Current job look (Denver, Severance: home, job market, school)

[looopson]

I'm aware that Denver's unemployment rate is about 8% now but those stats are hard for me to comprehend. Can you still find full time minimum wage jobs in the city? Would you say its been getting worse in recent months or has leveled off?

I know in Portland it's almost impossible to even find a minimum wage job!

[steveindenver]

There are some food services jobs open (always are though eh) but you will likely have to work a couple or three jobs to fill out a 40 hour schedule right now as labor is the first to get chopped in slow times as it is the first and easiest thing you can control.

[michellesampson09]

I’ve been unemployed for a few months now and am desperately searching for a job. Even though I have a solid history of working in various small business and office environments, I’ve had very few responses to my resume. At this point, I’m feeling a little discouraged and would love some advice on how I can move forward in the job market. I’m looking into the possibility of taking some online classes but I have no idea how to even begin going about this. Has anyone taken distance learning courses in the past that can provide me with feedback?

[kateplus3]

Hello Michelle!
I’ve been looking into the e-learning programs too… my best friend did one a few months ago but I'm not sure which website it was through. At the time, she was working full-time at an IT company but knew that her days there were numbered. I don’t remember exactly what classes she took, but she said that adding the classes to her resume helped a lot when she had to start the job hunt.

[frisbiec]

Originally Posted by michellesampson09

I’ve been unemployed for a few months now and am desperately searching for a job. Even though I have a solid history of working in various small business and office environments, I’ve had very few responses to my resume. At this point, I’m feeling a little discouraged and would love some advice on how I can move forward in the job market. I’m looking into the possibility of taking some online classes but I have no idea how to even begin going about this. Has anyone taken distance learning courses in the past that can provide me with feedback?

Michelle,

CU-Denver has several eLearning programs and seems to be one of the leaders in that field. My wife is taking distance learning courses at another school and they reference some of the things that CU-Denver does.

I am currently getting my second masters in the eLearning implementation and design program at CU-Denver. From my experience, it is quite convenient and you get exposed to some newer theories, technology, etc. The bad side it that the social aspect of school is a little handicapped in the "e-world," it is much easier to procrastinate and some things like discussions require a little more work than they do in traditional setting. Boston University, Cornell University and University of Maryland also have excellent distance learning programs from what I have seen.

[denverian]

I'm freshly unemployed this week - I survived a round of layoffs last December, but no such luck this time. Severance and unemployment helps a lot, but we'll see how things go. I'm looking at technical writing positions, but I have no idea what the competition is like for those jobs.

In the mean time, I'm a stay at home dad. Oh, and I saw yesterday that the Denver metro unemployment rate is 7.5 or so. Better than many places, but not good.

[crphillary]

Originally Posted by michellesampson09

I’ve been unemployed for a few months now and am desperately searching for a job. Even though I have a solid history of working in various small business and office environments, I’ve had very few responses to my resume. At this point, I’m feeling a little discouraged and would love some advice on how I can move forward in the job market. I’m looking into the possibility of taking some online classes but I have no idea how to even begin going about this. Has anyone taken distance learning courses in the past that can provide me with feedback?

One of my neighbors told me about some online classes that she took through a non-profit organization called NEF. She said the classes focused on teaching the Microsoft Office Suite and some other practical information for working in management positions. The website I found on google for it was http://nefuniversity.org/scholarship (broken link) and I did look through it for a few minutes. I'm considering enrolling in it because its pretty cheap and definitely looks useful for resume and interviewing purposes. I'll let you know how it goes and good luck on your job search!