Learning new things

Hello my fellow residents of the unemployment line! Happy Saturday!  I'm back with a little update on my unemployed life.  First things first, I quit smoking, so no more posts about how to find cheap cigarettes, I know you will all be disappointed with that but it has been five days, and I feel great!  What that means is the ten dollars I get to cut the neighbors grass or the thirty bucks I get for moving my friends furniture out of the house gets saved up for better things like a trip to interview in another state.

Now as far as the title goes, learning new things, well what have I learned since I last posted?  I learned the value of the cover letter.  You see in all of my years looking for work I had to figure out on my own how to write a resume and how to apply for jobs.  No one ever told me what was good, what works, and what doesn't. Through my adventures into networking, I learned that a good cover letter can make you or break you when the HR department receives your application.  When they are getting hundreds upon hundreds of resumes, a cover letter serves as a snapshot.  It is a short blurb that tells them why they should bother looking at your resume.

I am still learning as I go, so right now I have just a few general cover letters, two tailored to the job fields I really want to get back into, either security or telecommunications, and one general letter that can fit the odd jobs I have been applying to.  I used a form template from monster to write mine, and as I learn more, I will write a personalized letter for each application, but something is better than nothing!

Well that is all from my corner of the Unemployment office for now, but I would love to hear your feedback.  Tell me and the other folks what works and does not work for you in your day to day adventures in the job hunt, I look forward to hearing from each one of my readers, so leave a comment, shoot me an email, or find me on twitter!

Tips on stretching a buck

The other day I wrote about how I was out of money and how I had run out of unemployment 9 months ago, and that I had lost my part time job 6 months ago.  Some of my readers were probably wondering how the hell I made it so long without running out of money completely, well the answer my friends is simple.

First I chose generic whenever I could.  A 20 oz Coke is $1.45 where I live, but Walgreens sells a liter of generic cola for 99 cents, so I learned to enjoy "refreshing cola."  I used to eat name brand Kellogg's cereal, but those are four or five dollars for for a small box, but for two dollars you can get a large bag of knock off cheerios, and they taste just as good as the ones from the box.

Second strategy is sales.  I usually smoke Newport cigarettes, but in the city of Chicago, they are $9.40 a pack.  I have started smoking whatever brand is on sale this week, normally Camel or Marlboro.  Along with sales there is buying in bulk.  One pound of the coffee I like is usually 9.99, but if your smart and keep your eyes open you can find the same coffee on sale for 15 dollars for four pounds, and four pounds of coffee lasts a LONG time.

Third is coupons.  I don't do extreme couponing like you see on A&E, but I keep my eye out for good deals.  I never used to pay much attention to the register coupons that you get at the grocery store, but since money got tight, I started taking notice of these things.  You can often find coupons for buy one get one free name brand items, or ten dollars off your next purchase.  In addition to the coupons, alot of stores have rewards programs, and you can build up points that become the same as cash.

Combining all of those things I can often stretch a hundred dollars over a couple of weeks, and that my friends is how I've lasted so long.  So fellow members of the unemployment line, be sure to clip those coupons and learn to love generic!

Harsh Realities

Every morning I wake up and I try and think of something positive to write here.  A little bit of happy thinking to help myself and others in my situation face another day in the unemployment line.  Not today though, today it is time for a dose of reality.

The reality is that I no longer exist.  I am one of the long-term unemployed that the government stops counting to hide how bad things really are.  My unemployment ran out last September when I got a part time job as an office clerk at a local auto body shop.  I made minimum wage twenty hours a week and started going to school. Yes the part time hours were yet another cut in pay, but I was happy to be working, it closed a gap in my employment history, but it was nowhere near enough to live on.  It was enough to put an end to my benefits though, and the state cut me off.  I worked there four months until the shop owner hired a management company and I found myself outsourced and no longer necessary.  Twenty hours a week at $8.50 an hour was not enough money to re-qualify for unemployment, so when December rolled around I was left with $40 in my wallet and the generosity of family to keep a roof over my head.

January rolled around and I went back to school, got my W2 forms and threw in my tax return early.  The refund left me with a little pocket money so I was able to get a pair of jeans without holes in the crotch, a few packs of cigarettes, and pay down some of the accumulated debt over the last couple of years.  With the new semester meant new financial aid, and in mid-April I got my financial aid refund.  That kept my head above water for a little while longer.

Now it is June, I am down to my last five dollars, I have holes in my shoes and won't be getting new ones for quite some time.  I have chronic pain from my time in the military and the VA is useless, I have filed several claims for compensation and treatment, yet they continue to deny them saying there is no proof it is service related even though it says right in my record "Pt injured knee falling from window ledge during training exercise."

That is my reality.  I write this blog and put advertisement on it in the hopes of making a little money, I walk the neighborhood every day in my holy shoes looking for help wanted signs, and I search every job board I know on a daily basis in hopes of finding just one employer who is not black listing the unemployed.  Now that I have that all out of my system, maybe I can go back to bringing some positivity to the unemployment line!

Resources

So as I have posted many many times before, I tend to browse sites like Monster and Careerbuilder looking for work. Yesterday I was checking my email for the millionth time to see if any of the applications I had filed had been accepted when I got an email from the state of Illinois.

You see, I had been receiving unemployment compensation from the state until September of last year, and along with the bi-weekly paycheck, they state has job search resources. I had forgotten about Illinois Work Net, a free resource from the Department of Employment Security. I ran over there, got a resume built and started using their job search tools. The search tools they have there are pretty amazing, instead of being limited to just one site like I had been before, they search all of the sites and give me a list of jobs meeting the parameters I entered.

In addition to the awesome job search capabilities the state offers, it has resources for building a good resume and writing a cover letter. It connects you with networking sites like linkedin and has facebook resources as well.

The point I am making here is do not make the mistake I did. Find out about your available job search resources before two years go by without a real job. Take advantage of every opportunity offered to you and as always, good luck fellow employment challenged Americans!

Random Thoughts

Unemployment is in a way a job. If you treat it like work, it will be much easier to make it through the tough times. If you get lazy and treat it like an extended vacation its going to be harder to land on your feet.

I get up everyday at a reasonable hour,take a shower, and get dressed like I'm going to work. I have my coffee, walk to the store for a newspaper and a pack of cigarettes, maybe run across the street to get a donut, and head home. The first thing I do when I get there is turn to the classifieds and see if there are any jobs listed. Most days there are not, but the day I stop looking is going to be the day my dream job is posted.

After browsing the paper, I head into my "office" and its off to the internet to browse the job boards. I don't limit myself to monster.com, I am on craigslist, careerbuilder, and helmetstohardhats. Anywhere that I can find classifieds I am looking. I have done this for two years now, and I will do this for two more, until I have a job.

I don't limit myself to what I want to do. In this economy you need to be willing to do anything that will put money in the bank. I have applied at fast food restaurants, hotels, police and fire departments, cable companies. I once applied for a job as a nanny. If it comes with a paycheck, I send them a resume. I have applied for over two thousand jobs, and still counting. Someday will be my day.

Time

The hardest part of being unemployed are the endless hours in a day that used to be filled with work. Now I sit around the house and think. Everyday that goes by without a response to an application weighs heavily on the mind. I begin to feel less and less valuable to society.

The hardest thing I do is convince myself to stay positive and keep trying. I always tell my self "Today is the day, for real!". I fire up my computer and hit all of the job search sites and send my resume off to every job I can. Once I have applied for every "outside sales job" monster.com has to offer, I grab the newspaper and look for something there. One day it really will be the day if I keep trying.

It is hard not to get depressed when you have mailed out thousands of resumes and only got two interviews. It is heart-breaking when McDonalds won't even call you back to be a fry cook. I spent eight years serving in the Military, and I now have to beg for enough money to get a suit from the goodwill if I ever get an interview. Unemployment is not going to break my spirit though, I am going to keep on going to school and keep on trying to work, and someday, it will turn around.

Volunteering

Last night I was having drinks with some friends. In the course of the evening, one of them mentioned that she volunteers at Habitat for Humanity. That got me thinking. I have never volunteered for anything in my life. Sure I enlisted in the “all volunteer” military, but I wasn’t donating my time, I was getting paid for that. This morning, I started to sign up to give back.

I thought long and hard about it and I realized that volunteering was more than just giving up some of your time to help someone in need. For someone in my position with no job and no call backs on any of the resumes I send out everyday, it is an opportunity. When you volunteer, the first thing it does is get you out of your house.

In this day and age when college is so accessible, candidates for employment need something to set them apart from the pack. Add some volunteer experience to your resume, and you will have a leg up on others. Nothing shows a potential employer that you care like building a house for the poor or feeding the homeless. Giving to the community will give back to you tenfold.

While you are out there working and helping others, you get a chance to meet new people. You are out networking, the person serving food next to you or helping build the house may be a manager, a ceo, a company owner. By meeting someone in a volunteer setting, it is an informal get to know you, and they aren’t judging you by what you write on your resume, all they know is that you give back.

Even if your volunteer time does not land you a full time job, at the very least, you can feel good about yourself. For those few hours that you help, you are doing something for someone else, and that brings a warm fuzzy feeling. So friends and followers, lets give up a little bit of our time, and help someone in need!

Expanding Horizons

When you are looking for work, consider expanding your horizons. If you are able to relocate don't rule that out. I am single, with no kids and own no property. I would love to be able to stay near the friends I have made in school and be within an hours drive of my family, but now that's just not feasible.

Do your research. If other areas of the state you live in have more opportunities, apply there. If you aren't rooted in your present location, expand your job search to a national level. Sure the economy is weak all over right now, but some places are better off than others.

Right now, and I probably should not give away this secret until I have secured a job, Texas is doing all right for itself. When I realized all of the jobs I was looking at in my local area were way above my pay grade and education level, I expanded the search a few miles. Then I read an article listing the best places to find work, and I began looking nationally.

When applying to a large company that has many locations, if they ask if you are willing to relocate, say yes! It may be hard to pick up and move at the present time, but they are more likely to look at a candidate who is willing to work for them anywhere they need them. So what you have to live in a new location for a little while?

I for one am looking forward to starting over in a location that does not consider three inches of snow in an hour "light flurries". I'm excited to work somewhere that does not consider it a "summer day" when it breaks 75 degrees. The weather is just one advantage to a new life. Where I live now the taxes on a case of water are more than the case costs on sale. Even if I did find a job, I still couldn't afford to live here, so I am getting out while the getting is good!

Hope

The hardest part of being part of the long-term unemployed is keeping the faith. You start to see yourself as a loser, as a bum, as someone who is no good. The longer you go without finding gainful employment the easier it is to give up the hunt.

In the two years of hunting I have applied to every open job I was qualified for, and some that I wasn't. in my area. In all of that time, with several thousand resume's out there, I have had two interviews. I keep trying though.

It would be very easy for me to give up hope. I could say "I'll try when I finish college" or I'll try when the market improves. No. What I did was start looking outside of Illinois. I know that I need a job, and I know there will never be jobs in Illinois as long as Pat Quinn is Governor. I started my search in Texas.

As long as you maintain hope and don't slide in to self loathing and depression, we the long-term unemployed still have a chance. We have to look harder, and cast a wider net, but our job is out there somewhere. It is just a matter of keeping the faith and staying on the hunt.

Good Luck my fellow job seekers, and just so you know...there are NO security jobs left in Dallas. No really, they are all full, don't even try...

Applying

When I found myself out of a job, I told myself it would be a matter of weeks before I was back in the money. I totally ignored the economic realities of the Country, and I plunged ahead, activating my accounts on Monster.com and carrerbuilder. I thought who wouldn't want to hire an eight year veteran of the armed forces who worked in a highly technical field?

I ignored the fact that I now had to compete against people my age who had spent the four years I was in the Marine Corps going to college. Don't get me wrong I do not regret my service at all. In fact if I hadn't gotten injured I would still be there today. The only problem with that is in today's highly competitive job market, I am left with fewer tools in my box compared to my peers.

I don't let that hold me back from trying, since I lost my job I have sent out a few thousand resumes. Sure they don't have the education that my competitors have, but maybe just maybe they will recognize the value of an employee who was leading men in battle while his peers were doing beer bongs in the frat house.

My advice for my fellow labor challenged Americans is to just keep trying. Someday, it will be your turn. Don't ignore a job you think is beneath you. I have applied for McDonalds, housekeeping in a hotel, retail work, and jobs that are closer to my field. What is important right now is to have an income. When the country hits the turnaround and your field is hiring, there will be something then, but until that day comes, don't let your pride get in the way of a paycheck.

Sacrafice

One of the first things you learn on unemployment is how to make sacrifices. When I was working I would come home after a long day, throw my heavy boots in the closet and go to the fridge and grab a cold beer. Back then I was drinking beer that cost nearly twelve dollars for six. I love the micro-brews, the craft brews and the imported stuff. Once I had my beer in hand, I would go to the fridge, get out either some pork chops or a steak and put it in the oven to cook while I took a nice hot shower to wash away the grime of a hard days work.

When I lost my job, the first thing to go was my car. Without the income, I could no longer afford the $365 a month payments. I had to walk everywhere I went. Shortly after the car was gone, I had to change my eating habits. Less steak and more ramen noodles. I had to downgrade the beer from Stella Artois to Miller Lite.

A couple months after my car drove off into the night without me, it was time to give up the apartment. I could no longer afford the $800 a month rent on the $620 every two weeks I was getting from unemployment. I moved in with a friend where the rent was only $400 a month. I had to sacrifice a little privacy, but the savings were worth it. Sure I could no longer invite a girlfriend over to spend the night, but at least I could afford to take her on a date again.

I had to move out of that house about six months ago because my unemployment ran out. I am now living with a relative and going to school. Since I am poor I qualify for financial aid, and after all of my education expenses are covered I can get a refund. When the refund comes in I get to “treat” myself to a six pack of Big Flats beer a pack of Newport’s and a subway sandwich.

When it is written out here, it seems sort of depressing. Really though, it’s not. In some ways it seems my life is now richer. I am free to further my education and pursue the career aspirations I put on the back burner for the job. Thinking about it, I sacrificed more in the way of my dreams while I was working than what I gave up when the income stopped.

2 Years and Counting

I lost my job on December 23, 2008. I was a technician for Comcast Cable, and I worked my butt off. I was scheduled four days a week, 10 hours a day, but I often put in 12-15 hours a day, five days a week. When I was working life was good. I had a nice car, had a nice little place of my own, and had an active social life.

The day before Christmas eve in 2008, that all changed. I showed up to work at seven a.m. just like I did every day that I was supposed to be there. That day I didn't get my normal route. I got called into the managers office along with my supervisor and the HR woman. Apparently I had screwed up on a job by taking care of a customer rather than following the companies book. I went to a call, and found the problem was outside of the home. I scheduled a line technician to come out and correct it, and I left the customers personal amplifier in the house so they still had some service through the holidays. I left the customer my card and arranged a visit to remove the amplifier after the necessary repairs were made. Comcast didn't like that. I guess they would rather have the customer cancel their service.

After they terminated me, my supervisor actually had to audacity to wish me a merry Christmas as he escorted me from the building. I'm sorry, but there is nothing merry about having to go home and tell your family you lost your job.

At first I wasn't worried, I had decent savings, and I was going to apply for unemployment. I figured it would be at most a month before I was working again. I had been unemployed before but never for very long. I looked at it like a little vacation time. Well that was 2 years ago and counting, the savings are gone, the car and the apartment belong to someone else now, and I am still looking for work. At least I'm still on vacation, Right?