At one time I went for almost ten years with no fulltime, permanent job. Only sporadic part-time work.
I have nobody to “network” with, as working in a darkroom in a remote area precludes making connections.
Right now, I tried to use Word to type up a resume, & I found myself almost panicking.
I have poor jobhunting skills, & no real resources to learn from.
How do I keep from losing it to panic altogether? 
:eek:
Go to your nearest unemployment commission office. Most of them have job banks and classes/seminars on resume writing, interviewing, and the like. Community colleges also offer similar classes for cheap.
If you are being laid off, your workplace may also provide some assistance, depending on the type of place it is.
I’m no where near being laid off yet.
But I’m very near to having technology make me obsolete.
And I need to re-define my problem.
Here it it–
I am so frightened of job hunting that I am almost emotional paralyzed!!! Even trying to type up a resume leaves me panicky!! AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
I know exactly how you feel. I just recently went through it. All I can tell you is to fight through it. Take as many breaks writing that resume as you need, but don’t leave the house until it is written.
Think of it this way. It’s not one big leap, but many little steps. Break this job thing into many little tasks. Soon, you’ll be suprised how quickly how much gets done. 
You’ll be fine! Chin up! Chest out! Shake your tiny fist at the universe!
There are some excellent resume writing threads hanging around here. You are a fine, intelligent man. What do you want to do? What can you do? How much do you need to make to live? What color is your parachute? It’s the opportunity you’ve dreamed of to start over.
First, take a deep breath.
Second, start with this site: The Job Hunter’s Bible. It is a good place to start,
Third, search the archives. As Astro said there have been alot of job hunting threads with some very good advice.
Good Luck!
I feel your pain. I truly dread writing a resume, too. That said, really, really work on the don’t panicking part.
Once you’ve calmed down – are you sure you’ve got nobody to network with? Nobody in the same field who once told you that you were good? Nobody you went to school with, used to go out for beers with, and is in the same line of work? You can get jobs through the damnest places, and the damnest people will help you, sometimes just to show their own clout.
Hang in there.
I’ve just learned that the new technology is at least 5 years away.
<relief washes over Bosda like cool water >
Never the less–I am gonna get that new resume together, & start e-mailing it.
I can get very panicky about small stupid things, and like torie said, it helps to break a task up into tiny manageable tasks. Last time I was job hunting, I forced myself to do something, no matter how small, every day. That thing might be sending out a resume, reading want ads, searching online, etc. Of course, you’ve got to have a resume first.
Find a resume example somewhere and start with the headings for the major sections (education, past jobs, etc). Fill in what you can – just the facts. When you’ve got that done, you’ll probably have a pretty good idea what you can do next.
Are you willing to relocate? Do you think you’re going to need additional training or education?
Good luck.
Well…basically you need to do a couple of things before you even start a resume.
What do you WANT to do? Pick like three or four things that interest you career-wise. What skills are required to do that job? Will more schooling or classes be required? If so, are there related jobs that could give you experience while you are pursuing those skills.
Write several versions of your resume that highlight accomplishments related to the positions you are interested in. Try to show some kind of progression or continuity.
Build up your network. This can be effective, however I think it’s a little overblown. It assumes that you know people who know people who might be aware of an opening in their company that matches what you are looking for. Still, I’ve had two jobs and multiple interviews as a direct result of networking so it does work.
Basically call everyone you know or ever met, tell them what you are interested in doing for a living (no one wants to be bothered with “I don’t know…anything”) and ask if they know anyone who knows anyone in that field. I happen to be lucky since I have access to a three online databases - my undergrad school, my business school, and a Big-5 accounting firm I used to work for.
Remember…don’t spam people with resumes and “I’m looking for anything”. When I used to get nonspecific “can you get me a job with your company” emails (my company employed 90000 people worldwide) that person should consider themselves lucky that I didn’t send them on some wild goose chase.
I usually just send a brief email or call introducing myself and asking for permission to send them a resume.
4) Call headhunters. I hate these fuck-heads but why not have someone else out there looking for you? Call as many as you like.
SEND RESUMES AND CALL COMPANIES!!! I can’t stress this enough. I don’t know how many times I hear someone complain “I can’t find a job” and the answer to the question “what have you done this week to look for one” is “nothing”. Force yourself to call a new company every day. Preferably more.
Expect the process to take 3-6 months or longer. In B-School, I started looking for a job in Sept so I would have one by graduation (and it didn’t even start until the following Sept). I lucked out that my current job only took 3 months and most of that was over the holidays.
Well, that’s cool!
Maybe if it’s a field you want to stay in, you can “upgrade” yourself in the mean-time.
Look into taking some relevant classes or something. That’s what my husband did after his last job.
Other than that, I’d be in the same boat as you (but with probably a whole lot less experience 
).
I’ve only worked minimum wage “crap” jobs before I got this one, and I’ve been here 6 years now. If I had to find another job, I’d probably be soooo screwed!
(pppsssst! how you doing, by the way? Sorry if I’ve missed an update, but I’ve been busy at work! :eek: )
Just out of curiosity, what is this technology?
My health is a little “iffy” right now.
Gonna check with the Doc come August.
Digital Aerial Photography.
It won’t reach mapping & survey quality for years yet.
And a chemical photo lab tech like me has no real future in this field.
It is just an “improved buggy whip” tech, from now on.
Sad news indeed. However, 5 years is still plenty of time to plot your next move, or for your current company to adapt to the market changes.
In the meantime, you can never go wrong with selling naked pictures of yourself on the internet.
Government job, not company.
And the only reason people would buy my photo would be to scare roaches.
I think you should stay with the government in some capacity. Much easier to fill out a form than write a résumé.
I can certainly relate, Bosda. I’m in a bit of a panic myself. In fact, I found this thread searching for one that might help me choose a resume writing service. A waste of money you say? Bah! Like you, I have something of an emotional block around this, and even as poor as I am, its easily worth one or two hundred bucks just to get the damn thing done so I can get on with the job search instead of dicking around with it another month as I’m liable to do otherwise. I can learn to avoid procrastinating later! Right now, I just need to get a job! (And a place to live. I need that, too.)
I’ve also realized that writing a resume, even thought it seems like a pretty basic task, is a fairly specialized skill. I’m an skilled writer, but I realized I have no idea how to take the things I’ve done in my life and turn them into succinct, atractive bullet points. Doing that well is harder than you’d think, at least for me, and even though I could probably learn to do it just by practicing for a few weeks, I don’t have a couple of weeks to waste anymore. (And if I haven’t spent any of the last several weeks doing this, what makes me think I’ll start now?)
My situation, FWIW, is that I’m finishing up a master’s degree (in a field I’ve decided not to pursue, making it professionally useless) and I won’t be taking enough hours in the fall to keep my student housing or my workstudy job or the deferment on my student loans. If I don’t find something soon I may be living on the street (or worse, with my parents ) by the middle of August.
I know how that is. I used to earn my living as a grant-writer, but writing my own resume defeats me. So, like Alan, I hired a consultant. Worth every penny, if only to save the wear and tear on my psyche.
But networking is really the best. Try to follow the good advice you received above if you can. My current job is great and I just fell into it through someone I had dealt with in a previous job. I don’t think I even gave them a resume!
There you go - niche marketing!
