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The economy is tottering toward recovery but it is unlikely that things will ever get back to “normal.” I have been unemployed, with the exception of a few temporary seasonal positions, since 2008 when the company I worked for closed its doors. Prior to being laid off, I had worked nonstop since the age of fifteen. I graduated with honors from UCLA in 1995 and had never had any problems finding employment.

After being laid off I diligently set out to find employment. My credentials got me many interviews but my experiences led me question the condition of American business. Many of the people who interviewed me lacked any semblance of professionalism or competency. I’ve been asked questions like, “do you enjoy working with difficult people?” I’ve had interviewers not look me in the eye or shake my hand. I’ve been left in interview rooms to rot while the interviewer attended to more important activities like preparing coffee and chatting with coworkers. I had an interviewer tell me and the other job seekers, at the end of our respective interviews, that they actually didn’t have any job openings. They just wanted to “see what was out there.”

I can’t remember the exact date that I reached my limit, but having these types of miserable, bizarre, and unprofessional experiences led me to believe that I deserved better. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and pursued part-time businesses in the past, on the side. However, since I always had the cushion of a “secure paycheck” to fall back on, I never pursued them wholeheartedly.

Currently I am a full-time student pursuing an MBA in entrepreneurship. I plan to freelance after graduation until I have enough money to start a full-fledged business. I have lost faith in the economic status quo but I still have faith in myself. With perseverance and by making use of the extensive resources we have here in the United States to help entrepreneurs, I am confident that I will be successful. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone but, in the end, we are all our own company, building our own successful brand. Job security is an ancient relic from the past. So I have decided to stop going around to other companies, hat in hand, begging for a chance to help make them successful. My energies are now fully directed toward the freedom and hard work that come with self-employment.

Perhaps for many like me this is the new American dream – not a house with a white picket fence and a big car, but freedom, self-determination, and providing jobs for others. And I promise, if I ever interview you, I will never ask you if you enjoy working with difficult people.