an offshoring victim

Roxy was doing very well as a single working mother until she lost her job due to an Indian offshoring restructure and with it she lost her dignity and faith in her government's abiity to do the right thing by its citizens.

"While being home to give more attention to my three children is a blessing we all enjoy," says Roxy, "it does not detract from the fact that my little family is heading for a financial crisis if I can't find work soon."

"I have a very strong work ethic but globalization confuses me," says Roxy. "I believe that everyone has a right to a job, but unfortunately no such right appears to be enshrined in any constitution, anywhere. Why? And why is providing an Indian with a job more important than providing me with one?"

"I am worried not just for myself, but also for my children when they reach working age," says Roxy. "If the world's population is increasing and the number of jobs is decreasing due to globalization, then the job market will become more dog eat dog than it is already."

"Globalization means that some of us are competing for jobs that receive applicants from around the world," says Roxy. "To make matters worse, people are living longer and staying longer in jobs, and they are doing so not just for personal satisfaction but also because of the necessity to provide financially for a lengthy retirement."

"And, because so many people are unemployed, the job selection process has become a ruthless exercise that treats job seekers - particularly single mothers - worse than cattle."

Roxy takes great pains over every job application. Her application presentations are top class, yet she maintains that at the resume cull - the first stage of the selection process - most of the resumes just don’t get read because there are too many of them.

"I believe that getting in first - applying for jobs immediately they become vacant - probably gives me the edge," explains Roxy, "but when employers look at my age, education, experience and out-of-town location I've more or less accepted that my application will get trashed."

Unfortunately for Roxy, she’s not only a single mother - something she doesn’t divulge at the start - but she’s also a bit older than most job seekers and although she has working experience her lack of education and out-of-town location do leave much to be desired for employers.

"There are hundreds of younger, better educated and better located applicants out there applying for the same job I am," sighs Roxy. "I don’t stand a chance."

"No," laughs Roxy, "I'm not being defeatist. I'm adopting a very realistic attitude towards the job market and I'm trusting in luck. Tons of it!"

Unless she is applying for a position specifically requiring maturity, Roxy believes that her chances of getting an interview decrease with every year her age exceeds 35. And it is a similar story for those under 21, which bodes badly for her children who will be leaving school soon.

"If you are too young," says Roxy, "it is almost as bad as being too old. Forget about age discrimination laws. Employers are going to find something about people other than their age to reject them outright for the position."

Roxy is smart enough not to lie about her age. Even if she looks twenty years younger than her 45 chronological years, she risks being fired for fraud if she gets hired.

"And yes, it does happen," says Roxy. "Better to omit your age, than lie about it, but even omitting my age on my resume definitely goes against me, too. They might think I am a lot older than I am!"

Roxy’s main strength is her solid working experience. Her working experience isn’t always specific to the position applied for, but she sees no harm in bluffing her way into an interview by saying that her experience is indirectly related to the position.

"Basically, though, if I cannot provide concrete evidence that I have experience in 50% of the required duties of the job," says Roxy, "I don’t waste my time applying for the job. There's only so much rejection any human being should have to face."

"Because I live in a semi-rural area on the outskirts of town I know that this works against me," says Roxy. "In an employee’s job market, when employers are desperate for workers, nobody cares where you live, but in today's highly competitive job market, employers are going to favor applicants residing close to the location of the company."

"Even though I state on my application that I am willing to relocate," says Roxy, "I don't think it makes any difference when there are younger and better educated and located applicants than me."

"Actually, I hate the prospect of having to relocate because it would mean uprooting my children," explains Roxy, "and I don't think I should have to destabilize my children in this manner just to get a lousy job when I am quite happy to commute up to 100 miles a day if I had to."

"Most of the industries around here have either closed down, cut back production or offshored their back-office jobs," sighs Roxy. "It's happening all over the country, isn't it?"

"What is our government doing about it or don't they care?"

"Being a single mother is a big barrier to employment," says Roxy. "You just can't pack up and leave when a factory closes down. In the past my status hasn’t been much of a barrier but it definitely is right now because a lot of employers are cutting costs by opting for casual or part-time workers rather than full-time staff - and this favors married women who work for pocket change rather than survival."

"I always saved for a rainy day," laughs Roxy, "but I never thought it would rain for this long. My savings are just about depleted and when that happens I guess it's off to the welfare office."

"It's a stange economic system that's willing to throw me and my kids on the streets by giving my job to someone in India to get them off the streets."