No Longer Unemployed....Underemployed

Well it has been a while since I have posted a blog.  My creative insights were blocked with cobwebs and roadblocks.  However as the start of Thanksgiving is upon us, I wanted to take the time and thank my readers and offer a few more quirky posts for your reading pleasure.

Well its been a rough year.  The job situation still is not stellar but at least its existent.  Over the last year I have had several job offers.  Some of which I jumped on, some of which I ran from, and many that I jumped on but SHOULD have ran from!  All in all I am still not back to where I want to be in the job market, but I am there doing what I can to get by in all of the craziness.

Job 1....the government.  I thought this job would be a great opportunity.  What better job security than working for the government... the unemployment office actually.  With this economy I think unemployment is here to stay.  Little did I know that this would turn out to be the first bad choice I made in my career.  Sitting at a phone, all day, every day, listening to every ones hard luck stories was tough.  Being as I was the original Unemployed Career Woman, hearing all of these stories tugged at my heart strings.  On the other hand there were many, many people that were on unemployment and just taking advantage of the system. These people infuriated me.  I really had to catch myself from not giving my biased opinion to these clients.  After a few months of the emotional roller coaster (and having to raise my hand when I had to pee) I knew this was not the job for me.

Back to the drawing board and on to the next......

Hoping for a Better 2012

Well another year is almost down in the books.  I can honestly say that 2011 was the worst year that I can ever remember experiencing.  It started with witnessing a man die right in front of me, to being blind sided by my previous employer, to having my hopes shot down time and time again with each job application that I filled out, to a major disappointment when I finally did find a job. If I had to count the number of times that I could not got out of bed or wished that I wouldn't wake up in the morning, I would have lost count a long time ago. Being strong and confident is alot harder that many would think.

The bright spot of my year would be realizing that I have great friends and family that helped pick me up off the ground so many times. I tried so strong to keep a smile on my face and not ask for anything, but those who knew me best could read between the lines and always seemed to know when I really needed help. I can't begin to list the amount of times that I had dinner bought for me or groceries brought over.  Not to mention help with my household bills and mortgage. It all humbled me.

My hope for 2012 is to find a job that is a good fit for me and can help me to financially get back on my feet.  I also have to put my anger from my previous job behind me once and for all.  Yes what they did to me was awful and so very wrong, but if I continue to dwell on it I will never move ahead. I need to just pray for the people that treated me so poorly and hope they will better themselves. I also want to give back to people in need the way people gave back to me.  I may not be able to financially help, but I will offer support and encouragement. Finally I want to be sure never to take anything for granted ever again.

Thank you for reading my blog this past year and Happy New Year!!


Amy

Week 23 of 26......Still No Progress

I can't believe that it's been 23 weeks since I lost my job.  I thought by now I would be comfortably settled into a new job with new work friends and responsibilities.  Unfortunately things just didn't work out the way that I would have thought. 100's of applications sent out and resumes mailed and I still am back to square one.

I have had a few bright spots in the road during this time.  I did receive 2 job offers that would have probably been great places to work.  Unfortunately my mortgage, student loans, and bills dictate what I can make and neither could get my through.  So back to the drawing board.  I also had a great casino lead that would have been a perfect fit me me.  Again it didn't pan out the way that I had hoped.

In the meantime I am hoping that with the recent economic crises the US is going through, I will not be unemployed forever. Although after 23 weeks my hopes are a little dim.

My Reflections

There have been so many life experiences that have made me the person that I am today. When I was just out of high school I thought that I would become a working woman from the get go and just forgo college.  In my mind, why spend money for schooling when I could easily land a minimum wage job and work my way up.

As the years went on and my yearly pay increases were only about $.25, I began to reconsider my methods.  About this time many of my high school friends were just about finished with college and now beginning their careers with salaries!!  They were making $20-$30k per year and I was still at about $6.00 and hour.  This was the first reality check that I needed to do something with my life.  The hopes of winning the power ball were about 1 in 3.5 million. I had no long lost rich uncle and if I did he might only have a cigar box collection or a stack of $2 bills to will me. Certainly not enough to live on. I also didn’t feel as though the Publishers Clearing House was going to come to my door with my winning check.  I knew that I had to make a change to make a life and future for myself.

A realistic options to improve myself and my income was to continue my education.  Now at this time I had been out of high school for a few years, so I was a little out of the loop. I had to also decide what I wanted to do once I got to school. I decided on a business major.  Unfortunately my business skills were not up to par.  I continued on with my general classes until I felt my calling-public relations and public speaking. I finished my college career and was now ready and prepared AGAIN for the working world.  Only this time I too could get a salary!!

Although I had schooling behind me, I still did not feel as though I had my life in order just yet.  I still had so much to learn. One of the most important lessons that I can stress is network and shadowing.  Having a successful internship actually let to my first “career”.  I learned that I had to take my skills and put  myself out there.  I had to have the confidence to know that I could do whatever I put my mind to.  It was a challenge, but one I needed to embark on. And considering that in all likelihood, my first job will probably have little to do with your last job, I had nothing to lose

As my career has progressed, I have moved on to new challenging jobs.  I have pushed myself to the limits and worked harder than I ever thought possible.  I feel as though I have succeeded and excelled at the things that I have accomplished.  It was never easy, but I knew that the outcome would be both beneficial to my career and to myself.  Every step just makes me stronger and ready for the next challenge.

At the end of the day, it is you who is responsible for finding your way into the world, which is as it should be.   Through the years I found that although I am still not at the end of me life goals-I am however getting closer.

Why I Love my Part-Time Job!!

Although I do not currently have a full time job, I have had my part-time job since March.  I work at Victoria's Secret and I love it!  It's nice to have a place to go to everyday.  It makes me feel like I am still connected to the work force and it helps to pay the bills.  And believe it or not, it is a rewarding job.

My typical shift usually involves working the fitting room.  My primary focus is to work with the customers to ensure they are wearing the correct bra size and the best fitting style for their needs.  On average I measure 10 busts per day and I see many more ta ta's over the course of my shift. My personal goal is to make sure that every single lady walks out of the store with their best fitting bra.  Again, it is very rewarding.

However some days I get pretty tata'd out! We have the customer that thinks they need to wear a smaller size in order to push the tata's together and create more cleavage. If you look at their shoulders, the strap marks are so imbedded that I wonder how they are not howling in pain.

Next we have the customer that only buys $9.99 discount store bras.  They come into the store to be measured.  I give them some bras to try in their size.  They LOVE them, but cringe at the price tag.  I try to explain that these bras last forever-  unlike the 6 washing that you will get out of that discount brand bra.

Finally we have the customer that complains about their fit BUT when I tell them what size they SHOULD be wearing, they yell at me and tell me that I am nuts.  There is no way in hell that they are a 38 or a D cup.  They insist they are a 34B and have been that size since college (17 years ago!!).  My reply to them is, you have to wear it not me.  I also remind them that nobody knows what size you wear.  They only know how it looks on you.  And nobody wants to see back boob!

I do love my job and I love my customers. And although some days are more trying than others, I can honestly say that I never leave without some crazy story to share.

Oh the Negativity!

Again it's been quite some time since my last post.  I let a negative comment get to me and it threw out my confidence.  However I was reminded that people can be idiots and to not let them spoil my mood or my writing.

It's been 15 weeks since I lost my job. I never in my wildest dreams thought that finding a job would be this hard.  I landed my part time job just days after I was let go.  I just assumed finding a full time job would be easy too.  I would just do some networking, send out a mass mail of resumes, and an opportunity would present itself.  Well that hasn't happened yet and the longer I am out of work, the harder it is to remain positive.

As everyone knows, I am a big fan of Judge Judy (I know, I know don't judge:). But even hearing her question her litigant's as to what they do for a living, then getting a grossly disgusted look on her face when they say they are unemployed- well it makes me feel like she is glaring my way too.

I know that I still have time to find a job that will be a good fit for me, but in the mean time I better not do anything that will land me on the Judge Judy show and get the stink eye from her!

Why are Part Time Job So Much More Fun than Full Time Jobs?

As most of you know, I have been working part time at Victoria's Secret since I was let go from my full time job. I only work about 15-20 hours at minimum wage, but it is such a fun stress free job. For the first time in quite a while I actually look forward to going to work. All of the girls that I work with seem to equally like their job too, so it makes for a work environment that is so refreshing.

In addition to liking my job, I also get some fun perks.  Free and discounted bras, underwear, and beauty products.  I had always loved Victoria's Secret merchandise, but was too cheap to but it.  Getting it free or next to free fits perfect with my current budget.  Feeling pretty on a penny is what I like to call it:)

I would say that the only downfall is that I don't make enough there to be able to make ends meet.  Even if they did have a full time position available at $7.50 an hour, my mortgage wouldn't get paid (but I would have nice bras and panties on when the bank came and foreclosed on me!!).