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I am quite frustrated today. For 3 years i have been seeking any position that will pay even 900 a month so my Son and I can have a roof over our heads for a while longer. (Our recession started a bit early in this area.)
As usual, I try the old tactics, then the new tactics, then the old again, re-do my resumes again, tweaking the terminology, lowering my education, walking the sidewalks, looking at the Pennysaver, sending thank you cards (yeah, thanks for nuttin, lol) and so forth. I know some of you are the same !
Today I was looking at my handy list of top 200 employers in our 2 nearby So Cal Inland Empire counties. The combined populations of these counties is about 5 million.
Several looked like they could have possible openings I would be qualified for, as I have 3 fields to choose from and a BS degree. However, I am willing take any file clerk, cleaning, or kitchen job they have. I chose a giant hospital/medical system, a huge casino, school districts, state mental hospital, and movie kiosk company.
I "created an account" for several large employers, and "logged in to my account" for others I go to regularly. (grrrr, it gets old.)
Five of these top employers combined employ 21,000 people in all fields.
I searched all jobs for these organizations in our area.
The total openings were 51.
That includes specialized certificated teachers and nurses.
There are no openings for housekeepers and file clerks. (A cook ll needs specialized broiler experience and sushi experience. Etc.)
Do you folks have anything left to apply for in your areas?
I feel like I am being slowly smothered, and I am not that way.
I always bounce back and shine positivity and at work I am always complimented for productivity. I love being productive.
I do not like this lack of hope.
Reading this terrific forum gives me hope, and I thank you for this.
Sorry about replying to my own thread, but as an update to the above stats:
Checked second largest employer here, a supermarket chain. 18,000 employees. 0 Openings.
Updated stats on our top 30 employers, available positions-
39,000 positions. 51 openings.
I did find one school district to apply for in person only. Will be there Monday !
You have to find a different way to look. I hope I'm wrong, but I bet you'll have company on Monday.
IME, any job involving the telephone is always hiring due to high turnover. Call centers are stressful, but inbound isn't as bad as trying to sell. See if you can find some kind of customer service gig. They usually have a paid training period too.
I don't do this kind of work now, but I have in the past, and I *always* see openings. Temp agencies can probably have you out taking calls in a matter of days.
Thank you for your reply. The good news is that job on Monday is one I am eminently qualified for, with several letters of reference and extra college that they want ! This school district hired me before as a sub and i was approved by the school board, so I am confident ! yay!
I have not seen one of those call center jobs here, but I will enter it in the search terms! I would love it, did call center in the past.
Temp services will not hire anyone who does not have at least one year of office experience in the last 12 months, but not longer than 6 months ago. Several of our temp services have closed. We are second-highest in unemployment after Detroit...sigh.
What other ways would you suggest I look?
I try pennysaver, craigslist, newspaper, online, walking around on foot, church presentations, networking, chatting people up, flyers. Of course i am over 40, it doesn't help ! ?
Peace to you ! Thanks !
Thank you for your reply. The good news is that job on Monday is one I am eminently qualified for, with several letters of reference and extra college that they want ! This school district hired me before as a sub and i was approved by the school board, so I am confident ! yay!
I have not seen one of those call center jobs here, but I will enter it in the search terms! I would love it, did call center in the past. Temp services will not hire anyone who does not have at least one year of office experience in the last 12 months, but not longer than 6 months ago. Several of our temp services have closed. We are second-highest in unemployment after Detroit...sigh.
What other ways would you suggest I look?
I try pennysaver, craigslist, newspaper, online, walking around on foot, church presentations, networking, chatting people up, flyers. Of course i am over 40, it doesn't help ! ?
Peace to you ! Thanks !
Because after all things change so RAPIDLY in the office world.........sigh
Then they'll be bleating to the media how they can't get any QUALIFIED aplicants.....
Thank you for your reply. The good news is that job on Monday is one I am eminently qualified for, with several letters of reference and extra college that they want ! This school district hired me before as a sub and i was approved by the school board, so I am confident ! yay!
I have not seen one of those call center jobs here, but I will enter it in the search terms! I would love it, did call center in the past.
Temp services will not hire anyone who does not have at least one year of office experience in the last 12 months, but not longer than 6 months ago. Several of our temp services have closed. We are second-highest in unemployment after Detroit...sigh.
What other ways would you suggest I look?
I try pennysaver, craigslist, newspaper, online, walking around on foot, church presentations, networking, chatting people up, flyers. Of course i am over 40, it doesn't help ! ?
Peace to you ! Thanks !
If you're looking for call center jobs, I can tell you that there's a huge demand for patient representatives at hospitals or contracted consulting firms to hospitals. I'm not sure if you're looking for a full-time job, but I know that most call centers have part time positions open and it depends how much you get paid. And as already mentioned, it does foster a 'pressured' work environment as your productivity will be scrutinized constantly.
Regarding the different avenues you've taken so far to find something decent, it looks like you've been doing a lot. One thing I'd do though is look for a reputable recruiter in the field that you'd want to work in. The best recruiters IMO usually work in large recruiting firms versus a random person. Recruiters typically have the 'in' with their company clients that are looking for qualified candidates to fill open positions, so if you go through a reputable and legit recruiter, you might have an extra leg up as compared with your competition who's most likely applying blindly. I'd personally use that resource... but a word of caution though. If anyone charges you an upfront fee for their services, I'd move onto someone else. Recruiters typically get paid by commission and that amount comes from the potential employer that will hire you as a "finder's fee" to the recruiter, so you shouldn't have to pay anything.
If you're looking in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the reason is two fold. The economy out there is horrible. Also, there are fewer jobs out there. A lot of people live there but don't work there. From what I've been seeing, most of the jobs are in Orange County. I work there and live in L.A. County.
Thank you for your reply. The good news is that job on Monday is one I am eminently qualified for, with several letters of reference and extra college that they want ! This school district hired me before as a sub and i was approved by the school board, so I am confident ! yay!
I have not seen one of those call center jobs here, but I will enter it in the search terms! I would love it, did call center in the past.
Temp services will not hire anyone who does not have at least one year of office experience in the last 12 months, but not longer than 6 months ago. Several of our temp services have closed. We are second-highest in unemployment after Detroit...sigh.
What other ways would you suggest I look?
I try pennysaver, craigslist, newspaper, online, walking around on foot, church presentations, networking, chatting people up, flyers. Of course i am over 40, it doesn't help ! ?
Peace to you ! Thanks !
Fingers crossed for the school job. My mom works with troubled teens in a school, and if they've hired you previously and like you, that is going to be to your advantage. She's in her mid-60s, and has been laid off and found new work a couple of times btw so don't worry so much about being 40 something.
I didn't realize the temp agency situation was that dire where you are. I don't think it's that bad here in Boston, although I'm sure it's fairly competitive. I'd apply anyway. Apply online so a person screening and follow up with a phone call or 14. Can't hurt.
I assume you've probably checked in with every former coworker to see if anyone knows of anything? It sounds like you're upbeat and have let everyone know you're looking.
Is relocating possible? I know it wouldn't be easy, but it may be something to consider if your area is second only to Detroit. I'd also do anything you can to bring in some money--sell things online, put up your own house cleaning ad. Maybe you could join a crew cleaning out after foreclosures?
If you're looking in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the reason is two fold. The economy out there is horrible. Also, there are fewer jobs out there. A lot of people live there but don't work there. From what I've been seeing, most of the jobs are in Orange County. I work there and live in L.A. County.
This is absolutely correct! Calilady, I no longer live in CA and am so remote from the economy. You may have to expand your sights geographically and prepare to do the commute. Have you looked toward the Victorville/Arrowhead area? Also, many don't look at work at home positions offered by big companies. The large insurance companies have many work at home positions (Aetna, United, Cigna, Blue Cross). It appears you were a teacher, but if you have other skills that can be used, I suggest to you and to others in this forum to use the "Work at Home", "Telecommute" or "Remote Location" as search words in many of the large companies. Even though I'm currently employed, I still have alerts for those companies since I've worked in 2 of the 4 named above. Be prepared to do A drive. Many years ago, I had a friend employed in the postal service and her location is in Palos Verdes. She lived in Victorville and went through that pass every single day! I couldn't even do a daily 2 week commute for a project then from PV to Diamond Bar! Desperate times require desperate measures.
First of all, we are not in a recession. The recession ended 2 years ago. We are now in a full fledged DEpression by all neutral non govt opinions. Notice how we are starting to hear the word "double recession" lately? Because they can no longer get away with the R word but can't mention the D word because the mere mention of that D word would send our financial markets into a spiral so out of control that complete economic collapse would be imminent.
That said, my thumbs up to you for your continued motivation and not giving up. It's real bad out there unless one has a govt job or in the medical field. Can you take advantage of all the free money for college retraining as part of the economic stimulus crap? I think you said you were a single mother which makes you eligible for more then the average Joe. (govt discrimination at it's finest) Consider something in the medical field. What else do you enjoy doing?
Keep on plugging away. Those 51 jobs you said are listed each have 1000 to 4000 applicants. What can you do different to stand out? Keep trying, I'm rooting for ya.
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and went through that pass every single day!
