Saturday, January 23, 2010

Two words: BACK DOOR

There are two reasons I haven't blogged in awhile:

1. I took an (unpaid) vacation to visit my fiance in Florida after working my butt off in retail during the holidays. I had not seen my fiance since October 2009 and I did not request any time off during the holidays. My vacation was well deserved!

2. There have been new developments on the job front for me! I now have two jobs---one during the day and one at night. Unfortunately, this will leave me very little spare time for blogging. I've come across a lot of blogging material recently so I'll try to post when possible.

Here is the point of this post:

You should constantly be looking for ways to get in with a good company or organization. **Newsflash**....Although it seems as if you should be accepted based on your academic qualifications and work experience I am here to tell you that it often doesn't work that way. It's all about who you know. I'm not in the city I dreamed of working in after graduating. But, I now work for two great companies that are growing and will likely provide me with opportunities to move up (and earn more). How did I get in? I knew people. My job application and resume were submitted after my job offer. A mere formality. Fascinating, isn't it?

So, go out and meet people. You have no choice.

I will leave you with one other piece of advice until I post again: Don't watch the movie Post Grad. It is the worst movie EVER and is not representative of what really happens to recent graduates without jobs. Instead, read this blog.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Genevieve is behind!

Contrary to popular belief I have not abandoned my blog. But, it is inventory time in the retail world and my vast experience has been put to use at the bakery. In retail, there's just as much work after Christmas as there is before Christmas. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

At any rate, I will be taking a much needed and deserved vacation this coming week. Jobless Genevieve to be continued...

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Happy New Year, etc.

I've been holding this article titled, "New Year, New Rules" from the Wall Street Journal for awhile because I've been busy. The content isn't news to me but at least we (the jobless graduates) haven't been forgotten. For those of you who are still searching for jobs here are the highlights with my two cents:

1. "The unemployment rate among recent college graduates hit 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics." Don't forget that those college graduates who are employed may very well be underemployed and working for very little money.

2. "More employers are holding as many as nine or 10 interviews..." I do not know anyone who has experienced this. Personally, I'm accustomed to Round 1 Phone Interview and Round 2 In-Person Interview.

3. "Some applicants are being asked to prepare oral presentations..." I have been asked to give an oral presentation for an interview. It actually helped me A LOT. A presentation without an effective presenter is worthless.

4. "...a large portion of people hired recently have personal connections to a company..." I've been writing about this over and over again. So, you better get out there and talk with people---anywhere---churches, community centers, family friends, friends of friends, relatives, friends of relatives, recreational clubs (hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, sailing, basketball, etc.), your local bar and/or coffee shop, your favorite restaurant hang-out, etc.

5. "Connections you make could be more effective than sending out mass job applications online..." See #4

6. You should emphasize your skills, not your college major, particularly if your college major doesn't seem very useful these days.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Results from Parade Poll

In October I created a short post from a Parade article titled, "Should Unemployed People Work for Free?". The title of their article was terribly misleading.

The Parade pamphlet comes in my newspaper on Sunday but I don't read it every Sunday because the content doesn't interest me. However, I happened to catch the results from a poll that corresponded to their article. The question for the poll was "Should Unemployed People Work for Free?"; 42% replied 'yes' and 58% replied 'no.'

There are a few things that need to be cleared up here:

+Despite all of the comments left on the Parade website, working for free is not slavery. It is more like an unpaid internship. Recent graduates and college student do it ALL THE TIME.

+Unemployment benefits don't just pop out of the clear blue sky. Where do you think the money comes from? The state and the federal government leverage taxes on businesses for the money earned by employees.