Jonny the Recovering Technophiliac

It’s been something that’s been eating my mind for a long time.  As far as I can remember, the job hunt has never faired well for many of the nation’s unemployed because i’ll tell you all off the bat, being unemployed sucks…especially in a market like this when so much is expected and required in order to get a job that now we’re all resorting to pickling off the bones and bits of scrap left for us.  It’s become so scarce that we all become desperate and hostile just to land that dream job…but in the end, we’re all still talented people caught in the middle of a storm…and yet, sometimes we’re still pre-judged as less than who we are.

Yes,  I’ve been unemployed…and despite that I run a fairly successful freelance business, JK Design, and being heavily involved with the successful non-for profit organization ALPFA, i’m out for something big, with benefits, something steady where I can support myself and my family.  I have big goals and even bigger expectations.  Some of my other friends are unemployed as well but are just as dedicated as ever to succeed.  But lately, I have found that some people these days, usually the ones with jobs, like to prejudge the unemployed as less than who they are.  And as much as i’m sure there exists a very small demographic of “lazy” types, it seems that more people are becoming wrongly typecast towards that demographic…and not only so I think it’s demoralizing…frankly, it annoys me.  I’ve seen and known people with MBAs, experienced professionals, and those fresh out of the undergrad oven…unemployed and yet talented and trying. Yet when some people see them or meet them and they’re not in a suit or catching the rush hour out on the subway, assumptions start to fly…and let me tell you, it’s happened to me before.

I’m not perfect, but I’d never prejudge…simple as that.  I recall this girl I met at the gym weeks ago…I was minding my own when all of a sudden she caught my eye as she was working out in her suit.  Later on while stretching, I overheard her talking about something related to the job market and keeping busy.  I asked her jokingly if she liked to workout before hitting the cubicle, and she answered:

oh, actually I just came from an interview

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks…not only because my joke backfired (good one Jon), but because she was in my same shoes and the shoes of every unemployed American.  So I passed no judgment and immediately offered to help her out of unconditional goodwill.  After an exchange of resumes and numbers, a new friendship was forged.  This week she started her new job, and I’m happy for her.  Will I ever hear from her again? I hope so, who knows?  What i do know is that whether she was unemployed for weeks or years, i would have never prejudged her as someone less than who she really is, a talented person with potential and quintessential uniqueness.  Erika, if you’re reading this…I’m proud of you.

The second yet brief story happened in Colombia last January when I was heading to the theater downtown with my cousins.  We squeezed in a cab and where on our way to a bar when I noticed the music playing on the radio was classical…and not reggeaton or vallenato like every other cab.  Here’s how the dialog between the driver and I went:

Jon: i like this kind of music, its relaxing
Driver:  me too
Jon: not often i hear it in bogota, i hear it a lot in NY
Driver: that’s good, reminds me of my teaching days
Jon: you teach
Driver:  i taught classical composition at a college before being laid off
Jon: wow..i didn’t know that

I would’ve never prejudged that humble cab driver, but I can only assume so many others have.  I guess to sum it up, more people are unemployed these days…it can be frustrating to receive rejection after rejection from recruiters, it wears down our patience, but we all keep on fighting nevertheless.  To those who like to prejudge…please don’t.  Believe me you’re making yourself look very bad when, if any, you should be finding out why A or B person is unemployed before labeling them…you ever know, they could end up being your boss one day.