Job search strategy discussion thread

I suppose.

I just want a job where I'm actually skilled at and not just grunt work.

Well you need either prior education to do that, or a job where they do legitimate training to give you skills. Not trying to be an ass here, but I'm assuming you don't have a degree or experience in a formal technical school or training academy, so you can't really be pissed that the only jobs you can get are unskilled labor, because you essentially are unskilled labor.

Especially if these are some of your very first jobs, you don't get to just go straight to skilled jobs where you get to have a lot of independence and responsibility in the workplace. The vast majority of people start out with some shit jobs to get experience. My first job was for the fast food chain, Del Taco.

edited 2nd Aug '12 4:28:25 PM by Barkey

I have a degree in digital animation, but thanks to the tax cut to the movie industry being destroyed by our governor, a majority of work went poof.

I'm also really good at typing.

To be fair Thorn, typing is a fairly basic skill. In itself, it isn't going to get you a job these days.

Yeah, the best you can do for a bump up is to call temp agencies and set up a profile with them, saying that you are good at data entry, as well as kicking resumes out of state to companies that have jobs like that. Your best bet on flexing your degree is to apply for internships and the like in other states, though data entry jobs with temp agencies will pay decent, and get you a chance to develop a bit of an administrative background.

I dont think i'm ready to start living on my own, let alone out of state...

You already have a degree, I'd say now is as good of a time as any.

Sitting around doing shit jobs is not a superior alternative to moving to a state where you can get a good job in a good industry. You really don't have anyone to blame but yourself if you aren't willing to look outside your county area.

I know.

I guess its more like I"m not ready for a career yet and become an adult.

And I'm not too sure I went into the right field. Looking at indeed.com and just looking up jobs is so intimidating.

Also my fear of driving basically cripples me.

edited 2nd Aug '12 8:58:49 PM by Thorn14

Do it before you can't. I could get a great job on one of the coasts. But I can't move because I have a kid. It's not like I can move him into a hotel or just accept any shift.

My languages, my degrees, my experience, nothing if I don't have a secure roof and daycare.

You don't have the heavy responsibilities yet. Take care of you now, so when/if you do get these responsibilities you are in a better position to take care of them.

Well the thing is I don't know if I love what I went to enough to completely change my life dramatically for.

You will never love your work all the time. You invested a degree man. Sounds like you jut need to move on something and try before you wake up at 30 and realize you're nowhere.

It isn't really about that, it's about money. Money lets you afford the things that you do enjoy, so you essentially need to suck it up, start applying outside of your state, and give it a whirl. That will also involve getting a car at some point if you don't live within a few blocks of where you work.

I know. Its why I'm also trying to think if I should look into another degree. I only got an associates at a community college, so luckily I'm not swimming in debt.

Money hasn't been a huge issue with me. I don't go out much, I live with my family, who I am very close with, I have friends, and I don't have expensive hobbies beyond gaming and computers...

Hell I'm almost a NEET

Its just...I dont know what I want to go into enough to change my life so much.

In short, I'm scared.

Nor can I find any jobs I feel I'd be qualified for.

edited 2nd Aug '12 9:19:52 PM by Thorn14

Here is one conclusion about the "younger" generation I have come to after thinking about my own situation:

The only real/thought-provoking challenges a lot of us have had have come through games*

In relation to this thread, it means we have three main things going against us when it comes to finding a job: We have things to do that are MUCH more entertaining, "looking for a job" is not much of a challenge (though getting one can be), and we have LOTS of bad habits to overcome before we are "ready" for the "real world." Even if you don't have bad habits, it is hard to have confidence in your own abilities without practice.

I've lived a very sheltered life and its been a big downer now on me.

I love my life right now, but I'm so afraid to move out of it.

I just dont think I'm good enough to get a job worth moving out.

I'd love to try an intern job but there are none.

edited 2nd Aug '12 10:25:24 PM by Thorn14

There comes a point where everyone reaches an age of accountability. Regardless of how good or bad our childhood, parents, or education, every person has to reach the level where they need to make the decision to choose to follow their previous experiences or make their own experience through active choice.

It boils down to taking responsibility for the direction of your life and saying "though A, B, and C happened, I am going to do this." You choose to either agree with how your parents raised you and the decisions others made on you or you choose to disagree and be different.

People now a days, of all ages and demographics, aren't as willing or aware to accept this responsibility as they used to be.

I know.

The problem is I've had lived a very spoiled life, and now I'm kind of at a loss. I'm not FORCED into a situation thank god,

I felt a feeling today that I've sort of always wanted to feel, secretly, on some level that I've never quite been able to publicly admit.

I was given an (optional to wear) polo shirt with the company logo on it. And I put it on. For some weird reason, the idea of me working mon-fri 8-5 in a company polo with my own desk and in an environment full of nerdy civilians just felt great. It was such a guilty pleasure, because for the first time ever, I went to work not feeling any particular type of pride or exceptionalism, but I just felt so normal, and for some reason it just felt so fucking good.

A perpetual passive nerf gun battle taking place at all times, endless coffee and bagels, the freedom to fuck off on the company computer looking at facebook and sharing youtube clips as part of the offices "Happy Friday" meme contest they have. It was awesome.

I'm so happy for ya, man!

To truly appreciate something, you have to not have it for a long time. Or something like that.

In your case, it sounds like "fun" and "work" are two words that almost never overlapped. Entering a situation where they not only overlap but are part of the normal experience would cause a Love It or Hate It reaction (you ether love the new experience or hate how different it is to what you are used to).

I know I would love to have that sort of experience and it sounds like you are too.

So even though I don't really know you, I raise a happy/envious glass to you and your new job while shedding some Manly Tears. Cheers and good luck.

PS: I hope they have some sort of signal you can put up to say "I need to concentrate, so don't drag me into any Nerf fights right now."

PPS: also sounds like the sort of thing that goes on in Area Net's offices. Saw some pics they posted and at least half the people had Nerf guns on their desks and most had nerd paraphernalia all over their areas/desks.

Everyone has a nerf gun because last christmas a guy bought like 20 10 dollar nerf guns and distributed them, and there are hundreds of nerf darts in the office that regularly change hands. It's a sort of silent war, where people are quietly typing away everywhere and you hear "Pop" and a nerf dart sails through the air at a guy on the phone with a client and they just ignore it, lean over and pick up the dart while talking on their headset, then load and fire one at whoever isn't looking. It doesn't really stop. Of course some people went and bought better nerf guns so they can make it all the way across the office.

It just feels so strange, I had this epiphany that after being in the military since the age of 18, for the first time ever, I'm a regular guy with a regular job. It's just alien and strange, but in a nice way. The other civvy jobs I've had always felt so temporary, like it was just a stepping stone and I never planned to stay. Given they were all in security.

Cited in the Made of Forum Win thread.

When we say someone is responsible for something, we are suggesting that they had a reasonable amount of control over that thing. If people are more prone to rejecting responsibility than previously, I would suggest it's a result of feeling that they have less control. Those who then decry a nation of individuals rejecting their own "personal responsibility" who simultaneously decry efforts to give individuals more real control over their lives are hypocrites.

In short, this MOFW is setting off my spidey sense.

So what can someone who wasn't prepared for such a thing do?

Asking the wrong guy, I'm in the same boat.