I'm unemployed. I know I'm not alone. Even though I have a doctorate and 20 years of experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I haven't been able to find a job in some time. Back when my mentor told me I had passed the doctoral examination, she said that I would have a permanent credential-one that no one could take away from me. She was right. I do have the credential. Now where is the job?  My mentor couldn't possibly have foreseen the fact that I would be headed out into the market in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression.

I have taught at the collegiate level for seven years, across New York state. I know that I have skills I have built from these experiences and, thanks to my Ph.D., I can demonstrate that I'm smart. I have a specialty-I am a systemic therapist. I have skills like being an AAMFT supervisor that are truly unique. And I know that I am good at what I do. Yet it is difficult to maintain the morale needed to stay in the game when the game has gone into extra innings. 

Sometimes others have gotten the job because they "know someone" that I don't know. Sometimes it is the "timing."  Many times I, and probably scores of people vying for the same job, are left to wonder what specific changes we could make to have been more competitive.

I have my writing ability, rich life experiences, and the maturity that is only available from an older worker. I have administrative skills. I am dependable, a team-player, and punctual-no, make that early! I have great empathy and many people skills. I am a supervisor who doesn't need supervision. Those things are important to me...and will be, hopefully, to an employer. I maintain my NCFR membership so that I am plugged into my professional association. And I have four children, all adults now. Raising four decent human beings is my best accomplishment. 

I will find a job. But it has been way too long. So I will go on interviewing, writing and sending out my vitas. I do know a job will pop up someplace. Then I will look back and say, "OK, I learned a lot about money and unemployment. What is next for me to learn?"

Are you an NCFR member who has been unemployed?  What has been helpful in keeping your morale high?  Did you just find a job after a period of frustrating unemployment?  Please post a comment and tell me what you have learned.