I’m at my wit’s end [vent] [need advice]
Ok I’ve only been unemployed for a month but I already feel like I’m going insane (hell I felt insane not even a week after it happened but besides the point). I just graduated with a bachelors degree, I’m living on my own and paying bills for the first time. I don’t have a partner, I don’t have roommates, and my parents weren’t helping me (they’re helping me a little now that I have no income but they’re clearly hesitant about it and I don’t want to keep relying on them, it makes me feel like shit).
I decided to stay in the city of the school I just graduated from instead of going back home. I thought it would be better for business in my field (art) and that bigger city = more jobs, right? (apparently not I guess) I had just got a decent job as a barista here before I made the legal commitment to sign a lease, but got laid off just a few weeks after getting hired (and just a couple weeks after moving in) due to budget cuts on labor cost and I feel so stranded. I’ve never been let go from a job before, so I never expected to be stuck in a position like this, I didn’t anticipate that it would ever happen to me, call me overconfident in my abilities idk. Layoffs seemed like something that would happen in a more corporate setting. Not a cafe of all places.
I’ve been applying to entry level minimum wage jobs that match my experience just to get a paycheck. I thought it would only take me a week or two to find something new, instead I can’t even get hired by TARGET or WALMART of all places, and the only interview I’ve scored so far was for Chipotle.
I just don’t know what’s wrong? I have the skill. I have the experience. I HAVE A DEGREE. Food service, retail, whatever it is, I don’t care as long as it pays the bills, because I can do the work. But everywhere is either already staffed, rejects, or ghosts. Hell, I filed for unemployment and even THEY’RE still figuring out if I’m eligible or not. I feel stuck in that limbo where I’m too overqualified now for basic jobs, but unable to find or qualify for entry level jobs in my actual field.
I’m starting to dig into my savings to pay bills. I don’t want to be broke. I’ve never been broke. I was supposed to be the responsible one. I was supposed to have my shit together. I can’t just move away. My lease just began, I’m legally binded to this place for a year. I can’t love back in with my parents either because they’re in a different state.
Idk I just need perspective. What the fuck do you do if you have 5+ years of customer service experience and can’t even get a job at a shitty retail or fast food chain? It shouldn’t be this hard to find minimum wage work, let alone as an educated person. I’ve NEVER had trouble finding work before. I feel like I’m gonna be sick. Advice heavily appreciated.
Posted Jul 4, 2025, 1:31 AM UTC