Tell him that, SII, just the same way you told us. Your dad can't read your mind. He hasn't seen what you've seen, heard what you've heard, nor had your experiences. So explain it to him as best you can, that you did apply but never heard back.
My sister wasn't choosey for months, and this was after about a year of being choosey. Nothing like getting turned down from mcdonalds and Taco Bell to make you feel good about yourself. I'm glad she finally found something, I'm sure you will get something too. You just have to keep trying and trying, and looking into what you can change about your resume and interview style, etc. You know the market isn't great for job seekers when the part time minimum wage positions can afford to be picky.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2014 02:09AM by notnewatthisanymore.
Here's what your dad doesn't realize; and it's taken me a long time to really wrap my brain around as well.
Times ain't like they used to be.
When your dad was younger, any high school student who could walk and talk at the same time could get a job at a fast-food place. But the economy has changed since then. A LOT. And no longer is it true that the majority of fast-food workers are teenagers. Now, the majority of fast-food workers are people who are feeding their families on lousy minimum-wage jobs. (Don't get me wrong; there is nothing at all wrong with working in fast food. I've done it; my sister raised her kids on a fast-food worker salary. It's honest work, just a crappy job with lousy benefits.)
You are now competing with people who have college degrees and are willing to take ANYTHING to keep their mortgage afloat. And with people who, like I said, are trying to feed and raise their kids. And because jobs in fast food do not require previous experience, college education, or much training at all in anything, everybody thinks they can just stroll into McD's and have a job. It's just not the case anymore.
If it matters that much to you both, keep a log or something detailing every application you submit and what the results were. If he hassles you, print out the log. I'd probably just stand there and rattle off every application I'd made, starting with today and working backwards, until his eyes glazed over and he gave up trying to hassle me.
It is true that people today try to support a family working jobs that were never designed to support a family.
I don't so much blame the economy (it is a factor, to be sure) as I do a generation that refused to develop job skills that would lead to a career.
Maybe two decades ago, if one walked into a chain burger (or taco, or chicken) joint, there was a certain level of service one would expect. Today, that level of service has just evaporated.
In my opinion, it is because the adults who stay in those jobs for 10 or more years simply become bitter about their place in society.
A teenager landing behind the counter or at the fry machine usually realized that he or she was learning a work ethic and making a few dollars to buy a car or pay for college or what not.
It simply makes no sense in a free market economy for a fast food place to pay wages to support a family.
Hang around then. Unless I am badly mistaken, it won't be long before those who disagree with my point of view are doing so with great vigor.
There are those who have trouble with the concept that businesses exist to make a profit for those who invest in them as opposed to being job programs for those who think they deserve a job that pays the wage the worker expects.
Low skilled labor jobs will always be in great competition as long as there are people who cannot gain the skills it takes to compete on a higher plane. But since we've seen a massive shift away from manufacturing jobs, etc., the number of low skilled labor jobs have plummeted. There are many reasons why people can't just gain the skills necessary to compete on a higher level and they aren't just a laziness issue.
Move to Eastern Montana/Western North Dakota. 26,000 jobs open right now. Many paying over $100,000 a year. Oil field related and others that boom because of the support the workers and all the new population needs.
If you want work, it is out there. Your not getting a job is nothing more than excuses.
While we are at it, in Minot, ND on the Eastern edge of the North Dakota oil boom McDonalds is paying $15 an hour and up. Papa Johns is advertising for pizza delivery drivers at $15 an hour plus tips.
One restaurant in town is paying $22 an hour for dishwashers.
Motel managers, workers, accountants, laundry workers, truck drivers, geologists, survey crews... you name it and they are needed in the oil areas.
If you WANT to work you will go where the work is and quit whining about your half way measures.
SII is disabled and lives under the legal care and protection of his father. So a judge disagrees with your assessment, as does the Social Security Administration. Both have more knowledge of the situation than you do.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2014 10:43AM by summer.
Excuse me, but where in the fuck do you think an unemployed disabled man is going to get the funds to pick up and move to South Dakota? Seriously? You do realize, of course, that moving isn't FREE. You have to have a truck for all your stuff. You have to have a place to move into. That requires security deposits and probably first and last month's rent. You have to have deposits for your utilities. I'm not even sure if the OP drives; I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have a car.
What world are you living in where people can just pick up and move across the country and it's just so easy? That's the most thoughtless, useless suggestion I've ever heard. Not everyone has the means and resources to go to where YOU think the jobs are so ubiquitous and easy to get that they practically grow on trees and anyone with a pulse can get one. Sounds highly competitive to me. If you can make $22/hour washing dishes, don't you think everyone and their cousin is lined up to apply for those jobs?
Seems to me that I read that housing is in short supply in North Dakota, too. Lots of people moved there for jobs and now some of them have to sleep in their cars because there aren't enough affordable places to live.
I lived in North Dakota for a year. I wouldn't wish that desolate hell on ANYONE. Of course jobs are offering high wages, it's the only possible way to get anyone to even consider living there.
Do you work to live, or live to work? If you work to live, there is no life in North Dakota. Wintertime 9 months out of the year. Fun sleeping in a car like that, hmm?
+++++1 Don't get discouraged - you'll find something. And ignore people who have no understanding of your situation. Moving to N. Dakota might be the answer for some people, but probably not for your family.