Hey @JoshFrydenberg, let me tell you a little about the realities of job hunting in this country.

Since the GFC, I have been made redundant 3 times.

Of the two jobs I've had that didn't make me redundant, one was such a toxic workplace that I could only handle six months of it

The other one flat out lied, said it was a perm job but they just needed someone to tidy up some loose ends before the business shut down.

Rough guess, I'd say I've applied for around 2,000 jobs over the past ten years with a response rate of 3% and maybe a dozen interviews.

I have nearly 20 years' experience in my field, and a postgrad degree.

I've registered with numerous recruiters, with absolutely no success. Initial contact is met with "email us your resume", and actually getting a face-to-face meeting is near impossible.

Any attempts at contact or conversation are usually met with some variation on "don't call us, we'll call you" while at the same time telling me to keep an eye on their website for job ads. Which I apply for and never hear anything about.

Google "resume tips" and "cover letter tips" and "career change tips" and there are hundreds of thousands of results that say the same thing. And none of them work.

My CV is comprehensive and clearly written and I don't know what else I need to do.

I've spoken to recruiters on the phone and it's clear that most don't actually read CVs. I've explained things over the phone that are clearly written down in my CV, and the reaction is always "Ohhhhh, right." Like one of those old fluorescent lightbulb slowly warming up.

Tailoring my cover letter is another one that always pops up. I get it. It is marginally more successful, but in no way guaranteed.

It's also a lot of repetitive work when one is required by law to apply for a job every day. And feels entirely pointless, given the results.

The job website that I use the most emails unsuccessful candidates, and as part of this, reveals how many people applied for that particular role. Generally I'm applying for jobs with between 150 and 250 applicants. Not great numbers.

And as Albert Einstein famously probably didn't say, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

And I'm applying for jobs that, on paper, look like enough work for two or more people.

As for a career change... I don't know what to do.

I like writing, Apart from my "career", I have qualifications in editing and proofreading and a lot of experience as a music journalist. I apply for writing and editing jobs, but nothing ever comes of that, either.

I've applied for all sorts of jobs, and nothing ever comes of it. My cousin, who manages a supermarket, told me that he wouldn't employ someone like me as he'd assume that as soon as I got something related to my "career", I'd quit.

So the advice "just apply for anything" isn't that realistic if you combine the attitude of employers in (for example) the retail sector with the sheer number of people applying for jobs. Even more so in the post-Covid era, whenever that might be.

"Networking" is something else that always comes up. I'm at such a low point in terms of self esteem that the even thought of going to a "networking event" makes me anxious. And I don't see how my ability to schmooze has anything to do with how I'd do my job

People often ask "Why don't you try freelancing?"

It's not as easy as that. On top of the fact that I can't actually afford a subscription to the software I need to freelance, it also involves a lot of job hunting. And networking. And paperwork. And zero security.

None of which I can handle the thought of, because I'm an insecure, no-self-esteem, anxiety-ridden mess at the moment.

I'm not the most amazing at what I do, but I have a CV that has some pretty big national and multinational companies on it. It shouldn't be this hard.

And then there's the "hard work pays off" motivational bullshit. My first job was the hardest I have had. Massive amounts of work, in a very short time frame, and a weekly deadline. A deadline that was catastrophic to miss.

And on top of that, monthly, quarterly and one-off deadlines that we had to fit in around the regular weekly one. I did that for six years. Over four hundred separate deadlines. Met them all.

Did all that "hard work" pay off? No.

I have applied for jobs that are in the identical industry, and seen them go to people who have never worked in that particular industry. Jobs I could have done in my fucking sleep

Let me tell you about my last two job applications:

The first one was a government-aligned corporation. Wanted someone who had lots of experience working with corporate branding guidelines. Which I have.

Why didn't I get it? Feedback was "they thought I would stick too closely to the brief." WHAT THEY ASKED FOR IN THE AD.

The other one was for a large research org. Lone designer having to deal with all the design requests from two very different halves of the org. Job ad wanted 5+ years corporate experience. Which I have.

Did I get it? No. I managed to find out who did, though

A recent graduate who, in the two years since graduation, had freelanced. That's it. And freelance is often graphic designer code for "unemployed".

So no actual experience in a big organisation, and definitely not enough to be the sole designer in one.

Employers and recruiters move the goalposts like this all the bloody time.

And then there's dealing with the government as it relates to unemployment. To say this government is hostile to the unemployed is putting it mildly.

And that was all pre-coronavirus. The dripfeed of stimulus and supplement is hell for people living on $40 a day. Whether you realise it or not, your government is emotionally abusing unemployed people

The effects of the past ten years of stress and rejection and humiliation have turned me from a normal person into a complete mess. Anxious. Self-conscious. Depressed.

Not to mention the insomnia, compounded by stress, which makes me more stressed. Vicious circle.

So that's the last 12 years of my life as being unemployed. Coronavirus is going to make the GFC look like a fucking walk in the park. 1.7 million people are going to need more support than $40 a day. For a LONG time.

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