Desperation... There seems to be a lot of it going around.

I sat out today to write about something that happened to me last week. It has to do with my job search. But as I sat here, pecking away at the keyboard, a story on CNN captured my attention. And yes, for those of you wondering, I do watch the news 24 hours a day! But, I digress. CNN was covering a story in Queens, New York, where hundreds of people showed up to apply for 100 elevator mechanic positions. Nothing unusual about that. In this time of great recession, it's not uncommon to have hundreds, or even thousands of applicants for every one job. What was different about this? Those hoping to pick up an application today, started showing up last Friday. It's been dubbed "Camp Desperation" by the New York Post. A line of tents stretching for blocks. Can you imagine, camping out for three days and then interviewing for a job? If not an interview, at the very least, meeting with someone who decides whether or not you're going to survive to the next round? As if the interview process isn't hard enough, had three days worth of stink on top of it!

Then, I was reading another blog about the change in unemployment numbers. As I sifted through the comments I came across a new phrase, that to be honest, scares me to death. "Desperately Unemployed." I read that, and I asked myself, what does it mean to be "desperately unemployed?" Is that a situation worse than any I've thought of? David E. Ross, whom I referred to in a prior blog, defines desperately unemployed as someone "less talented and thus less able to be choosy." Less talented than whom? "Less talented" is subjective. There will always be someone more talented, and someone less talented. An applicant with more experience and an applicant with less experience. "Less able to be choosy," now that's a statement I can identify with. I always thought having my bachelor's degree would be the key to opening any door. I was wrong. Especially since that degree is in such a niche field as broadcast journalism. Potential employers outside "the industry" see me as overqualified, as was the case with the copy writing position. Or I'm seen as unqualified, having very narrowed abilities. With that being said, less able to be choosy might not be such a bad thing. Right now, I'm not all that interested in leaving journalism. Journalism was my career choice for a reason. I'm not quite ready to dump all of that. Not yet, anyway. I guess that means I haven't joined the ranks of the "desperately unemployed."