I'd he more surprised than happy if I were him. Also pissed off.

Not sure why #1 is being down voted. I understand that the situation would be frustrating, but the cousin is more than likely trying to better his self by getting a job and that's something to be happy for.

I don't understand the downvotes either. It's not like his cousin stole the job from him. Marcus Aurelius writes extensively in his book Meditations about the discipline of perception. He chose to take something that is cause for celebration in a negative manner. I'm sure he would want his cousin to celebrate if it was him that got the job. Choosing to be happy for him would have been the best result for both of these people.

Most people demonize criminals. Sure, a lot of crimes are unforgivable. But after they've served their time, we shouldn't hold their crimes against them. The OP's cousin getting a job will help them become a more productive member of society less likely to recommit crime. If people become jobless and homeless after they're released then they're going to more than like to recommit.

also (considering this is in the US) there are programs while in prison that teach inmates valuable skills. for instance, I read an article the other day about Mark Zuckerberg visiting some prison (can't remember which) where the inmates were being taught how to code--and I'm sure we can all agree on the value of coding in this day n' age.

The current demand for excon deadbeat junkies is just out of this world.

That's honestly how prisons SHOULD work. Instead of just leaving every person in there to fester and be subject to recidivism, it's best to *actually* rehabilitate them and give them valuable and readily useful knowledge. Ya know, putting the "correction" in "correctional facility."

I don't understand why people can be happy for others..

Misery likes company

Idky people are down voting this? Companies don't like hiring people who are over qualified cause then they have to pay them more usually..

I'm assuming op is trying to find an entry level job, which requires experience. And her cousin is working at minimum wage.

Or OP majored in something useless to the market right now. I could graduate in philosophy, but that wouldn't be an automatic ticket for a job. Sounds mean, but it's true.

if you don't, I hear Wal-Mart is hiring for the season

I support this 100%. I am a registered nurse and it took me 8 months, 62 applications and 2 interviews to finally get a job. The market is hard for everyone, so keep your head up and keep submitting applications OP! Also, my resume was the culprit, so take a look at yours and consider looking into professional resume writing workshops. They do wonders!

You might be setting your employment requirements too high. You may have to look beyond what your degree is in. Loads of people end up working in fields unrelated to their degrees. But good luck.

Yeah, I have been job searching since January and just got hired last week. Finding a career in a specific field is hard, especially if you can't relocate. Try using a staffing agency, it's not the best but they will find you something that will get you the needed experience to find a great job in your field. Also, OP, don't underestimate cover letters. I got an awesome 6 month internship in Germany because my cover letter was better than my competition.

*Eligible

He meant that, I bet auto correct was just being a boner.

Yall need to find a way to turn autocorrect off because those errors drive me nuts.

You want to talk smack about his autocorrect causing his accidental typo driving you nuts, but you can't even correctly punctuate y'all. Get the **** out of here.

Yall isn't punctuated where I'm from.

I tried that before. I didn't get hired because I was 'overqualified.' :/

Don't tell them about your uni educated when applying to lower-skilled jobs to reduce your chance of getting rejected for being "over-qualified".

He should use his cousin's drug connections to score a job. Networking is networking. ;)

BS, I have a masters degree and worked for minimum wage at McDonald's while searching for a job in my field. They will hire you, just don't expect to get paid more than anyone else.

Don't apologize, that's sound advice. Of course you want a job in the field you're trained for but making a living in the meanwhile is...rather important.

Maybe they're scared that if they don't hire him he'll rob them.

Or maybe, just maybe, he applied for a lower wage job.