[ SECRET POST #2028 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2028 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 107 secrets from Secret Submission Post #290.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 3 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[thene]

I don't have a job right now either - I had to quit my job to move out of state and haven't yet found another one. Jobhunting is completely terrifying to me too, but I try to break the process down into small tasks, like 'call [this person] today' or 'read lots of stuff about cover letters today' to make it less anxiety-worthy.

I wouldn't treat you differently if I knew your secret - most of the economy for entry-level people has been completely shit since at least 2006. I was jobhunting hard for a couple of years after school and didn't get anything except for a part-time job in a street-corner laundry; that's how my jobhunting confidence got so shot in the first place and I'm sure the same has happened to you. The only thing I'd advise you to do is to go hard for trainee and seasonal work where you might not be expected to have a strong prior work record - that's how I finally crawled out of my slump, and I even accidentally discovered my real career vocation by doing a free training course a couple of years ago. I've also just signed up for something on http://coursera.org , and while it may not be a formal qualification the knowledge is going to help me in my (currently nonexistent) career.

Fandom is honestly a great support when your real life is a recessionary wreck like that - being involved in a fandom project, or refining your skills and making great fanworks, can be really fulfilling and it can keep your brain and social skills ticking over when they'd otherwise atrophy. I've not worked in a few months but I've line-edited a fanbook, helped organise a 2013 calendar project, and written a bunch of shortfics and it all helps keep you going. No shame in that.

[demishock]

I think this is my favorite comment in this thread. Breaking the process down into steps is the only way I've been able to go about job-hunting as well. I spent a very large chunk of my time last year when I was between temp jobs reading articles on Ask a Manager. I also got signed up with my local Department of Labor to do a bunch of (free!) job-typing seminars and Microsoft Office refresher courses and the like. I'm assuming the breaking-it-down method would be a viable option for the OP, since they apparently have enough funds squirreled away to manage to survive and be online participating in fandom. I get that it'd be hard for someone who's living hand-to-mouth and can't really afford to be spreading their time out like that, but for someone with a bit of savings, it's a good plan, IMO.

I wish I could figure out what my "dream job" is. I graduated (with a degree I'm no longer interested in - once it's work, it stops being fun for me) three years ago and have been doing clerical temp work ever since. The most depressing thing about it is that I spend all day with my coworkers and boss telling me how great I am and how they wish they could keep me, and then the corporate Powers That Be decide it's "not in the budget" to hire me on permanently. :/ And then I'm supposed to come home after 8 hours of that and hunt for a "real" job, which is almost a full-time job in and of itself, and it's like banging my head repeatedly into a wall. So I, too, use fandom to recover from all that bad mojo.

/TMI

[thene]

Thank you, and thanks for the link. That site looks interesting & useful - not often you see the whole situation addressed in plain English like that.

I had a similar problem before I moved - working a minimum-wage job for most of the year and looking for something better, but it was in a high unemployment area and decent transit-accessible jobs were just not there.

My degree was mostly pointless; it helps me write sometimes, but that's about it. I really wish I'd worked for a few years before school; if I had, I would have studied something I actually wanted to work with. :/

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I should probably clarify a few things: Where I live, the unemployment rate is very high - this town is kind of renowned for that. My confidence is shot to hell because the jobs for which I have applied I've been rejected, and the last time I was on work experience I made a complete and utter mess of things: spilling a jug of hot water on an elderly person, accidentally hurting people with my clumsiness, etc.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm going to send some resumes out this week so at least I'll feel as if I've done something productive.

Re: OP

[thene]

:/ That sounds awful, especially if you don't have a bulwark of awesome work moments when you did awesome things to offset the bad memories. Good luck on your efforts; dunno about you but I find even doing small productive stuff like applying to a job I actually want or rewriting my cover letter again makes me feel better about my day, even if it didn't get me anywhere.

I lived in a high unemployment area until recently and while I had a low-paid job, even finding better jobs to apply to that were accessible by public transit was amazingly hard. The work just wasn't there. I hate when people act like jobs just magically appear if you chase them hard enough.

Re: OP

[emma_moon]

Good luck!

A lot of us have been where you are, OP. I know it's hard but you can do it. It's extremely hard when you've been turned down for a job, it definitely messes with your confidence.

I hope you keep your chin up and I hope you find a job soon.