I know I said I'd try to blog more, but obviously this week I sure didn't keep that promise. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle ...
Honestly I haven't been in the best mood. Depressed, but that seems to happen this time of year. Add the frustrations of still not finding a job and I'm not exactly the best company these days.
Doesn't help that on Thanksgiving my mom had to tell me about an article she'd read in the paper, that those over the age of fifty are having real problems in finding jobs - more-so than the under thirty crowd especially. No kidding? Really? I wouldn't have known had she not said something (insert sarcasm here).
Since Mom's telling me about it, I've seen numerous reports on the news about the same thing. Nice to know (I guess) that I'm not the only one having the difficulties I do.
I've applied to literally hundreds of jobs, both online and in person. I keep records of where and when (and the person I've talked to if in person), outcome (interview or no word). There's over three hundred job application entries in my spread sheet!! Only five resulted in interviews, and obviously none have hired me. I send thank you notes to the interviewers for the interviews. I re-apply every cycle possible (some say 90 days, some say six months), there's not much more I can do.
I study every article that comes out on how to sell myself, what to say (and not say), how to make my resume pop, follow ups, thank you notes, you name it.
And I go un-hired. Yup ... the age. You'd think with my qualifications, my record, my service oriented (and people oriented) skill sets that I'd be one highly sought after asset for their companies. And I am. It's gotta be the age thing.
Thanks for letting me vent ... I've needed to release this tension for days now.
I'll plug along, I'm sure someone, someday, somewhere, will recognize what I can offer their company and be happy to have me aboard!
I haven't heard that 50 lashes phrase in years. It is true that the 50 and over crowd have a harder time finding work, but it's not because of their age - it's generally because they have too much experience and their salary requirements are perceived as too high for lower level positions (and of course there are a lot more jobs at the bottom than at the top).
ReplyDeleteI would guess that in a difficult job market such as yours, its more about the time since your last job - when there are a lot of applicants to choose from, employers like the ones with a recent stable work history because they've proved they will stay with the job.
It is true that it is easier to get a new job once you have a job. And a lot of hiring comes from who you know, all other things being equal. So get out of the house and meet more people - talk to the folks at that school you graduated from (maybe they have some leads)....and if there is any sort of volunteer opportunity you can manage - try that as well.
And if you haven't already done it - take advantage of all those people associated with the police department - is the city hiring anyone - do they do parttime work (ours do) and if so, they probably have connections with the owners/managers of the places they are working for.
Em, thanks ...
ReplyDeleteWhat's sad is that I'm applying for the lower rung jobs, I'm more than willing to work my way up (without coming across in interviews as being desperate for work). Retail is a difficult field these days alright ... which is why I'm more than willing to start at the bottom.
Sad thing is, if they looked at my resume they'd see that the jobs that are on the resume (the last three I've held) are a minimum of four years each - I'm definitely not a job jumper! Even the time off between jobs was for college. But you're right, it's so much easier to get a job if you've been working recently.
The local Fox station has something they call the Fox2 Job Shop ... it's where I get all the current info on the hows and whats of job hunting, as well as listings for job opportunities. Some of the job shop interviews I've seen all say the same thing - if you're unemployed you're not going to be hired ... that you have to network anymore if you want to work, especially in a state where our unemployment numbers are still in the 15% range.
And forget if I say I own a part time small business, they don't consider that a good thing. "Why do you need to work here if you own your own company?" they ask. It makes the fact I'm interviewing with them look like I can't make my own business operate in the black and that I don't have the dedication needed or that I have no business sense. Why would they want to hire me if I am willing to walk away from my own business, they think I'll dump them sooner than later, too (or that's what one gal told me point blank in my last interview). Makes me wonder if even putting Elsie's Attic on my resume is a wise move.
And yes, Elsie's is still operational. I have a few regular customers, small orders ... not enough to pay the rent ... or the light bill ... but something I'm not willing to give up on, either.
You hit that nail on the head ... I definitely need to get out more, network ... meet people and get my name out there!!
I would love to work for the village, or a city nearby, or the township I live in ... however, with lay offs and hiring freezes all across the state for any type of government work (police, fire, dispatch, libraries, etc) ... there's no way that'll happen until the economy has recovered. Provided by then I'm not too damned old to do the job! I do know about half of the officers there (a few of them have part time jobs outside the department) ... I'll have to let them know my qualifications and such so they can pass it on!
Thanks Em ... I'm still frustrated, but I do feel better now.
Our police almost all work "security" for local businesses on the side - and thats why I thought maybe they had contacts that could help. Just keep remembering that its nothing wrong with you or your work ethic or your education or your abilities - there's just a lot of folks out there looking. So just make friends wherever you can..and keep on trying.
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I love my job - and the way I got an interview (and got hired) was from a recommendation from the woman who already had the job. We met because I was the salesperson assigned to her account - she appreciated my help in making sure she got what she needed - so when she decided to leave, she put in a good word for me and helped walk me through the entire process whch took a couple of months. 17 years later I'm still there and still very happy with my career...but getting my start was as much about luck as skill.
Some of *our* cops work security as a second job, others (most) work local businesses as a second job (car wash, restaurant, tool shop, one is even in child care ... ). I'm about ready to go door to door downtown seeking work, LOL. A lot of the store owners know me from village events anyway ... It's 17 miles away, a little out of my prefered hunting area, but a job is a job ... and if I'm moving in two to five years (folks gonna sell this house soon) this is the area I want to move anyway. But the move is some ways off, time wise.
ReplyDeleteI love how you got your job!! When I worked at Big Lots I got a lot of offers from customers to come work for them. They just loved me!! That was so long ago, though, that that network has pretty much collapsed.
I'll keep plugging along ... that's for sure. I can't quit. Eventually someone will see me for the asset I can be to them.
And I can't thank you enough, Em, for making me remember that I'm a more than capable person, stuck in a tough situation that is NOT in my control. What is in my control is to keep applying, get that network going again ... and see where it takes me.