3+ Brutal Years Comes To An End!

Was offered a Cost Accounting position this morning and accepted. I am wired. Calling everyone I know and emailing anyone in my contact list.

I was laid off in November of 2008. Finally took a job at Wal-Mart in late October just to survive. Had to borrow 15 bucks from mom the first week just to buy gas for work. Thank God for Moms! Believe it or not I only got behind on 3 bills and 2 of those are caught up and none hit my credit report.

When I was laid off I knew I was in trouble because of my age, turned 58 last week, and I knew this recession would last. In 2007 I graduated with a Masters in Accountancy. The reason attended school was to get enough credits to sit for the CPA exam. Well here was the opportunity. I spent up to 20 hours a day studying for that exam and finally passed in 2010. All the while looking for work. Getting licensed was tough. However I was finally able to get that accomplished in July of 2011.

All during this it was a period of ups and downs. Thinking I had the job but never hearing anything. Then there were the subtle age comments. One guy said, well I'm looking for someone who can keep up with me. Which was at least inconsistent since a moment before he was saying he was making to many mistakes because he was trying to get too much done. One young lady asked me one question, When did you graduate with your B.S.? I said 1990. End of interview.

Then there were those, and many, who said it was my fault I'm unemployed. I never bought that. I always knew it was my responsibility to get a job though.

I sent out 100s of resumes and maybe better than a 1,000. I would call people who said to contact them and never get a reply, ditto for employers. I did anything I could think of to get a job and increase my network base. It's been tough!

When I told my brother this morning, who understood everything I've been through, he cried. Yeah, it's been that bad.

My advice to anyone unemployed is to get a job, any job. Prove that you still want to work. Walmart was a real eye opener for sure but I would not have gotten this job without it. I was tickled they let me show up everyday.