He was making a shortened version of, "Tissue depressing."

5/5/2010 8:35:26 AM

I had a phone interview on Tuesday for a part-time contract job with this company in RTP. They asked alot of unexpected questions that threw me off. Since I'm out of work, the manager asked me what do I do during the day? I was like "look for a job." I didn't what else to say. The recruiter called me today and said they didn't want to do a 2nd interview with me .. oh well.

5/6/2010 6:40:12 PM

They were probably looking for you to say something like, "I've been volunteering at the Food Bank and tutoring needy kids with butt cancer while getting DIY projects done around the house" or some crap like that to show that you're productive even when not working. But I agree, that would throw me off too.

5/6/2010 6:56:45 PM

Anybody looking for start ups?

They may not offer the most reliable positions, but they are generally easier to get hired for, and you leave with good experience (for those less fortunate souls who have not had an internship at any point).

[Edited on May 6, 2010 at 7:16 PM. Reason : changed wording]

5/6/2010 7:14:29 PM

I am actually looking for startup work.

5/6/2010 7:27:21 PM

Quote :

"They were probably looking for you to say something like, "I've been volunteering at the Food Bank and tutoring needy kids with butt cancer while getting DIY projects done around the house" or some crap like that to show that you're productive even when not working. But I agree, that would throw me off too."

yeah.. it was just weird.

5/6/2010 10:28:38 PM

This thread is depressing...

Do you realize there are ways to make money and careers happen rather than just sitting online and sending out emails all day?

Start taking classes again at a community college, start volunteering, use your free time to build new skills or personal development. Learn a new language. Learn web design. Get out and expose yourself... network!

If you have some gumption, start cold calling businesses/people and ask if you can take them out to lunch to pick their brain about how they got started. The more people you talk to, the more your network grows and your opportunities grow exponentially.

To those few who are being creative and proactive, keep it up!

5/7/2010 12:17:36 PM

I'll possibly be joining this thread sometime this summer. The buyout of my employer was finalized last week and everyone at the current site is a lame duck. At least I'll have a month or more of subsidized job hunting.

5/10/2010 11:58:20 AM

Damn bro, that sucks.

5/10/2010 12:00:33 PM

Yeah, it sort of does. This job had pretty much run its course, though, and I was about to start looking elsewhere. Like I said, however, I get plenty of time to line something up on someone else's dime -- plus I get that 190% retention bonus when I'm through. Time to dust off the old freelancing skills in the meantime.

[Edited on May 10, 2010 at 12:10 PM. Reason : and I'm told there's a chance I'll be brought on by the new guys, don't know if I want to relocate]

5/10/2010 12:08:17 PM

Quote :

"Get out and expose yourself"

lol

5/10/2010 12:36:58 PM

Well a year has gone by...

5/12/2010 12:35:49 PM

^ keep your head up. I may have a long term data entry contract job coming up.

5/12/2010 1:01:25 PM

Thanks to the fact that I haven't been able to find a teaching job and there are going to be further cutbacks in VA, I think I'll be heading back to college to get a nursing degree. I'm close to a school that has an accelerated BSN for people who already have a degree - junior and senior years of nursing school crammed into 12 months. The hospitals in my area aren't on hiring freezes, so I hope that bodes well for job outlook.

5/12/2010 2:02:15 PM

Be careful. I have heard stories of new, inexperienced nurses having a tough time finding work. If you eventually want to go back to teaching, a more prudent option may be tutoring or training as a CNA, which would require a considerably smaller investment in time and money.

5/12/2010 3:03:29 PM

^^This is just anecdotal, but I have to agree with jcs1283. It took my wife over a year to find a nursing job (already having a BS & RN). Half of that time was spent in your area (we were in Herndon).

That's not to discourage you or anything. Over the next decade, it's probably is going to be one of the absolute best fields to be in. But right now, there can be issues as a new grad RN. After the economy went bust, a lot of retired nurses came back or went from part to full time or went from doctors offices to hospitals. It's certainly not the bullet proof profession people make it out to be.

5/12/2010 4:52:05 PM

Yeah, I'm not expecting to instantly find a job, but it seems to be a better long term plan than Education at the moment, with more room for growth down the line. I guess no better time than a year of unemployment to go back to school with a career switch in mind.

Is there really any industry that is recession proof and overflowing with jobs right now anyway?

5/12/2010 5:11:44 PM

I start Monday!!

Only took me a year and a half...

Good luck everyone, hang in there.

[Edited on May 12, 2010 at 6:30 PM. Reason : GL]

5/12/2010 6:30:17 PM

Yup. And those are actually good reasons to do it. Some people go back because they think they're going to be handed a job.

5/13/2010 6:14:56 AM

I currently work with a weather forecasting company that routes ships all over the world, that is based in Norman, OK. Recently, we have been going through some reorganization and have had bosses coming from Japan (where HQ is based) encouraging us to visit/work there for several months to use the new forecasting system they are developing.

Most of us aren't buy the fact that they aren't moving operations to Japan, and while going for a month or so wouldn't be too bad, I don't think I would like to be there permanently.

So, in the meantime I just applied for a job at Duke Energy. Hopefully I'll get an interview soon! Would love to move back to the east coast!

5/16/2010 12:49:48 AM

^ Considering how terrible the weather forecasting is here in Japan I can't imagine what it is they'd be developing

Guh coming down to the wire now. I move back to Raleigh in two months and no solid bites on my resume. For those of you who have been unemployed for a year or longer how do you do it? Part-time jobs?

5/16/2010 2:25:43 AM

wife works so that helps a ton. Selling a bunch of crap, PT work, and cutting back on a lot of things. We renegotiated our rent and that helped out a lot.

5/16/2010 3:57:41 PM

I had this interview this morning with Triumph, mental health org. It's mainly working in the medical records dept. I think it went well. I got another interview later this week with PPD.

5/17/2010 12:26:34 PM

I'm starting to get frustrated now. Been unemployed for four months now after moving from California and working a contract job for my old company. I'm doing the typical networking, working with a placement agency, etc but have only had a few good leads and one solid lead that ended up putting a hiring freeze on right before I was set for my fourth interview.

I'm a MBA'er with a solid five year work history before that, though not necessarily in the field I want to have a long-term career in. I am willing to be a bit flexible as long as I can get employment commiserate with my skills and experience/education.

Does anyone have a solid placement agency/headhunter to recommend. For what it's worth I'd LIKE to work in the finance field but as I said, I'd be willing to be a bit more flexible as long as it isn't a sales job.

5/20/2010 10:38:17 AM

Quote :

"Guh coming down to the wire now. I move back to Raleigh in two months and no solid bites on my resume."

just curious, if you have a job in Japan, why are you moving back here?

5/20/2010 12:22:45 PM

I just got an email from the manager whom I interviewed with on Monday. Their company is on a hiring freeze now the position is on hold til further notice.
However, I got 2 more interviews with other companies coming up .. so

5/20/2010 1:06:19 PM

^^I think she's doing a teaching gig and then moving back to get married.

5/20/2010 1:08:44 PM

Anyone have any luck with applying to the state? There are some decent jobs that line up with my education/background with alright starting salary ranges but the application process seems so archaic. They ask not to send a resume/cover letter and you have to fax/snail mail it in. Really weird.

How exactly can you differentiate yourself with that process. I mean I'm sure they don't get TOO MANY MBA'ers with my experience that apply for the positions I'm looking at, but there is nothing about a paper application that I can use to differentiate myself.

5/22/2010 10:25:51 AM

that's probably the point

5/22/2010 10:29:21 AM

^^^ Yep.

And four years is MORE than enough here. I'm pretty sure I'd lose my mind if I stayed a 5th year.

5/22/2010 10:31:11 AM

NyM410, do your best with the state application and then wait around probably a month for a response for if you have time.
I applied for two different jobs with the state during unemployment and each time I got a letter back about a month later saying I had been considered, but somebody else got the job. It had Bev Perdue's name typed on there, so they very well could have scanned my resume, trashed it, and then typed my name into a rejection template. Regardless, I think you should give them a shot if you see a job that interests you.

5/22/2010 10:59:03 AM

Well, I am having some movement finally. Have a few new interviews this week and next and it seems everyone I know has tired of my bitching about the job situation every time I go out so I have people pouring in leads to me left and right, which is really nice.

Hopefully I'll have some good news within a few weeks!

6/2/2010 3:25:42 PM

Quote :

"ow exactly can you differentiate yourself with that process. I mean I'm sure they don't get TOO MANY MBA'ers with my experience that apply for the positions I'm looking at, but there is nothing about a paper application that I can use to differentiate myself. "

I snail mail mine in on fancy paper and use a different font (garamond) than most people would.

I'm still unemployed though

6/2/2010 5:42:10 PM

I had another interview yesterday which went well. I will know in a couple of weeks.

6/3/2010 9:07:27 AM

I am about to submit an application for a job for the state. It calls for applications to be sent in the State Application for Employment (PD-107), found here:

http://www.osp.state.nc.us/jobs/gnrlinfo.htm

My question is, what kind of supplemental stuff (transcripts, references, resume, etc.) would you include with the pd-107 form, if at all? I want to include more than just what the state application has, but I don't want to overload them with too much additional information.

6/3/2010 10:41:02 PM

Resume, references, and an unofficial transcript (if you are a recent grad) would be reasonable.

When I would send in a PD107 for summer internships they asked for a copy of our resume and the PD107. Adding references and a transcript for a full time job is reasonable, considering.

6/3/2010 10:46:09 PM

i am officially unemployed

i quit my job yesterday, and dont start the new one till monday

6/12/2010 9:58:41 AM

Hey, that's kind of a dick move. This thread should be for legit unemployed folks.

6/12/2010 4:34:52 PM

yeah make your own thread... I'm going 10 months unemployed now, I'm so depressed

6/12/2010 6:09:00 PM

^^ what about folks looking for a job but already have a job.

btw, is it ok to do this? I'm just trying to see what my other options may be.

6/15/2010 1:59:39 PM

Yes it's ok to look for other jobs while you have a job. As long as you are fair with your current employer and give them required notice (and don't try to leave them in a bind), you should be burning any bridges. Don't search on their time though.

6/15/2010 2:22:27 PM

any luck guys? Still looking. I have some long-term temp jobs in the pipeline now.

6/28/2010 3:08:12 PM

job interview last thursday that i think went pretty well...

another one this coming thursday

feels good to finally be getting responses at least

6/28/2010 3:12:06 PM

I had 2 interviews about 3 weeks ago. Thought one went well; I wasn't sure about the other. Neither panned out for me .

6/28/2010 5:10:47 PM

Anyone here looking for a technical sales job, travel, or relocating?'

I haven't really read this thread. But are people posting their job skills. I'll keep a look out on our internal website as they post jobs.

6/29/2010 10:44:46 PM

Post

6/30/2010 8:38:01 AM

post

Some good companies but no email replies

Gonna start calling in a day or two

6/30/2010 9:17:17 AM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/12/AR2010061201121_pf.html

Quote :

"To get to your dream career, don't look down on the bottom rung By Vickie Elmer Sunday, June 13, 2010 The job clearly is below your talents. Anyone could stir up chai or serve iced coffee. Take the job, and your degree seemingly will go to waste. But that entry-level job as a barista or waiter could be the steppingstone to something better if you work it right. "The thing that you might think is beneath you can lead to a phenomenal career path," said Shawn Boyer, chief executive of Snag-A-Job, which posts hourly openings from hundreds of retailers and other employers. "At McDonald's, half the corporate employees started as hourly people, 70 percent of their managers came from the crew." Many managers and executives started out as clerks or members of the cleaning crew. They make their move up after excelling in the job they were given. "Even if you know this isn't your dream career, even if the job is woefully beneath you, the job matters. Show enthusiasm; master the job," said Leslie Stevenson, director of the University of Richmond Career Development Center. Among them is Lisa Bernstein, manager of M.E. Swing Coffee's shop near the White House. She started as a part-time barista more than three years ago while working on a health education degree at the University of Maryland. She loved the customers and the coffee so much she stayed, moving up to supervisor, assistant manager and then manager. "It's having a passion for coffee," Bernstein said. It's also about showing initiative and exceeding expectations. Once you stand out as a star, you raise your visibility and your chances of getting a promotion or a strong recommendation. Your supervisor might be more receptive to helping you find other opportunities, Stevenson said. Here are several other strategies to turn a basic job into a better one: -- Tell your manager you want more hours and responsibilities, Bernstein said. "Let your supervisor know what your ultimate goal is," Stevenson said. And ask what skills or work experience you need to advance. -- Explore opportunities within the corporation. Most outlets need assistant managers, and chains often have openings in "everything from finance, marketing, HR to international," Boyer said. Use slow periods to read up on those departments, or arrange a visit or half-day of job shadowing. -- Be strategic and concise in promoting yourself. Know what job you want and what skills and traits you offer. Create an elevator pitch that showcases who you are and why you're suitable for a different role. "What is most important for someone to know about you? Can you summarize that in five words?" said Joe Testani, associate director of the University of Richmond's Career Development Center. "Take advantage of chance encounters and spur-of-the-moment opportunities more effectively." -- Turn customers into your next employer. Stevenson tells of how one varsity tennis player at the University of Richmond turned a summer job coaching children's tennis, completely unrelated to her career goals, into new opportunities. "Her internships came from networking with people whose children she taught tennis. She talked to them about her interests," she said. "She was clear about what she wanted." The young woman now works for a consulting company, a job she also got through her connections. -- Take on extra assignments, and bring specific ideas to the brass to build up the business -- and your career. "Don't just say, 'I want to move up,' " Boyer said. "Say, 'I really enjoy marketing and I've noticed we're lagging in customer communications. I think we could take advantage of an e-mail newsletter. . . . I'd like to take the ball and run with it.' " -- Give the employer enough time to see your potential and create new openings. "Most employers want those ambitious people who do want to move up within the organization," Boyer said. "

6/30/2010 10:47:53 AM

So, the companies I found seem small, but I'm well qualified technically to do entry level work for them. I emailed my resume to each but got no response. One is in Cary, the other in Charlotte, and are both in advanced technology for the military. (if you're intrigued and may know where I'm trying to go then by all means PM me )

So, guess I cold call now? The places don't have any open job opportunities listed, but each do hire BS degrees from time to time and I have a ton of experience in their technical areas. My professor said this:

Quote :

"Peter, I would give it 1-2 weeks after emailing before you call – with summer schedules folks may be vacationing and just not have had a chance to review your materials quickly. I agree that in a small company, a phone call might be more effective in getting a chance to talk to someone personally."

I emailed both on either Thursday or Friday of last week, so maybe beginning of next week I'll call.

6/30/2010 10:58:51 AM

^^ To that article, I'd also say that working a job like that (barista at a coffee shop or sales clerk at a retail place, or even a waiter or bartender) just puts you in contact with people who have jobs or opportunities. I can't tell you how many job offers I got during law school while I was bartending....and they all game at the bar. Even if you can't move up in the company where your low-level job is, you can still meet people out there that have openings.

Gotta network mang!

6/30/2010 11:40:16 AM