I’ve spent the last 10+ years doing contract/vendor work for a company in my area who shall remain nameless. It was perfect for both of us – I had the flexibility to work from anywhere, at any time (well, for the most part, unless there was an urgent project or a meeting I had to attend). They only had to pay my hourly rate – no health care benefits, stock options, paid vacations or holidays.

It worked really well until it didn’t. In January, with little more than a few hours notice, the budget ran out and I was told to cease all work immediately. Then came the layoff announcements, the shift in direction, and in the new fiscal year, there was no budget for the entire team I was part of. In fact, the team as I knew it no longer exists.

I flirted with getting a “real” job. But part of the flexibility of the contract work enabled me to work on Changing Course and other projects that were not in conflict with that commitment. Did I want to give that up?

Additionally, for the past several years I’ve been helping my brother navigate health issues and most recently relocated my 85-year-old mother from her home on the east coast here to Washington state to be closer to my brother and me.

There’s no way I could manage a full-time job. Not to mention, I am in an age category that has difficulty getting a foot in the door.

I am officially unemployable.

It doesn’t have to be family commitments or health issues, or even age discrimination.
There are a lot of reasons why you might be unemployable.

• You may want to work remotely and companies that are hiring for the work you do want you in the office.
• AI may be replacing the work you do, or making it so fewer people are needed to do it.
• You may be disillusioned with the endless treadmill and “do more with less” attitude of corporations.
• You may even have been thinking about starting your own business, early retirement, or changing careers altogether.

One of the myths about our society is that having a job is the only way to make a living.

Sure, there are benefits other than salary that are often covered – things like health care, which is increasingly expensive, and the aforementioned paid holidays and vacations. Some companies provide free food or soft drinks, a subsidized cafeteria, and other perks like stock grants that can make working there very attractive.

It all comes down to what you want your life to look like, or what your life has to look like if you have commitments that make it difficult for you to do the 9-to-5 (which in most places is really 8-to-whenever, sometimes 10 or more hours a day) plus commutes which are also getting exponentially longer.

Just because you’re unemployable doesn’t mean you have no options. You probably have a lot of expertise and life experience that you can monetize. Pursuing a passion can lead to not just monetary rewards but a more joyful existence, which benefits not just your own well-being but that of those around you.

Celebrate your uniqueness. Being unemployable can be the path to your ideal life!