Further to the information interview, you need to start with an idea of what you want to do. You appear to be daunted by just starting the process. An important first step is deciding what job you want and is resonable to get with your education and experience.
Given that you must have an interest in that field already, what have you done in that field? Have you taken classes? Start by interviewing your teacher. Does someone in your family or one of your friends work in that field? Interview them? Do you volunteer with people in that field? Interview them. All it takes is one person who is kind of related to that field and you’re off.
A key part of the interview will be - Do you know anybody else in the field who might be willing to speak with me? Hopefully you get at least one name and you can keep going.
A hypothetical track might be that you want to be hired as an HR manager. You had a really cool HR prof at school. You take her to lunch. She tells you about this cool study she just finished on HR techniques. One of the companies she studied is doing some innovative stuff. She recommends that you talk to them. She gives you their VPs contact info. You contact the VP’s administrator and she tells you that the VP is too busy for an interview. You ask if there’s a less senior person who might have some time. She gives you a junior HR person’s name. You set up an interview with him. He’s young and can’t really help you in your search, but does have a friend at another company in HR who might be willing to talk. Et cetera.
It can be long and frustrating, but all it really takes is one or two people who are motivated to help you and you can cultivate a pretty big circle of people who are in the industry you want to be in and have an eye out for jobs for you. You should also check back every now and then to the people who you spoke with to see if they’ve heard anything. Also, if your chain of contacts breaks at some point, you can go back to your initial people and ask if they could recommend any other people to talk to.
Other things to consider is getting a basic business card made up (they’re pretty cheap at Staples) to give out and getting everyone’s business card or contact info so you can get back to them to thank them for their time or ask further advice.
There’s a ton of information on information interviews, but here’s some questions to get you started:
I had my trepidations about this whole idea as well, but I was really surprised how forthcoming people were. People get how much it sucks to be unemployed and if you show real interest in their field (do your research, read up on the latest news/trends) they will talk your ear off. I know I would help anybody in my field if they called me up and asked to buy me coffeee. Most of us have been on your side at some point in our careers.
I love how people are saying that because you’re venting on a message board, with that attitude they’ll never hire you. Yeah, because I act the same at an interview as I do hanging out with my friends bitching about stuff.
I have no temp agencies and no job agencies. Businesses in my state are going bankrupt at a rapid rate. I think if people can relocate that is great - IF they have the money to search long distance for a job and IF they have money to move - But I know people have done this and been laid off right after they got there. Retraining is great IF you have the money - IF you already have a degree - you can’t get grants and FA - you might be able to get a loan - but will you be able to pay if back. And by the way Mc Donalds is NOT always hiring. Nurses ARE getting laid off - teachers ARE getting laid off. I am shocked at how many people who are working - think - they will NOT get laid off their job. Are people delusional? Are they watching the news? Unemployed people are NOT lazy and or stupid or uneducated. And by the way the employment office requires people to be applying for jobs and sending out resumes and not having coffee and networking - that isn’t on the job search plan. I would love to use coworkers for job references - but they all got laid off too and are looking for work themselves.
Actually, if you’ve got a computer and a decent printer at home you can even make your own business cards. Templates to fit in your printer are available, if not, size and cut them yourself. For basic contact info a do-it-yourself could well be more than adequate for your purposes.
Of course, not everyone would be comfortable doing their own, but it is an option.
It’s a continuation of the meme that if you’ve suffered some sort of misfortune or having some sort of difficulty it must be your fault. I have the theory that this makes some people feel safer, that if they just do the “correct” thing every time everything will always work out in the end and they will be insulated from random misfortune and events beyond their control.
On the other hand, our state is actually still doing better than, say, Michigan which is one of our neighbors.
A risk that is frequently overlooked… I have considered relocating, but that means giving up what support system I have here (some contacts who have gotten me some work albeit temporary, low rent, familiarity with the local area and resources, etc.) and going somewhere entirely new and unfamiliar with NO support system whatsoever. The one place I can relocate to with family is just as depressed as my current locale, and would leave me in an even more difficult position in regards to looking for work of any nature. If I lost my current residence I’d probably have no choice, but needless to say, I’m trying to hold on to what little I still have.
Yes, in many cases they are - see prior post about self-deception in order to feel safe.
But if some people admitted that to themselves they would have to face the reality that they, too, could face long-term unemployment and poverty through no fault of their own - and that scares the living crap out of the average American who has been trained to view unemployment and poverty as personal and moral failings. As sins, if you will.
And that is very true - many of the techniques that have led to the little work I’ve had over the past few years are not counted as job hunting by either unemployment or the public aid office. It is VERY oriented to fill out a job app and submit your resume - no other activities count. When public aid demands that you do THEIR job search 30 hours a week (a typical requirement in Indiana) that leaves *very *little time for networking and having coffee.
I have the exact same problem - my prior network became unemployed in the same month I did. I am now starting over at entry-level in a new area and trying to build a network… but with so many people chasing so little work it can be very discouraging at times.
I have been out of work since August of 2007. I was sick for the first few months of no work (The reason I lost my job, despite what the company tried to say.) and then I was not working too hard to get one for a few more months. (Note, I was not receiving unemployment at that time.) So I started really looking hard for work around February, 2008, 2 months after the official start of the recession. Needless to say, I have been completely unsuccessful so far in finding any work.
Locally, what jobs do open up are very much a buyer’s market. They can get anyone for almost anything they want to pay. And a 47 year old who lost his last job for getting sick too much is just not high on the list of desirable employees. I finally got into a retraining program last October (Barely, they do not like the fact I have a BA, despite the fact I have not used it for anything in 22 years.) so when it ends in April or May, I might be able to find some kind of employment. I just hope I can manage to keep paying the bills until then.
Vistaprint.com offers free business cards - they are free because they have the Vistaprint logo printed small on the reverse – if you want no logo you have to pay but its very cheap (I think about $10 for 200). They are decent weight cardstock, not amazing, and have a few simple classic designs among their freebies.
They are spammy with their emails and the checkout process is intentionally confusing but they are otherwise legit - I have “contact cards” (business cards with my personal contact info on them) from them, and also printed part of my wedding invitations through them. People often commented favorably on my contact cards when I was looking for work.
The business cards aren’t for me - we are to get business cards from them - they think that is funny - I walk into a retailer or whatever and have to get the tatted up nosering girl behind the service counter that is talking on her cell phone to her significant other to sign my fssa form and give me her business card so I can prove to the fssa office that I was there and asked about a job.
That is one way to document we came in to apply.
We also have to print out documents there to prove we applied - which just most places do not do because that is costing them money.
No applying for work at home they said.
No resumes also they said (I plan to do it anyway) - but they said that isn’t how you find a job.
Like I said the caseworkers were delusional.
The reality is there are few jobs.
Also looking for work outside the area isn’t counted because they cannot call and confirm long distance.
I have already been following the unemployment office guidelines for a couple of months - which seem to be opposite of the fssa office.
Personally I am just going to do my best to get signatures and documents - if they refuse then I will write them on the forms and a description of the person - all I can do is my best - I can’t force anyone to do anything.
How did you get into a training program with a BA? I looked online and I am disaqualified from most things for training since I am too old and have an education already.
Oh wanted to explain - the employment office wants me to do my job search online at home and send out resumes.
The fssa wants me to go to the employment office to apply for jobs and not use internet at home or send out resumes.
And then I am still working parttime and they want me sitting at home waiting to be called in.
So the caseworker is calling my current employer and the employment office and any jobs I put on my plan and they can also call us - but we are supposed to be home when they call us - but we can’t be at home because we are supposed to be out job searching.
It would just at least help if the rules were written down to document what they tell us.
How does one take a person out to lunch or for coffee when their income is so low they are on snap - ?
I agree networking helps - from what I am seeing it is relatives hired first and then the boyfriends/girlfriends. Doesn’t matter if they actually KNOW how to do the job or will do the job.
As I said, barely. It is a WIA program being run through the local area vocational school in their Adult Education program. I have been working in hourly/manufacturing jobs for over 2 decades, since the last time I actually used my education, so I got in.
BTW, there is a multi-quote button on the bottom of each post, right beside the quote button. If you click it for each post you want to reply to, when you finally get ready to reply, it will have all of those messages in your reply, so you and others can more easily keep track of what you are replying to.
EAT: Meant to ask, where are you? It sounds like your state is as screwed up as the Indiana unemployment service.
It’s the “Just world hypothesis” and yes, it gives us a sense of control. If we don’t do whatever it is that those people did, what happened to them won’t happen to us.
Partly because a lot of that is now done by freelancers in Og knows where. For any kind of computer-skills jobs, see if you can find webpages linked to the specific profession and start hunting worldwide.
Lok I do live in Indiana - we don’t get many options here- seems like my county has next to nothing to offer unless you want to join the military - and I am past that age. I don’t qualify for the education programs because it is all based on the Pell grant - if you have a 4 year degree - no money from the government is allowed. The thing is that an eduation isn’t what employers are looking for here - they want lifting machines that can lift 100 pounds at a time all day long - and I cannot physcially do that - not because I am lazy - I just can’t. The employment office seems clueless about the job market - they keep sending people into the medical coding programs - and almost all medical coding is now being done overseas! I am currently working parttime and mentally I am flexible - I have done all kinds of jobs - I am a quick learner, fairly computer savvy = but it seems like the jobs just aren’t out there. There are 1000 people for each job.
So I have to ask, how are you handling the Indiana requirement that in order to qualify for unemployment, you have to apply at 3 different locations in your field that are actually hiring? Everyone I know on Indiana unemployment basically just lies about it, since it is hard to find one place that hiring at all, never mind 3 in one field.
^ This is why, despite living in Indiana, I was thrilled to be getting Illinois unemployment back when I still qualified for unemployment. (I used to work in Chicago and lived just across the state border, hence, Illinois unemployment).
What I can’t figure out is the discrepancies between Sucess20’s county and my county in administering these programs.
In any case - my family is willing and able to help me out, apparently Success20 has fewer resources in that area than I do. I wish I could help her, but my own situation is so precarious I’m afraid I just can’t.
Well, according to some folks I have talked to at various times while on the phone with Ohio’s JFS department, the problem is, the people doing the work in Indiana just pretty much suck at it. I am sure there are some dedicated, hard working people in their system, but they seem to be a very small minority.
I concur with the Indiana sucks part. No one seem to know any rules and just make them up as they go along. My understanding of the unemployment office is we can apply for any jobs - just list them and the info each week online. Then for snap we can’t search at home - and they have totally different criteria. Since this is my first week on the Snap search - but a couple of months on the unemployment search - I just don’t get it - cause I can’t get the answers or I get different responses. I am not going to lie about anything cause if they catch you you can have big ramifications. I do know in Indiana you can have only 1 resume online which is stupid - cause you should have different resumes for different types of jobs. But you got to jump through their hoops. I am still trying to figure out why broomsticks county has so many resources while we have nothing and no answers either. The only thing I think I can do is make an anonymous complaint to the fssa office in Indiana about it.
I realize I’m not reading a couple pages of thread between the above and me posting, but as someone who’s been on unemployment for over a year now, I wanted to touch on this.
Unemployment Compensation isn’t about getting you into any ol’ job, but about getting you into a job that closely matches what you were doing before. As an engineer, it’s not expected for me to be trying to get a job as a grocery cashier, even though I might be able to get that job. I’m supposed to be trying to get a job as an engineer. At times when the line’s been short at the office, I’ve even gotten a note back with my form saying something like, “This job doesn’t look like it fits with your other ones. Be sure to apply for appropriate jobs.”
