So, everybody is out looking for work these days.  I so envy the employed!!!  I can just imagine the half of them bitching about their jobs and dragging themselves to work each day.  I used to be one of those.  Now I bitch cause I can’t find a job even though I do have skills.  I went on two interviews last week and got the rejections on Monday.  The stress of  interviewing made me sick, so the rest of the week was spent in bed!  Then again, I would have to guess that depression had something to do with it as well.  It is so stressful looking for employment while the creditors call and call demanding payments.  yeah I get it, you want your money, damn, I so want to pay you, but no money in means no money out.   I can’t apply for unemployment cause I haven’t had a job in three years.  There is no money to be had. 

To top it all off, my family wants me to move back to the city, and his family wants me to stay here, while he is in another state working and will be there for at least a year.  I am going to move back to the city, but there are only two months left of school for the kids, so should I move them now or just wait for school to end?  Decisions, decisions, decisions…  I am so ready to move.  I have gotten to the point that I hate being here and negativity starts to set in, which in turn makes me just want to sleep the day away.  It isn’t a great position to be in, especially when you are a positive person and have been searching non stop for employment to make the move so much easier. 

Everything I have read online about finding a job says to stay positive and keep the faith, but it sure is easy for someone who has a job to say that isn’t it.  And seriously, I try to keep the faith, but it isn’t easy and I can’t help but to fall into the negative hole from time to time. 

So today I am climbing out of the hole again and renewing my commitment to finding work to sustain me and my kids.  I totally feel sorry for my kids right now.  Their mom just isn’t together and they so deserve better.   They deserve a mom who has her shit together and doesn’t sleep during the day while they are at school only to surface 15 minutes before they get off the bus.  They deserve a mom who keeps the house clean and the laundry done.  Yes my kids deserve better, as do I, but for now, we just survive until some company sees my value and hires me!!! 

If we get through this year, I am hoping next year will be much better!  All we can do is keep the faith, and hope for the best.  My daily inspiration says to visualize the change, so I guess it is time to visualize what job I want so I can finally get to where I want to go.  So for now, I will sign off and go visualize the change…  wish me luck!

Top Items I Hate About Looking For A Job….

1. Salary History

I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t remember my salary history for the past 15 years.  Sure I can estimate, but give accurate amounts…no way!

1. Salary Request

I always hate this one.  Go too high and they write you off, go to low, and you wind up underpaid for the length of your tenure.  What is the right salary request?

1. Employment Dates

Again, I can’t remember all the exact dates I went from job to job.  I stayed at the same company for 15 years and was promoted to various positions.  There is no way I can remember the exact dates I was in different positions!

1. Previous Supervisor Contact Information

This one is crappy too!  Quite frankly all my previous supervisors aren’t there anymore, so I have no idea on how to get a hold of them now.  When you worked for a company who laid people off 3 quarters of the year to make the numbers, you just don’t keep in contact. 

1. Personality Tests

I have a great personality, but there are plenty of companies out there marketing their product to say differently.  Whatever happened to proven experience???  You can’t even get in the door until you pass the test that says if you would be a good fit or not.  How does one test say all that??? 

1. Credit Checks

Can’t say enough about this one.  Just because someone has hit upon some hard times, does that make them a loser for life???   Apparently so if the company wants to do credit checks before they will even interview you.

1. Previous Addresses/ Employer Addresses

Here is another one that is difficult to remember.  If you haven’t lived in the same place for 7 years, get your previous addresses together now!  How can I remember?   And the employer address is another one that is not that easy to remember.  Thank God for Google!!!

1. Lengthy Application Process

Wow could the employment world benefit from one application that can be submitted for all.  There are plenty of companies out there who have their own application process and they are long!!!  Why submit a resume if you end up having to type all the information over again in their own employment application process???  What is the resume for again???  And I just love those systems who parse out the info from your resume.  Who quality checked those apps?????? 

OK done venting now!  But if you are looking for a job like me, keep this info in mind.  Save yourself some time and create a cheat sheet with the above info.  And good luck keeping your sanity through this process!!!

Iz