Too young, too old, no experience, lacks skills, overskilled?

Unemployment was for most of my life much larger in European countries than in North America. So, here, you had a chance to hear that you were skilled and good to work with, whereas in Europe, finding a job has always been an unpleasant journey.
This unpleasantness is coming to America.
I was too young at 25 and too old at 40. I have been lacking experience, and an instant later I was told I was overskilled. And soon enough, my skills became obsolete. Then I was a "woman" and I was going to get pregnant (it is not legal to say it any more, don't imagine they do not think it any more). And if you are part of a minority, disabled, or just a small size person, your prospect is worse even if that does not have anything to do with the position you apply for. Handling rejection can be tough: you got to think it has nothing to do with you while always trying to get better at obtaining a job: it is a fine line.

I always found work, though. I would say it is because:
1) I am pretty sure I am good at what I do.
2) I am obstinate: I kept trying.
3) I am not picky: a little money is much more than nothing, and a small job away is better than no job here.
4) I have been very lucky.

There was a neat discussion of unemployment numbers in the Curious Capitalist. If you wonder how so many people are unemployed and do not even look for a job, think of it this way: it is like arthritis, one gets used to it, because it is a human skill of survival to get used to bad things. In cases like this, it can be deadly: I have seen friends losing appreciation for how to dress for a job, when to get up for a job, how to talk to the boss and how to look for a job altogether. So it is best to keep trying.