You Must Apply to be Employed
AOL Article: Top 10 Companies Hiring This Week
There are certain big companies that are almost always hiring, but that can mean they have a lot of turn over. So during your job hunt try not to let yourself get tunnel vision. Consider smaller and midsized businesses, particularly if they seem to do steady business and have a long term outlook. Consider government jobs (around here that generally means lower pay but better benefits & job security.)
We all have things we're more comfortable with but try to think past the first few obvious categories that might come to mind (ie. waitress, cashier, stock). There are other jobs that only require a highschool education. Bankteller, for one, surprised me. I found some receptionist/clerk type hospital jobs this week that required no special medical billing or paperwork training, just highschool diploma or GED. (1-3 year experience was prefered but not required). Maybe you'd like mushroom harvesting (seemed to be steadier work than other harvesting jobs) or scanning microfiche into a computer (I have a friend who had/has a job doing this).
Sometimes companies and governments change up job requirements/classifications to create less strict entry level positions. (I think this is what happened at the hospital. They limited responsibilities, so they could create a new job class.) Ironically I went to college in part because at the time 2 years of college was required to work the desk at the public library. By the time I got out, they had changed the qualifications and the desk job title so no college was required. (*sigh*)
My point is that the job market is always shifting. New types of jobs that you would normally never think to look for might be popping up. Some things that you might assume require certificates don't always. I spent a month as a full time webdesigner (left to focus on my writing). All I knew was basic HTML that I had learned on my own and had a few basic sites I maintained, but that was enough to help this small company. It wasn't a job that would make me rich, but it was a decent entry level job that gave me opportunities to learn to more about webdesign and could have lead to higher paying jobs in that field. (I just decided I didn't want to be a webdesigner.)
There are certain big companies that are almost always hiring, but that can mean they have a lot of turn over. So during your job hunt try not to let yourself get tunnel vision. Consider smaller and midsized businesses, particularly if they seem to do steady business and have a long term outlook. Consider government jobs (around here that generally means lower pay but better benefits & job security.)
We all have things we're more comfortable with but try to think past the first few obvious categories that might come to mind (ie. waitress, cashier, stock). There are other jobs that only require a highschool education. Bankteller, for one, surprised me. I found some receptionist/clerk type hospital jobs this week that required no special medical billing or paperwork training, just highschool diploma or GED. (1-3 year experience was prefered but not required). Maybe you'd like mushroom harvesting (seemed to be steadier work than other harvesting jobs) or scanning microfiche into a computer (I have a friend who had/has a job doing this).
Sometimes companies and governments change up job requirements/classifications to create less strict entry level positions. (I think this is what happened at the hospital. They limited responsibilities, so they could create a new job class.) Ironically I went to college in part because at the time 2 years of college was required to work the desk at the public library. By the time I got out, they had changed the qualifications and the desk job title so no college was required. (*sigh*)
My point is that the job market is always shifting. New types of jobs that you would normally never think to look for might be popping up. Some things that you might assume require certificates don't always. I spent a month as a full time webdesigner (left to focus on my writing). All I knew was basic HTML that I had learned on my own and had a few basic sites I maintained, but that was enough to help this small company. It wasn't a job that would make me rich, but it was a decent entry level job that gave me opportunities to learn to more about webdesign and could have lead to higher paying jobs in that field. (I just decided I didn't want to be a webdesigner.)