collecting unemployment

[redheadedhiker674]

I'm actually disgusted by this thread. So many people expect to have everything handed to them and everyone has so many excuses. It's just..disgusting.

[MJW155]

Had a conversation about this last night around the fire @ Low Gap. Most people on unemployment sleep til noon and just milk it for as long as possible. They aren't trying to find jobs. I'd rather see someone hiking than sitting around all day

Never understood why people think this is the case. If a person goes from a $40 or $50K job to making $300 or $400 a week on unemployment, why would they milk it? LOL. It's just a generalization that people assume is true and it's really not. I've yet to meet a person that's collecting unemployment and is happy about it.

[Pony]

As an Employer, i can only say that someone who only applies to jobs online, really doesnt want a job. Acquiring a good job, one that will enrich your life and your bank account involves selling yourself. ive hired folks that i didnt have a position for, because they approached me when i didnt have a position available and they sold me that they were a winner. i am not here to judge those who are out of work and killing time by hiking, to each his own i say. Im just offering a real insight as to the Employer view of this issue.

If someone came to me with a long period of no work (3 years as suggested above), without a death,illness or very tragic circumstance, i would never hire that person. For men under 30, i wont hire anyone that hasnt worked in 4 months. a young guy can do any job if he really wants to work.

If a guy or woman came to me that hadnt worked for 6 months, but had hiked the entire AT , i would hire them in a minute. That means they are tough, can handle extreme stress, dont need to be babied, are healthy, and can set difficult goals and then achieve them. They are ambitious, disciplined, and emotionally secure. Its more impressive than a Diploma from your average public University

Many places now require you to apply online. For instance a large sporting goods chain just opened in my town. Even though the new store is a couple of miles from my house, they would not accept my application, instead made me email it to their corporate office several hundred miles away. It's hard to get a chance to sell yourself that way. Nonetheless, their website repeatedly mentioned that applicants should be passionate about the area in which they will be working, so I figured I had a decent shot at working in their backpacking department. Haven't heard a thing from them and when I went into the store, the dude working in the backpacking department was clueless. So, had I got some face time, I'm sure I could have sold myself, but instead somebody at their corporate office filed my application, presumably because I took a six month vacation to go hiking.

As far as impressing a prospective employer with thru hiking experience, I wish more employers thought like you, but unfortunately most don't. About a year ago I had a interview for an internship to become a park naturalist. The interview seemed to be going well, then the subject of my hike came up. The first thing the interviewer said was "you do understand that if you get the position, you will not be able to take long periods of time to go hiking?" I knew right there the interview was over. The fact is, most employers see taking time off to thru hike as screwing off for six months.

FWIW, I have a degree from a large public university and I've hiked the trail. Neither one has put me on the fast track to success. There are a lot of under employed college grads out there.

[Ender]

Many places now require you to apply online.

In the industry I work in, resume's are submitted online only. A mailed in resume would be immediately thrown out. The HR folks just want a quick look at a digital copy, not some hard copy cluttering up their space. It's been this way for a while now.

When I was on the PCT, there was a guy out there, carrying a laptop with a cell modem, who would look for work every day. He eventually got a phone interview, which he went into town to take. From there, they asked him for a second interview in person, which he left the trail to do. He got the job. So it happens, and that was from 2003, almost 10 years ago.

I have no idea if he was collecting unemployment though. Not the point. Just a story from someone I witnessed get a job while on the trail.

[restless]

I'm actually disgusted by this thread. So many people expect to have everything handed to them and everyone has so many excuses. It's just..disgusting.

Welcome to the Appalachian Trail.

[surfnturk]

Nice statement there TyTy. You sound like a swell guy.. If you knew half of what you think you do you'd know you almost always hve to apply online for virtually any job.
Save your breath moron, I have income. FYI, I live in Suwannee not too far from you.

[Sierra Echo]

I've never drawn unemployment so I don't know if they will do a direct deposit into your account. But I do know (at least for Ga) on the envelopes it says "Do not foward."

[Sierra Echo]

FYI, I live in Suwannee not too far from you.

I have $20 thats says TyTY doesn't give a fart where you live. Just saying.

[ljcsov]

Wow. Bottom feeder.

[hikerboy57]

farting is on another thread.

[MJW155]

For those that apply for jobs online, keep in mind that a lot of companies now hire a 3rd party to screen resumes. So you need to get past the firewall to even get to HR in the 1st place. You need to have certain keywords in your resume otherwise it gets red flagged and doesn't even go through. I've seen resumes of 20 year professionals not even make it to the HR office while someone right out of colleges gets through just because the college kid used the right key words while the 20 year pro did not.

If you want to send a resume online, your best bet is to call the HR office and ask for a direct email.

[surfnturk]

I have $20 thats says TyTY doesn't give a fart where you live. Just saying.

Now that is funny.

[surfnturk]

farting is on another thread.

That is really funny, and I'm serious.

[surfnturk]

People that try collecting unemployment while walkin the trail are the scum of the earth. Period. No excuses.

Wow, interesting. So you sum up the whole of a persons life based on that. Lol, what a freaking joke. I thought board was for the "enlightened people, nature lovers, natural.
So nothing anyone has done in their life matters? What about what people go thru such as illnesses, dealing with sick kids, or just trying to survive in general.
Now I know there are a handful of total aholes on here pretending to be enlightened people who see more than other.
Attack me all you want. Bunch of fart lovers.

[Hrdlee]

Wow, interesting. So you sum up the whole of a persons life based on that. Lol, what a freaking joke. I thought board was for the "enlightened people, nature lovers, natural.
So nothing anyone has done in their life matters? What about what people go thru such as illnesses, dealing with sick kids, or just trying to survive in general.
Now I know there are a handful of total aholes on here pretending to be enlightened people who see more than other.
Attack me all you want. Bunch of fart lovers.

Define enlighten? Is that someone that believes like you? Btw, anybody that uses profanity has just run out of enlightened ideas .

[surfnturk]

Define enlighten? Is that someone that believes like you? Btw, anybody that uses profanity has just run out of enlightened ideas .

Where did I say I was enlightened. I have no idea what your comment means.

[Hrdlee]

Where did I say I was enlightened. I have no idea what your comment means.

I agree with you but being down is what unemployment is for not hiking AT. I was taking exception to you categorizing everybody on the board as enlighten.

[surfnturk]

I agree with you but being down is what unemployment is for not hiking AT. I was taking exception to you categorizing everybody on the board as enlighten.

No, I was speaking specifically about the people that I quoted. I dont like someone calling people who apply for work online as "morons".He is categorizing people. He should bother you, not me.
My other point was to judge a person strictly by the fact that they collected unemployment while hiking. How can you call somebody "the scum of the earth " based soley on that? It may not be right but that does not make them that.
Maybe the person who did that was seriosly down to the point they couldnt take it anymore and had to clear their heads? Maybe they were on the verge of a breakdown. Or maybe not. I wouldnt judge them without knowing.
If you dont think that can take you to a bad place then you've never been in that position. I have. Luckily I figured out how to make money. Some people cant.

[hikerboy57]

some people have a conscience others dont.im sure there may be times where collecting UI while on the trail may be bonafide, but i think its up to the ab"users' conscience.there are plenty of abusers of "the system" on and off the trail, and you could get into a major political debate regarding who pays their "fasir share" of taxes in this country. there are hundreds of thousands of hikers that visit the AT every year, yet a very small percentage of these give something back, whether thru trail maintenance or just donations.I wonder how many on this thread are ATC members.
how many have even donated to keep WB going?
If you want to play, why not pay?

[kayak karl]

I'm actually disgusted by this thread. So many people expect to have everything handed to them and everyone has so many excuses. It's just..disgusting.

Handed to them???????????? you try raising a family on 40% of your pay. depression sets in and some don't deal with it well. i'm 3 times your age and most of us my age never want anything handed to us. most to proud to take help. it's very scary when OTHER people are depending on you.