Posted by skinndogg on 5/11/2020 2:36:00 PM (view original):
I got laid off after the dot.com bust, and then after the 2008 recession. Really frustrating looking for work when the economy is struggling. Doing job interviews when you have a job is easy, but when you are out of work it is really difficult to interview well. Makes it almost impossible to come across as confident. Too much pressure.
I echo that. I had two layoffs in 2008, and there's no question the balance of power shifts to the employer significantly. I took two jobs with basically no bargaining position at much less than I was worth, and it took me over 10 years just to earn the same dollar figure on paper as my best pre-recession salary. But of course that's in 2020 dollars now, not 2008 dollars, so it's still lower in effective salary.
Most people do not appreciate the long-term impact of these job losses. We are going to see millions of people eat away any savings they might have had with no way to regain it for the foreseeable future. It's hard to be optimistic about that changing.