The Daily 99 Percent Quote

I graduated with honors from one of the top universities in the country. My field projects a $40K-100K annual income and my work was always beyond exemplary so I got hired right out of school to a company that was a perfect fit for my skills where I could really grow and live up to my potential. But the year I graduated was 2008, the year the economy crashed, so within 4 months, in an unprecedented move, the company let go of almost its entire workforce including myself.

Unable to pay rent I lost my apartment and since then, I have made less than $1000 a year in odds and ends jobs despite applying for over 1200 entry level positions, online, in person, through personal contacts and networks, and in various major cities including NYC and Los Angeles. I’ve gone to over 20 interviews, yet no one will hire me-they all seem to be “shopping the market” to see who’s available rather than really being committed to taking on a new hire.

My school loans still total over $20K. Once the epitome of an independent responsible overachiever, top of my class, expected to innovate and transform my industry and become a future leader of tomorrow (as not one, but 3 different professors had remarked to me over the years), I now live at home with my Mom and work at a grocery store (making minimum wage.)

I am the 99 percent.
~ One of the many messages shared on the We Are the 99 Percent blog which is brought to you by the people who occupy Wall Street ~