Good luck, Quartz, hope this one comes through for you 
You got this one, Quartz!
I did indeed have it. But my security clearance had not just lapsed (and thus be reinstatable) but gone. So I didn’t get the job. 
Being a contract, rather than permanent, position, they were unwilling to wait the 4-6 weeks my going through the clearance process would take.
Arse.
I’m sorry quartz!!!
By the sounds of it you were at least given the job, so you were headed in the right direction!!
I’m still thinkin about ya, and everyone else in this thread…our time has got to come eventually
Hard luck, Quartz. It is not just the wait, it is also the cost - SC is pricey, DV is exorbitant. And at the moment, there are lots of people getting canned from EDS (now HP) who do have clearance and are in the market.
Si
Sorry to hear the bad news, Quartz, you’ll find something though, Stiff-Upper-Lip and all that rot 
I was getting discouraged myself, still no responses, but I have been calling some of my old work connections/customers to see if they have any openings, a couple of them being local schools, as the State of Maine has a Laptop Learning Initiative program which mainly consists of iBook G4’s and MacBooks, one school in particular has a large quantity of functional iBooks as well as a bunch of parts machines, heck, if they hire me on, I could cannabalize their dead machines to fix the good ones, and cut their repair budget by about 80-90%, and any stuff I can’t do they can go to MacEdge for, it’s win-win
still no responses, which is discouraging, but I did discover I had a nice little nest-egg built up that I had forgotten about, an SEP (Simple Employee Program, not Somebody Else’s Problem, that is ) retirement plan and an IRA plan that have been quietly ticking away building value, if worst came to worst and I had to cash them in, I’d be looking at a pretty significant amount of money that could definitely put me very solidly in the black, that combined with my Federal tax refund i’m undoubtedly due and my Unemployment checks that are due to arrive in another week to week and a half means I’m breathing a heck of a lot easer
I’m still rather disheartened and depressed about the whole job-loss thing, and am still impatiently waiting for calls and interviews, but I’m not as financially screwed as I thought I was a few days ago
Sending good vibes/karma to my fellow job-seekers
I think someone mentioned this already, but the key is being patient, and the key to being patient is to constantly be doing something – if you’re taking a break from the search, do something else that’s active rather than passive.
As for me, I’m one of the lucky ones in this thread – I currently have a job, I’m just looking for a career change. I just got an e-mail from a fellow I had 2 interviews with. He’s got one more person to interview before making a decision, but instead of interviewing this week, it’s going to be on Monday, and he won’t have an answer until then. I am glad he’s keeping me informed, but waiting is definitely the hardest part!
KidScruffy I’m leaning towards thinking this is good news. IMO, it means you are still in the running. He is keeping you informed to be sure you don’t lose interest.
Good luck!
Is there any way to have an internship when you are no longer in school???
I kinda filled out an app that was for an internship for an advertising/marketing company in Chicago (Called McKinney;Chicago anyone heard of it?), and it never specified that you have to be a student, but all of my experience with looking at internships is that you do need to be a student. So I am not really holding my breath for it. Is there any type of internship or something you can do if you are recently out of school?
There’s progress.
The bank I interviewed with has gone through some management changes and there is now a new regional manager. He’s agreed to talk to me as a favor to my sister-in-law.
I’ve also taken the assessment for the IRS. I haven’t heard back yet, but it’s promising.
Robin
Damn, my sister-in-law is good. I have another phone interview with the bank next week.
Robin
Knock’em dead!
I applied for a position, but was rejected by HR because I’m 5 months short of the requisite 3 years experience. My manager found out from a guy who used to have my job that it’s his manager doing the actual hiring. To make a much longer story short, this guy is going to give my resume to his manager. My resume still has to look good enough to get an interview, and then I’d really have to do well there, but it’s a chance anyway…
Thanks! I have a good feeling too, but I haven’t wanted to jinx anything. I was told a couple weeks ago that I was on the top of the list, but he had one other person to interview. I’m thinking if the delay is the interviewee’s fault, that probably bodes well for me.
Well, it’s been a little over a week, NOTHING!
I’m sick of it, I’m sick of counting pennies, I’m sick of waiting for the smegging phone to ring, I’m sick of filling out apps overandoverandover in a futile attempt to find work, not a single sodding call…
I’ve applied to every computer shop in the area (there aren’t that many), the Apple store (frakkin’ hiring freeze…) Smalldog (job was filled and they’re not hiring again until a few months later), frak, I’ve even applied to U-Haul, and wally world, nothing, no calls
even the brain-dead grunt job place has yet to call, I’m calling them on Monday to follow up, it may be a brain-dead grunt job, but the pay is tolerable and it’s less than five miles from home
My Apple certs are close to expiring, and it’s going to cost me $300 to get the review materials so I can keep my certs current, that’s $300 I haven’t planned on spending…
I am Jack’s seething frustration and rage!
(try to guess what movie I’m watching right now )
Have you done any research on community mental health resources?
twicks, completely sans snark
I got the job! Which means I’ll shortly be starting a “Moving to Fresno” thread, but I’ll still be checking in here. Thanks to everyone for all the advice/support/anecdotes!
Woohoo! Another one down! Congratulations, wishing you luck and joy in your new career.
Anyone familiar with job placement agencies, a couple of the jobs I applied to on southernmainehelpwanted dot com are being promoted by a job placement agency called e1maine dot com
the woman I spoke with (Tara) claims that they work with companies in my local area, they list their jobs with the e1maine website because e1m clients are more serious and ready to work, they only deal with full-time permanent positions
the downside, they require a $185 membership fee, but it’s good for a year
Tara says she has a good amount of great jobs in my area, ranging from IT positions, to “Will Train” positions if I choose to make a career change at this point, and I have been considering making a change, mainly because the companies I’ve worked for don’t exactly have the best track record for stability**
Tara wouldn’t go into details about where the jobs are, or what they are, unless I paid the $185 fee…
So, on the one hand, there’s a very real chance if I go with Tara and E1M, I could get a great job in short order, I HATE being unemployed, the biggest headache is not the tedium of redundant job apps, my impatience and desire to get a job NOW!, or the financial stress, it’s the mind-numbing boredom
OTOH, it’s almost $200 I hadn’t planned on spending, and it’s a gamble, it might not work out
Has anyone used a job-placement service, are they worth it, or a waste of money
** My job history most recent to oldest;
MacEdge; laid off due to economy, the business is in severe financial straights and may not survive the next six months to a year
Small Dog Electronics; laid off due to slowing economy and an overstaffed service department
Bitznbytes; left to go to Smalldog, then company went out of business due to incompetent management
Computer Town; left to go to Bitznbytes, then the company went out of business due to incompetent management
Computer Marketplace; they stopped servicing the Mac, so I went to Computer Town
the two best jobs in the above list were Smalldog, and Computer Marketplace, CMI was a brutal commute though (York Maine to Tewksbury Mass)
Well, the interview with the bank didn’t go well. I didn’t pass the online teller assessment, so I’m not qualified for that, and I don’t have enough sales experience for a retail banker position, which assessment I did pass.
At this point, I’m writing this particular bank off. I thanked my sister-in-law, but told her it’s not worth it anymore. I’m not in so desperate need of a job that I have to jump through this many hoops.
MacTech, I’ve had some experience with placement agencies, and I’ve never had to pay for one. Usually, it’s the employer who pays the agency. If you have to pay this one, find out if they offer a guarantee that if they don’t place you in that first year, you’ll have your money refunded.
Robin