I have ever been unemployed. 17 years of working, 7 of it in retail and the last 10 years in credit union land, and I find myself unemployed. I got fired for a substandard audit. I don’t disagree with the firing but damn, I have never been fired or unemployed before. The last two weeks I have been checking out every job board that is out there and submitting resumes. So far no bites. Lucky enough to have built up a little bit of a savings account so I am not in panic mode yet.
Anybody else have the unexpected “joy” of being fired before? How quickly did you get back into job world? Did you stay with the same career or use it as a chance to find a new one?
My first (and only) time I got fired was almost 2 years ago now. It took me months, and thousands of online applications just to get a few replys for interviews, and out of all of the jobs I applied to, I only got 3 total interviews.
When I told the unemployment office worker about it, he said that was a little better than the typical response, so I was doing good. :o
Even after the few months, I sucked up my pride (BIG TIME) and had a friend of my father help me get in at an insecticide factory standing on a processing line dusting off and packaging their products, or screwing on caps for 8 hours a day.
After about 3 more months working there, I finally got another interview (the whole time I was still applying to hundreds of jobs online), and it worked out. I’m doing a lot better than I was with the original job I had, but I’m still looking for something better.
Definitely take advantage of the unemployment checks, AND the unemployment office. They really are trying to help you, but don’t feel compelled to take a crap job unless you’re desperate (which I was when I took mine).
All in all it was a very humbling experience, and one I don’t want to go through again.
BTW, I was also applying for jobs long before I even got fired in the first place. Overall, I probably was applying for over 8 months, and definitely in the thousands of applications online before finding something.
I wish you better luck than I had, but I also live in an area that’s not doing so well with employment opportunities.
I’ve been displaced in the tech sector due to “outsourcing” so I know where you’re coming from.The best thing you can do outside of job fairs and internet searches is to maintain a schedule: get up at a certain time, go to the gym, set aside time for job searching and networking. It’s always terrible when it happens, especially if you don’t see it coming. The worst thing you can do is get out of synch and spend too much time on the sofa watching t.v. I know it may seem obvious to point out, but you want to maintain a positive outlook and be aggressive in your new search. You can also look at this as an opportunity to explore new options. Although you may not have chosen to leave your job, this could be a time to reflect and see if this is what you really want to do or if this is a good time for you to explore another area that interests you.
Thank you everybody for your responses. I am keeping a regular schedule, up at 6:00, kids off to day care at 7:30, etc… I want to keep my mind and body active so when a call does come for an interview, I will be ready to go.
I have my second tier jobs that I am looking at, just in case the ones I want don’t come through.
[quote]marinersfan wrote:
Thank you everybody for your responses. I am keeping a regular schedule, up at 6:00, kids off to day care at 7:30, etc… I want to keep my mind and body active so when a call does come for an interview, I will be ready to go.
I have my second tier jobs that I am looking at, just in case the ones I want don’t come through.[/quote]
Good thinking. I started getting lazy, and slept in in the morning, and found that I was starting to get less done in the day than when I had a job. I recognized it and turned it around, but it wasn’t easy once I got used to being so lazy.
I wish you the best in finding a new job. It could be a good idea to try a different line of work if you find that you don’t like where you were.
I only took the job I got fired from in the first place because I never had a real desk-job, and thought I should try it to see if I really like it or not. I found that I don’t, but I think it was a good experience to realize that it’s not the type of job for me.
[quote]marinersfan wrote:
HardcoreHorn wrote:
Just go be a longshoreman. They don’t do anything and they make hella bucks.
Land locked in Sacramento, Ca. So that might be a problem, though I could always get a state job, it is about the same.[/quote]
Yah. The State of Kansas would probably sink if they did not have unpaid interns to do the actual work, and paid people to attend meetings, where at said meetings they set up more meetings to attend.
[quote]marinersfan wrote:
HardcoreHorn wrote:
Just go be a longshoreman. They don’t do anything and they make hella bucks.
Land locked in Sacramento, Ca. So that might be a problem, though I could always get a state job, it is about the same.[/quote]
Pardon the double post.
California Department of Corrections is hiring corrections officers, and if I understand things right, LOTS of them. Just a thought, on the positive side CO’s are also certified peace officers, which is an incentive not often granted in other states.