I’m kind of at a dead end in my job search. I’ve gone through all of the job search engines (careerbuilder.com, jobs.net, yahoo jobs… even craig’s list). I’ve also hit the websites of major employers in my area (hospitals, factories, etc.) and I’m still at a bit of a loss.
Where should I go from here?
Anyone have suggestions on where else to try? I’m about ready to start waiting tables at the restaurant my husband works at… and I’d really rather not go back to that. I did NOT like being a waitress when I did that… but if I have to, I will. I want a career, not a job.
What sort of job do you want, or are looking to move into? Are you switching industries?
Temping might be a good choice. Employers right now are averse to hiring people because the economy is still uncertain, so temp workers are in demand. Of course, there are also a lot of people out of work who would take temp work. Still, it’s probably easier to get a temp job than a permanent position, and I’ve found that many companies find it easier to commit to you as an employee if they know exactly what they are getting.
I actually did some temp work for the last few months… the temp position was just eliminated (project completed), and I haven’t found a new job yet. I’ve been looking, but having a hard time finding something. It’s possible to find another temp job through the agency, but I’d really like a permanent position. (My husband and I want to start a family, but until I have insurance, we can’t… I don’t want to wait another two or three years to start a family… I’m nearing 28…)
Basically, I don’t want something that is entirely or mostly commission based. My husband is a cook, with hours that vary greatly throughout the year and I need a job with regular, steady income. I’m pretty open to various industries, but I’d probably prefer an office-type job. I’m looking for something that will pay decent (so no flipping burgers at Mickey D’s or whatever), but it doesn’t have to be a high-paying job.
I was in banking, food service, and office for a manufacturing plant in the last half dozen years. I’m pretty willing and adaptable, so switching industries is an option. I just bought a house, so I don’t want to have to relocate, but am willing to travel within a half-hour of my house.
So you have office type skills? Word, Excel(?), Powerpoint, stuff like that?
Or do you have some technical abilities?
There are a few (very few) ligitimate work from home jobs that involve getting paid by the word to type. Have you considered postal or government office jobs, taking tests, filling out the apps., that sort of thing?
What is it you do? Banking, food service and manufacturing are three very different industries to have been in over a 3 year period.
What sort of education or formal training do you have?
What kind of work are you looking to do? You need to be more specific than “office work”. Unless you work in a restaurant, factory or outside, most work takes place in an office. Companies really don’t just hire people to do odd filing jobs around the office, unless you are looking to be an admin.
I have a BA in English - Creative Writing. Not a terribly useful degree, I must say. I have excellent computer skills, proficient in the entire Microsoft Office suite, etc.
While in college (and shortly after) I was a waitress and bartender. Then I was a bank teller for a couple years. My temp assignment was doing data entry for the Quality Assurance department of a food manufacturing company.
I’m not really “in a field” yet. I haven’t spent 20 years as a machinist or anything. I don’t mind doing receptionist work, clerical, data entry, medical records, etc. I’m a fast learner and very adaptable. Ideally, I’d love to be able to write for a living, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. The economy was taking a big downturn when I got out of college, so I’ve been working where I can to pay my bills and haven’t really had a chance to find a “career.” Those jobs were getting me by, until now. They at least paid the bills.
I want to take this chance to find a career, rather than a job. If I need to, though, I’m willing to take a “step down” and go back to waiting tables to pay the bills. But I don’t want to.
And I said half dozen… which is 6… Aside from the manufacturing job (where I was a temp), I was at both of those jobs for at least two years.
I don’t want to be looking for a new job in a year or two because I just took any old job to pay the bills. It doesn’t look good on a resume to be switching jobs every 6 months. But I do need a job.
I have looked into city/government work. I’ve been to city hall, filled out the apps, and found that they’re only hiring for seasonal work at this time. I keep checking back, but so far nothing permanent has come up.
I have been filling out applications. Been on a couple interviews. I’m following up, etc. The problem is, there just aren’t many jobs out there. I see lots of things for people with specialized training (machinists, truck drivers) or minimum requirements of 5 or 10 years of experience in XYZ field. I’m 28, just got out of college 3.5 years ago… haven’t had the chance to get that much experience. In a better job market, when companies were scrambling for employees, people with limited experience could get a job and get that experience. Now, the companies know that there are people out there with that experience who are laid off or downsized, etc. Those experienced people are out there…
Part of me is just about ready to be a checker at Wal-Mart. But I wanted more out of life than that. I’m smarter than that. I have a degree…
…but gone are the days when simply having a degree meant something. More and more people are going to college. I should have gone to school for something more useful. Or kept going and gotten a masters or something. But that’s neither here nor there… I need a job now.
Send out a note bcc’d to everyone you know, including contacts from previous jobs that you might know, asking them to keep you in mind if they hear of any openings.
Most openings get filled by somebody who knows somebody. You just have to do everything you can to be that somebody.
Where are you located? That will make a big difference in the places you search for jobs.
I can’t speak highly enough of monster.com and craigslist for finding jobs. I found 3 jobs on monster when I was just out of college, 2 of which were pretty dang good and one of which sucked horribly but paid really well, and I found my current job that is full of puppies and rainbows on craigslist. It takes time and effort to continue to check in every day and see what is newly posted but keep it up and you can eventually find something.
Also google “headquarters your city your state” and you will get a list of all major companies that are located in your town that might have employment opportunities.
When I review resumes at work, I look for people who have strong work ethics. I look for people who will work (and do work) any job during lapses of unemployment. This makes a strong impression on me.
By your own admission, you could be working as a waitress at your husband’s restaurant or at Wal-Mart while looking for a better job/career. But you have chosen not to pursue these temporary jobs for some reason. I would not hire you for this reason; you come across as being “above” doing certain types of work.
What about a call center? I’ve done a lot of call center training and the turnover was pretty high. There was a constant need for smart, articulate candidates who could type. Pay was apparently not half bad and there was a career path into management (people who I trained on the phones were supervisors/managers in 1-2 years if they were competent and stuck around).
Call center work doesn’t have to be horrible. The call center I trained supported various Microsoft programs (not products). For example, they’d help people with information about how to become an MCP or whatever. There weren’t a lot of unhappy callers, just people needing info.
So you’re saying it’s better to be switching jobs every 6 months than to take the time to find a job you could stay with? I was always told that having a new job every couple of months looks really bad.
The reason I haven’t gone back to waiting tables or working for Wal-Mart is because I’m looking for a career. It’s not fair to the restaurant or Wal-Mart or whatever for me to start there, get trained and then find a better job and leave after a month.
I have been taking odd jobs to keep working. I spent the last three months pretty much copying and pasting from the companies old service site to their new one. A trained monkey could have done that. I’m taking temp jobs. I’m babysitting.
First of all, “lapses of unemployment” would be periods where the person is employed. So yes, I would expect that they would do any job asked while they were working. But I understand what you meant.
That’s a stupid policy, and here is why. If I am evaluating a person for a specific professional job, I am interested in how their skills and experience with previous jobs has prepared them for the position I am think about hiring them for. The OP is looking for an office job. Other than satisfying some middle-class inflated sense of “work ethic”, what relevancy does a six month stint in a WalMart or restuarant have? Unless there some sort of financial necessessity to take whatever job she can get, it is a waste of time for her to actively seek out and accept work at a job that’s irrelevant to her desired career path. And it isn’t as if it’s any easier to just find an “any” job versus one in your desired career track. If anything, it might be harder because it would be a job you are overqualified for or simply don’t have the skills or experience to do. Time spent looking for jobs at Walmart or working in the restaurant would be better spent figuring out her career goals, researching companies and building relevant skills.
I doubt very many people in a hiring position really have this Crafter_Man’s attitude, although I’ve run into a few. He likes people to be willing to do anything, which I read as wanting them to be desperate, or at least desperate to please. Other people just can’t stand this: “Oh, this person will work anything; obviously they don’t have a real career focus,” or, “This person is a doormat.” You run into all types when looking for a job, just like when doing anything else. That’s okay, since if all people doing hiring were the same, only one type of person would ever get hired (or at least someone who could fake it). All I’m saying is, don’t try to tailor yourself based on an individual attitude.
Where do you live? And how are you judging what’s a “major company”? My company, for example, is a multi-national company with over 25,000 employees. Our regional office has maybe 100 people in an anonymous suite in an office park. We’re often hiring, but we certainly aren’t a “big name” in my town. But we have exceptional good benefits, reasonable pay, insurance that starts the day you’re hired, etc. My point being, you can’t tell from the sign outside what we do our how many openings we have.
I would drive through some office parks within your desired commute and make lists of the companies there. Go online and look them up. Most companies have their openings listed under “Careers” on their websites. And if you have to work warehouse work to get a foot in the door, don’t be discouraged. we have people who regularly move from the warehouse to the office, and our whse workers make about $11-12/hr and get the same excellent benefits as the office workers.
Try a temp agency. A head hunter MIGHT work also. Remember a head hunter gets a percentage of the salary when you’re hired. This means head hunters are going to work harder for the clients who have the potential for the highest salary.
Some area are far worse than others, for example Florida is really bad. But even in Florida if you aren’t in a touristy area (and there are a few left) it’s not as bad as the tourist areas.
My advice to you is start waitressing and here’s why, my mother used to have a saying and there is some truth to it, “People will give you a job if you don’t look like you need it.”
The fact is you’re upset and rightfully so, but a job ANY job will make you feel less vulnerable. You go on interviews and don’t get it. Or you apply and don’t get called, you feel bad. You were rejected, who likes that? No one does.
But if you still have a job, ANY job, you can say “Well back to square one.” You don’t feel as bad as you’re not at someone’s mercy. In the end, you were still rejected but having a place to return to helps
As far as “big companies,” I’ve been applying at any company with a recognized name. We have ShopKo’s headquarters here, paper companies, food processing plants, hospitals, etc. I will take the advice to drive through the office parks and write down business names.
I have not taken the civil service exams… the government in my area is going through some major cutbacks… major. People are losing jobs left and right, there are mandatory furloughs, etc. There is nothing. I’ve been looking for the last year or so to find something in that area… and aside from a handful of seasonal jobs, there hasn’t been anything. I’d love to have government benefits, but it’s just not happening in my area. If you guys think I should, despite the dearth of jobs, I’ll look into that.
As I’ve said before, I have been doing temp work. There is another possible temp job that I got a call about today. It’ll be a temp-to-hire job. I’m just so frustrated. It’s such a bad time for all of this. My husband and I want to get started working on a family, but I need to be working for a company (as their employee, not as a temp) for a year before I would qualify for FMLA (maternity leave)… if I keep doing these long-term temp jobs, but not getting hired, I’ll spend the next couple years not having any insurance, not having any time off built up for leave, not having any money saved for a kid… I’ll be 28 before we’d even start trying.
I’m not saying that when I interview, though. I don’t want to sound like some woman who’s just gonna leave them in the lurch in a year. I don’t want to sound desperate. I try to not even bring up that I’m a newlywed. That also gives that impression. I’m very careful about what I say… but it’s frustrating.
Thanks for letting me vent. Thanks for the advice. Thank you.
