SD Job-Seekers' Support Group

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
161

So far still no word on the job I had two phone interviews for. I think they are waiting for everything right now. I have made progress with my grad transcripts, though! I was able to get one F changed to a withdrawn so far, and it seems the other prof is willing to sign off on the other one being changed to a W as well. The graduate office says he has the paperwork and they are waiting for him to fill it out, so maybe I should shoot him an email.

Then after that comes trying to convince the registrar to release a copy, despite the hold on my account. I don’t see that going well, because (from their point of view) what’s the point of a hold if any old buffoon can just call and have it mean nothing?

162

[QUOTE=teela brown]
Do you remember a magazine called Kitchen Garden? It was in print for a few years, and I loved it. It was full of articles of how to grow vegetables, the photography was beautiful, and
[/QUOTE]

I don’t know that one – I’m more a flower person than a veggie person. Here is a picture of the most gorgeous kitchen garden I’ve ever seen – this was in Oklahoma City.

163

twickster, good luck, I hope you get the job.

Luck and well-wishes to all the others as well.

I would have bet you real money that I would be laid off last Friday. I wasn’t.

But the shoe seems like it may drop. My boss’s ex-boss (who may now be my boss, I’m not sure.) call one of my direct-reports (I was out on sick leave) asking for details for info that the man has no access to. He is a programmer, he doesn’t know who is paying the bills, he just does his job.

The man wants to meet next week. I suspect that will be all. (perhaps I even hope that.)

164

so I am about to go to bed and I start fretting about the job situation (or lack there of) and now I cna’t sleep. I have made it through several interviews with 2 companies one of which I think I would really like and the other maybe not so much. the one I think I would like is on hold ad the other will be making a decision next week, so I am worried that the second company will make an offer. Company 2 would involve supervising people and doing all of the hiring and firing. I have had some bad experiences in supervising people and now I am worried I have talked myself into a job I can’t do. Although I did ok at the last place where I had staff under me, it was the owners I had problems with. Arrrgh.

I am 5 weeks into unemployment and other than that pesky no money part I am really enjoying myself however I do have to go back to work at some point… or whin the lottery.

Adhemar

165

Well…might as well join the party. Got my M.S. in urban/regional planning in December. Scored a few interviews the early part of the year, but due to being WAY out of practice in the art of interviewing, I didn’t make the final cut in any of them. Also my internship was unsatistactory; not much of a learning experience. They took me on full time after graduation but it was a 60-mile drive away and I was not doing not much more than field GPS. I don’t want to be sidetracked into GIS/GPS stuff (computer mapping) even though it’s critical in this field.
So now I’m considering looking outside of the immediate area, even though I have a fiance here in town who is tenured at the college and can’t leave…crud.

166

Sigh.

I did not get the job. I got lots of compliments and was told by HR that the job was “too small” for me. Gee thank you–I am flattered and yet also still unemployed.

167

[QUOTE=Contrary]
Sigh.

I did not get the job. I got lots of compliments and was told by HR that the job was “too small” for me. Gee thank you–I am flattered and yet also still unemployed.
[/QUOTE]

Sorry to hear that. :frowning:

168

I’m guessing I didn’t get the job I was gunning for. The last correspondence I had was June 19th when I got an email saying I was still in the running after getting an (incorrect) email saying I did not get the job. I still haven’t managed to get them my graduate transcript, with the hold and everything, so that might have been why.

:frowning:

169

Bummer, bouv, Khadaji.

Had a good phone conversation today with the green magazine guy – he hasn’t yet decided how to staff the new magazine, let alone decided to hire anyone. In the meantime, I’m going to work with him and another guy (writer who does a lot of stuff on the environment for one of the free weeklies here in town) to put together a prototype. This other guy has a better grasp of the subject matter as a whole – I’m a lot better on the process of putting together a magazine. What Green Guy actually needs is a combination of the two of us – until such a person might present himself or herself, the three of us will see what happens when we work together.

Anyway, so I’ve got an hourly gig (at a rate significantly lower than my usual freelance rate, but what can you do?) for the next month or so, putting together a first issue. And I can make up to $200/week without it affecting my unemployment, so it’s all good.

170

Good stuff Twickster!

Before my last operation I had had a headhunter contact me for a job not too far from my current job. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but I wanted check them out and see if we could make it work.

I figured that since I went incommunicado for a week I had lost that opportunity, but I got a call today to say that *they *were sorry for not following but the hiring manager was on vacation until July 7th.

So maybe there is still a chance.

My old boss from two years ago is in town for the holiday and he popped over last night to visit. He said he might get a promotion and be moved back to our area. And if he gets the promotion, he wants to know if I would talk about working for him again.

I dunno. He is a good man and a great friend, but I dunno. Still, it never hurts to talk.

171

My job search is going soooo slow, but mostly because I’m American and am looking for work in Toronto, so there’s all the stuff with work permits, etc. Also, I’m a lawyer (not admitted in Canada) so that’s another screwball. I’m thinking that if nothing comes through by September 1, I may have to start looking in Buffalo but the searches I’ve done for jobs in Buffalo have been pretty depressing. I have a few resumes out there and had a first interview that went well, but wasn’t a slam dunk. Still optimistic overall though.

172

Hi - I heard that this is where all the unemployed people are meeting. My name is featherlou, and I worked my last day last Tuesday. I liked the job, but there was a micromanaging super-bossy co-worker there who the actual supervisor was not keeping under control - for some reason she was gunning for me and another female co-worker (yeah, one of THOSE women). I’m planning to go back to temping some day - maybe in August. Take a few weeks to decompress after a high stress work experience first.

173

Right now, I don’t know whether to scream or cry.

I’m going on three months of unemployment, with only one interview, and no callback from them. No rejection letters from anyone. I’m now starting to have problems making unemployment claims; they wouldn’t accept mine for the last week, and I’ve got to call a human tomorrow. I’m going to be up all night worrying about this.

I’m pouring through EVERY municipal web site in the region, and while most communities have economic development agencies, few have planning departments. Nobody is hiring planners. There’s very few private planning firms, and they’re not hiring. I take that back: they’re not hiring me, because my cover letters, resumes and portfolios are apparently getting shredded upon arrival; I’m hearing nothing from them.

I can’t stray far from the Cleveland area, because I have a house I can’t sell (A house three doors down from mine is on the market for $37,000; the one next to me is listed for $55,000. I paid almost three times that for my house). I also have a a girlfriend that absolutely, positively cannot leave the region, end of story, until she gets her masters degree next year. Even then, there’s no jobs in Pittsburgh, none in Detroit, none in Buffalo, none anywhere in driving distance of Cleveland, except little rural township zoning administrator jobs hours from civilization that pay $30K tops. Taking one of those would not only be financially, socially and emotionally ruinous, but it would also set my career back a decade or more.

I feel cornered, with nowhere to go. No opportunities, no nothing. I can always go back to live with my parents, but at 42, I’d probably sink so far into depression that a dream job wouldn’t even pull me out of it.

174

That does sound overwhelming, elmwood. As my husband always says, though, one crisis at a time. Figure out what to do about your unemployment insurance problem, then move on to the next crisis.

Maybe try screaming AND crying. You’re in a very stressful situation; feeling frustrated and hopeless is actually a normal reaction. :slight_smile:

175

Been out of work for 6 months. Actively looking for four. Dozens of applications/resumes sent, and no interviews at all. My credit card bills are slowly starting to pile up. No more unemployment benefits. Hard to find a job in a city where every schlub wants to come to try to make it big. Looks like I might start flipping burgers. It’s all in the wrist, right?

176

Sorry to hear your news Elmwood. Nothing I can say will make it easier for you, but you are in my thoughts.

177

Elmwood is it possible to call the limited number of companies that have your type of job? Ask to meet with them for just a few minutes even if they don’t have a job available at the moment. Ask them to keep youin mind if something does come up and if they know of anything related to pass on your name. Also maybe you can think “outside the box” for something related but not the traditional urban planner position. for example my background is logistics coordinator but I can make a case for working at a logistics company because I know the customers viewpoint.

Hopefully you will get the claim process straightened out easily.

Adhemar
(cross your fingers for me, I had a 3rd interview with a company I liked and I think they liked me.)

[QUOTE=elmwood]
Right now, I don’t know whether to scream or cry.

I’m going on three months of unemployment, with only one interview, and no callback from them. No rejection letters from anyone. I’m now starting to have problems making unemployment claims; they wouldn’t accept mine for the last week, and I’ve got to call a human tomorrow. I’m going to be up all night worrying about this.

I’m pouring through EVERY municipal web site in the region, and while most communities have economic development agencies, few have planning departments. Nobody is hiring planners. There’s very few private planning firms, and they’re not hiring. I take that back: they’re not hiring me, because my cover letters, resumes and portfolios are apparently getting shredded upon arrival; I’m hearing nothing from them.

I can’t stray far from the Cleveland area, because I have a house I can’t sell (A house three doors down from mine is on the market for $37,000; the one next to me is listed for $55,000. I paid almost three times that for my house). I also have a a girlfriend that absolutely, positively cannot leave the region, end of story, until she gets her masters degree next year. Even then, there’s no jobs in Pittsburgh, none in Detroit, none in Buffalo, none anywhere in driving distance of Cleveland, except little rural township zoning administrator jobs hours from civilization that pay $30K tops. Taking one of those would not only be financially, socially and emotionally ruinous, but it would also set my career back a decade or more.

I feel cornered, with nowhere to go. No opportunities, no nothing. I can always go back to live with my parents, but at 42, I’d probably sink so far into depression that a dream job wouldn’t even pull me out of it.
[/QUOTE]

178

[QUOTE=elmwood]
I feel cornered, with nowhere to go. No opportunities, no nothing.
[/QUOTE]

Word.

One cost of this move to Boston that I really truly didn’t consider was how it might crater my career. I’m hamstrung since all my experience, contacts and professional network are back in the Midwest. And for whatever reason, Boston doesn’t seem to have very many opportunities in my field (training development/delivery, change management etc). I suspect that’s partly because the area is thick with great colleges so when people graduate they just stay. Cracking this barrier is proving to be just about impossible.

Plus I’m in that horrible spot of being way too qualified for the jobs that do pop up on Monster; even if I edit that out of my resume, it still comes through when I’m asked about salary history and in my answers to interview questions.

Unemployment is a real self-esteem killer. I’m in a new city without my support network (with the single exception of my husband) and no job. I sit in this nasty apartment every day wondering what next? I’m considering going back for another master’s but wonder if that’s going to do any good or if that will just add to the overqualification issue.

179

Contrary, have you considered instead of getting another master’s, getting something more hands-on, like a technician accreditation in your chosen field, or possibly a related field? It might seem like a step back, but it might be your way to get in the door.

180

So it is 1:30 in the morning and I have a 4th interview scheduled this afternoon with the head of corporate HR. Now I am thinking the reason for that is they want to offer me the position because I cna’t imagine after all of this there can be much more of the dreaded questions for them to ask me. So whay am I awake in the wee hours of the morning? I am worried that they will offer me some low ball salary and I am fretting over how low do I want to go. On the one hand I have worked long and hard to reach this level, on the other hand I really don’t have much else on the burners. I have been out of work for 1.5 to 2 months and out of the dozens of resumes I have sent out I have had 2 sets of interviews. One should have made a decision earlier this week and since I haven’t heard from them I am thinking I wasn’t the final choice.

The last time I was looking for work I actually had a company that I had interviewed for a supervisor position and they offered me an entry level straight off the street job and couldn’t understand why I turned them down since I could make up the pay difference in overtime. That jerk called me three times trying to get me to take an entry level job.

I get worried that I am being too picky. If I wait another offe won’t come along. Of course if I take a low offer, I will be struggling to pay my bills and could lose my house. Crap I hate looking for a job.

Adhemar