I am job hunting ...again...and I hate it....
For various different reasons (all of them my own fault) I am having a real hard time finding a job this time -
I guess I will tell the saga of my work history, etc. here just because it somehow feels good to complain about this to someone -- and I repeat, I take all of the blame for the current bad situation myself...
I have an engineering degree -- after I graduated from college I worked for a year and a half at a professional job, met my husband, quit, and never worked professionally again.
Over the years I primarily stayed home having babies and taking care of kids -- we have a large family and we homeschool -- I loved that and much preferred to stay home, I did not want to work. Occasionally I would take a job for a while when I felt like it just to supplement our income -- waitressing, retail, office work thru temp services, once I was an administrative assistant for about a year -- but I would always get antsy and bored and want to stay home again so I would quit. I very seldom gave notice when I left a job -- I would just decide it was time to go and not go back. Looking back I realize that was pretty stupid, but I have always been kind of impulsive and when I make my mind up about something there is no stopping me.
At one point I was home for about 9 years without taking any outside jobs, and loved it. I am NOT one of these women who needs a career or an outlet outside of home -- I'd much rather putter around the house and just hang out with the kids and cook and sew and that kind of stuff.
In 2004 the "baby" was 5 and old enough to be without me, and it was clear that I was not going to be having any more since I was 47, and my husband was self employed and working at home, so we decided it was time for me to go back to work. I tried various different jobs but hated them all and quit after a short time. And then I got fired from one -- for the first time in my whole life. It's a long story, and once again it was all my fault -- I was working at a large department store and a fellow co-worker stole something and not only did I not turn her in but I covered for her, and someone else ratted on us. I was then fired for theft and forced to sign a confession, and they reported my name to some national database of retail stores -- so now I can't get a job at a retail store cuz whenever I try they look me up and see that I was fired for theft. Stupid of me, I know, but I freely admit it, I can be pretty stupid sometimes.
My husband is working full time days now, and I am trying to find something for part time late afternoons/evenings after he gets home from work, but it seems that no one will hire me because of my history of only staying at a job for an average of about 5 months -- I guess they think I am going to get bored and leave them too, which if the truth be told, I just might.
Don't get me wrong-- I give a great interview -- I know how to present myself, and whenever I do get to the point of getting an interview it always goes well. I am just about always told that I am one of the top candidates, but the trouble seems to be even getting an interview -- my work history speaks against me on my application and resume. Plus this is a college town and I am competing with a hord of young strong vital college aged people for every job out there.
A few years ago we were full time sellers on eBay and I sure wish I could do that again -- we sold homeschool textbooks, but our source for books no longer exists and I have no idea how to find something else to sell that's free (the books we got were totally free to us and everything we made selling was pure profit).
Anyway, I am just venting here -- not really looking for any advice or anything -- just wanted to complain a little before I go out this afternoon and try to put in a few more applications and hope for the best.....
job hunting blues....
posted 2 months ago, updated 32 minutes later
Comments
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- 1. 2 months ago SueAnne55 wrote:
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I always hate putting myself out there looking for a job - I feel like a piece of vanilla cake on a dessert tray full of pies and chocolate eclairs and wonderful tasty things that the employer will want instead of me. It sounds like you present yourself very well, and that's important. Have you thought about other forms of self-employment? I'd look around on the internet, and ask questions of people who are self-employed, because it sounds like that's really your niche. Good luck to you, Karen.
- 2. 2 months ago JoyBoy55 wrote:
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Yeah. I taught Science (science?) for 25 years in the public school system over here. I had a gut full of bullshit served up by the children, the department and everyone else and quit. Having built a couple of houses I felt qualified to be a maintenance man. Yeah. I moved to Albury and got a job in a 4 1/2 star motel. I worked there for 19 months then became so sick of the bullshit surrounding me I quit that job too. I just don't know where one finds a job that's not knee deep in bullshit. By the way the manager of that last joint I worked in was sacked within a week of my departure. I dobbed the bastard in to head office via email. Him and his whole family was evicted. I haven't learned yet if I've cut off my nose to spite my face.
- 3. 2 months ago KarenBee wrote:
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Thanks for the comments -- I would LOVE to be self employed, but all of the so-called "opportunities" I have found from various different sources have been nothing but scams.
Last summer while I worked at the front desk of a hotel and really loved it -- hubby was working overnites then so I could work days -- then he got the dream job of a lifetime, the job he will work at until retirement, and it's days, so I had to quit. I took a job at another hotel as the night auditor -- I am good with numbers, etc and it seemed like the perfect job for me. But the hours were 11 pm to 7 am Mon thru Fri, and the time in the afternoon when I was supposed to sleep, something always came up, so many nights I went to work on 3 hours of sleep or less. I could only stand that for a few months and had to quit.
Regarding the self employment -- during the time I was working at the first hotel I got an email offering me employment as a tutor for local students -- they were supposed to set me up with local families who would want me to come to their homes at night and tutor their kids -- I thought it was a perfect opportunity, and filled out gobs of web page forms with all sorts of personal info -- not bank account #s or social security #, but stuff like work history, etc.... and then nothing. The follow up info never came, and no one answered my emails inquiring. I did some checking after that and found that many other people had fallen for the same thing - it was just a phishing company collecting info for spammers to use to flood me with spam. And my inbox WAS flooded with spam from then on. Oh well, live and learn....
- 4. 2 months ago NHRalph wrote:
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I started out in life after the Military in computer technology. After 10 years I was bored and stumbled into Law enforcement and private investigations and I loved it.
Now I am retired and every so often I get bored and regret leaving my last job, Everyone goes through something like this and as we get older we sometimes feel we are to old or no one wants us anymore. What you can do is find something your good at, a hobby maybe and start a small business out of it. You mentione dyou did ebay, I think in order to be sucessful on there you need to find a little niche area.
I'm sure you will find something fullfilling, just keep trying and either look for a job or start a business doing something you love, work can be fun as well as finance.
