Stuck In Unemployment

[Brent Rothwell]

I need some advice on how to escape this really depressing situation that I seem to be completely trapped in because I’m currently 25 years old and have been unemployed for almost my entire life. And at this point, I’m really noticing how this is severely holding back my personal development and self-actualization.

As a result of this, I’m also still living at home, and just barely managing to get my basic needs met. I’m reaching out on here almost like a last resort because I’m not able to get any valuable help from anyone in my life.

I technically have not been completely unemployed this whole time though, because I have had a few unskilled janitorial roles in the past. But when I finally was able to get hired, I was only able to hold these jobs for a few days to a few weeks before quitting because I was unable to deal with huge amounts of stress that came from bosses acting abusive and aggressive whenever I did not do everything exactly the way they wanted.  

And now it has been almost a year since I was last employed, and not only does it look like I can’t get a job (because I've applied for hundreds with no response). Even if I do, I don’t know what is going to happen and whether or not I’ll be able to handle it because I’m very easily prone to anxiety and depression, which I’m too financially poor to even get treated by a therapist for. (Although I have tried in the past with no success either.)

I also can’t really go to university either because I have never really been an academic person and I got extremely bad grades back when I was in high school and ended up dropping out.

But getting some basic wage slave job is not all I wanted to do career-wise. I was just planning on doing that in the meantime until I find something else that I'm really passionate about that I can then monetize. But the other problem is that I just don't seem to be passionate about anything, probably because I'm too focused on trying to get my basic needs met.

 

Edited June 15 by Brent Rothwell

[petar8p]

What do you really want to ask here.. 

How do you start valuing yourself enough so that you start to work and take care for yourself?

Monetizing things on your own is harder than working for someone else, and I think it's best when we shift from being employed to fully owning our business that pays us. It is a tough road. 

Do you see yourself working anywhere that doesn't require more advanced skills or couple years of experience. Entry-level positions?

[Husseinisdoingfine]

If you ever decide to get back on your feet academically, then do what I did and go to a Community College. The Author, Cal Newport, published really helpful books on how to succeed in school. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win-at-college-cal-newport/1100623425

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-become-a-straight-a-student-cal-newport/1102561432

But I really think what you need is a concrete Life Purpose.

https://www.actualized.org/life-purpose-course

 

The Life Purpose Course is helpful to some people, to others its not. Personally to me it was not very helpful, what was helpful to me was going to the Community College, majoring in Mathematics (for you, if you're not gifted academically, then you might want to major in General Studies), and trying out various classes and various different studies to see what I liked. That's how I discovered that I liked Physics.

Now how to pay for the classes, that might require wage slaving at an entry level position. 

[Thought Art]

You can get a job, just start applying. Consult with chatgpt and other resources on how to create a resume, cover letter, and how to do interview. You can have many jobs in your life. You are young. Think long term. expand your horizons.

Edited June 16 by Thought Art

[DianaFr]

Hi Brent

From what I've read, it seems to me that you could benefit from having a clear plan or strategy to get yourself ahead in life. 
Here's a few things that stood out to me.

First, " basic wage slave job". I see this term used in this forum excessively and, to be honest, it makes my skin crawl a little, especially if it comes from a young person, like yourself. This is a very unhelpful framing of having a job because it imposes that you are making a huge sacrifice by slaving away for penies while in fact you're somehow "above it". It would be a different story if you'd be stuck in a low-income job for years. But this is not about you. What you call a wage slave job is actually a way for you to build skills you currently lack. Discipline, work ethics, attention to detail, perfecting your craft, structuring your life, developing a routine, mastering interaction with different people (your boss, coworkers, clients, contractors etc.), learning social skills, building a network (even if it starts with a couple of people you get to know), observing things, seeing how businesses are run, what are the problems or challenges the industry faces - you get to develop all that by your mere presence at a workplace, and it doesn't matter what's your job description, as long as you keep your ears, eyes and mind open. If the job meets the occupational safety and other legal requirements, it's a good place for you to be, even if you're a janitor, a gardener, a truck driver, whatever, because you're there to build a foundation. This would be a much more helpful mindset for you to start out with.

 
Second, being prone to anxiety and depression and not dealing well with stress. This makes a lot of sense in your situation. What I don't know is to what degree your mental health issues are a cause to your situaton. I do know, though, that they're greatly enforcing it. Being socially anxious myself, I know that it makes you want to isolate and keep away from demanding life situations, but the more you isolate and keep away, the more your anxiety increases. It's a vicious cycle that you must break by giving yourself healthy doses of challenge. 

Third, you say you can't hold down a job for more that a few weeks, you are not academically skilled, and you are not passionate about anything. This tells me - a radical life shift needs to happen. You must expose yourself to new situations and people so you can have new experiences that will snap you out of the current state of being. It sounds like you have nothing to lose, so if I were you I would take a year out of my life and do something totally new. Join a youth organization that serves charity, go volunteer for a cause you find important, find a way to travel to another continent (through a charity mission or labor force, for example), join the military or national guard - just make yourself useful in a grand way. I promise, being stuck in unemployment will be the last thing on your mind. 

You have your whole life ahead of you and there is so much that you can give and take. Just be open to it and think out of the box. 

[Michael569]

could you summarise a few things for us? 

• what is your highest attained education degree? 
• what job experience have you had (include everything) 
• can you operate computer to reasonable degree? 
  • can you use Outlook and Excel to some degree? 
  • what other programs are you comfortable using? 
• what are you good at? Thinks outside of work experience, in life general? Maybe there are some transferable skills you already have and don't know you could market
• where do you live? 
• what is your minimum accepted annual salary? 
• (if comfortable sharing) what is your current financial situation (please include any debts, bonds, shares, bitcoin, etc)
• How much money would you be able to spend, per month on additional education (if needed)? 
• if needed, would you be able to relocate to a bigger city with better opportunities? Say within 300 mile radius?  

Edited June 17 by Michael569

[universe]

Apply for better jobs.

Can you observe in others areas of your life that people "boss" you around and set high expectations for you?

Also there might be some things in your resume that put people off.

The suggestion with chat GPT probably is best but you can also send it to me and I will look over it (delete personal data like name/location first).

Of course, location is important. If you life in an area where jobs are scarce its gonna take a while longer to find something.

[Brent Rothwell]

@Michael569 Hi Michael sorry for the late reply but here is the information you were asking about me and thanks for helping.

Highest attained education: "The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning" (Year 12 high school equivalent here in Victoria Australia, technically meaning I finished high school but not making me eligible for University.)

Job Experience: 

• shopping mall cleaner
• Store cleaner
• call center worker

Yes, I can operate a computer to a reasonable degree.

• Yes, I can use Outlook and Excel to some degree.
• Other programs I am familiar with are: Capcut and Da Vinci Resolve and ChatGPT 4o along with it's it's extensions and other AI software like Eleven Labs.

What am I good at outside work: 

• bodybuilding/health and fitness
• daygame/cold approach
• long hair maintenance and styling.
• meditation (to some degree)
• fashion

Where do I live: Melbourne, Australia.

Minimum accepted annual salary: $40,000 USD

Current financial situation:  Living on welfare payments of about US$255 per week with no debt, bonds or shares in anything.

How much am I willing to spend on additional education per month: Perhaps up to US$100

Relocating to a bigger city is not really an option but probably not necessary because I already live in the biggest city in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18 by Brent Rothwell

[Michael569]

@Brent Rothwell thanks for taking time to reply to all of those. 

I think, there are a few potential ways to look towards. Profesionally, there is often a trade off between passion and income. Meaning some people earn a lot but are not particularly happy with what they do and a lot of people are passionate about what they do and for example run a small business but tend to often struggle because they are not pegged in an existing corporate chain which is what you get when employed at a big company like Mercer or E&Y. 

So the first question is - which of the skills you already have, you could use. And I would say the combination of previous customer service rep with decent knowledge of Outlook & Excel is the easiest answer. That alone qualifies you for a variety of roles in sales back office, in business administration, marketing coordination, purchasing and of course customer service. You can ofcourse also consider roles where you would need to upskill a little bit like front line sales (if you have the personality), marketing (if you are of a more creative nature), supply chain (can mostly be learned) etc. 

The second question is - would you rather do something where you have an existing passion? Personal trainer, some sort of aesthetics / visual side of things such as hairdresser, some kind of a personal care specialist, maybe some form of health coaching, pickup coaching etc - the problem with these is that they all require additional training (but not necessarily) but could help you pursue something that already gives you joy. 

I'd say the quickest way to get to a market is to polish your existing IT skills, mainly in MS Office, create a LinkedIn profile, create a good CV with the help of GPT and get yourself visible to recruitment managers by starting to apply for positions. Maybe ask GPT, given your skillset, to tell you what titles to look for on Linkedin, what keywords and then go and apply, connect with people. 

Sooner or later, scoring a 40K+ job is more than doable. You just have to take the first step, nobody can do that for you. 

Than, over time once you accrue a little bit of capital, you can move out, travel and do all the fun stuff but first step is to make some money, at least 10K savings. 

hope that helps ! 

Edited June 18 by Michael569

[Chadders]

@Brent Rothwell That’s tough man sorry to hear that. You do live in a developed society so there are prospects out there

Consider what you want to do. Also consider the demand for jobs. In Australia what do they need? There is a demand for certain roles in the trade and public sector such as teachers and medical staff. Not saying that’s what you want to do but there are well paid options out there though they require training so you need to commit to that. Nothing wrong with retraining or apprenticeships if they have those down under

in the world of work a lot is about how you present yourself professionally. Consider how you can be more professional in manner and appearance

[Brent Rothwell]

@Chadders I've already started making progress on fixing the unemployment issue for myself so things are looking good right now. I just enrolled and secured a spot in a diploma of nursing course which is being offered completely for free here in my state and it's just in time for their mid-year intake too. I'm quite hopeful that this is a good decision since nurses are apparently in high demand and was told that it's easy to get a job after graduating.

[ivarmaya]

You’re either locked into a false sense of reality (limiting beliefs) or you dont want to get out of the situation. I have been there, you need to face truth. You can send me your whatsapp and I’ll help you out, and no I wont scam you or trick you into any business or “opportunities”, I already got my money, the only thing I will do is help you knock you out of your fantasy. Lets see if you’re willing to face reality;)

Edited June 25 by ivarmaya