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He has tried all the temp agencies, including the ones mentioned, no luck.He has tried all the local small accounting firms, no luck. No recent job history, no references, no job. But keep the ideas coming.
I have several ideas. I don't know if your friend has tried any of these.
1. Join some professional organizations to network with other business people in your area.
3. Take some computer classes if his skills need updating. Quickbooks and Peachtree are used by a lot of small businesses. Those would be good to learn. (There are forums on the Quickbooks site so he can talk to other people in the industry.)
4. If he has a master's degree he could try getting a job teaching accounting at a local community college or tech school.
5. Do some volunteer work. It would give him something current to put on his resume and a new reference too.
6. He might need to take some continuing education courses if his license is expired.
A man applied for a job at my company who had not worked for six years. His wife is the big bread winner in the family and did not want their twin sons living in day care until they reached kindergarten, so they decided Dad would quit his job and take care of them until they went to school. The Mother is a business executive making a big salary and would have a harder time taking off work for that period of time.Anyway, the man is now trying to get back into the professional world now that the kids are in school. His resume has no employment since 2002. He was brought into our company as a favor to a employee who referred him. I understand the man has been looking for work for almost a year now and has had no luck at all.Everyone assumes his story is made up. One person said, "why would a man not work for 6 years and take care of kids full time?" Others assume his story is made up and he is just trying to hide being fired from his previous jobs. Others say he is out of touch to the modern workplace for being out so long.Would you hire someone in a professional mid career job who has not worked for six years? Any advice?
Yes! as a matter of fact, I would hire someone out of the work for 6 years, that could happen to you or anyone, in fact it happen to me give me break!!! you must be one of these young blood I keep hearing and seeing about. Your gonna sh** thunder and do Great wonders for the world. Right all I been seeing is disaster LIGHTEN UP!!! Everyone deserves a second chance, the guy didn't kill anyone. I always say What goes around comes around. Do your self a favor and give people that are in the position a chance, you would be surprised how good it will make you feel doing something good for someone else.
I gotta agree. I find people with the easiest Child Care advice are often people without children.
I'm in the same situation. I quit work for my kids until they got old enough for me to go back. Homeschooled our teenager, cared for the tooddler and played housewife for awhile. Now I'm looking to get back to work, but I've had a hard time getting any results. I can't get back into my old job and my references and skills are all getting old after 6 years.
Kindergarten and wierd school schedules make it nearly impossible to just have a steady work schedule. Why would an employer wanna hire someone in the mid-30s with so many issues and that may have to leave without warning, when they can hire some 19-yr old without any issues at all and can work more hours. Plus in my case, my child is handicapped, so I was having to be on-call at any moment in case the school had to send him home early from one of his "episodes".
He's having a better time this year under special care, so I have time to get back to work, but no luck so far. I'm resorting to applying for jobs I did when I was a just starting out in my early 20s just to get "something". Its a huge step backwards and blow to your confidence. Needless to say I'm not all that motivated to get a job I don't want to do, but feel I have to.
Another major issue are the "professional references" people want. How do you have those when you've been out of touch so long or only had one steady job for 15 yrs. The information and people are changed or different (or confidential in the case of Uncle Sam). Also being a Stay-at-home parent, I had no friends to speak of. I use my spouse as a reference and former coworker just to get a name on the applications. I also used my old bosses number and name but after 6 yrs I dunno if the info is accurate anymore.
Just because your child turns 5/6 doesn't mean your free to go back to work or that its easy to find work. At this point I'm wondering if I'll be flipping burgers this time next yr just to bring in some cash. Hope not, thats a last last resort and only if we're suffering majorly moneywise.
Sorry so long, but this topic hits home for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GypsySoul22
No offense but because your kid turns 4 or 5 do we automatically say, "Okay, shove him or her on the 'system?' My son is 9, nearly 10 and I am only just freed up to work now my husband works a night job.
Some people do make their children a priority. Some kids need a parent at home, not just 'a nanny' or 'grandma' or the daycare system. Not everyone has the money for 'daycare'--to me it's ironic people respect workers who spend 250-300 dollars a week on daycare so they 'can stay in the workforce' while stay at home parents are viewed with suspicion or 'amusement.'
Anyone who doubts being a stay at home parent is taxing, intensive, requires time management, and 'not a breeze' needs to do it for awhile.
As for getting a kid in school at 5...kindergarten is often half time...what do you do with the kid after the 3 hours ends? Or, on days off..?
Yes! as a matter of fact, I would hire someone out of the work for 6 years, that could happen to you or anyone, in fact it happen to me give me break!!! you must be one of these young blood I keep hearing and seeing about. Your gonna sh** thunder and do Great wonders for the world. Right all I been seeing is disaster LIGHTEN UP!!! Everyone deserves a second chance, the guy didn't kill anyone. I always say What goes around comes around. Do your self a favor and give people that are in the position a chance, you would be surprised how good it will make you feel doing something good for someone else.
I'm trying a temp agency to get some references established. Hoping that helps. He could try that.
But the whole situation he's in is a catch-22. If he never fins work, he'll be seen as a failure in life or a loser that lived off his wife's income (such is our American society double standard). No one cares as much if the wife stays home, heaven forbid if its the male tho.
If he DOES find work, great, but then like the OP stated, people assume he's there out of charity and that his story may not be totally true and that there must be something behind it.
My friend is getting desparate and has redoubled his effort to get a job, any job. He has gone again to all the local employment agencies and told them he will do almost anything. He is treated politely but he could tell they thought he was so lazy man who had lied on his employment application. No one would believe someone would be out of the workforce for six years. They assume he is either lazy or had lied on his application to cover up for being fired. He also tried fast food and retail but so far no luck. These jobs go to kids and immigrants.
Have him sue them for accusing him of lying and challenge them to prove it. Have them call his wife. If they do a Background Check and check IRS Tax papers, they'd see he hasn't worked. Sounds like they are the ones being lazy. Too lazy to check the facts. He can't do anymore than he's done.
Its this treatment that makes people REALLY lie on their aplications. It slike "Okay, you want something there? I'll give you something." Then he has to have a buddy agree to to pretend to be his "former boss" and give the new employer the buddy's phone number. When they call, the buddy will pretend "joe" was a great worker and the people will get what they want.
I mean thats stretching, but what do they want? The guy tells the truth, he gets accused of omitting info, if he makes up a lie, he runs the risk of getting caught. Cmon... why dont they at least verrify his information. Call his wife, do a background check, ask his kid's and the school. Thats their proof he's telling the truth.
yeah....but accounting!?!?! that, to me seems like it should be the easiest thing to get back into!! What has changed about keeping track of numbers? It seems so silly.
I could not leave my career for 6 years...its technology....but accounting!? I always thought accounting seemed so.....static.
THere's different types of accounting and everyone uses different software/hardware and technques have changes. Rules are different. its not just black and white.
Gypsysoul, I hear what you are saying completely. As a wife and mother who has devoted the last 24+ years to raising 7 children while working, putting my husband through seven years of pharmacy school, while going to school myself, while running a business, the corporate drones of the world will still say, "Is that ALL you did"?
We live in a society that validates and gives credence to those who bring in a paycheck. Everyone else is an invisible, a nobody. Our country pays lip service to "family values". In the end, it's all that it is.
P.S. - I should add that in the end, life is what we make of it and I believe we attract good things to us (or we repel them) by law of attraction. I hope that you find what you're looking for. Believe in it before it actually manifests. Wishing you the best.
I know the world thinks of us as "nobody's", but I just need some extra cash. I dont care what total strangers think of me. In the end, I only care about what my family thinks.
So what is the answer? Should men and woman put kids in day care so they both can secure careers? Or should woman just accept the fact that it is their responsibility to stay at home with the children, and forgo the career? Should a man never choose to stay at home because it will mean he can never re-enter the work force? I understand the problems in the corporate world, I just wish we could work to change things for the better of society as a whole.
I hate the double standard we have where its assumed females will stay at home without question and that they will form their little "girly groups" and have play sessions with the kids, etc. THere's all sorts of things for stay-at-home Moms during the day. But Dads are sorta forgotten and outcast, in my experience.
No offense but because your kid turns 4 or 5 do we automatically say, "Okay, shove him or her on the 'system?' My son is 9, nearly 10 and I am only just freed up to work now my husband works a night job.
Some people do make their children a priority. Some kids need a parent at home, not just 'a nanny' or 'grandma' or the daycare system. Not everyone has the money for 'daycare'--to me it's ironic people respect workers who spend 250-300 dollars a week on daycare so they 'can stay in the workforce' while stay at home parents are viewed with suspicion or 'amusement.'
Anyone who doubts being a stay at home parent is taxing, intensive, requires time management, and 'not a breeze' needs to do it for awhile.
As for getting a kid in school at 5...kindergarten is often half time...what do you do with the kid after the 3 hours ends? Or, on days off..?
AMEN to all of the above....I only decided to go back after 10 years!
The world is not the same as it was when I was growing up....I feel and still beleive it's very important to be with your kids as much as possible while theyre still young (and even during teen years). Daycare is often overcrowded and the workers are underpaid (you know what that means) and older kids not having supervision after school hours (if theyre not into sports or extracirricular activites) often is a recipie for trouble...too much idle time is a no-go!)
Luckily I got a job that lets me work overnight while my husband is home and my kid is sleeping. I chose this so I can be there in the morning before school and after when he gets out. I'll sacrifice my sleep to earn a paycheck and also be there for my kid!
Why wouldn't a CPA possibly look into starting his own business? Maybe managing small business accounts?
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In the Same Boat
