|
Online Job Search
I'd like to get a little feedback from everyone who reads this and is looking for a job. How many of you have found a job through an internet job site or even gotten an interview? I have been actively searching online for almost three months and have gotten only about 10 calls, 3 phone interviews, and two face to face. Both interviews were directly from the employer. The recruiters have never found anything for me. So what about the rest of you?
Searching online is my main means of job-hunting. I haven't really kept track, but I get very few interviews of any kind. But because I am not bilingual, came to computers a bit late in life and thus have no IT skills, don't drive and in general am going against the flow of current job markets, it's difficult to find a job that even comes close to being something I can do. So it's kind of a moot point as to how effective it is for me to use the internet for job-hunting purposes.
i have been actively searching for a decent job for 6 months, to no avail. i have applied online for over 100, i haven't kept count but i know it's at least that or more. i have had at least 15 pesonal interviews, numerous calls, etc. i search thru monster, careerbuilder, jobfocus, jobsetc,indeed, whatever i can find. the local newspaper ads are picked up by monster, occasionaly there will be one or two in the newspaper but on monster by the next day. my unemployment is about to run out, i emailed the new florida govenor, charlie christ, to inquire if extended benefits were to be available, with the unemployment rate up in the state. i received a 2 page e mailed reply from an aide, it was all about the change in pip auto insurance, thanx, charlie. i was an admin asst then office manager for the same company for 7 years, it was a termite/pest control company, owned and operated by a married couple. there was always personal drama involved with them but nothing bad that i couldn't deal with. i was well paid for florida ($15.00 an hour), received very nice gifts and percs, gift card, flowers, a trip to key west for my birthday last year, etc. they sold the business to a large corporate company in may, the husband started a mold remediation business 3 years ago & i went to work for that business after they sold the other one. due to the downturn in real estate in florida, that business came to a crashing halt in may, the mold business is very reliant on real estate sales and could not survive. my home has been on the market since may, there are no buyers, the insurance industry has drained everyone dry, there have been no storms since 2005 & never a hit here, never filed a claim. my mortgage payment is now $1600 per month, it was $863 per month when we bought in 2002. whatever losses the insurnace companies had in 2004 & 2005, they have recouped many times over yet no rate reductions, they are still applying to the state comission for increases. there are 6 houses on my block for sale & a couple that have been abandoned, overgrown and unkempt, it's depressing just to drive down the block. i am now feeling whipped, trapped & hopeless. now they want people with an associates degree, bilingual and they want to pay them 8$ - 12$ per hour. i am 56, i am not bilingual tho i do know some dirty words in mexican from living in arizona for 20 years, i do not have a degree aside from my GED. i am so down, my poor husband is at a loss as to what to say even, he knows how hard i have been trying. he has a job but only because he is trained in a specialized business, bank equipment, safes, safety deposit boxes, etc. he was employed by mosler safe company for 28 years, they went belly up in 2001, taking all his retirement with them. he is 58, took a ladder fall 3 years ago & it's now somewhat gimpy. he makes $16 an hour but that in no way will pay the bills with this mortgage. we will probably stop making mortgage payments in december, the paltry savings we had is all but gone & i refuse to put every last dime we have into this house & have to walk away anyway. we will have to vacate probably in march or april, depending on the foreclosure procedure. hopefully we can purchase an old mobile home for a couple thousand , there are many here, not the ritz but better than homeless.
well, you asked for input, there's mine. sorry i'm so negative, i'm just beat by the system here, hopeless and trapped.
i hope things look up for you,
patty
Wow, beachpatty, I can feel your pain and I am just furious that our stupid government continues to back Big Business as it rapes and pillages the American Dream. The current administration should be idicted for the blank check given to cronies (Enron, WorldCom, et al) not to mention Halliburton in Iraq and the obscene kowtowing to anything that speaks Spanish.  The Republicans have blown it and I can't wait 'til they're gone (sorry, got off topic!) I am so sorry this is happening to you. If you have not already done so please go to your local Work Force office (not sure what it's called in Florida; you know, the unemployment office) and sign up for training; then apply for an extension of benefits. You might try refinancing your home also. I hope your situation gets better and soon!
Hello Everyone I am using my brother's account to write this. But have any of you used an Agency to apply for jobs? I think that if you take what you can get so you won't have gaps in your resume, until you get the job that you want. I left a job in September of 2006 because of downsizing, but I left before they let me go. I got desperate after two weeks because I could not find a job. I signed up with an agency. I was offered job assignments and sent on interviews. This is is California, where jobs don't pay that well and the cost of living is through the roof! The best agency out there is Robert Half, Benchmark and Office team (all the same Agency). You might try apple one, but they take forever to get an assignment for you. sign up with as many agencies as you can. The best jobs are the temp to hire ones. I was able to land a permanent job 3 weeks after I left my job and I am happy here. Zoe
Monster.com and Careerbuilders.com are both jokes. I attended a Careerbuilders.com event held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Dressed in a three piece suit, shoes spit shined USMC style, hair styled and had 100 resumes in my brief case. I spent 4 hours at this event and passed out 60+ resumes and NO one called me back. HireQuest is another joke. I attended three of their events at a local Embassy Suites hotel. None of the companies ever called me back. I also used Indeed.com which has a search engine better than Monster and Careerbuilders. They had a lot of links to Monster and Careerbuilder but was easier to narrow your choices. With Monster and Careerbuilders, I got a lot of insurance and financial companies expounding that I could make $100,000 a year. BUT I do not want to work in these industries. I had something specific but it was hard to find jobs in my industry.
Beach, I feel for you. I've been out of work for 7+ months now in Florida & haven't found work either. I'm pretty much drained out of saving & can no longer collect unemployment. You're definitely dead on about Florida. As far as I'm concerned the real question I have is would I even want to work for any organization in this State? I've lost a lot of faith in this organizations here. The companies I've interviewed at are some of the most unprofessional & politically corrupt people I've ever met. You definitely hit the nail on the head because your experience sounds very familiar to me. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to start your own business. If worst does come to worst...maybe moving out of Florida is the only alternative. I know it wouldn't be easy for you to do that, but it may be your last resort. Whatever the outcome I wish you all the best & I do understand how you feel.
thanx for the reply! i'm still plugging along daily, not much choice. i would love nothing better than to leave florida and return to tucson, az, we lived there for 20 years before moving here. my hubby will not move back there, he lost a son to leukemia @ age 16 and then his first wife passed away due to drinking, her liver gave out. they both suffered long slow deaths and he had them creamated and their ashes spread on the mountains surrounding the city of tucson, hence too many memories there for him. we also bought a home here in 2002, the payments were reasonable, now the payments have over doubled due to flood insurance, the monthly payment is over $1600 - ouch! so in essence, we are trapped here, there are no buyers, the reason i lost my job is because the business was dependent on real estate closings and inspections. without unemployment benefits, we will quickly fall behind in payments and eventually lose it to foreclosure. i tried to email charlie christ, imploring him to approve extended unemployment benefits, i received a 2 page e mail back, it concerned the auto insurance pip crisis. thanx charlie! i am really at a loss as to what else to do, i have racked my mind every waking hour and do not sleep right, if i do sleep, my dreams are all about being homeless and trying to find someway to live. the jobs i have tried to apply for thru the emply florida state site, state, "click here" for someone to contact you with how to apply. i have done that many times, no response, i called and the lady told me, "o, i don't know where those requests go, we don't get them, they are floating around out there somewhere, hahahaha", they are state employees, nice huh? i am getting so depressed and scared, the hoildays are almost here, we don't usually do much but i would like to help some of the posters on the new website "hoping for a hero". some of the people there are just wishing for warm coats and socks for thier little ones. i'm sorry for rambling, i wake up at 4 am everyday, like i always did for my job, i wake up with hope and check all the job sites and forums, never much new but i try. there are so many people looking, young people with college degrees, bilingual and fresh, i know my chances are next to none, yet i continue to try. again, sorry for the ramble and the rant, best wishes to you also, please stay in touch, beachie xo
hey guys, have you tried networking? thats supposed to be a lot more effective. if online job huntings not working for you try changing your approach. speak to everyone you know and ask them if they know of any openings
thank you for the thought daanish. everyone that i come in contact with knows i am searching for work. i have told people on the forums i frequent, hep c forums and chats, sleuthing forums that i follow, local people i know, including the head of the county probation office here, she is a personal friend. i have started conversations in the grocery store and asked total strangers if they knew of anything. i e mailed and called the supervisor at the local state employment office, her name is barbara, i used to contact her when i needed to hire employees for the last 2 companies i was employed with. one lady from a sleuthing forum i post on, called a local office of a new jersey company she works for and referred me, i went there and applied, she said she would keep my application "on top" of the pile. every interview i have had, the interviewer usually shows me the huge pile of resumes they received for the position.i emailed the governor this morning, asking to please extend unemployment benefits, to give me more time to try to find something, i'm sure i will get the automatic response, we hear you and are doing everything possible to help the residents of florida. i am getting extremely depressed, i feel sorry for my husband, he has monday off, veterans day, the poor man must spend 3 whole days with me, it's not pretty. he is very supportive and loyal, if it weren't for him, i would be long gone. thank you again for the suggestions, any and all are welcome, i just really don't know what else i can do that i haven't already done. ...[Message truncated] |