Back to the Drawing Board

After a two-hour interview over a month ago, then a half-hour phone interview two weeks later, and previous employer and reference checks over the last few weeks, I still didn't get the job.

Talk about sucking!

A while back I had applied for a position and received a call. Everything went really well, at first, but after waiting and waiting (getting my chain jerked) I have slowly and painfully realized that in order to get a job at one of the major corporate entities of this city you basically have to... Have to what? Be related? Sleep with the boss? Commit a crime? If I knew, perhaps I'd have been hired already!

So it's back to the drawing board as far as the Job Department is concerned for me.

It's not that I haven't been looking. I've been scanning the Moron's Wanted (still) and keeping an ear peeled for any news. Believe me, I'm trying and there's nothing out there. And just yesterday the evening news said that Michigan's unemployment rate had reached 7.7% (still the nation's highest) but had started to fall slightly based on summer employment having ended and seasonal employment kicking in. Ya gotta love the good ole' service industry.

Keeping with the trend, I guess I'm going to have to cast my credentials aside and just go look for one of these service-industry positions too. Not my top choice, but I need something. We can't keep on like this - Something's Gotta Give (to off-quote the famous phrase), but it can only get worse before it gets better. Thankfully, I have a lot of relatives... I think one of them can give us a place to sleep!

Well, it's not that bad, really. I'm just exaggerating (imagine that!). So in the meanwhile I will Keep on Keeping On, that's my motto. A writer can never give up!

Still Willing to Write for Food

Okay, now it's six months out, and I still don't have a full-time job.

I had an interview a few weeks back for a freelance interpreting position and I was contracted for this service. I spent a full day doing the orientation and I have gone on two interpreting assignments. I can't say this is my favorite type of work, but it's not too bad. Now, if they would only give me more hours per week, I could actually make some money, but as it stands I will only earn about one hundred dollars for a month's work. Hmmm...

I had a telephone interview last week for a grants/communications position, and was flattered to learn that out of about 45 resumes received, mine had made the final eight. But, my problem is that I don't have enough experience in grant writing and enough experience in writing in general. Needless to say, they didn't call me back to schedule an in-person interview. That was a bummer as the salary and benefits were out of this world.

I have another resume/application in at one of the local hospitals, but the disturbing aspect of this is that this particular position has been advertised three consecutive Sundays. I guess they haven't found the person they're searching for. Despite it all, I'm still hoping that the person they eventually hire will be me.

So, what's a girl to do in a town like this? Well, when I figure it out, I will let you know. Pickings are slim in these here parts! There just aren't any "quality" jobs in West Michigan right now. I guess I'm going to have to lower my standards... Now, that's funny, like I had high standards to begin with.

I've heard of lots of writers who worked in regular jobs, and liked it that way. It gave them material to fuel their ideas, and also, gave them the freedom to write evenings and weekends without the burden that a high-profile position places upon working professionals. And, I'm the type of personality who really doesn't get excited about the prospect of having to take my work home. That would be the worst! Perhaps, what I need to do then, is go out and find myself a lower-paying, task-oriented job until something better comes along, if indeed anything else could possibly be better.

In the meantime, I still perservere. I keep searching the Morons Wanted column, keep sending out those resumes, and keep hoping and waiting. Something's going to work out, I just know it!

Will Write for Food

Five months out and I'm still looking for a job.

Sure, I've been faithfully scanning the Morons Wanted column in the Swamp Valley One Wipe each and every Sunday and have been cruising the Internet, searching for something, well anything really. The few jobs I've found and liked, I've sent out my cover letter and resume. Rejections? I've had a few, but I've also gone on two real interviews and one almost-real interview. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Despite it all I can't help but wonder, Just how long will it take to find a job? and How much waiting will I be able to take?

My plan? I'm going to keep on looking for jobs and keep on sending those resumes, but next week, I've decided, I'm going downtown to stand at the intersection of Fulton and Division and, instead of staging a protest, I will advertise my services:

WRITER - WILL WORK FOR FOOD

Do you think anyone will make me an offer? because, if a job doesn't come along soon, that's what I'm going to have to do. Hey, I have student loans to pay and my kids' school tuition on top of that. There must be someone out there, someplace, who can give this Writer a job!(?)

And, I can hear what some of you might be thinking, "Who does she think she is? Writing jobs just don't grow on trees!" And, I agree. They don't, but there's lots of other types of jobs that Writers can do, and I'm determined to find one of them. I know it's not going to be easy.

In the nation, Michigan is state with the highest rate of unemployment, and as for the jobs that have come into the market recently, most are low-paying. This factor has increased the number of Michigan families who are living at or below the poverty level. Nice isn't it? But nothing new in our great nation. And this recent data from Michigan is despite the fact that Gov. Granholm raised the state minimum wage last fall! And added into the mix is another great for Michigan - the sixth highest foreclosure rate in the nation. All over our state, factories are closing one after another and forcing people out of work and into the unemployment line. These same people, when they can't find another job or at least one that can pay the bills, are losing their homes and consequently leaving in droves, moving out-of-state to anyplace that they can find a job. What's going on with Michigan right now and what's going to happen later?

When I was a kid in the 70s I seem to remember a popular bumper sticker or slogan that read, "Last One Out Turn Off The Lights." And I've been thinking that lately someone out there should bring those bumper stickers back. They'd really come in handy...

While the immediate future of Michigan is uncertain, I know it will improve. It has to because it's been bad before and things got better again. Things around here will be better again. We all have to believe that.

In the meantime, I had a job interview today. The person who interviewed me said they had received around four hundred resumes for the position and had only advertised on one Sunday! I'm telling you, it's crazy out there. There are no "decent" jobs to be had in this town, and with such high competition it makes getting a decent job once you've found it even harder to accomplish.

Do you think if I tell the Feds that I can't pay my student loan due to situations out of my control that they'll understand? I doubt it too, so I'm going to keep on searching and appplying and interviewing, maybe I'll stand on the street corner, but most likely I'll keep on keeping on. It's the thing to do.