How many of you Chicago posters here are Unemployed? (Elgin: find a job, colleges)

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I've noticed a trend in the expectations of some young people that a job should be glamerous and exciting, and with a prestigious company, rather than a chance to simply work for the sake of making yourself useful, and earning a little money as well. An iternship is only worthwhile if it's with a nationally-recognized accounting firm; helping to keep the books at a mom-and-pop operation is simply "small potatoes", and beneath one's dignity.

Keeping books for a store and working for an accounting firm are two radically different things. The chance to do auditing, tax work or consulting is invaluable experience you can't gain anywhere else. Of course young people are going to aim high. It isn't 'small potatoes beneath one's dignity', it's simply worthless experience anyone can do.

Who can't use quickbooks and balance a ledger?

Besides which, what else are jobs supposed to be? Who goes to college and says "Gosh, I want a job that I dread every day. I want it to stain me with banality and ennui like a wet teabag, and if they can pay me only enough just to barely survive? Even better!"

Of course young people want glamour and excitement. I find your statements to be ridiculous

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Keeping books for a store and working for an accounting firm are two radically different things. The chance to do auditing, tax work or consulting is invaluable experience you can't gain anywhere else. Of course young people are going to aim high. It isn't 'small potatoes beneath one's dignity', it's simply worthless experience anyone can do.

Who can't use quickbooks and balance a ledger?

Besides which, what else are jobs supposed to be? Who goes to college and says "Gosh, I want a job that I dread every day. I want it to stain me with banality and ennui like a wet teabag, and if they can pay me only enough just to barely survive? Even better!"

Of course young people want glamour and excitement. I find your statements to be ridiculous

Well I find that YOUR attitude is pretty ridiculous; then again, you have a tendency to post nonsense every now and then, though, so I won't take it too seriously.

I just happened to use an accounting example, keeping in mind that the employment might just be a summer job, or something part-time during a school year. It wasn't necessary meant to be a career; but then again, in difficult times, why not try it? Or is he supposed to skip it, and hold out for a "better offer" ? These days , he might be waiting for quite a while.

Banality? Ennui? How about simply earning an honest living? Maybe you should try it sometime..

[Avengerfire]

An interesting story about food stamps:

Food Stamps Estimate Raises Debate Over 'Poverty' - cbs2chicago.com (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Does.startling.estimate.2.1337128.html - broken link)

[Jesse69]

Originally Posted by heyho

You wrote: 'I wonder if I'm being blacklisted because of my felony...'

Think about this statement for a minute.

There are literally millions of people, highly skilled, degreed, unemployed with no felony whatsoever. We live in a state on the verge of bankruptcy due to inflated pensions of retired civil servants.

Seriously. Why should you and rise to the top of the heap? I advise you find volunteer opportunities and get right with karma.

As for me and my profession; outsourced or hired to interns ie. students paying pennies on the dollar. Intermittent contract & freelance work.

The end of the American empire...

Yeah... I deserve a good job despite my felony - which I got because I was paranoid and being followed around and harassed. I just sent in all of my paperwork for a Governor's Pardon of my felony.

Volunteer work is a waste of time and I wouldn't put it on a resume. You're only worth something if you were paid for it. I'd rather develop my money making website, invest in stocks, and self study books / jobs skills I need for a job. I've gotten a little bit rusty.

Still unemployed 113 weeks now. I'm surviving on $1095 monthly SSDI so I can pay internet, car insurance, and eat good food.

How's everyone else going?

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Volunteer work is a waste of time and I wouldn't put it on a resume. You're only worth something if you were paid for it.

...Still unemployed 113 weeks now.

Volunteering isn't necessarily about notches on a resume, it's showing people what you can do & that you aren't a deadbeat slacker just looking to punch the clock.

I know quite a few people who transitioned from volunteer jobs to paying one as when there was attrition/a job opened up they were in the right place at the right time.

Maybe something to think about.

[lenniel]

Originally Posted by Venom

Ughhg feel like going to mom an pop stores arund the city and asking if they need some help or something.
Cus' I just spend my days applying online and it doesnt even work.

I wish internet didnt exist so I could go in person...

Applying online feels like a waste of time.

I'm no employment expert but I will agree with you that simply applying online is probably the biggest mistake.
First of all, think of how many others are doing the same thing because it's easy, you don't have to go anywhere and it's fast.
What you need to do is seperate yourself from the masses. If you're really serious about getting 'ANY' job just so you have a paycheck, my suggestion is to pick 10-15 places within a geographic area where you'd like to work and are qualified to do so ("I'd love to work for the Cubs" probably isn't realistic). If you know the place is hiring (or even if they're not), call ahead and ask for the name of the general mgr or whoever the top person in the office is (don't tell them you're an applicant b/c they won't give you a name. Make something up, like you're from the Chicago Trib and are looking to do an interview on hiring trends). Then write a SHORT cover letter, and when I say SHORT, I mean like 1 paragraph of about 6 sentences.
Address it to that person and simply thank them for taking the time to read the letter and ask if you can get 10 minutes of their time. Deliver the letter IN PERSON and ask if you can hand it to that person directly. From there, it's up to you to sell yourself.

It's a numbers game out there, lots of qualified people competing for jobs. You need to diffentiate yourself. Yes, it's tougher than just filling out online apps and quite frankly, is probably a pain in the ass to do, but it also shows the managers that you're taking the initiative to get their attention.
Hope this helps.

[urza216]

I lost my job two weeks ago.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Yeah... I deserve a good job despite my felony - which I got because I was paranoid and being followed around and harassed. I just sent in all of my paperwork for a Governor's Pardon of my felony.

Volunteer work is a waste of time and I wouldn't put it on a resume. You're only worth something if you were paid for it. I'd rather develop my money making website, invest in stocks, and self study books / jobs skills I need for a job. I've gotten a little bit rusty.

Still unemployed 113 weeks now. I'm surviving on $1095 monthly SSDI so I can pay internet, car insurance, and eat good food.

How's everyone else going?

I would certainly say volunteering is NOT a waste of time. I have had several volunteer opportunities turn into BIG connections later on. You get 1095 a month? Just for example, I received a 15,000 dollar grant + stipend + airfare before for about 6 months of volunteering, usually only one weekend a month. Plus, it definitely helps out in the community. It also tells employers you care more than just a paycheck. Narrowing everything down to just the bottom line is a horrible way to live IMHO.

LoL @ your money making website, how has that worked out for you?

Self study books are nice, if you actually turn that self study into say, building a house, high LSAT score, pass a certification test. I think you meant it in another way though.

How are you going to invest a substantial amount in stocks if you are just "surviving"

Personally I think you are a drain on society. Using SSDI for internet and car insurance? Seems to me I should write my local congressman for more oversight.

Maybe you should take that money you are getting on a one way ticket out of the country, to say, Guatemala. Then do some volunteering, so you can see how people who are actually struggling live.

/rant

[AmosBanks]

I am in sales. I wake up unemployed every day!

[Jesse69]

Originally Posted by grapico

I would certainly say volunteering is NOT a waste of time. I have had several volunteer opportunities turn into BIG connections later on. You get 1095 a month? Just for example, I received a 15,000 dollar grant + stipend + airfare before for about 6 months of volunteering, usually only one weekend a month. Plus, it definitely helps out in the community. It also tells employers you care more than just a paycheck. Narrowing everything down to just the bottom line is a horrible way to live IMHO.

LoL @ your money making website, how has that worked out for you?

Self study books are nice, if you actually turn that self study into say, building a house, high LSAT score, pass a certification test. I think you meant it in another way though.

How are you going to invest a substantial amount in stocks if you are just "surviving"

Personally I think you are a drain on society. Using SSDI for internet and car insurance? Seems to me I should write my local congressman for more oversight.

Maybe you should take that money you are getting on a one way ticket out of the country, to say, Guatemala. Then do some volunteering, so you can see how people who are actually struggling live.

/rant

There are no mechanical engineering / manufacturing type of volunteer work that will ever lead to a connection.

It takes a lot of time to develop a website.

I have $35,000 to invest in stocks, $25,000 of it is in IRA.

Once you get SSDI you can use it for anything you want, and internet and car insurance are necessities, not something wrong.

Society and companies that won't hire me are at fault for keeping me on SSDI and being a drain to society. I have every intention to work for a living and I applied to many jobs and have gotten nothing. I have a good work ethic and would rather work but the economy is bad and there is too much competition for jobs.

So SSDI is just a safety net.