frustrated - unemployed too damn long already

[Lorna]

I post too much. I spend too much time on the computer. I just feel like my posts are overwhelming this forum. I want to be wrong about this but I know I'm not. (It's okay - you can say it - I post too much)

I have been applying here and there and can't even score a damn job interview anymore. As for Civil Service exams, there are none for which I qualify here anymore. Job fairs? There haven't been any here in months.

I have a damn 4 year college degree. When the hell am I going to find a damn job?!? It's been 6 freaking months since I've worked a steady 9 to 5. Let's face it - freelancing just doesn't pay all the bills. If I had the resources to do so, I would move OUT OF NEW YORK.

I fear that I will never have a steady job again.

Yeah "re-elect Bush" MY ***!!! Like he gives a hoot about the middle class (oh thats right - Ive been out of work for so long i no longer consider myself middle class - i am now officially well below the poverty line)

At least when Clinton was president I had a steady job. I'm just thru with always being out of work. And the REAL tragedy of it all is that I have a 4 year degree. And I am neither stupid nor lazy.

Who the hell feels like talking about CDing anymore - not me. I'm just a mess.

[Loretta Ann]

I have nothing to offer you on the Job thing Lorna, but I like it when you post you have become quite the contributor.

[SophieLawson]

Just keep trying, could always try and set up a business on eBay or something? It's easier then some might think.

But you are one of the most important members of this forum for me, so don't everrr stop posting!

Sophie xx

[CJ]

Hi all,

No, Lorna, you don't post too much; you're one of the several pillars of this place. Now, if you think that your spending time here is interfering with your job search, well that's another story.

I don't know the dynamics of working in NYC, but I do know what it's like to face competition on the job market in a big city. It can be hell. My last two jobs (I mean, including my current one) I found through friends. This is often the best (and most overlooked) strategy for finding work: network, network, network! Hit up all your friends and relations and acquaintances; let them know you're looking and ask them to keep their ear to the ground for you.

I wish you the best of luck, Lorna!

Love,
CJ

[Julie J]

Lorna I have only been here a few days but I certainly don't feel you post too much, to be honest I think you inspire many of us girls here with your wisdom. I hope your job prospects improve soon.

You can't stop talking about C D'ing, as I said we need the inspiration.

Luv Julie J

[Carol Ann]

Lorna sweetheart, I know right now you are P***** but tomorrow is another day and things will be better. Hay if you didn't post who would?, every forum needs a member like you .
Carol Ann

[Eloise Goth]

been 3 years for me, Lorna..so I know what you're going through. You may not want to consider this, but have you ever thought about working overseas? I know for one thing there are a few jobs in the computer industry vacant over here because of a skills shortage..the moneys good too!!

[DonnaT]

Well now Lorna, what you say may be true (about spending too much time online), but you do have online options.



You know a lot of people here and in Yahoo, but have not said what kind of job you are looking for nor what type of degree you have.

With that knowledge out there, maybe one of your online friends can help.

[Anne]

Come down south to the metro DC area Lorna - lots of jibs here.

Anne

[Lorna]

Thanks girls, it was never about the posting too much. However spending lots of time on the web usually go hand in hand with people who DON’T HAVE JOBS.

And it gets more and more difficult for me to talk about CDing and such when there are more serious issues at hand – such as finding a job before I wind up out on the street.

Truth be told – I also do a healthy percentage of job hunting online. I have been to every job search website you can think of – careerbuilder, hotjobs, monster, you name it. I have submitted literally well over a thousand resumes over the past few months, and have NOT received any correspondence of any kind from any source. . I have also tapped every temp agency online as well as in person. All I can do with temp agencies is call in daily to see if there is any work available. There’s just no work out there right now.

Donna, to answer your question, I have a BA in Finance, and 5 years of financial experience. I worked as a corporate account manager/loan officer for 5 years before getting laid off. After which I decided to take some computer courses where I learned web design, along with some basic programming and hardware and software troubleshooting. I earned an A+ certification which isn’t the most impressive thing in the world, but I did work as a field technician for a school district for over a year.

Sophie, I have also looked into that as well. I still have my freelance work, but the gigs I land are so few and far between.

Anne - I just may look into that.

At this point I don't care what I do as long as it's WORK. I'll flip burgers, I'll wait tables, I don't care. I must find something - ANYTHING. If I have to expand my horizons and look outside of my area then so be it. I'll go to Alaska, I'll go to Canada, I'll go overseas. I have to find a job.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[Chantelle]

Hi Lorna,

This must be really frustrating for you esp. with a degree! Nothing I can really say but to keep your chin up and you may be surprised if you keep pluggin' away. Relatively recently, my SO happened to get a really great job by "accident". She applied to so places that she could not remember what she had applied for when she got the call!

[Lorna]

Thanks again girls. I guess I just have to be patient...

Plus I recently enrolled in some weekend classes as not to feel like a total wasteoid in the meantime.

[Elizabeth]

Lorna,

First, you don't post to much, in fact I love your posts and would have no problem is you posted more than you do. You are a pillar of this place and a personal hero of mine.

As far a jobs go? I agree with CJ, networking is best. Advertised jobs whether they are on a online job service or newspaper are generally hard to fill jobs because they are part time or don't offer benifits, or pay too low.

Good jobs are filled through the buddy system. "Hey, I have a friend who I real reliable", kind of thing. When I owned my own company I never hired anyone through advertising. When I had an opening, I always looked for a personal referral from my employees.

Good luck and keep your chin up, and your skirts down.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[Bonnie]

Hi Lorna. While I can't say "I know what you're going through" personally, I've seen it happen all around me. In the Pacific Northwest there are thousands of unemployed timber workers and fishermen due to ecology concerns. Here in Oregon, the state offers retraining for people displaced from their jobs for any number of reasons, plus the state makes every attempt to locate employment afterwards. I'm sure you have already looked into that there, but just in case it slipped through the cracks, I thought I'd mention it.
Good hunting, and big huggs
Bonnie

[Mellissa]

NOOO Lorna dont stop posting you always have good items and some funny ones to
I would miss you to mutch
And stop posting about CDing isnt that a bit of a denial
But dont go we would all mis you
And about a job i wish i could help you but i cant i'm realy sorry and nobody said youre lazy
Just keep the faith and hang in there you know you can always count on your friends in here for some support or just a BIIIG HUG

LOve and hugs Mellissa