No Email At Home What To Do
I'm a well-qualified candidate in a tight job market in Southwest Florida seeking full-time admin/clerical work. Over the past year, I've received several contacts from employers and recruiters in response to my resume, but they frequently want to correspond by email and I have no internet service at home. I have to drive to the opposite end of the city I live in to get online at the library, and the higher cost of gas is keeping me from going in everyday to check email. I've missed out on some good opportunities because of this. (I'm trying to find some temp or part-time work to pay for internet access, but at the moment no luck. My money is already stretched as far as it will go, and I don't want to run up charges on credit cards that I have no prospect of paying off.)
Any suggestions on how I can most gracefully handle this situation with employers, possibly in the cover letter? I do mention that they can reach me anytime by phone, and that this is the best contact method, but busy recruiters often send out emails anyway, and it may be 2-3 days or more before I receive their messages and the time for interviewing will have passed.
I'm not here to vent, just looking for constructive suggestions from others who might have had the same problem.
Thanks--Loria
If you don't give them an email address, they won't try to contact you on it. Might that limit you from time to time, maybe, but no less than missing emails that you can't access.
Tess
Do you have a friend nearby who will let you use their computer to access the Internet? If your friend as AOL, they will allow them to have up to 6 different email accounts. So that you are not a bother to your friend, ask if you can access the Internet on certain days for about one hour. Do not abuse this approval and remember to offer your friend something in exchange for your Internet time. A dinner or lunch would be nice.
Right now, I'm using library computers for Internet access. (We're allowed a total of two 60-minute sessions per day.) I drive in 2-3 times a week. I use my home computer for faxing instead of a fax machine in order to save printing costs. For faxed apps, I have been trying out the idea of leaving off the email address, although like you say, it can be limiting. For email apps, I'm trying out the idea of mentioning in the last paragraph of my cover letter that employers can reach me anytime by phone, and that email is also available, please allow extra time for receipt of messages from an offsite location. That's all I can think of at the moment.
Some temp work may be possible in October that would yield cash I could use for six months of home Internet, if the job market picks up and the expense warrants it.
The point is -- recruiters seem to want certain things, they can be pretty inflexible about it, and I can't meet all of their requirements. When it seems like a particular application process is going to cost more than I can afford, I have to drop out. After a year of this, there are times when I wonder if I'm being tested to see how much money I have -- is regular, full-time employment going to be available only to the well-to-do??? If so, it won't be the America I grew up in anymore.
The point needs to be made.
--Loria
Of course it isn't the America you grew up in. It is Corporate america that you need to work in. And Corporate America has the tendency to suck the life and means out of all who let it.
Don't worry about not having readily available email access. Recruiters are a waste of time anyway. After spending so many hours with them discussing what YOU are looking for, they will do what THEY want and if you don't conform, too bad.
Include in your last paragraph that your preferred method of contact is by phone. There is no problem with that. I know a lot of people who don't do email because they don't feel like having to deal with the junk mail or they have a choice between feeding their families or being able to go on chat rooms via the Internet. (Surprisingly, they pick feeding their families )
Some states supply internet accounts and access for free through their libraries. That is, you can have internet access on your home computer for free through the software and hardware supplied through your local library. Ask yours if they have such a service! (Let me know if you are successful in your state.)
Also, unemployment offices also supply internet access and accounts for free. Perhaps, this would be less of a drive for you if the library option is not available. You can also make copies for free and send faxes for free from the unemployment office. This may be a help for you as, while you are there, you can check postings at this office for new jobs available in your community.
In the meantime, get a reliable answering machine and tell the contacts/recruiters to use your home phone number. It is NOT necessary for them to have an email. You should not need to address it in a cover letter. If you are asked, you can tell them that you are presently changing providers and do not have a reliable email address at this time but you pick up your phone messages daily. (You usually can call in for your home messages on most answering machines with an access code. That way, you can pick up messages any time of the day from anywhere.)
One of the recruiters I signed with never found me a job but put me on their company's email mail listing and they send me their requests to find people to recruit! (I asked to be removed from this listing!) The bottom line is that they don't need an email.
Best of luck!
Is there any way/is it possible for you to discretely and briefly check e-mail at work? Or perhaps, can a spouse or a very trusted friend access an e-mail account (that you set up just for job searches only) at their job? I would suggest that you try to be as flexible as possible to employers looking to contact you. I have worked in HR and if I couldn't reach a candidate at the phone number(s) I would send them an e-mail.
Alternatively, are there internet cafes/coffee shops nearby where you can use the internet? Also, as mentioned by another poster unemployment offices have free internet. There are "one-stop" job search centers funded by the government, call your local unemployment office to find the nearest one to you.
From my experience, this is very true- having the convenience of technology at an easily accessible location (such as at home) can and often does make a HUGE difference in the job search process.