Finding a job

Hey all, I know that I dont write on here as much as I should really, but with the way things are now a days, finding a "good job" is getting harder and harder. Im just wondering out there who here has a job that they actually like? I mean you're happy at the job you're at, you pay the bills and dont worry about how are you going to pay rent and bills.

Im right now at a dead end job, with lil to no chance of more hours or more pay it feels like. At working 30 hours a week, at $9.25, Im lucky to be paying everything as is right now. At my job its nothing but pains and headaches, and I'm more qualified to be doing other things but my boss wont let me advance or anything like that.

Im 25, have a college degree trying to go for a master or a BS, I have a BA, and you know doing something that I like.

Was it this hard for everyone else?

Thanks

Zaithian

Getting a job is a bloody bitch.

I've just finished my first year at university, I go to university in the same city I live and I've been looking for a job all year, it comes to summer and it gets even harder. In the past 2 months I've handed out 50 CVs.

Not. One. Reply.

I've considered the fact that I may actually be a shit employee, but my record of employment suggests differently. So, I'm assuming there's no bloody jobs.

I can't wait for September which will bring loans and alcohol.

You said you have BA? Bachelor of Arts? My sister has BA, guess what, no job. She ended up applying for government job and since she speaks Russian, a government contractor picked her up, she spent a few years working in Russia being government contractor and while doing that applied for job in the government, she now works for federal government. With BA, you are dead meat, you will be very lucky to find decent job. However, if you got anything special, like second language, apply for government job.

Zaithian said:

Hey all, I know that I dont write on here as much as I should really, but with the way things are now a days, finding a "good job" is getting harder and harder. Im just wondering out there who here has a job that they actually like? I mean you're happy at the job you're at, you pay the bills and dont worry about how are you going to pay rent and bills.

Im right now at a dead end job, with lil to no chance of more hours or more pay it feels like. At working 30 hours a week, at $9.25, Im lucky to be paying everything as is right now. At my job its nothing but pains and headaches, and I'm more qualified to be doing other things but my boss wont let me advance or anything like that.

Im 25, have a college degree trying to go for a master or a BS, I have a BA, and you know doing something that I like.

Was it this hard for everyone else?

Thanks

Zaithian

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I think times are particularly difficult for you right now, the job market is tight and very, very competitive. My best gf, her son is pretty much in the same situation you are. He works a job he doesn't like much but it pays his rent and has health benefits. He works for a telecommunication company and he just hates it with a passion. He has a degree in communications and is not all that jazzed about more school.

These are the things we are telling him, which most certainly can apply to you:

The best thing you can do right now is network and sell the hell out of yourself. Really take stock of your skills and what would set you apart from anyone else applying for the same job. Somehow, make potential employers believe you are invaluable. If there was ever a time to be creative about a job search, this would be it.

Another friend of mine, she had gotten laid off from the law firm she worked at due to cutbacks and could not for the life of her find another job. Things were looking grim and she got desperate enough to tell this one firm "try me out for a month for free" and they did. The risk was worth it, she now has a better job than the one she lost. I know not everybody has that luxury to do something like that but in these bad economic times, it might just pay off.

Think positive, now is not the time to get down on yourself. Tell yourself everyday, how awesome you are! Good attitude and mind set will take you far.

Good Luck!

What can you say about a job market where the government has out sourced all
the jobs over seas? In the name of free trade?
It sounds like a certain North American specific dilemma.
We're all screwed together in the same boat, no pun intended.
NEVER trust government.
The only way out it appears, is to form a rock n 'roll band and make a million
dollars.

Tune in
turn on
drop out(with a smile on your face)

I think young people in general have more of a fantasy idea about what a job is. Most of the time it does boil down to you do some work, they pay you money and you go home to your family and spend it on bills, food, housing, and other various things. Few people actually have a job they love. You just try your best to find a job that makes you reasonably happy and you don't hate. Few people wind up being actors, or sports players, etc. Most of the more gratifying jobs pay less money, like the arts for example. Of course there are always exceptions but this is the real norm.

I think its horrible how school/society makes you have all these hopes and stuff only to find out that its not the way they say it.

I even worked for the government on and off, but the problem is that, Im really not ment to be behind a desk. For a year I was contracted to the feds doing web work, which was a joke. Pay was alright but once again no hope for any promotion or anything.

Why does school/parents/society say, you must have a good paying jobs, and on tv they show all these people having jobs that they love?

*blink* It's television. TV is not real life. Reality TV... not so realistic.

People who have jobs they love are rare and lucky. Most do what they do because it pays the bills and they're working toward a pension, or because they're afraid of change and it's all they know how to do.

As you've found out, the job market right now is at a standstill. Very few companies are hiring, and you are competing with not only other people your age, but older adults who have been laid off from what they thought were secure jobs.

I count myself as one of the very few fortunate people who found a job to replace the one I'd had for years at a company who simply ran out of money. I thought my job couldn't be more secure. What a wake-up call that was. And my new job? I don't like it, I don't much care for the person I work for, but the paycheck comes like clockwork and pays the bills.

Media has promised us since we were little that we could have it all, they've told us how we need to look to be attractive to others, what type of cars we should own, how big our houses should be...everything bigger and better. Hopefully we will all learn from this economic downturn what really counts in life...

Good luck in your job search, but always know that nothing is perfect...not your job, not your family, not your friends...everything takes work and life is what YOU make it. And it is NEVER what you see on tv.

sugaredwalls gave you some very good advice on how to begin networking. If you have spare time, volunteer somewhere. Not only will it help you meet more people, but it looks good on a resume. Stay active and get involved in your community.

Best of luck!

Seriously, I think there should be more strident rules on Outsourcing.
It has definitly hurt the prospects of my skill. It has hurt a lot of people.

I share your pain. I have been looking for a job for this entire year. I have a BS and no one is hiring. I used to do video web chats, but that company went out of business. Now I am broke and lonely =/

I already have a job I like. I have 2 college degrees and work at Walmart, so I don't make as much as I could, but it's not really that hard and it's low stress.

zaithian queried:
finding a "good job" is getting harder and harder. im just wondering out there who here has a job that they actually like? i mean you're happy at the job you're at, you pay the bills and dont worry about how are you going to pay rent and bills. im right now at a dead end job, with lil to no chance of more hours or more pay it feels like. at working 30 hours a week, at $9.25, im lucky to be paying everything as is right now. at my job its nothing but pains and headaches, and i'm more qualified to be doing other things but my boss wont let me advance or anything like that. im 25, have a college degree trying to go for a master or a BS, i have a BA, and you know doing something that i like. was it this hard for everyone else?

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in a word: yes. and having a master's will only exacerbate things for you, i fear.

what's your BA in? why did you choose it? did you have a plan your senior year for how that degree was going to make money?

i'm currently unemployed and have been for 7 months now. the job market sucks ass. the most common figure i've heard is that 80% of all jobs are filled through networking.

do you use linkedin? are you involved in any networking groups? if the answer to either is no, change that. get to your local library's reference section: reference librarians have access to considerable resources that most of us do not use.

i know a lot of people are fans of using facebook for professional networking. i don't use FB, but even if i did, there's no way to control personal vs professional contacts without being rude.

ed

Yes

I am fortunate to have a job I love. I didn't start in this field though. I got a BA and a master's degree before I realized I hated the field. Thankfully I didn't have to work to pay bills while I figured out what I wanted to do. I went back to school and got an associates degree and now have been in a job I love for 5 years. I sat down and figured out what I was passionate about and it turned out to be animals, so now I work in the veterinary field.

If you want to switch into another career or field, one good idea is to talk to your friends and family. Connections matter a lot. (Sometimes I'm not sure why I bother applying via Craigslist, because my hunch is that using Craigslist is a strike against. Which makes me wonder why they bother advertising on Craigslist.) Having people vouch for you can make a big difference. Of the seven job offers I've had in my life, three were from connections. And that's three offers out of three interviews, 100% success rate.

Here's another one--I'm not sure if it's true, but I have a hunch--if you really want a job, don't apply via e-mail. Go in there in person and say hi and fill out a form. That shows initiative, which is a strike for instead of against. Plus, now you're a face with a name and a personalty, instead of one of the masses of impersonal candidates you get via Craigslist. This tactic scored me another offer, and I've been looking for chances to employ it again. Its power is somewhat nullified, though, by the number of businesses who do not entertain in-person applications whatsoever. At Wells Fargo and Bank of America, for instance, you either apply online or you don't apply at all. This is a trial-and-error tactic for that reason.

As to Craigslist itself and/or other online application processes (such as the Wells Fargo one): I've gotten three interviews via purely Internet marketing with no other assistance, just "resume speaks for itself". I've sent at least fifty such resumes over the last four years, so I'm not considering it a particularly good success ratio.

Finally, if you want to have a job you love, you're going to have to settle for not making any money. They're mutually exclusive. Times are tough (times are always tough) and everyone's looking to cut costs wherever they can. And, if you have something you love, the simple fact is that you'll probably be willing to do it for free. So why should anyone pay you to do what you'd do for free? (Answer: because they're either 1) stupid, which increases the likelihood they'll take you down with them; or 2) because you're just that good. And, no offense to you intended, it can be hard to be just that good. )

That's all that I and my checkered employment history can offer you. But hopefully it'll help some.

CWatson said:

As to Craigslist itself and/or other online application processes (such as the Wells Fargo one): I've gotten three interviews via purely Internet marketing with no other assistance, just "resume speaks for itself". I've sent at least fifty such resumes over the last four years, so I'm not considering it a particularly good success ratio.

Click to expand...

Something else that occurred to me after reading this, resumes will either make or break you. I don't know the exact time frame, but if you don't catch someone's eye within the first 5 seconds or so of reading a resume, you're headed for File 13.

Being in a job where it was my responsibility to weed through the hundreds of resumes we received every time we posted a job, I can guarantee you that if you can't spell, you're done. It may (or may not) surprise you how many people never bother to proofread before sending it out. Buy a book, hire a service, anything to make your resume stand out from the rest. I got an interview once based solely on my resume and the cover it was in. And getting my foot in the door got me the job.

Anyway, just wanted to add a few more thoughts on the subject.

Oh, and btw, I got my present job from Craigslist. But I really think it was a fluke, because it seems that most everything on there is a scam.

If I were you I would definitely go back to school. A BA may not be enough to get you a second look for the jobs you really want but certainly a masters or phd will help. Right now I am not that far behind you in schooling - I am a junior undergraduate in physics, math and mechanical engineering. I am finding that there are actually quite a few opportunities offered by universities for good students in technical fields. I am doing undergraduate research this summer at the laboratory for surface science technology contained on campus and being funded quite generously by the NSF. I am thrilled to have this job - I love it! I am learning so much and have just submitted my abstract to an international conference on my topic of research so I may get a chance to be published and present my research to a professional audience. I hope that this will give me a good avenue to advancing not only my education but also my level of desirability to employers having some research under my belt. There are some opportunities out there even now in this economic climate - you just have to be a bit lucky and set yourself up to take advantage of them. I do think that you can both love your job and make money at the same time.

You aren't doing half-bad at 9.25 perhour.

Learn to appreciate what you have.

I cannot find a job and I have 22 years experience in a so called unaffected profession by the economy. We are definitely affected. I have worked in hospitals for years, and I think what is probably happening is, they are working the nursing staff and all to death to save hiring anymore people. What they do here is illegal in Ca. Forced overtime and work overload!

The last few years I have worked I have hated it and left in tears many times due to high stress. I am thinking of working at Walmart, but actually I would like to get into the sex business somehow. I would love that job...I think!

All I can say is, this economy sucks and my state is stuck at a 12 percent unemployment rate.

Good luck to all trying to find work right now!

Ugggh....hate, hate, HATE my job! just counting down the days until I can quit and open my own business!!

Well, Zaithian, from the point of view as an employer:

I think your biggest problem is attitude. If you came to me as your boss and said that you were promised by your parents and the TV that you would get more money and satisfying job, as a reason for me giving your a promotion, I would laugh in your face. Seriously.

This is a major problem with a lot of people, and the reason a lot of them aren't successful. You feel that society somehow owes you something; you feel that you deserve something. The sooner you realize that we -society, employers, businesses- don't owe you a thing, but in fact you owe society and your parents big time for taking care of you these last 25 years, giving you food, shelter, an education, a relatively safe civilization where you aren't chased by lions, and the fruits of thousands of years of human ingenuity which allows you to sit in your warm house, behind your computer and whine about your lot in life -instead of squatting in piss-smelling cave eating worms, with the job satisfaction of being tomorrow's human sacrifice to the snow gods.

Not that I'm saying you should be happy with your life. You shouldn't be; humanity has become the dominant species on this planet because we've striven for a better way of life. What you need to do is stop expecting that better life to fall out of the sky -or be handed to your by your boss- and start doing it yourself. As for what that is, I don't know. I'm just commenting on your attitude

As for your question, do I like my job? Not especially; it's a means to an end. Was it this hard for everyone? I don't know. Do you work from 5:00AM to 7:00PM every day, and then do community service in the evening and weekends? Of course, my job lets me poke around the internet whenever I feel like and post on sex sites. Not bad...

To Zaithian

Hi Zaithian,

I think Tuomas is taking the extreme hard line on you. He may have worked hard and long hours to get where he is, but so have I and it did not get me anywhere. Every profession is different as far as how promotions go. In my job, you have to have an advanced degree to get a desk job and then there is no such thing as having time to go online, especially to sex sites.

He implys that he just worked hard on his own to get where he is, which may be true and I suspect there is a little bit a good luck there to go with that. Plus he is male. It is much tougher for a female to get respect in a authoritative position. You have to be twice as tough and basically a bitch.

I don't think you believe that real life is like it is on TV and we all know reality shows are not reality. You are not to blame for the life you were brought up in, and I don't know of too many people in this country that live in cave and have to smell their own piss and eat worms. Come on Tuomas, are we being a bit over dramatic here?

I don't know too many people that like their jobs these days, the ones I know make low pay and that is the price they pay for having a job they really enjoy. I could do the same thing, but would take about a 75 % cut in pay. You are lucky to have a job, but you should be able to go back to school at least part time if you know what you want to do. That is the key.

Unemployment is at about 10-12% in most states to my knowledge, and I have been searching for about 4 months. I finally do have a job interview on Tuesday, but it is not my dream job for sure. However I can't afford to turn down any job in my career, it will beat working at Walmart I am sure.

Good luck to you Zaithian, and maybe look into career counseling.

I'm going to have to agree with everyone else on this one. The job market is particularly tough these days, and you should be happy just to be employed. I couldnt afford college and had to leave 3 yrs in, however I feel lucky to be disatisfied with my 12 bucks an hour job. Its easy to see in my workplace that advancement from my position now is pretty unlikely however that has just led me to trying to make an effective course of action for my future. IDK how old you are but as I tell all my friends about to graduate and who have recently graduated from college, DEGREES are not enough. It seems you are lucky enough to have some decent work experience under ur belt, so I'd suggest like everyone else to stop playing the victim and pull out all the stops for the career you want. 9 dollars an hour isnt much so i'm certain getting a job u enjoy wouldnt be too much of a pay cut (in VA the min. wage is at or going to be raised to 7 and change this yr). That said don't overkill your application process..choose the places you wanna work create a SOLID and PERSONAL cover letter. and put in the face time. Since, you have a job you are lucky enough to be picky so go ahead and request positions where u like. Sometimes the initiative shown can get you a job even if its not posted.

(sorry if that doesnt make sense...watching Clash of the Titans lol)

Another thing many people just don't get is that employers not only look at your schooling and experience while considering you for employment - they look at you too. It's not enough to have a degree or experience - you have to be someone an employer would want to hire. If you are overly nerdy, too introverted or extroverted, an idiot or jerk, an asshole or a bitch, have the wrong tatoos in the wrong places, have nose or tongue rings or purple or mohawk hair, and can't dress appopriately, you might just as well have saved your money and not went to college at all.

VeronicaSexie said:

Hi Zaithian,
Come on Tuomas, are we being a bit over dramatic here?

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Yep.

Anyway, my point wasn't that I worked hard to get where I am. In fact, I rather consider myself lazy, because otherwise I wouldn't be on this site. But, I guess my point was lost in all the dramatism.