Why I WritesteemCreated with Sketch.

in #globalism5 years ago (edited)

ContainersBlog.png
Photo by Containers Blog.

For more than 20 years, I wrote marketing materials for large corporations. I wrote press releases, speeches, newsletters, white papers, brochures, and video scripts. I also managed the approval and production processes of most of that content, which is another big job on top of all that writing.

Then I quit 10 years ago to concentrate on writing my own stuff and stay home with my daughter. My husband was a tech middle-manager making decent money, and we had no debts except for our mortgage. We’ve always been frugal and had put a large amount of our earnings away in savings.

I always assumed it would be easy for me to jump back in, once my daughter had left home. I’m a damned good writer, and what’s more, I know how to get things done. I’m very good at (diplomatically) shepherding over-sized corporate egos toward finalized content. Believe it or not, this is a rare skill in and of itself.

Three years ago my husband lost his tech job, a few months after his 50th birthday. They gave him a special severance package so he wouldn’t sue for age discrimination. It’s been hard on him, and frustrating for me, listening to him do the same old phone screens day after day, always with some callow, cut-throat recruiter masturbating to the same old checklist of HR talking points.

Recently, my guy finally found a job that pays half (50 percent) of his old salary. This is a man with a degree in a hard STEM subject from a top-tier university, who programmed for a famous government agency at 17. Apparently, none of that matters when you’re in your fifties. My guy makes less than he made 15 years ago, but at least we now have medical coverage. Unfortunately, his new job doesn’t provide coverage through our long-time medical provider, and we both have serious chronic conditions. We have to start all over again with new doctors who don’t know our cases, and at our ages, that can be fatal.

The long and short of it is that I have to get back into the workforce pronto. I didn’t stay abreast of changes in my profession; I admit that, and that’s on me. But I had no idea that no one would want to hire me for a job I did very successfully for more than 20 years.

I’ve been turned down for even entry-level proofreader/copy editor jobs (I’m not proud). I’ve been given the stink-eye by people who weren’t even born when I was ghostwriting for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Yesterday, an algorithm spit out my resume and carefully crafted cover letter for a job I’m highly qualified to perform, in an industry I know better than the back of my hand (see photo above). I know it was an algorithm because I got the cutesy form email from “Madeleine S.” (a person whom I doubt actually exists) only one day after submittal.

I know that no human being read my resume or cover letter, but that rejection letter was really cute! Kudos to the UX writer who came up with that one, Mads old girl.

I don’t want pity or crowdfunding, I just want to write, and make a living at it, as I did for so many years. This is why I write this blog. I try to write every day, although often I fall short. Every post I put up—even if it’s just a review of some B-list TV movie I first watched in 1975--is a giant FU to the algorithms, to “Madeleine S.,” to the smugSilicon Valley tech lords who trashed my husband for being too old and "too American.”

Madeleine S., Pumpkin, this one’s for you!

Post-Edit: Madeleine S. actually appears to be a real person. She responded to an email I sent in reply to her cutesty rejection notice. My faith in humanity is somewhat restored.

Sort:  

Dear Jane ( not sure if that's your real name ),

I had lost track of your posts for a bit, as I stopped writing about films and hardly watch any, recently ( due to the house renovation / camping life ) but I'm glad I found this one :>)

I feel for you and your husband and was wondering the following:

Are you investing in cryptocurrency ( besides Steem )? One of the reasons why I'm on here, besides that I enjoy writing and sharing my creativity with the world and that I love the connections that I make here, is the possibility to invest in cryptocurrency.

I have high hopes of the future of crypto and the blockchain and - when I first heard ( actually heard ) of the crypto space, in May 2017 - I immediately sensed an opportunity for financial freedom, as well as other types of freedom ( freedom from office life/ working for someone else ). Something that I had been looking for for a decade or so, since finishing University.

Now, I am ( only ) 37 and I don't have serious chronic conditions ( although I have some chronic issues that I plan to get rid of by taking care of myself in all kind of different ways - one of them positive thinking ), so I don't want to compare myself with you, but - believe me - I have had a tough time myself, for many years. And I'm only, recently, getting out of my depression.

Lately - and especially since I got into crypto - I am doing better and better. I have extreme faith in this space, as well as in my future abundance ( and that of many others who otherwise wouldn't have gotten that opportunity ) and - here's the thing:

If more of us believe in it, it's ( likely ) gonna happen.

I wish you all the best, hope that you continue writing and sharing your knowledge and skills on here. You're one of my favorite Steemians. You're a valuable addition to this platform.

If you ever wanna talk, you know where to find me. I guess you're not on Discord ( chat ), right?

Big hug,

Vincent

As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!

Looking for some fun games to play on Steemit? Try your luck with Magicdice or Drugwars

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70753.86
ETH 3589.34
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.75