I will say that being jobless has promoted creativity in figuring out how to maintain an income. I’m a bit of a Jill of All Trades and can basically do anything (this is lucky but also not lucky since I’m not an “expert” in really anything just really good at a lot of stuff).

I’ve been helping friends out with their childcare since they are employed, and I’m not. Due to my love for children, and enjoying the whole babysitting gig I’ve discovered a niche. That niche is the need for; excellent, loving, enthusiastic, and responsible childcare.

Who knew that the assistance I gave my sister with raising her four children when I was getting my college degree would be the skill I would fall back on in times like these? I’m finding that my skill and talents with children are of more assistance to me now then my college degree.

The United States puts so little importance, I believe, on mothers and mothering. We all want to have an “important title” that is respected by everyone, and Mother isn’t considered that title in many circles. When I go on job interviews they ask me what I’ve been doing with my time, and when I say babysitting I’m just looked at with blankness. I also volunteer for the Public School system. I feel that we talk a big game about the importance of mother, childcare, and educating our youth but a lot of us do nothing to back up the big talk including our government when they cut funding for education.

I’m working on starting a babysitting service while working on getting a traditional career in Project Management, and whichever comes first I will put into destiny’s hands. I love children and I’ve had an affinity for them since I was a teenager and wanted 10 of my own CRAZY! That never happened but I’ve always had children in my life on some level and now I’m trying to take that very skill and move it into a career.

I’ve started a website ( in a rough draft state) for my business but I don’t intend on making it public until I have a great marketing, branding, and image in place. I never know what destiny has to offer

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In the job market or lack of job market today it is all about the connections that you have, maintain, and the newly acquired. It is these people that will be the best assets (besides your own skills) you can have. It just takes a simple thank you note, so make sure you have then in hand at all times, and stamps. If you have a mailing address go ahead and spend the extra time to send your thanks snail mail. It means more then a hurried e-mail, and looks nice too. If you don’t have a physical address go ahead and e-mail but try not to text your appreciation. Texting an appreciation just seems lazy. Even our closest friends deserve a not in the mail.

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I recently went on an interview that was kind of the same as all the others. You go in say hi to the receptionist, introduce yourself, and state who you’re there to meet with, and then take a seat as directed. You wait patiently, you watch the employees that you may be working with, and wonder if you’ll fit in. You wonder if you’re dressed appropriately (I usually wear a suit no matter what).

I waited for quit some time, and then I ended up interviewing with a person that I wasn’t scheduled to interview with because the scheduled person was running late (things happen I get it), who wasn’t familiar with my resume and or credentials, and had no idea why the original person had called me.  I know, we’re the ones at their mercy but gee wiz! This person was trying to get me to work as a financial Amway (not Amway but like Amway in its operations) sales rep. It was basically a network financial planning gig where no one has to sell anything but the people underneath you do. Wha, wha, what!? Plus he was actually a graduate out of Clown College (picture Cam from Modern Family in his clown outfit; that’s where I went in my head), and had worked for Ringling Brothers, as a clown of course. There is nothing wrong with being a clown, or selling financial services but the combination of Clown School, and networking like Amway, and it was sold to me as easy….I KNEW I would be struggling to make $1. No one in that office had the look of success to them. They looked tired, beat down, & were trying really hard to appear enthusiastic.

I’m sure you’ve all been on interviews like this where you can’t help but wonder is this legit? They can’t be serious. Or what about the Craigslist ads that you submit your resume to, and all of a sudden you get an e-mail back saying the position is filled but they have another one in mind that deals with the transference of money (oh brother)! Isn’t it hard enough to be rejected everyday without some clown trying to take advantage of your hardship, and scamming you because you need a job so desperately?

This has been the hardest year of my life!!!!!!!!! THE HARDEST!!!!!! I need some pity, charity, apathy, and a JOB!!!!!!!

Check this clown out. I feel like just like this clown, and I’m about to die!

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A little Monday morning relaxation to start you job search for the week.

U.S. Air Force Airman Matthew Bernard (foreground) wears a water filled mask while performing flutter kicks after a non-stop physical training during an extended training day at the Pararescue Indoctrination Training Center. Location: LACKLAND AFB, TEXAS (TX) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The other night I was watching a Discovery series called: “Surviving the Cut“. It is about the US military special training for Marines Recon, Air Force Pararescue, Army Rangers, etc. It was amazing. I felt like these men were animals in the drive they had to get into these training programs. My nephew is in the Army Special Forces, and was a Ranger before that. He is a dedicated young man but I had no idea until I watched this program just how driven he is.

I started thinking about the whole unemployment search I’ve been going through, and comparing my dedication to theirs. I have to admit there was no comparison. These men would be up for 24 hours or more going through grueling tasks. Crawling in the mud with their faces in the mud until they reached the top of a hill, and having to start over if they raised their heads out of the mud. The training that got me was the Marines Recon and Air Force Pararescue. These men had to do so many water endurance obstacles that I would have given up in about 15 minutes. I would have drown from exhaustion within 5 seconds during a lot of these exercises. These men when interviewed, had something to say in common: “It is mind over  body.”

Now let’s look at the unemployment obstacle course. How many of us don’t even force ourselves to get out of bed in the morning? How many of us put forth a strong 8 hour day looking for work, and or networking? This too is an endurance test of both mind and spirit. We don’t have to go through physical endurance but we do have to go through mind and spirit endurance every day that we face being unemployed.

We need to be our own Master Sergeants motivating us not to quit, to double our efforts. Our lives really do depend on us getting a job. You cannot live in this country without a job. Yes, you can exist but you cannot live. Gee wiz you can’t even purchase a lot of  jeans now for less then $100! Gas keeps going up, food prices are ridiculous, clothing is completely out of control, and housing in major cities is pretty much unaffordable. You must get a job. It isn’t a choice, it is a necessity.

Get your face in the mud of unemployment, and don’t come up until you have a job. Suffer the humiliation with dignity knowing that the reward on the other side is well worth it; a paycheck, and doing a job well. We can do this: mind over matter.

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I have simply not given that person or company as a reference OR if there is a box to check that says do not contact I will mark that box. My bad reference comes from a woman/former friend/neighbor/Graphic Designer who wanted to grow her business. I loved her, and her daughter so she told me that I could be her part-time Nanny and then assist her in work overflow and getting new business the rest of the time. I was thrilled. I was going to be able to walk to work, hang with a child, AND do business stuff until the business grew, and the child started pre-school. It was a dream come true, or so I thought.

I know, you’re all shaking your heads. How on earth would I decide to work for a neighbor/friend? We all know never go into business with a family member or a friend because it will not end well. One year-and-a-half later it did not end well. I was devastated. The business owner decided that growing her business was too hard, and that the money she was making working on contract work was plenty for her; not for me, but for her. So, she decided that she wanted to go back to a one-person show. That shouldn’t matter right? Well, I believe that, in order for her to feel good about letting me go she located reasons to dismiss me. Given, she hired me to do payroll, keep track of taxes, and invoicing; I was ill experienced in this, and I told her that, and she thought that was fine and that I could learn (red-flag). I really don’t know what I was thinking. Women, emotions, her marriage falling apart, her daughter growing up, etc. and there I was in the middle with my own set of issues. It was a bad, bad, BAD idea!

With all that said she is now not a good reference for me but she is a job that I had. I do have a letter of recommendation from a client that we had who found it impossible to work with this Graphic Designer because she would get unreasonable sometimes, and I would have to step in to smooth things down (this was our biggest client at the time, and we couldn’t afford to loose them).

Anyway I’ve never known how to handle this situation when interviewing and giving references without sounding bitter or disgruntled. I found this article that I hope you, too, will find helpful on this topic of Bad References. Enjoy and happy Friday!

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Careerbuilder.com fraud email (Photo credit: Nathan Rein)

Look, I find that when I’m looking for a job (which is currently) that craigslist.org, and Andrew Hudson Jobs List have been where my time has been the best spent. I’ve actually kept tallies of the jobs I apply for, what job board it came from, and these 2 listings have been my best bet. Of course when you go to craigslist you can’t be an idiot. There are so many scams out there it is crazy! I get one from careerbuilder.com nearly every week about a position that is usually in some kind of financial field, and they will pay big bucks if you assist them in their overseas transactions. You could lose your shirt if you did anything for those people.

One thing I’ve done that has been helpful has been when they give me the name of the company I will google it to see what kind of company it is. Many times it looks quite legitimate but you need to connect the dots. There was a company that had quite the website for exotic cars but once I read more closely I was able to figure out it was a scam. So sad…we’re already unemployed isn’t that enough punishment; do you have to take us to the cleaners too?

It is challenging to be unemployed. Everyday is a new day that needs to be approached in a creative way. Take stock of what is working, and get rid of the routine that isn’t. I have a very tough time NOT sending my resume to all the job board postings. I have found that my energy spent there has been, for the most part, futile. You can spend an entire day doing that, and not get one response back. It really is a tremendous waste of ti

me, at least for me.

I am the absolute worst at making phone calls. Gee wiz…what do you say? “Hi, I am calling ab

out the position you posted on such and such site.” Or “Have you filled the position yet?”

EXPERT (Photo credit: Pete Prodoehl)

Yes, I’ve heard time and time again that you need to find out the hiring manager’s name. How the bleep do you do that? I’ve been told by “the experts” that you call and pretend that you’ve forgotten the name of the person that would be (by your estimation) the person that would be hiring for said job posting. I’ve found that there are so many company job titles out there that you don’t even have any idea who would be that person.

LinkedIn has been somewhat helpful, and actually more helpful then anywhere else for job, and company information. Through LinkedIn I’ve networked, I’ve tried connecting, I’ve joined different groups, I’ve researched companies, and I’ve tried finding the people I need to connect to, and they are inevitably blocked from me. All in trying to make ONE successful contact that will assist me in getting a job.

UGH!

I, honestly, am starting to think that my chances of making a half-court basket at a professional basketball game is more likely then finding a job. When I talk to people about this they seem to always find it motivating to tell me that they were out of work for over a year before they found their job (working at a laundromat or assembly line, and they were biologists or doctorate holders). What am I supposed to do with THAT tidbit of information? Feel better? I don’t think so.

I have attended classes, networking events. I have had informational interviews, signed up with a temp agency. I have volunteered (the best thing I’ve done because I actually feel part of society), sent thank you notes after interviews. I have researched companies, rewritten my resume ad nauseum, and still nothing. I know what you may be saying: “Maybe I don’t have the skills”, or experience, etc. But trust me, I do. I am willing to work anywhere and do anything that is challenging. The key word there is: challenging. I love problem solving, and that can be a very creative process. I am passionate about making operations and organization more efficient and streamlining functions.

Take my job search for example. I’m a marketing professional that has been away from the field for 8 years, and in that 8 years marketing approaches have changed significantly. I realize that; so I am taking it upon myself to learn about social media by creating this blog, networking through LinkedIn and Facebook, figuring out how to drive traffic to my blog etc. I’ve done this entirely on my own since I do not have the funds to take a class since I am unemployed. I also understand that I cannot start at the level that I was when I left the field 8 years ago, and I will need to start almost at the bottom, and take a pay cut. Fine. I get it. But until somebody realizes what I’m willing to do for them, and the drive I have to succeed and make them successful I will continue practicing my hook shot and go to basketball games. Who knows…..