Job Hunt: This is the room where we come to cry

[Velvet Eden]

From all the stories i heard from this thread, I'm glad I quit college one semester in.

[Guest]

Hi everyone. Does anyone know if its safe to apply to a job on craigslist? Thank you

[Janus the Fox]

12 hours ago, storminateacup said:

Hi everyone. Does anyone know if its safe to apply to a job on craigslist? Thank you

I’ve heard a lot of stories on Craigslist Classifieds jobs.  But it might work for many, so I guess it’s best to do the lateral research on all stated information.  See if such a job title could actually exist, cross check to see if the business is a genuine corporate one, weather the address exists and travel to the place well in advance to see for yourself the premises looks legitimate.  Be on guard at every stage, making sure the job is safe and within laws, morals and ethics.  I guess that craigslist is a highly valuable resource for potential jobs away from official job search channels.  

[RoseGoesToYale]

17 hours ago, storminateacup said:

Hi everyone. Does anyone know if its safe to apply to a job on craigslist? Thank you

I'd say it depends on where you live, too. Like in my city I would not trust it. Too many whackos and scams here. Definitely avoid it if you live in a big city, but a small town or rural area might be fine. Just use caution, as above. 

[Tree snake]

I just lost my job. 

I was offered to work my last remaining 14 days schedueled but I don't have to. 

I really don't want to.

My mom is trying to persuade me to.

 

There's a lady at work we call SCAB (snarky, condescending, arrogant, bi*ch), she's the one who got me fired. I talked to some previous employees and apparently I'm not the only one she's run out of there. ABout half of them left because of her and the other half got fired because she framed them like she did me.

If I work my last days I'll have to work with her. I'm not sure I have the emotional capacity to handle that. 

 

[oldgeeza]

I'm looking to get out of truck driving and transport in general, I hate being treated like dirt, starting at stupid times of day and night, applied for loads of jobs, get maybe one reply per hundred applications, had maybe a dozen interviews, most tell me im too old, over 50, im passed it, should I roll over and die now?

[Destan]

Do student jobs count here as well?

Because honestly, it's ridiculous that these days they require you to be in your Bachelor or Master degree for that.

[Homer]

Just leaving this "Twitter" thing here

[SpaceDustbin]

I hate cover letters. There.

[RoseGoesToYale]

20 minutes ago, Homer said:

Just leaving this "Twitter" thing here

Y'know, I've kept wondering if my resumes are even getting through, especially if employers are using resume screening software, because the only interview I've been called for was for an extremely obscure job (embroidery machine operator) that likely got much fewer applicants.

 

Now it's my job to stick a bunch of correct "keywords" and machine-friendly formatting in my resume? It's the damned FCAT Writing and Florida Writes all over again! My generation didn't go through 12 years and change of over 5 standardized tests per year just for this!

[Back to Avalon]

6 minutes ago, SpaceDustbin said:

I hate cover letters. There.

I feel the same, and I have a degree in writing. I mean, what do you want me to say in a letter that I haven't said on my resume? And what do you want me to say on my resume that I haven't said on my LinkedIn page? How many ways do I have to rehash the same information? People say that your letter, resume, and LI page shouldn't just be retreads of one another, but how can they not be? I hate all those stupid, arbitrary, impossible rules, 

[Guest]

@RoseGoesToYale My sister works at a hospital and she told me that the people who look over resumes are lazy and go by keywords matching without figuring out if the person is actually a good fit. For example, someone whose previous job experience consisted only of cashiering was interviewed and/or hired because they took a medical terminology course in college. Apparently this happens pretty frequently where she works.

 

She said not to be discouraged by it, and that putting out applications in a higher volume is important because eventually there will be someone who is more careful and thorough about that sort of thing. I know if that were my job I would be.

[Lord Jade Cross]

5 hours ago, Moony's Boy Child said:

@RoseGoesToYale My sister works at a hospital and she told me that the people who look over resumes are lazy and go by keywords matching without figuring out if the person is actually a good fit. For example, someone whose previous job experience consisted only of cashiering was interviewed and/or hired because they took a medical terminology course in college. Apparently this happens pretty frequently where she works.

This makes me think that this may be a more common practice than what we may think in many places.

 

For instance, the last two interviews I had for call centers (which I got through recruitment agencies) had the interviewers focus only on my experience in call centers despite the fact that I have more than a decade in work experience in in various other areas.

 

Now that may sound like its obvious except for the fact that when I aplied, I didnt even say I was looking for a call center. I had written down 6 other areas of interest and there wanst even an attempt to search in those areas despite the fact that I had expressed that I was interested in a dispatching job.  

 

 

[Guest]

@Jade Cross It could have been because it is hardest to fill call center positions because no one wants them so they may have looked at your application, saw your experience and felt you'd be a good fit. They also may have not felt that your qualifications met any of the positions you expressed interest in but still wanted to offer you a job.

[Zagadka]

I'm still considering a career change. I think... I don't really want a career. (This is wholly self destructive, btw) I want a job that earns me enough money to live freely. Not a lot of money, just enough to not worry. And I don't want a lot of responsibility. I have enough to struggle with without extra stress.

 

The problem is finding a nice job I can do like that, though. It turns out they tend to be taken. I'm on a low key job hunt in the background of my life.

[natsume]

All rubbish. I can turn on any news station right now and hear about how the economy is amazing and everyone has the job of their dreams and wages are skyrocketing. In fact, most places can't even find employees and they'll give you whatever you want and train you with no experience.  Oh wait, that's all they're allowed to say.

[RoseGoesToYale]

2 minutes ago, natsume said:

All rubbish. I can turn on any news station right now and hear about how the economy is amazing and everyone has the job of their dreams and wages are skyrocketing. In fact, most places can't even find employees and they'll give you whatever you want and train you with no experience.  Oh wait, that's all they're allowed to say.

This is the tripe my mother and stepdad keep giving me. Still livin' in the 80s.

 

I'm considering trade school. They actually have career placement as part of their curriculum. The problem is... how to pay for it.

[natsume]

The easiest entry level jobs to find are government jobs. Try your state employment website and county website. 

Trade school can be great, but you can sometimes find trade training at a community college for 1/10 what they charge. It also depends on the trade as these places absolutely gouge students for entry level medical technician training and you should always find this at a community college. Plumbing, electrical, mechanical are all great options at traditional trade schools and they won't have trouble placing you. And look at the price of trade school vs graduate school.. it has become difficult to find entry level employment in most fields without a graduate degree in the US.

What trade are you looking at? What's your degree in?

[RoseGoesToYale]

14 minutes ago, natsume said:

The easiest entry level jobs to find are government jobs. Try your state employment website and county website. 

Trade school can be great, but you can sometimes find trade training at a community college for 1/10 what they charge. It also depends on the trade as these places absolutely gouge students for entry level medical technician training and you should always find this at a community college. Plumbing, electrical, mechanical are all great options at traditional trade schools and they won't have trouble placing you. And look at the price of trade school vs graduate school.. it has become difficult to find entry level employment in most fields without a graduate degree in the US.

What trade are you looking at? What's your degree in?

My degree's in sociology, so in other words, absolutely useless. I actually visited one trade school already, they have a solid IT program, which I'd be ahead of the game in (I built the computer sitting next to me here). I actually wanted to go into IT/engineering in college, but there's absolutely zero way I could've gotten past the gen ed math requirements, they're too steep. At least here my gen eds from college would knock out the gen ed requirements at trade school.

[Lord Jade Cross]

5 hours ago, Moony's Boy Child said:

@Jade Cross It could have been because it is hardest to fill call center positions because no one wants them so they may have looked at your application, saw your experience and felt you'd be a good fit. They also may have not felt that your qualifications met any of the positions you expressed interest in but still wanted to offer you a job.

Either that or wanted to shoehorn me into it.

[oldgeeza]

6 hours ago, Zagadka said:

I'm still considering a career change. I think... I don't really want a career. (This is wholly self destructive, btw) I want a job that earns me enough money to live freely. Not a lot of money, just enough to not worry. And I don't want a lot of responsibility. I have enough to struggle with without extra stress.

 

The problem is finding a nice job I can do like that, though. It turns out they tend to be taken. I'm on a low key job hunt in the background of my life.

I wouldn't advise anyone to take that route, I had no choice but to do that due to family issues, I left a good job for better money, now I earn above average money but I have no social life, work long hours, (average 15 hours a shift), spend many days away from home every week, now I'm looking for a change in career, no one wants to know, my age and the job I do work against me, now I am in my fifties, I can honestly say it was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, I regret it dearly to the point that there are days when I hate myself for being alive still, although what I did at the time wasn't out of choice, it kept a roof over the family's head, I often wish I had just run away and didn't have feelings 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Jade Cross said:

Either that or wanted to shoehorn me into it.

 

That's possible, too.

[Lord Jade Cross]

5 hours ago, oldgeeza said:

I wouldn't advise anyone to take that route, I had no choice but to do that due to family issues, I left a good job for better money, now I earn above average money but I have no social life, work long hours, (average 15 hours a shift), spend many days away from home every week, now I'm looking for a change in career, no one wants to know, my age and the job I do work against me, now I am in my fifties, I can honestly say it was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, I regret it dearly to the point that there are days when I hate myself for being alive still, although what I did at the time wasn't out of choice, it kept a roof over the family's head, I often wish I had just run away and didn't have feelings 

Im not in the same age but I also am going through a similar thing. 

[natsume]

Have you applied to all HR openings? You have to be very careful about what the career college is offering you in IT programs - many times they're charging you ten thousand dollars for simple certificates like A+ and CCNA which you could have taken a class at a community college and then simply sat for the exam. IT programs (as opposed to comp sci) at colleges don't have calculus program requirements so they're actually not doing you any favor there either.

[Neutral Charge]

i hate the feeling when someone calls you for a job, that fear that what if its worse then my current one and what if im to stupid for it and other what if's x.x

i got a call for a interview with The Telegraph newspaper media group and all i can think about is what if i suck at it, what if its to much for my brain, what if google calls me in spring when they said the applications are over, what then?( low chance but what if??)

i have no idea what to do x.x and im terrified of making a bad choice T_T

[Dreamer23]

11 hours ago, Neutral Charge said:

that what if its worse then my current one

As long as you leave your current job on good terms, the chances are astronomical that they'll take you back - so you always have that option! (Or you'll find a new one!)

  

11 hours ago, Neutral Charge said:

what if i suck at it

Then you'll get better, like anyone who gets hired into any job!  No one expects you to be perfect from day one!

  

11 hours ago, Neutral Charge said:

what if its to much for my brain

If they make you an offer (particularly in a competitive field like media), then it's because they think you're the most qualified person for the job and it's absolutely not too much for your brain - trust as much in your own abilities as they did when making you that offer and you'll rock that job!

 

11 hours ago, Neutral Charge said:

what if google calls me in spring when they said the applications are over

Then you'll quit at the Telegraph and take the Google job (assuming you think you'll prefer it). No employer can expect you to stay around if you have a better offer! (It's part of their job to find new employees whenever someone leaves)

 

Don't let doubts get in your way - do what your gut (and brain) tell you is the right thing for you, and things have a tendency to work out for the better!  And there's always new (and old) options for the cases when it doesn't.

[Neutral Charge]

5 hours ago, Dreamer23 said:

As long as you leave your current job on good terms, the chances are astronomical that they'll take you back - so you always have that option! (Or you'll find a new one!)

  

Then you'll get better, like anyone who gets hired into any job!  No one expects you to be perfect from day one!

  

If they make you an offer (particularly in a competitive field like media), then it's because they think you're the most qualified person for the job and it's absolutely not too much for your brain - trust as much in your own abilities as they did when making you that offer and you'll rock that job!

 

Then you'll quit at the Telegraph and take the Google job (assuming you think you'll prefer it). No employer can expect you to stay around if you have a better offer! (It's part of their job to find new employees whenever someone leaves)

 

Don't let doubts get in your way - do what your gut (and brain) tell you is the right thing for you, and things have a tendency to work out for the better!  And there's always new (and old) options for the cases when it doesn't.

thank you so much for this, i really needed some objectivity in this, you are right! i should be able to do this. il write this down on a paper to read again when i feel the fear slipping in, thank you again!! 🥰

[Real Estate RICO]

your boy's one step closer to getting this paid internship

 

one step closer to the bag, and one step closer to getting out of my current living situation

[DazzlingGirl16]

I wish I had the ambition and plans to find my job at an animal shelter.

[AspieAlly613]

Trying again to apply to jobs more actively now.  Just applied to a position at Cigna, will start applying to more on a daily basis tomorrow.