Success Story
Well, my friends... I did it. I actually GOT A JOB! After 15 months of unemployment (with no unemployment benefits, btw), I FINALLY found gainful employment.
Here is how it turned out.
I went to professional association, and they told me how to rework my resume, which I did. Then I went to a government website where they help who have been out of work for awhile find jobs. There, I filled out their forms, and while doing so, I had to come up with my top 5 career choices. That was good, because I hadn't really narrowed it down like that before. However, right about then, I was actually looking for ANY job that I could do for ANY money... part time, minimum wage even.
I noticed a job that seemed like my dream job online, and I sent my newly reworked resume to a woman who already has a job in the field that I want to be in, and asked if she could make any suggestions on it,which she did. HOWEVER... that was NOT how I got my job!
My PARTNER has been pestering me to go through my "rolodex" (which is really Outlook), and call all of the companies and people that I have previously had contact with. I thought this was a waste of time, but I did it anyway. One of them was a company from Syracuse which called me AFTER I had already moved to California. Since I was making her happy, I called them. They had me call their branch office here in Long Beach. THAT was when things started to happen.
Apparently, they didn't realize that I had moved. They failed to do whatever thing they were supposed to do to move my account. The agent in Long Beach pulled up my file, and realized that I had scored at least 90% on everyone one of their tests, so she couldn't believe I wasn't already working.
She scheduled me for a special meeting with their branch manager, he interviewed me, and 2 weeks later, he called me on a Thursday, had me rush down to the office for a background and a drug test, and had me working by the following Monday.
No, it isn't my "dream job". It isn't minimum wage, but it does not pay terribly well, either. However, it is non-profit experience, and, it turns out, the experience in incredibly relevant to where it is that I WANT to go. I would NEVER have thought of this as a career option on my own. They also gave me a VERY nice office, and I can bring home free food. So this is not my Final Destination, but it is certainly a fueling station along the way.
Oh, and the resume? That is the most ironic part. I had to rush down to the office so fast, I completely forgot to print out new copies. I got the job with the old version, the one that I had MONTHS before I revamped it. So, obviously, it wasn't the resume, it was the personal contact (and listening to my partner, who is almost always right, even though I sometimes hate to admit it).
Here is how it turned out.
I went to professional association, and they told me how to rework my resume, which I did. Then I went to a government website where they help who have been out of work for awhile find jobs. There, I filled out their forms, and while doing so, I had to come up with my top 5 career choices. That was good, because I hadn't really narrowed it down like that before. However, right about then, I was actually looking for ANY job that I could do for ANY money... part time, minimum wage even.
I noticed a job that seemed like my dream job online, and I sent my newly reworked resume to a woman who already has a job in the field that I want to be in, and asked if she could make any suggestions on it,which she did. HOWEVER... that was NOT how I got my job!
My PARTNER has been pestering me to go through my "rolodex" (which is really Outlook), and call all of the companies and people that I have previously had contact with. I thought this was a waste of time, but I did it anyway. One of them was a company from Syracuse which called me AFTER I had already moved to California. Since I was making her happy, I called them. They had me call their branch office here in Long Beach. THAT was when things started to happen.
Apparently, they didn't realize that I had moved. They failed to do whatever thing they were supposed to do to move my account. The agent in Long Beach pulled up my file, and realized that I had scored at least 90% on everyone one of their tests, so she couldn't believe I wasn't already working.
She scheduled me for a special meeting with their branch manager, he interviewed me, and 2 weeks later, he called me on a Thursday, had me rush down to the office for a background and a drug test, and had me working by the following Monday.
No, it isn't my "dream job". It isn't minimum wage, but it does not pay terribly well, either. However, it is non-profit experience, and, it turns out, the experience in incredibly relevant to where it is that I WANT to go. I would NEVER have thought of this as a career option on my own. They also gave me a VERY nice office, and I can bring home free food. So this is not my Final Destination, but it is certainly a fueling station along the way.
Oh, and the resume? That is the most ironic part. I had to rush down to the office so fast, I completely forgot to print out new copies. I got the job with the old version, the one that I had MONTHS before I revamped it. So, obviously, it wasn't the resume, it was the personal contact (and listening to my partner, who is almost always right, even though I sometimes hate to admit it).