Dork Knight
Member
Cosmic Bus said:
Sounds sweet! Good luck landing it!
anyone else unemployed?
- Thread starter MPW
- Start date
- Status
Sounds sweet! Good luck landing it!
Nobodyspatzy
Member
Hey all, well, starting tomorrow, I am nearly 1 year of not working (as I had been off for a while before finally having to leave my previous job I loved, but not by choice..) Anyway, thinking of expanding my searching more, and ran into a snag as far as information goes.
I live in the Inland Empire of Southern California, and am looking up various jobs in Tennessee, Arizona, and dozens of other places, but have no idea on both how to search for more jobs, and also, what to tell an employer who sees my resume, and all other information, on why I am so willing to re-locate (the truth of the matter is, anywhere where I can work, and get a place of my own is fine, even at the cost of my friends, and my loved ones). I did cover I am able to relocate as soon as possible, but also may or may not have a car, as I currently share one with my brother...
So, any help is greatly appreciated. Quite frankly, I am lost on this whole "long-distance' job searching. Thanks all, and best of luck again to those still searching.
I live in the Inland Empire of Southern California, and am looking up various jobs in Tennessee, Arizona, and dozens of other places, but have no idea on both how to search for more jobs, and also, what to tell an employer who sees my resume, and all other information, on why I am so willing to re-locate (the truth of the matter is, anywhere where I can work, and get a place of my own is fine, even at the cost of my friends, and my loved ones). I did cover I am able to relocate as soon as possible, but also may or may not have a car, as I currently share one with my brother...
So, any help is greatly appreciated. Quite frankly, I am lost on this whole "long-distance' job searching. Thanks all, and best of luck again to those still searching.
I'm thinking I'm so underqualified for all the stuff online. :/
And there's positions that are like... working with newborns in a hospital. Which isn't bad, but I'm not very fond of kids/babies in general and the hours seem to be "part-time, start at 9 and go until every last baby is pumped out at the end of the day!" :/
And there's positions that are like... working with newborns in a hospital. Which isn't bad, but I'm not very fond of kids/babies in general and the hours seem to be "part-time, start at 9 and go until every last baby is pumped out at the end of the day!" :/
ThisWreckage
Banned
SolKane said:
I can't recall the last application I filled out that didn't require your social security number. They even asked my sister for her's on her McDonald's application.
Aesius
Member
Cyrillus said:
Yeah. One of my good friends got a cushy office job with UPS by applying directly through their website. The position wasn't even posted on any job boards. He just made a list of local companies and went through each website to find employment openings.
In other news, I have a phone interview for a copywriting position at a marketing firm tomorrow. Pretty excited, as it would mean I actually get to use my degree (journalism). I always do very well in face to face interviews, but I've never done a phone interview. Anything specific to watch out for?
Captain Pants
Killed by a goddamned Dredgeling
I'm quitting my job today and getting ready to go back to school. I've been working with my older brother and my dad for five years and I'm so excited to leave. I'm going to feel like an adult again.
I've been working with my older brother and my dad for five years and I'm so excited to leave. I'm going to feel like an adult again.Question about the "most recent/previous employer" section of applications...
I have had three great jobs where I was at for 2 years each. Laid off from the third. I'm only 23.
In between them I had some shitty jobs where I quit after a month, one of which is technically my "most recent" employer.
Am I supposed to write it down anyway, or can I cherry pick?
I have had three great jobs where I was at for 2 years each. Laid off from the third. I'm only 23.
In between them I had some shitty jobs where I quit after a month, one of which is technically my "most recent" employer.
Am I supposed to write it down anyway, or can I cherry pick?
passed the medical (fingernail check and tooth decay check)
Got my first shift tomorrow at 8.30 till 5, dodgy times because its an introduction, from Monday on it will be 6am till 2pm every time they put a shift my direction.
I've to dress warm, so my Nike sweatpants it is
Got my first shift tomorrow at 8.30 till 5, dodgy times because its an introduction, from Monday on it will be 6am till 2pm every time they put a shift my direction.
I've to dress warm, so my Nike sweatpants it is
Kentpaul said:passed the medical (fingernail check and tooth decay check)
Got my first shift tomorrow at 8.30 till 5, dodgy times because its an introduction, from Monday on it will be 6am till 2pm every time they put a shift my direction.
I've to dress warm, so my Nike sweatpants it is
What kindof check is that? Tooth decay, Really?
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Yellow Leaf bakery is my savior: I AM EMPLOYED. Not only that, I'm doing something I love.
ugh....had (what I thought was) a great phone interview last week (Wedn.). It ended with the VP of Engineering telling me "When can you come in for a face-to-face interview? I have your email address and I'll email you in a couple days to see when we can set the interview up".
Good stuff, right? Friday (2 days later) comes & goes and there's no email. I wait unitl Tues. to send the VP with a Thank You / I'm Still Interested email, and still no response here at the end of the work day on Thurs.
I mean, at least send me a damn stock Rejection Email so that I'm not left wondering.
Congrats!
Good stuff, right? Friday (2 days later) comes & goes and there's no email. I wait unitl Tues. to send the VP with a Thank You / I'm Still Interested email, and still no response here at the end of the work day on Thurs.
I mean, at least send me a damn stock Rejection Email so that I'm not left wondering.at least I still have a job though
Cosmic Bus said:
Congrats!
LosDaddie said:ugh....had (what I thought was) a great phone interview last week (Wedn.). It ended with the VP of Engineering telling me "When can you come in for a face-to-face interview? I have your email address and I'll email you in a couple days to see when we can set the interview up".
Good stuff, right? Friday (2 days later) comes & goes and there's no email. I wait unitl Tues. to send the VP with a Thank You / I'm Still Interested email, and still no response here at the end of the work day on Thurs.
at least I still have a job though
Time for a phone call.
Cosmic Bus said:
Congratulations
Congrats! I've lurked this thread and the IronGAF threads long enough to see both your struggle for employment and your exceptional skills as a chef, so congrats to you on fulfilling both desires at once!Cosmic Bus said:
On another note: I had two face-to-face interviews yesterday for different positions.
Interview 1: Phone support at a small, local telecom. Interview went well, and I actually just received a call from them offering me the position, which is great except that it's a 10-week temporary position to fill in for someone going on maternity leave.
Interview 2: Technical Support (phone and in-person) position at a local computer manufacturer/distributor. The interview seemed to go well, I actually was interviewed by a couple people, including the COO and co-founder of the company. The interview ended with her saying "I really like you, but I'm unsure if you have the troubleshooting experience to really succeed in this position. I'd like to have one of our techs take you back to our assembly area and give you an evaluation." He was apparently too busy to do the evaluation, so she said she'd have him call me back sometime in the next week to bring me in for an evaluation. She also mentioned that if I don't have the skills for the support position, they would have openings in the assembly area soon, which she thought I would be perfect for.
I asked the HR rep. at Interview #1 if I could give her an answer by next Wednesday on whether or not I would accept her position, but I'm unsure of whether I should wait longer than that for the clearly superior position of Interview #2.
Skel1ingt0n
I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
:-(
Suppose it's my turn to finally throw my story in here. Sorry for the long read, but I'd certainly appreciate any information.
I *love* video games, as a lot of people here also do. But I'm not a great artist, nor am I good at math. So the paths were pretty much cut off. However, I love hyping, selling, and spreading my passion for games. I was the editor-in-chief of my HS paper, and figured a journalism major was for me. It just so happened I lived about 90 minutes from the University of Missouri - one of the best j-schools in the country. I wanted to shy away from a liberal arts degree, but the strategic communication emphasis seemed like a perfect fit for me. This was especially true when I looked for jobs in the marketing/pr/advertising departments of game companies. A large portion of positions specifically asked for majors with a journalism degree... and how many j-school grads are eager to get a job in the games industry? I figured I had found my niche.
School was VERY difficult for me to pay for. I worked full time in HS, and had three part-time jobs in college. I didn't have family help, and couldn't score a scholarship or financial aid for the life of me, regardless of a 4.3 GPA. This meant I had ZERO time for any internships. It just never worked out. There was no time. So, unfortunately, my resume' is pretty empty. I have a couple food jobs, a retail job. My only decent experience is being a teaching assistant for a year for a visuals & design class (Photoshop) for the university.
Well now that I'm graduated; the positions are still there. But I can't get a call back for the life of me. I've been applying for positions since September, graduated in May, and have continued filling out applications since then. I'd imagine I've got about ~250 applications floating around out there. I've made my resume look as good as I can. I write up a unique cover letter for every position. I follow up with a phone call or email for about every opening. I'm willing to travel. I'm willing to relocate. I'm willing to work long hours. I'll take crappy pay so long as it's enough to survive. I'm VERY confident in my ability to speak and do an interview (every previous job I've received I was given during my interview). I dress nicely. But I'm not pretentious or douchey or anything. I'm friendly. Etc, etc.
I just don't know what to do. *NOBODY* will even give me a look.
So now I don't know what to do. I figured I could kill some time and pull in some cash doing part-time work learning something I won't be able to learn in the future (maybe a film projectionist or something of the sort). But even then, I get nothing.
And I'm running out of cash. FAST. I have enough to last about another month or so. And student loan repayments are coming up in Oct/Nov. Anyone know how easy these are to defer? How long can I typically defer them for?
Anyway... I'd absolutely KILL for a position in the marketing/pr/advertising department of a game publisher, a game store, something like Direct2Drive or Impulse, Amazon, Gamestop, Best Buy, etc, etc. I'd take a position as a community developer for a start-up or a big company. I just want to break into the industry and in my field. But I'm quickly learning that's not gonna happen anytime soon. So I'd at least like to get a job in the field, so I could move into the games industry down the road.
Eh... sorry for the rant. Don't really know what my point is. Just getting pretty depressed about the whole thing. Especially since all my friends have snagged pretty good jobs in the last month or so.
Suppose it's my turn to finally throw my story in here. Sorry for the long read, but I'd certainly appreciate any information.
I *love* video games, as a lot of people here also do. But I'm not a great artist, nor am I good at math. So the paths were pretty much cut off. However, I love hyping, selling, and spreading my passion for games. I was the editor-in-chief of my HS paper, and figured a journalism major was for me. It just so happened I lived about 90 minutes from the University of Missouri - one of the best j-schools in the country. I wanted to shy away from a liberal arts degree, but the strategic communication emphasis seemed like a perfect fit for me. This was especially true when I looked for jobs in the marketing/pr/advertising departments of game companies. A large portion of positions specifically asked for majors with a journalism degree... and how many j-school grads are eager to get a job in the games industry? I figured I had found my niche.
School was VERY difficult for me to pay for. I worked full time in HS, and had three part-time jobs in college. I didn't have family help, and couldn't score a scholarship or financial aid for the life of me, regardless of a 4.3 GPA. This meant I had ZERO time for any internships. It just never worked out. There was no time. So, unfortunately, my resume' is pretty empty. I have a couple food jobs, a retail job. My only decent experience is being a teaching assistant for a year for a visuals & design class (Photoshop) for the university.
Well now that I'm graduated; the positions are still there. But I can't get a call back for the life of me. I've been applying for positions since September, graduated in May, and have continued filling out applications since then. I'd imagine I've got about ~250 applications floating around out there. I've made my resume look as good as I can. I write up a unique cover letter for every position. I follow up with a phone call or email for about every opening. I'm willing to travel. I'm willing to relocate. I'm willing to work long hours. I'll take crappy pay so long as it's enough to survive. I'm VERY confident in my ability to speak and do an interview (every previous job I've received I was given during my interview). I dress nicely. But I'm not pretentious or douchey or anything. I'm friendly. Etc, etc.
I just don't know what to do. *NOBODY* will even give me a look.
So now I don't know what to do. I figured I could kill some time and pull in some cash doing part-time work learning something I won't be able to learn in the future (maybe a film projectionist or something of the sort). But even then, I get nothing.
And I'm running out of cash. FAST. I have enough to last about another month or so. And student loan repayments are coming up in Oct/Nov. Anyone know how easy these are to defer? How long can I typically defer them for?
Anyway... I'd absolutely KILL for a position in the marketing/pr/advertising department of a game publisher, a game store, something like Direct2Drive or Impulse, Amazon, Gamestop, Best Buy, etc, etc. I'd take a position as a community developer for a start-up or a big company. I just want to break into the industry and in my field. But I'm quickly learning that's not gonna happen anytime soon. So I'd at least like to get a job in the field, so I could move into the games industry down the road.
Eh... sorry for the rant. Don't really know what my point is. Just getting pretty depressed about the whole thing. Especially since all my friends have snagged pretty good jobs in the last month or so.
Ivan A Nguyen
Member
There is an unemployment deferment that lasts for about a year. I think you only get one year cumulative though, so ... there's that.Skel1ingt0n said:
Aesius
Member
Skel1ingt0n said:
You need to treat looking for a job the same way you would a full-time job. Start at 9 a.m. each day, looking and applying and writing cover letters and tweaking your resume for each job and don't stop until 5 p.m. at night (or later). Make a spreadsheet of every company you have applied to and check them off after you have followed up on the position.
You can probably shoot off 10-15 well-crafted, individualized cover letters/resumes on a daily basis like this. That's 60-70 a week. If you're willing to relocate, you should have no problem whatsoever finding enough positions available to send that many out. It sucks ass, but it's a necessary evil to find a job nowadays. Most people I know (myself included until very recently) complain about not finding a job, but in reality they just send off a generic resume and cover letter to any position remotely relevant to their field of study/expertise. Gotta go a step above to that to even be considered, because what might be a "meh, I'll take it" job for you could be someone else's dream job, and they likely will have prepared accordingly.
Aesius
Member
My phone interview went pretty good for the copywriting position. It wasn't a grand slam, but it was solid. They are going to select a few candidates to come in next week for an in-person interview.
I'm hopeful for this one, because it's technically an internship (paid), and they're looking for either current students or recent graduates -- and I just graduated in May. They also want someone who can work as many hours as possible, which I can definitely do (currently unemployed, lolz).
I also just applied for a part-time sports clerk position at a local news paper taking sports scores over the phone. Pays pretty decent for what it is ($12/hr). Seems like a decent way to potentially break into sports writing as well.
I'm hopeful for this one, because it's technically an internship (paid), and they're looking for either current students or recent graduates -- and I just graduated in May. They also want someone who can work as many hours as possible, which I can definitely do (currently unemployed, lolz).
I also just applied for a part-time sports clerk position at a local news paper taking sports scores over the phone. Pays pretty decent for what it is ($12/hr). Seems like a decent way to potentially break into sports writing as well.
(be cautious with this one, I ended up going to an interview for some vague position that ended up being door-to-door vacuum salesmen)
Whaaaat? People still sell dustbusters door-to-door or did you accidentally step into a time machine back to the 1950s? Did they expect you to spill dust over people's carpets for a demonstration?
Whaaaat? People still sell dustbusters door-to-door or did you accidentally step into a time machine back to the 1950s? Did they expect you to spill dust over people's carpets for a demonstration?
Rocksteady33
Junior Member
Skel1ingt0n said:
I too want to work in the games/tech industry at some point (but not marketing more on the finance side), but I realized early on that it wasn't going to happen right out of college. I too am in the Midwest, and had limited exposure to companies that fit the tech bill. Hell I even worked as a campus rep for Ubisoft, working directly with their marketing/PR team and still knew I wouldn't be able to get out there and work for a games company.
So I embraced the companies around me. I ended up getting a job offer right out of school in Wisconsin, and while it's far from a tech company, it's a global company that is giving me a lot of exposure to things that I need to know for almost any company. So I'm getting my experience and if that means having to be here for a few years before I can get to where I want to go, there's no problem with that. I like the company, I like the people, and I like the work.
But like you said - you need experience. So while it sucks to say, stop aiming for your dream job at 22, very few people get that out of college. You didn't get internship experience? Well what's stopping you now? Companies are more likely to hire an intern/temp work than full time. Which can suck, but again it can start getting you things to put on that resume. Once you build that up, starting prioritizing and setting goals on what you can do to get to where you want to go. You'll get there man, it just takes time.
I had my five month anniversary of becoming unemployed yesterday. On Monday night I got a rejection email from a company where I had taken two tests, had two phone interviews, and one face-to-face interview with a couple of hiring managers that I thought went, AND I had been referred by a friend of mine who works there. I got the email while I was out at dinner with my sister, which depressed me, then my debit card got declined when I tried to pay for my meal, which was like rubbing salt into the fucking wound. I was super-depressed.
A couple hours later, a girl I've been working with at a local staffing agency called me to ask if she could submit my resume for an opportunity they just got that. I had a short meet and greet interview yesterday and a full interview this morning, and they want me to start on Monday. So yay, happy news. Keep at it, guys, and I highly recommend using a staffing agency. It doesn't cost you anything and they can look for positions for you that don't get posted in the usual places.
A couple hours later, a girl I've been working with at a local staffing agency called me to ask if she could submit my resume for an opportunity they just got that. I had a short meet and greet interview yesterday and a full interview this morning, and they want me to start on Monday. So yay, happy news. Keep at it, guys, and I highly recommend using a staffing agency. It doesn't cost you anything and they can look for positions for you that don't get posted in the usual places.
Skel1ingt0n said:
I'm in a similar boat (journalism/polisci major). Luckily, I was able to get one internship while in college, but it's hard to compete when many people I know have had three or more internships throughout college. Unfortunately, our industry is more likely to hire from those connections. Have you tried http://www.journalismjobs.com/Search_Jobs_all.cfm? I've applied to a few on there, but since my goal is to get to a major city soon, I likely won't find anything on it.
Also, don't rule out Americorps, Peacecorps, and Teach For America. Some positions allow working another job, so you could intern at a local paper, marketing agency, or ad agency.
Done my introduction today guys, its fair to say a robot could do my job , and its gonna be 8 hours of boredom when ever they give me a shift.
I've been told next week will be quite, I'll only get 1 or two shifts (80 pound), then the week after its gonna be busy (jackpot)
Gonna need to tap into my imagination to get threw my days in that place, hope they put me in manual lifting jobs and not putting pasta in a tray (for the next person to put something else in, so on so forth)
I don't even smoke weed anymore to numb/pass the boring shit.
its money at the end of the week i guess..
the good point of my job is that i start at 6am and finish at 2pm, that leaves me with an entire day of shit to do, theirs some people who can't get a lift in that early in the morning and are forced to work 2pm till 10pm
Sorry for posting this here, I've been unemployed that long i feel you unemployed guys are my family.
I've been told next week will be quite, I'll only get 1 or two shifts (80 pound), then the week after its gonna be busy (jackpot)
Gonna need to tap into my imagination to get threw my days in that place, hope they put me in manual lifting jobs and not putting pasta in a tray (for the next person to put something else in, so on so forth)
I don't even smoke weed anymore to numb/pass the boring shit.
its money at the end of the week i guess..
the good point of my job is that i start at 6am and finish at 2pm, that leaves me with an entire day of shit to do, theirs some people who can't get a lift in that early in the morning and are forced to work 2pm till 10pm
Sorry for posting this here, I've been unemployed that long i feel you unemployed guys are my family.
Ivan A Nguyen
Member
I can't stress this enough. It's even good for when you are still working and looking for a new position. I was in my old job and hating every minute of it. I was always too tired to do any real job searching. Then I get a call during one of my breaks and it's for an interview on my day off. I get the job in the interview and 90 days later, I'm hired by the company. I went from going though metal detectors too and from work, to sitting at a very nice desk and being surrounded by professionals who treat each other like adults. It's one of the biggest 180s I've ever had in my life. All because I had applied at a staffing company.zesty said:
Sometimes I hate how life works.
After 8 months I finally got an interview for tech support at my school campus, went in and interview went great. 2 days later they offer a job and of course I told them yes.
The next day I get another call back from a different company requesting an interview. Nothing in months and months and suddenly two within a week. WTF.
As for my job, it's not much above minimum wage and no benefits, but it's work!
After 8 months I finally got an interview for tech support at my school campus, went in and interview went great. 2 days later they offer a job and of course I told them yes.
The next day I get another call back from a different company requesting an interview. Nothing in months and months and suddenly two within a week. WTF.
As for my job, it's not much above minimum wage and no benefits, but it's work!
SolKane said:
I'm sorry to hear it.
Treat a phone interview like an open-book test. Come up with a list of questions you think you might be asked and write up answers for them. Try to keep your responses brief -- I guess interviewers assume someone who rambles is either ill-prepared or nervous. And if you don't know the answer to a question, sometimes it helps to ask for a clarification. It may give you the time you need to formulate a real answer.
Good luck in the future.
Aesius
Member
SolKane said:
Unless the job requires a very specific skill set, phone interviews are often more to make sure you aren't completely brain dead/socially incompetent. Interviewers aren't going to pick up on every single thing you say, and even if you don't answer the question "correctly", you're still fine as long as you don't sound like a total moron.
You may have blown this one (and you might not - you never know) but in the future just go in thinking that you don't need to necessarily have the "right" answer for every question. Just keep a good flow of conversation going.
NaughtyCalibur
Member
First time posting in here I believe. Not much of a story as of now. Basically I just had to pay my college about $600 so that I can finish up my last semester and finally snag the two degrees I've been working towards for way too long, both being applied business degrees in filmmaking and media arts (yeah, I know...)
I was making money here and there doing video production work, but recently I haven't been having much luck there as this town isn't really known for that stuff. And even though two studio films are being shot here this month (The Avengers and I, Alex Cross) I can't seem to get work on either of those (not even as an extra, and trust me I tried). I've pretty much run out of money and need a job, so I'm applying to work as some sort of mail clerk at an insurance agency with my sister, who hopefully will be able to get me in. What's frustrating is seeing a bunch of my friends on Facebook getting the jobs I've been after, and bragging about it in their statuses. Think it's time I disable my Facebook before I flip out haha.
Wish me luck, guys. I need to save up as much money as possible by this time next year so that I can finally move out of Ohio and get my own place and continue going to school.
I was making money here and there doing video production work, but recently I haven't been having much luck there as this town isn't really known for that stuff. And even though two studio films are being shot here this month (The Avengers and I, Alex Cross) I can't seem to get work on either of those (not even as an extra, and trust me I tried). I've pretty much run out of money and need a job, so I'm applying to work as some sort of mail clerk at an insurance agency with my sister, who hopefully will be able to get me in. What's frustrating is seeing a bunch of my friends on Facebook getting the jobs I've been after, and bragging about it in their statuses. Think it's time I disable my Facebook before I flip out haha.
Wish me luck, guys. I need to save up as much money as possible by this time next year so that I can finally move out of Ohio and get my own place and continue going to school.
I have horseshoes up my ass, I swear. Ever since I got laid off last September, I took it pretty easy for the first few months. Then I kept putting off my job search. I had sent out a total of 10 resumes (and I think that's stretching it!), there was a posting a few weeks ago I felt really good about. I got called for an interview (the first I've had since sending out the resumes) and I should be receiving an offer on Monday.
Just cheated a pee test which was the most terrifying thing, uh... ever. It was a success though and my brothers clean pee should be testing positive and I'll have a job at Sams in s couple of days. Not a luxurious job, but I've done my math and $9/hr > $0/hr. This is only my second job in the states, so I'm hoping this'll be useful for future job searches.
Best of luck to jobless-gaf!
Best of luck to jobless-gaf!
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