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Jobs that pay minimum wage like fast food, retail, grocery store, gas station, janitorial, etc. are the hardest jobs to get. For one thing, these jobs require no real skills or qualifications, except maybe 2 weeks of training or orientation. The hiring process for these jobs is usually worse then career jobs: A long 2 hour online application, with a complex personality test tacked on the end. You have to answer strongly agree or strongly disagree for the answers and not seem crazy, shy or depressed. If you do it wrong your application will get deleted. 9/10 times you will never hear from anyone asking if you can come in for interview, let alone get an acknowledgement for applying. It's like you never applied at all. Some places want you to have an extensive resume. Without knowing someone your chances of getting in are even less. It wasn't always this way. They've went from being the easiest to get to being the hardest to get. Ever. Lots of people think because it's low paying that the job is easy to get. But that's not true.
The hiring process for most jobs has become nothing but dog eat dog, especially these survival jobs.
difficult to do these days when you are in your 30's with no work experience in that field. Not impossible, but very difficult. Just out of curiosity, what line of work are you in? pretty impressive that you've managed to work in a corporate setting without any degrees. I can see it happening in small businesses or as an entrepreneur, but in corporate? I do think that is an aberration. Good for you!
But whatever, this stuff is off-topic to the OP as he can't afford it.
To the OP, do you have any friends who moved to other cities? if you do, get in contact with them as well and see what the situation is like where they are.
I'm over 35. I started at the bottom as a shipping clerk at a corporate office. I used Excel and Access in reporting to keep track of all the files. In 2007, company went out of business and laid everybody off. From there, I went to reporting job and dropped the shipping part. It's like making TPS reports in the movie Office Space. I got laid off again, last year, when the company was sold. I got another reporting job. With each layoff, I got better job offers because of experience.
Many clerical jobs will have Excel. It's fairly common program at most companies. Most of my family has no degree. They all have jobs.There are millions of full time employed people with no degree.
10 year unemployment is an aberration for high school graduates and dropouts. I come across far more employed high school grads and college dropouts in every day life than unemployed.
Last edited by move4ward; 02-09-2013 at 11:31 AM..
College was not an option for people like me. When I was 18, I came home and found my bags sitting on the street corner....
I am now 34 years old. I haven't had a “real” job since I was 22 years old when I was a bike messenger in Miami, Florida.
At some point, especially if you are not interested in working for yourself, and your entire focus in life is to pound the pavement 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, for years on end, you fall through the cracks. I spent two years of my life sleeping on the street. Somehow I managed to maintain some of my friendships and even make valuable connections that allowed me to attend school for a year and get off the street. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go to even get an associates degree, so I attended a trade school and that ultimately got me nowhere except, despite finishing at the top of my class, pounding the pavement for nearly a year in a fruitless job search. My practicing license ran out and I was basically back to square one.....
Before getting the job mentioned above, I put out 100 resumes per day, every day for one whole month. That is 3000 rejections. I spent over a decade of my life looking for a viable job I could enjoy. I spend months on end walking around the city of Los Angeles dropping resumes and filling out applications. Since September, I have sent out at least 10 resumes a day. I've had 2 interviews during that time. It's sad to think that people I know were very happy to see I manged to be interviewed at all. So, I've had 2 interviews from about 2000 resumes, which is a large improvement over the 0 / 3000 resumes I experienced just a year ago.
Apparently I cannot do better than I do in life because if even ONE interviewer in the past ten years examined my resume, met me face-to-face, and decided I could do better, then it would be done.
I think you're very smart and certainly not lazy. But reading your story makes me wonder why you've shot yourself in the foot several times. You've had a tough beginning in life but so have a lot of successful people. You've lost a couple of good jobs and you don't seem to have focused on getting certification in what you are really interested in doing.
You need to mediate on why you're sabotaging your own success. What's really going on with you? You're plenty young enough to start anew- so giving up now would be absurd. A waste of a good human being.
There's help and training programs out there for people like you, you have to swallow your pride and find them. Also, rev up your skills as an autodidact and read some career manuals. Writing resumes and waiting for interviews is nonsense in your situation. You need to get in somewhere and prove you have the the needed skills since you don't have a great track record. That means volunteering. I once hired a guy who showed up at the office 3 times and kept assisting with the job of the guy who was leaving. It was an audiovisual position at a college. You had to be good at setting up and scheduling equipment. This guy knew his stuff and proved it. I hired him over every other candidate. He basically didn't take "no" for an answer or wait around to be invited. He showed he really wanted the job and was humble enough to forget his pride.
So, whatever it is you do, take it to the source. Write up a computer program for someone or some business you're interested in and get in there to convince them they need it. Volunteer to hang out and see what else you can do for them. See if that doesn't ultimately lead to an offer. Get creative- what you've been doing doesn't work.
I agree. I have 3 degrees and I am unemployed, go figure. Getting a college degree is not ALWAYS the answer to solving unemployment. There are many people (especially in the government) who do not have a college degree and have good jobs making decent money. I swear, it mostly depends on "luck." If a door opens up and you are at the right place at the right time, your situation can change overnight.
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Exactly. College degrees are pretty much worthless these days unless you can pick something you really like to do an want to stick with. Employers could care less about a degree anymore. I have a teaching degree and was unemployed for quite some time because I was competing with 900 people for one job. I worked with a lady who makes $9.00 an hour and she has 3 degrees. One of my mom's CNAs has a degree in business. Another guy I worked with has a degree from NYU and works at Walmart.
It is all about experience and skills these days and not so much the degree. If the OP decides to go to college, community college or learning a trade like CDL is his/her best bet.
Another idea is union apprenticeships for things like welding and plumbing you might want to look into OP.
I think you're very smart and certainly not lazy. But reading your story makes me wonder why you've shot yourself in the foot several times. You've had a tough beginning in life but so have a lot of successful people. You've lost a couple of good jobs and you don't seem to have focused on getting certification in what you are really interested in doing.
May I ask where you see I shot myself in the foot? I never thought that I was the one who did that. Sure, I fight really hard, but I've always felt I've been the one on the blunt end of the beating stick from employers and interviewers. I have / had tons of human (non-facebook) friends in my life. I can't be this unlikable and off-putting to people holding interviews. So, I am honestly asking, what is it you see I'm doing that is self-sabotage?
In regards to the certification, I was certified in some industry and I interviewed, searched for jobs, and even spend inordinate amount of time trying to build up my own income because I figured if I can't get a job, then make my own money, but none of it worked out. That was a full year of endless walking, talking, chatting, and using what connections I had to get started, and it all failed. I feel terrible about that entire time of my life because I, by no fault of my own, let a lot of people down who had faith in me.
I feel terrible about that entire time of my life because I, by no fault of my own, let a lot of people down who had faith in me.
NQ, now is the time to "quit" looking back and start looking forward. You'll not get those years back. Your best move is to keep what's usable and move on.
I would also recommend forgiving your parents. You will be a more balanced person without the bitterness.
I agree with the previous poster - you are plenty young enough to make a new start! Lots of people do - the schoolbook example is the population of women who counted on careers as housewives. Lots of them got thrown over for the "latest model" when in their 40s or later.
Develop your tribe in Texas. There's no shame in it. Go get 'em.
I hope you will write a book about being the "Comeback Kid" in ten years. I will buy it and ask you to autograph it! - I fear what we are in will be a multi-generational recession. Lots of people down the road will be helped by reading your story, and how you overcame your circumstances. The next generation, for example, will never have had the memory good times. We desperately need role models and instructions for them.
May I ask where you see I shot myself in the foot? I never thought that I was the one who did that. Sure, I fight really hard, but I've always felt I've been the one on the blunt end of the beating stick from employers and interviewers. I have / had tons of human (non-facebook) friends in my life. I can't be this unlikable and off-putting to people holding interviews. So, I am honestly asking, what is it you see I'm doing that is self-sabotage?
In regards to the certification, I was certified in some industry and I interviewed, searched for jobs, and even spend inordinate amount of time trying to build up my own income because I figured if I can't get a job, then make my own money, but none of it worked out. That was a full year of endless walking, talking, chatting, and using what connections I had to get started, and it all failed. I feel terrible about that entire time of my life because I, by no fault of my own, let a lot of people down who had faith in me.
My suggestion. Take the college route. You are not a high income earner so you will be able to qualify for pell grants if you have not already had them. Look into a university that has on campus housing and meal plans. You can get all of that if you are truly interested. Could even look into getting a part time on campus position (workstudy).
Anything is possible in america. Not sure what your true passions are, but in todays economy a bachelors degree is almost necessary to make good money. Taking it a step further....in some fields a masters is the minimum Sounds like you have some decisions to make.
I say get moving. Nothing in this world is given to us for free. Going to be a tough road ahead, but please know that very few if any people are going to sympathize with you. Life is all about risks. Just go for it. Best of luck.
My suggestion is reach out to this friend in Texas to see if he can hook you up with something. Then you will at least have a roof over your head and food in the fridge. From then on out, you can start thinking about certifications and stuff. But first, you need to be in an environment that could possibly give you employment. Seems like California isn't it. Texas might be, so give it a shot.
I'm over 35. I started at the bottom as a shipping clerk at a corporate office. I used Excel and Access in reporting to keep track of all the files. In 2007, company went out of business and laid everybody off. From there, I went to reporting job and dropped the shipping part. It's like making TPS reports in the movie Office Space. I got laid off again, last year, when the company was sold. I got another reporting job. With each layoff, I got better job offers because of experience.
Many clerical jobs will have Excel. It's fairly common program at most companies. Most of my family has no degree. They all have jobs.There are millions of full time employed people with no degree.
10 year unemployment is an aberration for high school graduates and dropouts. I come across far more employed high school grads and college dropouts in every day life than unemployed.
awesome story, glad things worked out well for you. did you already know Excel/Access before that first job? is that what got you hired in the first place?
I know that many people without degrees have jobs, but I don't know how someone without a degree/certification and no work experience in that industry is going to get hired. especially in this economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redroses777
Exactly. College degrees are pretty much worthless these days unless you can pick something you really like to do an want to stick with. Employers could care less about a degree anymore. I have a teaching degree and was unemployed for quite some time because I was competing with 900 people for one job. I worked with a lady who makes $9.00 an hour and she has 3 degrees. One of my mom's CNAs has a degree in business. Another guy I worked with has a degree from NYU and works at Walmart.
It is all about experience and skills these days and not so much the degree. If the OP decides to go to college, community college or learning a trade like CDL is his/her best bet.
Another idea is union apprenticeships for things like welding and plumbing you might want to look into OP.
college degrees are not worthless, just over-saturated. Your teaching degree put you in the running for that teaching job. Just because 900 other people had the same degree does not make yours worthless. I don't have a teaching degree, which automatically puts me out of the running for your job, even if I had 10+ years of private teaching experience to kids from my neighborhood.
your degree is necessary to get a job in your field. so saying it is worthless is a mistake.
also being a CNA requires a certification...not a full degree per say, but still a piece of paper saying that you are certified as a CNA. You cannot get a CNA job without this paper, so once again, it isn't worthless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Never Quit
May I ask where you see I shot myself in the foot? I never thought that I was the one who did that. Sure, I fight really hard, but I've always felt I've been the one on the blunt end of the beating stick from employers and interviewers. I have / had tons of human (non-facebook) friends in my life. I can't be this unlikable and off-putting to people holding interviews. So, I am honestly asking, what is it you see I'm doing that is self-sabotage?
In regards to the certification, I was certified in some industry and I interviewed, searched for jobs, and even spend inordinate amount of time trying to build up my own income because I figured if I can't get a job, then make my own money, but none of it worked out. That was a full year of endless walking, talking, chatting, and using what connections I had to get started, and it all failed. I feel terrible about that entire time of my life because I, by no fault of my own, let a lot of people down who had faith in me.
if you have lots of friends, use them! their's no shame in reaching out to them during a hard time.
also, not all certifications are created equal. what industry was yours in? perhaps it was a saturated field, or the certification was not from an accredited institution.
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One of my mom's CNAs has a degree in business. Another guy I worked with has a degree from NYU and works at Walmart. 
