I hope you keep fighting, Two Many Cats; you have my deepest sympathies, I’m sure it works out for you. Keep going. Also, thanks to Broomstick for writing the posts I’d otherwise try to write myself.
[removed spam for MLM]
This sounds suspiciously like an MLM scheme.
Reported.
Well this is going to end in an overreaction.
Not graphic design in this neck’o’the woods - there’s just nothing out there. DH has been looking since freelancing bottomed out. But maybe I’ll suggest HVAC repair to him!
Good luck to everyone who’s job-hunting. It sucks.
Just giving this quote a bump so it doesn’t get plowed under. What exactly is an informational interview? How do I figure out e-mails of people, and how do I know what job positions they’re in? Are we talking about e-mails in response to applications online or something? How would I go about spending time with these folks? Even sven or somebody else who’s hip to this sort of thing, let me know. I’m sorry if I seem dense for asking, but if this is what networking is, I’ve never had it explained to me.
Also thanks to everyone who’s trying to be helpful. I appreciate it very much. It makes it easier to keep hunting in a barren land.
I haven’t had a real job since October, but just about every week I get a new little lead that perks me back up. I’m dog-sitting over the weekend and I consider this a minor victory. 
Have you tried ChaCha or kgb_ if you’re in the US? They’re text answering services that you can work at from home. Pass their tests and you’re in. They pay peanuts–kgb_ pays 5 to 10 cents per question answered, ChaCha’s pay is roughly the same. I’d say I earn about 3 dollars an hour, so it’s not going to really pay the bills, but it takes the edge off for me.
Good luck!
An informational interview is when YOU interview a professional in your desired field. It’s helpful because you get a sense of what the work is like and what the possible entry points are, but the tacit benefit aside from the actual information is that if you make a good impression and/or stay in touch, the person may recommend you for their own or a colleague’s open position. Or at the very least, alert you to an open position. It tends to be a little more relaxed, and very few people with a little spare time will refuse your request, because they just love blabbing about themselves. Who doesn’t?
I don’t know exactly what even sven meant…it could be as easy as Googling a name or figuring out the e-mail convention for the organization if the individual is not listed. For example, if the secretary’s e-mail address is barb_smith@apple.com, then you would contact Steve Jobs at steve_jobs@apple.com. Obviously, that’s a lot more aggressive and YMMV.
Okay, but how to find these professionals? I mean, should I just hang out at Starbucks and ask people at the next table what they do for a living, and how they got their jobs? Or do I just pick a company and show up, asking to see someone in that department? I’m not trying to be snarky, but the concept seems a little creepy to me. Of course, I’m not great at striking up conversations with total strangers, but if my eating money depends on it, I’ll learn I suppose.
Well…since you have the time off anyway, why not use it to explore a new hobby.
That’s where networking comes in. When I was looking for a job, I used the following sources to find people who might be working at companies I was interested in:
-Friends and family
-Former colleagues (former coworkers, clients, vendors)
-College and business school alumni contacts (many schools also offer searchable databases so you can find alumni working at companies you are interested in)
-Social networking sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo)
-A monthly happyhour networking group I’m involved in that is specific to my industry
-A more general local professional networking group
-An executive placement assistance firm (3 months free provided as part of my severance package)
I like LinkedIn because you can search for people based on their company and geography.
You can also go to a company’s web site. They often provide a lot of imformation on services provided and who runs those services. Small companies are often better because large companies tend to be very process-oriented and beurocratic. Find out who runs whatever you are interested in doing and call them up.
For my first job (in civil engineering) after college, I tried for months unsuccesfully to apply for jobs at large firms. Eventually what worked was simply picking up the yellow pages and calling every engineering, architectural or construction company in an hour radius and asking if they needed a recent engineering grad.
As a general rule, you want to deal with people whenever possible and not end up in some database of candidates.
Just chiming in some support- I am pretty much in the same boat, although I was so devastated by my lay-off in Sept. that I’ve only been actively looking for the last month or so. My line of work is in small business (veterinary hospitals) so it’s easier for me to make a personal impact, BUT I also am over qualified for front office work, since I’ve managed hospitals for over 13 years.
So far, I’ve distributed my resume first to clinics close to me, and have applied for all receptionist jobs with the goal of just seeing someone face to face and letting them know I exist in case they or someone else has a supervisory position available. I made an excellent contact last week, she couldn’t offer me a job but did go out of her way to say she would pass on my resume- I’ll send her a thank you card this week.
I think it’s very easy to resent being in this position. I worked very hard at my previous hospital for almost a decade. I consistently went out of my way for clients and staff and my owners and I know it is no coincidence that they have lost more business since they laid me off. What can you do? Their acccountant told them they couldn’t afford me, and obviously that person, who never worked in or even came into our animal hospital, would know best :rolleyes:.
It is profoundly unfair that I lost my job- I was not perfect but I had earned the chance to correct any problems that would have made them pick me instead of another employee. I work hard to keep that under wrap- because it’s not constructive and there is nothing to be gained by letting that affect how I view prospective employers.
What I do know is that my situation is different than it was the last time I was “in-between” jobs, it would be easier if I was just a receptionist. I could have three jobs tomorrow if I were willing to take half my normal pay (I am aware that I will probably have to take much less, but half is a little extreme at this point). As a friend put it, at least by interviewing for those lower level jobs, I’ve put my name out there and I’m confident that I will be at least able to replace my unemployment if I can’t get a job in an administrative role. If I do that, I may chose to go with another industry- either human health care or legal- if I’m getting paid $10/hour, it might as well be learning something new.
I loved my job, and I worked hard at it and did it for a long time- so I don’t believe that hard work makes you love a job less. But I do understand how bitter it is to work hard and still lose everything.
Have you thought about becoming a nurse? From what I hear you’ll always have work. If I am wrong someone please tell me so.
In my area they’re laying off nurses.
Usually, they lay off a full time nurse, then hire part-timers. To save money, of course, because part-timers don’t get things like health insurance or pensions. But around here even being a nurse is no longer a guarantee of decent employment.
**Too Many Cats, Broomsitck **and all others who are looking for work in this down market: you are not alone.
I am a man ‘of a certain age’ whose 30 year management job evaporated with the sale and shutdown of a manufacturing plant. It’s a long story. So I took a job related to the housing and building industry, at absolutely the worst possible time in decades. And that job went away.
Today I finally had an interview, with a job in my local area using some of the skills that I learned all those years. It was the first interview after 14 months unemployed. We will see how it works out in about a week.
It is not a good job market, it probably won’t be for a long time. I wish you all luck.
I spoke with the Census Bureau today - I go in Monday for “processing and testing” (ah, gotta love Federal bureaucratic procedures!). If this follows last year’s pattern the work won’t actually be assigned until April or May. I’m fine with that - I’m more than happy to lay the groundwork for something a couple months down the road.
So - once again - IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR WORK TRY THE CENSUS BUREAU. The worst that happens is that you get your initial workup this month and if you have other work when they call you in for training just say “thanks - changed my mind”. They know that sort of thing happens. And if you don’t have permanent work, well, it’s not a bad gig for temping.
I also spoke with one of my self-employment clients today - there may be work for me starting on Tuesday (not definite) and I am hopeful about that as well.
Pretty productive for a day I was more or less snowed in.
It’s these little things that help keep me motivated. Sometimes, what you do today won’t pay off for weeks or longer, but you do it anyway. It is fearsome hard these days, but I keep trying and somehow I keep surviving.
Just make sure you take a practice test first and time yourself. You can print a practice test off the website. Believe me that 30 minute test is harder than you might think.
I know. I took it last year. I am not concerned, although reviewing the practice test won’t hurt.
OP is not even getting interviewed in the first place, so how would they know what his attitude is?
And if you don’t think the job hunt right now IS bullshit with everyone’s proprietary stupid formats and barriers to actual human beings, then I bet you’re doing just dandy in soulless corporate America.
Apparently, you need a drivers license, which I don’t have.
You need proof of identity. “Driver’s license” is a standard suggestion, but there are other acceptable forms of ID and a list is available.
The thing is, you can’t do the field work jobs without reliable transportation. It’s a feature of the job. Last year, some on the work crew did some of the assignment either on foot (In fact, there’s a lot of walking involved in the job, too) or on bicycle, but there was no way to do all of it that way and meet the deadlines.
You could still apply for the office work, but there are far fewer of those jobs available and they are much harder to get.