[walford]

I have to give some of the people mentioned in this story a lot of credit. They'd rather get a job ... any job ... than game the system and grab their 99 weeks of unemployment.

I can appreciate the morality of what you're saying, but found out the hard way that taking crappy, low-paying jobs will be looked upon unfavorably by potential employers if you try to break back into a clean office job later.

Many jobs cannot be exported to Pakistan and nearly all of them involve wearing a name-tag, either standing on your feet all day or driving all day -- and taking sh*t off of people. Once you have demonstrated that you will accept a low wage -- and speak English fluently -- you are in demand. It is very hard to escape that vocational abyss once you've fallen into it.

When I got laid off from a CAD drafting job in the early '90s, I temporarily worked as a taxi driver, then as a courier -- for over a decade. Then years later at a job interview I'm being asked, "why did you go from being a CAD drafter to a taxi driver?" My answer was, "to survive" and that meant nothing to these hair gel-slathered know-nothings. My resume could just as well said that I was incarcerated all those years instead.

I regret not taking student loans and going back to college then when the economy was good -- and I was much younger. There is such a thing as being too honest and too proud.

[wbill]

There is such a thing as being too honest and too proud.

Yep, but you can still look at yourself in the mirror. That's important, too.

And, that confidence carries through in an interview. As someone who does some hiring, if I was talking to you about a white-collar job, I'd certainly ask - "Why did you go from an office job to a taxi driver?". Would be remiss of me not to. Would also be followed up with "Why do you now want to go from a taxi driver back to an office job?"

Your responses would easily make or break the interview. And, if you're confident - also if you look like an office worker, rather than a taxi driver (1st impressions are EVERYTHING!) - that'll come through in the interview, too.

Not all managers, or people tasked with hiring, make decisions like I do, though. Most of the time, their biggest mistake is to spend more time talking about themselves or their company, rather than listening to what the new hire has to say, or how they answer the questions.

Just my $0.02. For what it's worth....