Anything is better than nothing

Got an interview for a job that looks mildly interesting. It's part-time and at night, so it may be a winner on the childcare front. No idea of the pay or total weekly hours, but those aren't factors that concern me since I'm taking in ZERO and depending on credit cards too much.  I am a ways from hitting my debt limit, but running deficits is scary.

Daily grind

Most days, I check my email first thing and go through the indeed.com job leads. I have an indeed.com account, so I store the jobs that have potential for my background. I apply for jobs that have deadlines accordingly, but I mostly stick to the thinks in my field. With that in mind, I go through and apply for jobs on the sites that hire within my field. Indeed.com is great for throwing a net, but it does not get jobs from individual institution/company HR pages. So I periodically check some sites that don't have postings find their way to indeed.com via Careerbuilder or Monster.

Read an article the other day that suggested that search online for jobs was mostly a waste of time. Seems that 70% of the jobs are never posted online though 90% of job seekers are going online leaving a mere 5% offline hunters.

Rejection

Sometimes a job isn't a fit, but others the fit is real. I thought I had such a case, and I didn't get the job. I can look up who got the job and see all of this person's internet footprint and be aghast by being passed over for this person, or I can just say it wasn't meant to be and move on.

I've been moving on, but I seem to be on a treadmill, for I'm getting nowhere fast.

Feels like I'm having my George Costanza moment. Whatever I am doing wrong, I must change.

End of unemployment benefits

There was a time when 26 weeks was the max of benefits. Last time I was unemployed, I used 26 weeks and found something. That something was working two nights a week at Kohl's for a mere $7.70 an hour.

On a normal week I could expect 16 hours. I took the job with mixed feelings. I didn't have to pay for day care with those hours. I didn't have to drive much. I didn't have to buy a new wardrobe. $123 is not much, but it's $123 more than nothing.

After working a few shifts, I got a job elsewhere which paid roughly $280 week. It required finding a sitter and driving more, but it netted more than $123. The job's hours conflicted with Kohl's, so I had to quit.

I made less than what I was during those 26 weeks of unemployment, but we got by as well as when I was working fulltime. We even paid off some debt, as I got more hours and raises. I eventually was fulltime and having to pay $200+ a week for child care. I was netting about the same as working part-time, but I figured my kids won't need child care forever. Then I got let go and was making less on unemployment than I was paying in childcare since I was credited only one quarter of fulltime employment.

Again, it was more than nothing and I didn't have to pay for childcare so it was much like my working at Kohl's. Now I'm back to making nothing, which makes Kohl's seem reasonable.

Scams

If it sounds too good to be true, then make sure you have all the facts before proceeding.

Work from home scams exist because what sounds easier than working from home?

• No need to get dressed.
• No need for a car.
• Set your own hours.
• No need for child care.

Those four factors alone make trolling the internet for making money from home type jobs seem worthwhile, but looking at the ClarkHoward.com those sorts of jobs requires self-motivation.

Being unemployed makes self-employment a forced reality when no one is hiring and you want to work. Just have to look out for scams.

Three responses in a week

So I apply for lots of jobs that may not be ideal for me but fit my skill set. This past week, I had two phone interviews screening for a positions within my field, while I had an email setting up an interview for a third position also related to my field.

Amazing how months go without hearing anything then 3 hits in a single week. Ups and downs. Need more weeks like this.

Some rejections hurt more than others.

In the back of my head I was dreading that I'd get a job that I wouldn't be able to honor the commitment due to a better offer coming up.

When you are unemployed, you apply for a lot of jobs that you may not normally consider if you already had a job. Beggars can't be choosers.

Well, I can focus on my second interview.

Besides there will always be a dream job for me to desire as long as I'm not at the top of my profession or independently wealthy.

Mildly annoyed... internet pages seem to hate me.

Seems the site to file my weekly unemployment claim is down.
Seems the site that posts library jobs is down.
Seems the site hiring for a library position thinks I'm unqualifed for a job for which I'm actually over-qualified.

Fun things to check on a Monday. Monday looks to be boring, otherwise.

At least I have an interview for which to prepare, thus a reason to inquire about an opening I've not heard back since interviewing two weeks ago.

Job Search sites from Job Center List

A few weeks ago, I decided to see what the "One Stop" had to offer with regards to job postings that I was not seeing, and I was told they had nothing beyond what is available on a three page list of links: Not sure how how old the sheet is, but just looking at the the first eight give an indication that it's a little dated.

1. 4 Work                                                             www.4work.com
2. America's Career Info Net                                www.acinet.org
3. America's Employers                                        www.net-temps.com
4. America's Job Bank                                         www.ajb.dni.us
5. Best Jobs U.S.A.                                             www.bestjobsusa.com
6. Brass Ring                                                       www.brassring.com
7. Can Get It                                                       www.cangetit.com
8. The Career Builder Network                           www.careerbuilder.com

I  have enough searches in Indeed.com and sites that hire within my profession bookmarked that visiting these sites is a bit redundant, thus making my visit to the Job Center a waste of time for me.

I apply for jobs that I can do, and how to get interviewed. Most of the time, I'm either overqualified or not experienced enough in what they are looking to fill.

I had an interview yesterday for a position that is a perfect fit for my background and experience. I actually didn't apply for the job, but rather for a position posted a few weeks ago. I was under the impression I had a good chance of getting the job for which I applied, since I got called the business day after applying, but hadn't heard anything until the other position was posted.