I had an interview with a large defense company I used to work for about 8 years ago. I think they didn't hire me because I kind of messed up in a situation at work several years ago. The recruiters don't know about that but the managers do. So basically I got my hopes up that I was going to get back in the workforce and now here I am again sitting around.

You should not have taken the interview in the first place, there is always that one old bat at every job who has been there forever who will remember you.

Plus most HR's keep employee records at least 10-20 years after the fact. If it was a shitty retail job you might get away with trying to come back after 8 years, but in the professional world blacklists are FOREVER.

Just try again somewhere new, maybe try a different field altogether if nothing pans out.

Have you tried getting a friend to call your old job asking for a reference about you and seeing what they (the old employer) says about you?

There are services that do this for you too if you pay them- google for reference check services, pay one of them to check for you, and consult an employment lawyer if they are truly slandering you, but if it was the truth, give up and move on.

Working sucks. These days you can get most of your bills paid by the government.

After I worked there I got hired by another company that turned out to be a subcontractor of the other one. So the guy that hired me knew all my other previous bosses, but he didn't check with them before hiring me. But then they told him about how I messed up and he pretty much treated me like a bad apple the entire time I worked there.

I guess I should just give up and find another career. I really need an income right now though so I've been applying for jobs that I have the most experience in.