Horribly depressed all day. Heard of ZIRP (zero interest-rate policy) economics? Well, say hello to ZINF -- the zero-income, no-future economy.
My multiple degrees screw me even more, because noone takes my applications seriously. At least they're polite, and put the appellation "Dr." in front of my name.
When you're unemployed, all the lies we tell ourselves to make everyday life in the prisonhouse of neoliberalism somewhat bearable recoil, through some weird dialectical logic, into a collective wall of despair.
"You have to hustle". Have been. Am right now. Isn't working.
"Networking". I'm not friends with Ivy academics or hedge fundies. Everyone I know is clinging to their current job, unemployed, or busted-ass broke.
"Apply to things outside your field." Have been. Isn't working.
"Stay positive". It's all I can do to survive. I swear, and may the
titanium-graphene nanoclaws of Bearzilla be my witness, if I ever became
actually negative, I'd stuff myself into the nearest meatgrinder.
Have you tried using resumes from before you got all your degrees, at least for certain applications? I haven't tried it, but it's on my list of strategies. If they find out and question you, you just tell them the truth: "oh, I must've given you an out-dated copy of my resume."
ReplyDeleteI guess there's also the problem of them asking you what you've been doing for the past few years, where the hole in your resume would be....
I tried that trick after my first PhD. But it wouldn't work again - it would leave a 20 year hole in my resume.
ReplyDeleteThis is the Hegelian fury of disappearance in the neoliberal era: twenty years of research and teaching, some of the hardest work anyone can ever do, is worth less than .00000001% of the cuff of Lloyd Draculafein's expensive suit.
Another factor that affects job application during this economic recession is the age, some employers prefer to hire young applicants with experience for some reasons.
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