It’s as though the news is just too much to bear.  Coming to terms with the reality of unemployment can indeed be a painful experience.  For anyone who has invested time and energy in their work-life and education, losing their job or being unable to secure one after you have completed your second or third level education is devastating. 

You may go numb for a while.  That’s because the body has a natural defense mechanism to protect itself from the shock.  It temporarily “shuts down” to give you time to adjust.  Following on from that shock, you can decide to use this as an opportunity to follow a dream you’ve had for many years and set the steps in motion towards reaching that goal.  You may decide to become involved in areas like volunteering (become aware of the many ways you can make a valuable contribution within your community and further a-field) or working on becoming an entrepreneur.

It is the attitude you adopt that will be the deciding factor for your progress from here.  This attitude can be developed and strengthened over time.  You must re-build and maintain positive self-belief.  In the case of job searching it will help to:

·       Gain a new job competence by up-skilling.

·       Do not run away from challenging roles that may come your way.   If a particular job appears to be beyond your talent and you are tempted not to apply, stretch yourself beyond your “comfort zone” and face it.  It will only give you an impetus to try harder next time. 

·       A specialty is very important, find your “centre of excellence” and be able to convey this clearly to prospective employers.  Acknowledge your own talents and goals.

·       Set realistic goals and targets for yourself, you will need focus and direction to drive forward. 

Still Reason to be cheerful following Redundancy

·       Be thankful for your health each day, enjoy it, it’s precious.

·       There’s real value out there now, go after it and use it.

·       This new opportunity can be the fulfilling of that dream you’ve always had.

Instead of asking yourself “why should I keep going?” ask yourself “why should I not keep going”?  It is in realizing that you are greater than your current situation or your current reality that you begin creating change and forward movement in your life.

Following on from this adjustment, it’s time to look to the future.  You will be successful with the right attitude.  Why journey alone? Call now for the assistance of a Life Coach and you will have the support you need to get started.

Nuala Duignan,

Dip. Professional Business and Life Coaching

Dip. Train the Trainer, FETAC, Level 6.

Tel. 087  2532675

View Testimonial page on

www.nualaduignanlifecoach.com

Whose Recession Is It Anyway? part iii - Getting a job in today’s recessionary times

Getting a job in today’s recessionary times isn’t easy. There are fewer vacancies around then there were in the boom times, but that doesn’t mean there are none. Some companies have closed down, but most are still in business. Many are still hiring staff, although they may not be advertising. That’s because they don’t have to as candidates are sending CVs to them.

Looking for a job is a job in itself – if you want a job, you must be prepared to work hard at finding one. Remember a dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

If you want a job, you are going to have to approach finding one in a dedicated and diligent way. You’ve got to be highly motivated, focused and determined. Nothing less than hard graft and total commitment will suffice. Success will only come to those who really want it; and those who really want it are going to have to work hard if they are going to get it.

You need to approach job hunting as a project in itself; and like all projects you need to prepare a project plan.

Your project plan to find a new job needs to include the following:

• Preparing your CV
• Registering your details with recruitment websites and recruitment agencies
• Regularly visiting your local FAS office to review vacancies
• Regularly reviewing the local and national newspaper for vacancies
• Giving out your CV to local businesses
• Keeping a Job Hunters journal
• Keeping yourself busy whilst you are looking for a job

This is a tough assignment. You’re going to have to do things you’ve never done before. You’re going to have to be patient and accept that it will probably take time before you achieve success. You’re going to need a lot of self-determination and a strong will to succeed.

The only person you can rely on is yourself; only you can get you that job. You’re going to have to be your own supervisor, secretary, telephonist, filing clerk. You’re going to have to teach yourself to do things you haven’t done before. If you’re not computer literate, you’re going to have to learn to be.

If you approach this project with the right attitude, you will succeed. It’s just a matter of time and effort. Your efforts, if they are applied consistently, will get you a job. It’s a numbers game; the more you try, the more likely you are to succeed; it’s as simple as that.

So get your finger out, start working, put in the effort, and before you know it you’ll be back to work.

It is important to change your mindset away from being unemployed. You’re no longer unemployed or jobless; you’re job hunting.

When you meet people and they ask you, “What are you doing?” Tell them you are looking for a job. It’s far more positive than saying I’m unemployed.

Don’t just think of the impact your answer will have on other people, think of the effect it has on you. The sympathy that comes from answering “I’m unemployed,” is likely to depress you; whereas the encouragement that follows you saying “I’m job hunting,” is far more likely to motivate you and lift your spirits.

‘Unemployed’ is a poor-me kind of label to labour under; a hopeless, stagnant situation that sounds unlikely to ever change. ‘Job hunter,’ on the other hand, is a dynamic, action-man state of affairs that says I’m going to make things happen by doing something.

Being unemployed has negative connotations; it’s static, inactive and going nowhere. Being a job hunter on the other hand is positive; it’s active. Jobs are unlikely to come falling from the sky and land in your lap if you’re just sitting there waiting for something to happen; they’re far more likely to arrive at your door though, if you go out looking for them.

If you are receiving unemployment benefits, think of them as your wages whilst you are job hunting. Getting paid to look for another job is far more positive than surviving on subsistence.

Try to keep in mind there are only three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen; and those who wonder, what happened. What kind of person are you?

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Part three of a five part series. Part iv talks about 'dealing with rejection'.

Whose Recession Is It Anyway? part ii - Telling Family and Friends

I found it hard to accept it when I lost my job. I’d never been unemployed before. Telling family and friends was particularly hard. I felt like a failure.

You’d be amazed at the extent some people go to try to avoid people finding out they’ve lost their job. I answered a phone call at work once from a woman whose husband used to work in my office. He’d been let go about 6 weeks earlier. He hadn’t told anyone, not even his wife. She was phoning the office to tell her husband something important had happened to one of their children. Apparently he was leaving home every morning to go to work as usual, sandwiches and all. If the weather was good, he sat in the park until going home time. If it was raining, he went to the library. The poor woman got an awful shock when we had to explain to her that he didn’t work with us anymore. I have no idea what happened when he got home that night, but my heart went out to both of them.

People don’t want to tell the family because they’re ashamed. They feel a failure. They don’t want to burden them; they don’t want them to worry. The best advice is tell them immediately. They’ve a right to know. You losing your job will affect them almost as much as it affects you. They need to know the effect it’s going to have on them. They need to adjust their lifestyle, cut back. They need to spend less. They have a right to know.

Tell them you’ve lost your job. Tell them you are upset about this, but it’s not the end of the world. Explain things will need to be different. There will be less money, but you’re not going to starve or lose your house and nothing dreadful is going to happen. Reassure them that if you’re all sensible and adjust your spending then everything will work out ok.

Teenage children can find it particularly hard if their parent loses his or her job. They may be reluctant to tell their friend or social circle. Discuss this with them. Explain it isn’t a social stigma to lose your job anymore. Be understanding if they feel embarrassed or ashamed though. Don’t take it personally. They are at a vulnerable stage in their lives, blending in with the crowd and keeping up appearances are important to them.

If other members of the family are working, tell them they are the lucky ones and remind them how valuable jobs are these days. Don’t put pressure on them so they think they have to keep their job at all costs. Don’t prepare them for a guilt trip if they have the misfortune to lose their job in the future.

Coping with a problem on your own is far harder than sharing it with someone else. It may seem unfair to burden other people with your difficulties. Isn’t that what families are supposed to be all about?
‘A problem shared is a problem halved. There’s no problem so big, that it can’t be solved over a cup of tea.’

As for the neighbours, or other members of the golf club, or your mates in the pub? Tell them too. They’ll find out soon enough anyway. They’ll notice the change in your routine. Better to come out straight and tell them, than have them speculating about you behind your back.

Telling other people that you’ve lost your job is good therapy. It helps you get used to the idea and adjust to your new reality. Putting off the evil day just prolongs the agony.

You’d be surprised too how willing people are to help. In my opinion the Celtic Tiger destroyed one of Ireland’s traditional strengths - neighbourliness. Everyone has been so busy chasing the Tiger’s tail. The courtesies that Ireland was famous for have disappeared behind high wrought iron fences, security gates, CCTV and intercoms.

They say every cloud has a silver lining. Maybe this recession will give us back the Ireland that we once knew and loved. Some good must surely come out of all this doom and gloom.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Second in a five part series. The next installment examines the hurdle of getting a job in today's recessionary times. 

Could This Be The Answer To Unemployment?

Take a walk along the Grand Canal; imagine the time when it thronged with barges queuing to pass through the locks. Check out the high signal boxes on the railways; imagine when men not machines operated the long levers that changed the points and redirected the steam trains. Take a trip to the lighthouse at Fanad Head in Donegal; watch the waves rolling in from the Atlantic and imagine life as a lighthouse keeper. Marvel at the quaint gate houses at the entrance to large country estates and imagine the coming and going of horse drawn coaches.

Romantic, but hardly the solution to the problem of unemployment; or is it?

What’s common about all these ‘good old day’ memories is that a family lived in the house beside the lock, or the signal box, or in the lighthouse or gate house. There was a job to be done and people had to live there to get it done. Surely this is the ultimate answer to both joblessness and homelessness. Whoopee, I hear you shout; find a job that comes with a house and everyone gets somewhere to live and gets back to work in the process.

But wait a second, we don’t have enough locks, or lighthouses or signal boxes. Pity; if only we had something else to work and live beside. Nothing springs to mind; there’s nothing widespread in Ireland that needs looking after anymore – sigh!

Hang on, what about our national treasure? What about that most common of things that’s popping up all over the country; surely that needs looking after?

No I’m not talking about empty cycle lanes. I’m talking about the pothole; the contagious thing that’s popping up here there and everywhere, the per-annual problem that seems completely impervious to repair. There’s at least a hundred of them within walking distance of every house in the country; and the towns and cities are getting their fair share of them too.

Why not get people back to work by creating an army of Pothole Keepers? We could give people a housing allowance and a stipend to look after the potholes outside their door. In return they’d have to undertake to maintain the potholes in all their glory. They’d be expected to throw a few scoops of sand and loose pebbles in the hole from time to time; nothing permanent now, just a patch-up job for appearances sake. If they do their jobs properly, the potholes under their care would grow and may even join together into chasms. The successful pothole keeper could crown his achievement by spraying yellow paint around the edge of his hole, or strategically place a filthy dirty traffic cone in the middle of it.

Enterprising pothole keepers could be encouraged to take the initiative to start new potholes in any way they wish. They could use a pick and shovel, or even dynamite to begin a new hole. They would get paid for this of course, at the rate of €100 per hole. They’d get a double payment if they manage to start two holes exactly opposite each other on either side of a narrow road; a special bonus if they successfully do this on a blind bend. These, along with the deep ones with the sharp edges, and the ones that catch you by surprise, are the most prized ones.

Of course, there’d have to be a National Pot Hole competition; with prizes for the biggest, the deepest, the one in the most dangerous place, and so on. Then there’d be the ultimate accolade – County Pothole Keeper of the Year, which would come with an honorary seat on the County Council.

Of course the final objective is to turn all our highways and byways into one gigantic pothole. If we plan this right then we’ll have smooth roads again in no time. They’d be about 6 inches lower than the old ones used to be; but who cares, we’d all be working.

While we’re at it we could also have Uneven Pavement Keepers; they’d be in great demand in the towns and cities.

Wouldn’t it be great, we’d be back to full employment; and we’d be saving the County Councils a fortune by doing their job of road destruction for them. But that’s not the only benefit: We’d have something to moan about which would keep our negative psyche in good shape; we’d have another success in our strategy to destroy our domestic and export economy; we’d stop people travelling around the country in private cars too, since anything smaller than a bus would soon disappear in a hole somewhere along the journey; and we’d have yet another reason for tourists not to come to and visit us.

Finally, the Government could introduce a pothole tax; everybody in the country could pay whatever’s left of their income to keep us in an economic hole forever.

So hooray for the humble pothole; the ultimate Irish solution to the ultimate Irish problem.

Copyright © David Jones, 2009

David's new book The Pothole Republic is published by The Author's Friend. It can be purchased online at www.ThePotholeRepublic.com for €9.99 plus Postage.

However members of The Job Seekers Union can avail of a special offer and purchase it at the reduced price of €4.99 plus Postage.

Click on one of the PayPal links below to avail of the special offer. Please note: Different rates for delivery apply for orders within Ireland and for overseas.

• Delivery Within Ireland (Special Price €4.99 plus Postage - €1.89)
  
  
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Who’s to be blame?

David Jones takes an alternative look at the current economic crisis and asks who is to blame for what is happening...

It’s human nature to look for someone to blame when something goes wrong. Amazing thing is; it’s always someone else’s fault. Whatever happened to the honest ‘fair cop guv’nor’ response to getting caught with your fingers in the till?

“It wasn’t me; it wasn’t my fault,” is the automatic reaction to everything bad that happens nowadays. Husbands are driven to infidelity by their wives frigidity. It’s not their fault they’re unfaithful; they can’t help themselves. Wives take lovers because their husband is uncaring, or they’re getting a bit over the hill and want to feel young again; but it’s not their fault, they’ve got an excuse. Vandals commit mindless crimes because society has let them down; people do reckless, even horrible things, because they’re under pressure. It’s not their fault. They can’t help themselves; they’re victims.

“Who could blame them? Wouldn’t you do the same thing if you were in their shoes?” is the sympathetic response we so often get from liberal minded neighbours, friends, work-colleagues and so on.

The current economic crisis that threatens to destroy society as we know it, is no different. Half a million people in Ireland may be on the dole queues by Christmas, but it no one’s fault. Certainly no Government Minister is to blame. It’s a worldwide problem; it started in America. The Irish Government can’t control the value of the Euro against Sterling; it’s not our Government’s fault Eastern European labour costs are less than ours.

The Government’s blameless. They’ve only been in power for the last 12 years, haven’t they? They gave us the Celtic Tiger, didn’t they? That was their achievement, wasn’t it? They took all the credit for it, didn’t they? But the Celtic collapse? Sure that’s nothing to do with them, is it?
It’s the Banks; they’re to blame. They lent too much money to property developers. They gave out irresponsible mortgages to first time buyers and pushed up house prices. They got greedy and paid themselves massive bonuses. It’s their fault; they didn’t know what they were doing.
But I thought we had a Government appointed Regulator? Didn’t the Government, through the local authorities, organise zoning that inflated building land prices? Didn’t the Government establish tax incentives to encourage property developers? And didn’t the Government profit enormously from stamp duty on over-priced houses?

No, no, I remember now; it’s the Golden Circle. They’re to blame. How could a Chinese restaurant cause all these problems? No silly, the Golden Circle isn’t a Chinese Restaurant; it’s a group of fat-cat bankers and property developers that hang around the Fianna Fail tent at the Galway races. Nothing to with the Government you know.

Maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Maybe it was the Banks’ fault after all. Sure didn’t they seduce ordinary, decent folk with bucket loads of money to spend on furniture, flat-screen TV’s, 4X4’s, designer handbags, extensions, attic conversions, conservatories, holidays in the Costas, debs dances, stretch limos, fake tans and so on. The poor innocent consumer surely wasn’t to blame. They didn’t know what they were doing. They weren’t used to having money to spend; their parents probably didn’t even have a bank account when they were young.

How could Mr and Mrs Average and their kids be expected to know they were acting irresponsibly spending all that money they didn’t really have, on things they didn’t really need? Even worse, how could they be expected to realise, all that easy money they naively borrowed would have to be paid back, even if things turned bad? Sure they couldn’t know that; they were only pawns in someone else’s game.

Blaming the Government and keeping them on their toes is the Opposition’s job. The warnings from Fine Gael and Labour that we should halt the Celtic Tiger were deafening, weren’t they? Can anyone remember one Opposition spokesman, or anyone else in authority for that matter, whose policy was that we really shouldn’t be having it so good?

Hang on a sec; maybe we are all getting paid a bit too much? Maybe that’s why prices in Ireland are so much dearer than everywhere else in Europe? Maybe it’s our high wage rates that are making our manufacturing uncompetitive? Maybe we’ve too many people employed in non-productive jobs? I’ve no wish to pick on the public sector; but what exactly do the 350,000 people working there all do?

But those are unfair questions. The Government looks after things like public sector recruitment and minimum wage rates. They’re to blame for our sky high costs. Sure you could hardly expect ordinary people to take a drop in wages or work a bit harder for less pay to make us more competitive and save our jobs, could you?

So it really is the Government’s fault after all. Thank god for that. For a moment I thought it might just be our fault; that we might have to share some part of the blame. Sure didn’t we vote the Government into office? Well some of us did. 857,000 of us gave a first preference vote to Fianna Fail. That’s it; they’re the ones to blame; all 857,000 0f them.

Then again, maybe it’s the Greens? They’re the Coalition partners that are keeping the two Brian’s in power. It’s their fault.

But what of those of us who didn’t vote? What responsibility does the headless chicken that was so busy chasing the Celtic Tiger’s tail, that he couldn’t find the time to vote, have for the mess we’re all in today? What about the lazy good for nothing that couldn’t be bothered to turn out in the General Election; what role did he play in creating this disaster that befalls us all?
Surely the absentees can’t be blamed, can they? Doesn’t not getting involved absolve you from all responsibility?

Like hell it does. We live in a democracy. People fought and died so we could have a say in what’s going on. The freedom to vote is as much a responsibility as it is a right. Sitting on the fence doesn’t excuse you from what’s going on all around you? You’re as culpable as if you were doing it yourself.

If we’re really honest; isn’t it time we stopped blaming the Government, stopped blaming the bankers and stopped blaming the property developers? While we’re at it, maybe we should stop blaming everyone else but ourselves? Perhaps it’s time all of us started taking some responsibility for what’s going on? Isn’t it about time we all stood up to be counted? Hiding out in the silent majority won’t improve things very much, will it?

So let each and everyone of us accept our share of responsibility for what’s going on, and let’s all play our part in helping to sort it out.

We’ve a new President in the United States. He’s been likened to John F Kennedy in that he has an honest desire to change things. Well JFK’s words might never have been more appropriate than they are today; “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what can you do for your country?”

It’s not someone else’s problem anymore; it’s yours. It’s your country they’re messing up, not someone else’s!

Copyright © David Jones, 2009

What would you do if you lost your job?

David Jones writes about his initial reaction to losing his job...

Over 35,000 Irish workers lost their job in January. That’s a lot of people when you think the population of Ireland probably isn’t much more than 3.5 million. I was one of those unfortunates; and like most of them, I’m a first timer. I’ve never been unemployed before. It’s a horrible, earth shattering experience. I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

It came as a complete shock when it happened to me. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew things were bad in the company, but I thought there was a plan in place to see us through this recession.
It was so quick, so sudden. I was a part of the sales force. They didn’t want me staying around and demoralising customers, so I was let go with immediate effect. Half an hour after I was told my job was gone, I was on my way home and I haven’t been back to work since. I was given no chance to say goodbye to friends and colleagues; no real opportunity to properly clear my desk.
“Sorry, you’re not needed anymore. Go home. Don’t come back. You are the weakest link. Goodbye!” They didn’t say it quite that way, but that’s the gist of what they meant; and that’s certainly what it felt like.

It was all so clinical, so brutal; so final. There was no help or advice offered. No information given about coping, or about benefits and entitlements.

“We’ll give you a good reference,” was all they said.

Talk about a short sharp shock.

I was devastated to think I wasn’t wanted anymore. The sense of rejection was awful. It seemed so unfair. I’d worked so hard, put in loads of extra hours, taken work home. All I could think of, was why? Why me? Why now? Why do they have to be so ruthless? Why are they being so heartless?

I don’t think it really sank in, not for a day or two anyway. I felt numb, confused, bewildered as I drove home. I tried to be positive. I tried talking to myself.

“It’ll be ok. I’ll get through it – somehow,” but I wasn’t convincing myself.

I remember telling the kids that first night as soon as I got home. I don’t think they really understood. They certainly didn’t comprehend the impact it was going to have on them. How could they? They’d never known anything like this before.

I hadn’t worked with the company long enough to get redundancy or compensation. I got a week’s pay in lieu of notice. I suppose you could say I was lucky to get that. If I was in America, I might have got nothing. But I’m not in America. I’m in Ireland; the land of the Celtic Tiger. A handful of months ago, Ireland was supposedly one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. Migrant workers were flocking here for jobs. What on earth has happened? Where did it all go wrong?

A week’s pay and a P45; it’s not much really is it? Not when you’ve worked your butt off for the company.

My financial position would have been precarious at the best of times. I had an overdraft that was about 75% used up, and maxed -out credit cards. They hadn’t been a problem when I was working and a regular salary cheque was coming in. They became a millstone around my neck though, the day I lost my job and my income suddenly stopped.

I know it could be a lot worse. I’m lucky not to have a big mortgage. My heart really goes out to young families when unemployment knocks on their mortgaged doors. It must be sheer hell to have to face even the remotest possibility that you might lose your home if things don’t improve.

They paid me my week’s notice with a cheque. I remember paying it into the bank and wondering where the next lodgement would be coming from? It’s amazing, when you’re in a corner, how quickly a kind of self preservation mechanism kicks in. In my own case, I suddenly got a sense that cash represented survival. If I could get money into my pocket, I reasoned, I’d have some chance of retaining control over my day to day life. If, on the other hand, I left the money in my current account, and the bank found out I’d lost my job and pulled my overdraft, then I’d be in real trouble. I went to an ATM and withdrew cash up to my overdraft limit.

I now had a thousand euro in my pocket. It might not be much, but it gave me a temporary sense of security. It obviously wouldn’t last forever; but it meant I could respond, at least for a while, to things that happened in my life. I could spend that €1,000 on what I deemed a priority. Whereas, if I’d left it in the bank, who knows what direct debits and standing orders would have gobbled it up?

I’m not saying what I did was right. I accept it was a form of panic; but wasn’t I entitled to panic? After all, I had just lost my job, hadn’t I?

Of course I knew I’d have to face the bank at some stage, but that would be later. This was now, and now was all that seemed to matter to me at that moment. To survive, I needed flexibility; that meant I needed cash. Cash would allow me to do what I wanted with the little money I had. I could buy food, fuel, pay the really important bills and give the kids a few bob.

The first time I went shopping after losing my job was an experience. I’d never consciously thought about the price of anything before. I just bought what took my fancy. There was always plenty of money about to cover it all; and I could always rely on the credit card if I was stuck. Now though, I found myself scrutinising everything. I didn’t make out a shopping list, I just looked for bargains. I limited myself to the supermarket’s own value brands, and I forgot all about the little luxuries I would normally have treated myself to.

I managed to get a week’s shopping for €40. Previously I would have spent that in one night on my way home from work. I was pleased with myself.

“This unemployment’s not so bad,” I thought with a false sense of triumph; “I can survive this.”
Then the snow arrived. Everywhere was covered in a beautiful blanket of white; and boy was it cold. That’s when the first reality hit me. Keeping warm is expensive, and when you don’t have a job, well it can become a bit of a worry. Is it an extravagance or a necessity to heat the house? Is it better just to heat the room you’re in, rather than the whole house? Is a hot water bottle more economical than an electric blanket? Is coal cheaper than oil? I’d never thought about these issues before; I’d never had to.

I stocked up on coal. I bought in bulk to save money; but it ate a hole in my precious cash reserve. I worried how long the cold spell would last. I’d never worried about anything like that before. I started feeling a bit depressed.

I thought about treating myself; nothing outlandish, just a book. A book that cost €12.75. I needed cheering up; surely I deserved it?

I thought a lot about buying that book. For 20 minutes I stood outside Easons, debating with myself as to whether I could afford it. I must have changed my mind a hundred times; “Yes you can, no you can’t”.

I couldn’t decide. I felt stupid, pathetic. “It’s a €12.75 book for god’s sake, and you’re dithering over buying it.”

I was actually having a conversation with myself as I stood on the pavement. “Oh God, I’m going mad!”

“You wouldn’t have given it a second thought when you were working,” I tried to cajole myself into thinking positively. Perhaps it was a form of denial.

“But you’re not working anymore are you?” that down to earth, blunt, nagging, miserable part of my mind stepped in with its doom and gloom attitude. “You’ve lost your job. You’re unemployed. You’ve no money.”

I bought the book in the end. I had to. If I hadn’t, then god only knows when the misery in my head would have allowed me to buy anything ever again. I know the whole thing was really just a question of confidence. It was only €12.75, but it’s amazing how quickly your confidence goes when you’ve lost your job.

Copyright © David Jones, 2009

Time to Get the Country Back to Work

Press Release - 8th June, 2009

For Immediate Publication

Time to Get the Country Back to Work
- Statement by The Job Seekers Union

"Joblessness and the economy must remain top of the political agenda, irrespective of the outcome of the latest local, European and by elections and regardless of who wins or loses".

This is the message coming from The Job Seekers Union, a new organisation set up to help the unemployed come together, to help themselves survive the global economic recession. Speaking in the aftermath of the weekend elections, founder of The Job Seekers Union, David Jones had this to say:

"The headlines might be all about the elections; the landslide that is George Lee and Fianna Fail’s bloody nose but let us not forget the other big story - over 400,000 people on the dole. This is a human tragedy that’s gets worse every month. Regardless of who is in power, this is the issue that will have to be addressed. Joblessness affects people's livelihood. People from all walks of life are affected. It makes no difference who you are."

The Job Seekers Union is a new organisation of job seekers and the unemployed who are organising to fight back against the economic ravages. "All over the country we see examples of people who are not taking the current situation lying down" says David Jones, "they are starting their own businesses, building networks, organising jobs clubs. The Job Seekers Union is providing organisational support for these initiatives, but it also intends to lobby for a positive approach towards job creation."

The Job Seekers Union, which wants to build a movement for change in the society and the economy upon which it is based, has just announced the launch of a membership drive. Members of the public are invited to join The Job Seekers Union by visiting their website where they can enrol. Membership is free, participation is voluntary and you don't have to be unemployed to join.

Members of The Job Seekers Union can keep up to date with news and developments and also receive practical advice on matters such as coping with unemployment, re-skilling, CV and interview preparation, finding a job etc. All of this and more can be found on their website - www.TheJobSeekersUnion.com.

Ends

Eight out Ten (Unemployed) Cats...

David Jones wonders what it is the unemployed most miss about working.

It might seem like a stupid question, but what do people miss most when they’ve no job?

The obvious answer is money. The average annual wage in Ireland is €32,000 before tax. After tax that gives a take home pay of about €480 a week. The dole on the other hand is €204. Losing your job therefore costs the average single man or woman about €276 each week. That’s means they are €14,352 worse off in a full year. That’s a considerable sum of money by anyone’s standards. It certainly puts a dent in holiday plans, socialising, and buying things like cars, furniture and so on.

The minimum wage in Ireland is currently €8.65 an hour. After tax that works out at about €7.40 for a single worker. Based on a 39 hour week, the dole works out at €5.23 an hour. A single unemployed person is therefore €2.17 an hour worse off than if he or she was working for the minimum wage. So if you’re single and unemployed, you’re €85 worse off each week compared to what you would be if you were working for the minimum wage.

Put another way around, the minimum wager’s real pay for getting up every morning and going to work is €2.17 an hour. At the end of a hard week’s work, he or she prospers to the tune of just €84 compared to staying at home and watching TV. Not much of an incentive really is it?

Of course, for higher earners things are very different. Life on the dole can represent a dramatic, and traumatic, decline in living standards. People may be forced to move house, sell the car, take the children out of school or college, or downsize in whatever way they see fit.

Apart from money, what else do the unemployed most miss? Company is the obvious answer. You’re at work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If you stop to think about it, you probably spend more time with your work mates than you do with your family. It’s a big wrench to suddenly find yourself home on your own.

Being unemployed can be a lonely and boring experience. Having time on your hands is all very well if you’ve lots of things to do and people to share it with. But what if you’ve neither? What do you do all day if your partner’s at work, if the kids are at school, if most of your friends are working? What about all the unemployed people who are living alone, or those living in rural areas? What do they do? No wonder depression is such a common problem amongst the jobless.

The winters are harder, of course. Cold, wet, miserable days are ten times worse when you’re on your own. Keeping warm is also expensive. Life on the dole is definitely far better in the summer; there’s a million more things to do when the sun shines.

It’s also often said that being without a job isn’t half so bad at weekends when most people are at home, as it is during the week. It’s during the week days that are worse. It’s as though your psyche doesn’t expect you to be at work on a Saturday or Sunday; but it’s really hard Monday to Friday. It’s when everyone else is at work that you really miss it.

There are other things too that you miss about not being at work. Depending on the type of job you had, people claim to miss mental stimulation, challenge, travel, even physical activity. We might moan about our jobs when we have them, but job interest really is a big positive feature in most of our lives. It’s certainly something we miss when it’s taken away from us.

A sense of purpose and a sense of self-worth are the other things most commonly missed. For most of us, our job defines who we are. One of the first questions we ask when we meet somebody new is, ‘What do you do?’ To some extent the answer dictates our standing in society. “I’m a pilot, a teacher, a nurse, a banker, a bookkeeper, a lorry driver, a chef or a builder seems so much better than “I’m unemployed”. Being without work has traditionally cast us as a second class citizen. It’s a stigma that still associated with being unemployed.

What else do you miss about having no job? The company car, access to the internet, the odd free phone call, the office canteen, flirting with the opposite sex, Friday night in the pub, the craic, the gossip, the jokes, the Christmas party?

I don’t know if it’s still the case, but it certainly was true once that most romances began at work. Certainly a lot of illicit affairs also happen between work colleagues. What’s going to happen now more and more of us are on the dole queue? Somehow I don’t see us meeting our future partner across a crowded Social Welfare or FAS office, but maybe I’m wrong.

Apart from money, socialising and self esteem are the big losers if you’re unlucky enough to become unemployed. I don’t think TV and radio programmers have yet realised there’s a new breed of unemployed people now staying at home. The new unemployed want a different sort of progamme to the traditional nonsense that fills the schedules from 9am to 5pm. Maybe that’s why the internet is taking over more and more of our leisure time?

That’s certainly food for thought for daytime TV and radio producers. They’d better wise up fast before they, like the rest of us, join the ever lengthening dole queues.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Cometh the hour, cometh the man...

History is full of great men arriving at times of crisis; Churchill, de Valera, Roosevelt, Ghandi, Mandela. Statesmen who are immortalised by the leadership they brought at watershed moments in their nation’s history.

Ireland stands today, at such a watershed moment. Our economy is on the brink of collapse; civil unrest could become a real possibility if things don’t improve. Every passing day seems to bring worse and worse news. We seem to be stumbling from one crisis to the next; our leaders openly acknowledge they don’t really know the extent of our problems.

We’re a small country, 4 million people or thereabouts. By the end of the year up to half a million of us could be without work. That’s unprecedented in modern times. The Government is borrowing billions of Euros; not to invest in rebuilding the country, but simply to balance the books. That we are living way above our means is indisputable.

A ‘budget’ is due next week. It is expected to include savage cuts in Government spending and a significant increase in taxation.

What happens if the ‘budget’ doesn’t work? What if things don’t improve? Supposing things get worse? What then?

We have to be realistic; things are going to be tough. We’re in for a rough time; maybe a very rough time. There will be setbacks, changes in direction, moments of crisis that will really test the mettle of the Government and the nation.

At times like this, we need leadership. A leader is someone who can inspire us, who can pull us through the hard times; someone who knows where they are going, who has a goal, an objective. A leader is also someone we can believe in, someone we trust and support; someone we will follow, no matter what.

Therein lies our problem; we don’t have that leader. We have a Government and a Taoiseach that are hopelessly unpopular. Public confidence in our leaders is at an all time low. Whether the two Brians and the rest of the cabinet have the capability to solve our problems, or not, is irrelevant. What matters is they don’t have our confidence.

Whether it is a general leading his troops into battle, a captain leading his team on the pitch, or a Prime Minister leading his country at a time of crisis; to succeed in any campaign, the leader must command both authority and respect. The troops, the players, the country must have faith and confidence in their leader. If they don’t then he has to go. It’s as simple as that.

We have a Taoiseach who got there by default. He has no mandate to lead the country in the way he would have if he led his party to victory in a general election. We have a Government we have no faith in.

At moments of crisis thoughout history, populations have demonstrated a willingness to accept significant sacrifice for the common cause. What we need now is a ‘crisis government’, one that can lead us out of the storm. To succeed, such a government must have public opinion on its side. If it is unable to inspire public confidence, the crisis will become a disaster.

It is ironic to hear the clamour for the boards of the banks to resign. They created the banking crisis, so the argument goes, how can they be trusted to solve it. So too the Government. Fianna Fail has been in government for 12 years. Brian Cowan has been a minister for most of that time. He was Finance Minister before he became Taoiseach.

President Obama was elected on a mandate of change. It is time now for change in Ireland. We urgently need a leader we can believe in. We need a Churchill; we need a new De Valera.

Step aside Mr Cowan; it’s time for a new man and a new Government to lead Ireland now.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

UNEMPLOYMENT

There’s a part of me that wants to lay down and die; to give in, to accept that it’s too hard; that it will never get better. Thank God, there’s another stronger part that won’t let me let me do that.

It’s the middle of the night and I can’t sleep. I see myself sitting beside the embers of a dying fire; I’m trying to keep warm. I can hear voices outside; I wish they’d come in. I need to be able to tell someone, to share my burden, to offload my fears. I want them to see how difficult this is for me; I want their sympathy. I need their reassurance; I need someone to tell me it will be ok, that it will end soon. I want to be rescued from this nightmare.

I’m so lonely. I’m told there are thousands upon thousands of people like me; but who are they, where are they? I think they’d understand what I’m going through. Nobody else does. I don’t tell people, workers, what it’s like. They don’t want to know. Maybe they’re frightened it will happen to them; maybe that’s why they look bored or change the subject when I try to talk to them about it.

I’ve become a burden; I know I have. I don’t want to be one, but I can’t avoid it. I have to ask for favours; I’ve no other choice. I always need help. I’ve lost my independence; it went with the money. I’ve lost my freedom too. It’s funny, I have so much time; but I can’t afford to do anything with it.

I feel a failure. I’ve let my family down. I can’t give them what they want. I have to say no; sorry. I have to explain, I’d love to, but...I can’t afford it. I hate saying that; it’s like I’m giving in to it, admitting how bad it’s become. I know I have to accept it, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to be unemployed; I want to be at work.

I’m trying so hard. I’ve sent hundreds of emails; I hardly ever get a reply. I’m trying to be imaginative, to think of something, invent something, create an opportunity for myself; but it’s hard when no one responds to my ideas. I’m in a hole; its deep, the sides are sheer. There’s no way out. I need a ladder; I need a leg up. I need a break; but I can’t see where it’s going to come from. Nobody gives breaks anymore. They’re all too busy clinging to what they’ve got; they’ve no time for people like me.

I feel so rejected. Why am I not wanted? What have I done wrong? Can’t they see I’m trying; can’t they give me a chance? But they don’t understand; they don’t care. They pretend to; but it’s only platitudes. If they really cared they’d reply to my emails.

I work really hard to keep myself busy; I have to. If I didn’t, I’d go under. Boredom is my enemy. It wastes my time, dampens my hopes; it ruins my mind and destroys my soul. I have to overcome it. I’m frightened it will lead to depression. I mustn’t let that happen; if it does it will entomb me in a coffin of darkness and pessimism. There’d be no way out then.

But I’m scared; I mightn’t have the strength. I’m terrified I’ll give in. What will happen to me then? What will become of me if I can’t fight anymore; if I stop trying, if I surrender?
“Stay strong; there are people worse off than you,” I talk to myself a lot these days; it’s my only source of comfort. “You’ll get through this; you’ll come out the other end. You always do.”
I hope I’m right. I hope there is an end. I hope it’s not too far away. I pray I can last long enough to reach it.

Copyright © David Jones 2009