Rant 2,399: Help Yourself

Late yesterday, I heard about another victim of the coronavirus pandemic, someone that I have known off and on for more than 50 years.

No, he did not get the disease, is not sick and did not succumb to the effects of the disease, but he is a victim, nonetheless.

He was laid off from his job yesterday.

And he was alerted to this through email and a phone call.

Nice how companies now can do these things through the back door, the cowards' way, and not have to tell you face to face that they don't have a need for your services anymore.

Call it taking advantage of a situation or whatever you like, the guy has now joined my world; he is NOT furloughed, he is out of work.

And since all of this happened on his birthday--yes, a nice present from his employer--wouldn't you agree?

Maybe I am over-sensitive about this because of my own completely impossible situation, but when I hear that someone that I know loses a job in this manner, it simply burns me up.

And now this person has a long road ahead of him ... believe me, I know all about it.

He has to apply for unemployment, which can be like banging your head against the wall, what with so many people trying to get unemployment through the respective states's websites and pretty much getting nowhere, even after days and weeks of trying.

If he is successful--and chances are that he won't be, at least initially. even after repeated tries--he then has to go through a vetting process by his respective state that can takes weeks to accomplish. You might remember that with me, New York State's site had a computer glitch related to my account, and it literally held me up for at least six weeks in getting unemployment payments, a glitch that evidently existed since 1995, the last time I was out of work.

(People complaining about the computer problems with the New York State Unemployment site in recent times have only brought out into the open what I knew six months before they ever had to venture onto the site themselves.)

Then he has to wait, wait some more, and wait, wait, wait until he is cleared and can begin to receive unemployment for however long he needs it ... and based on my experience, he is going to need it for a long time.

Every state has its own rules and regulations--and payment structure--for unemployment, but the one consistent thing we have been hearing, from coast to coast, is that the unemployment websites are ill equipped to handle even normal volume ... and when it is overrun like it is today, it has no capacity to handle the millions who have tried to apply for this insurance.

I have to tell you, looking at what people are going through today, I am almost happy--no, make that ecstatic--that I was able to at least get into the system before the hordes applied. I might have been the only person crying out in the wilderness at the time, but now, millions are experiencing what I did six months before their own personal fact, that these sites are woefully set up and do not run the way they are supposed to run.

And thank goodness I was lucky enough to get my son into the system with a minimum--several hours' worth--or difficulty.

(And thank God that he is on furlough, and without a job.)

Back to the person I know ... being that he is my age, he is going to have a rough go at it. He is highly intelligent, well skilled and talented at what he does for a living, and would be a fine asset to any company looking for someone with his expertise ... but talking from personal experience, that ain't gonna cut it at this stage of the game.

It simply does not matter anymore, and that is what it is: S-A-D, and truly unfair.

So what he is going to have to do is to literally "help himself."

He is going to have to set up a regimen, a system, to keep himself attuned to his career pursuit, and what he has to do to try to interest a future employer about what he can do and what he can bring to the company.

I have tried to do that, and I have failed miserably, not because I don't have what it takes, but because circumstances way beyond my control have prevented me from getting even a toe in the door of businesses that would benefit from having me as an employee.

I mean, I just simply cannot fight ageism and the coronavirus, and I hope beyond hope that he can circumvent these things and find a job that suits his abilities.

And during those dark times when he runs into brick walls in his pursuit, he is going to have to keep his spirits up, and do things to keep him focused.

But it is going to be a real hard road for him, as it has been for me.

He is at the beginning of his journey, I am closing in at the end of mine, even though unemployment extensions might be pushing mine further into 2020 than I originally thought it would.

I wish my friend luck,

I darn well know that he is going to need it.

Speak to you on Monday, Have a great weekend.