The Hunt for Employment

I haven't had a job in 3 months... what am I doing to find employment?

For the last 16 years I have had steady employment. In 2007 I was laid off when the parent company sold the company I worked for. Even though that was devastating at the time, 4 days later I was quickly employed by another company so the loss didn't really affect me on a professional level. Plus the economy hadn't hit rock bottom yet... that came two years later...

Since I have always worked, it's hard for me not to work. My first order of business when I was let go was to reach out to every resort connection that I had locally. I was on the phone, sending emails and hitting the streets. At that point every resort in town was on a hiring freeze which is the norm for this area due to being in the off season. I knew it would be a long shot for anything to be available that matched my qualifications, but I still wanted to get the word out in case anything opened up. At each interview and in each returned email, the responses were the same: "I'm sorry, but we have nothing at this time. Check back after New Years".

Being that it was the holidays, I went to try and get a seasonal position to help with Christmas and to hold me until something opened up in my industry. The funny thing about that was that no matter where I applied, the response was the same: "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything that matches your qualifications". That response really frustrated me. When you go to apply for a job at a retail store in the mall like Dillards, Belks, and Macys or at stores such as Walmart, Sams Club, Publix and Target, you have to apply online at one of their computers located in the store. You don't get to speak to a person. Your online resume / application is reviewed and then you are either called or sent an email with a response to that application. What is hard about this is that you don't have the chance to say "I know my experience is in resort operations management, however I need a seasonal position to get me through the holidays. I see that you are hiring seasonal cashiers and would love to apply". When they see my resume they assume I would not be interested since that is not my background and toss me to the side. It's hard to believe that being over qualified can keep you from getting a job, but it can and has... Plus there is this underlining fear that you are going to come in as a cashier and be running the place by the end of the week... When a manager reviews your resume and sees that your salary range is more than his and your management experience is longer or more diverse, they see you as a threat and will absolutely not hire you. Why would he?

Trying to stay open minded and think outside of the box, I went to the Internet and posted my resume on every employment website that I could find to include careerbuilder.com, mosterjobs.com, Hcareers.com and linkedin.com. I also stated on each of these websites that I was willing to relocate for the right position. Being a member of linkedin.com has helped me to connect with recruiters outside of Florida and reconnect with past co-workers who might have employment opportunities for me. Posting online actually gave me the most promise. I received numerous emails and phone calls regarding potential job offers, but in the end and after getting me all excited about possible employment; the response was always the same: "You are a great candidate for this position and would be a great asset to our company, however we decided to go with someone locally". To date, I have spoken to or been contacted by over 40 employers.

During all of this job searching I also applied for unemployment. In Florida the max that you can receive is $275 a week no matter how much you were making when you were employed. I qualified for the full amount of $275 which certainly doesn't pay my $2,100 a month mortgage and why my house is currently on the market. Being on unemployment you are also required to apply for at least two jobs a week and meet with a counselor every 3 months or monthly depending on how you're coded in their system. Being in the system also enables you to receive job postings each week from them that you can apply to. So far no opportunity has come from the unemployment website.

Now that it is the new year and spring is around the corner, I am hopeful that something will open up that matches my qualifications. I do have to say that in this economy you have to be persistent and reconnect with everyone who told you to call back (which I am doing). I have contacted a few connections that might end up being a great opportunity for me but I still have to be patient and wait for those opportunities to come available. So my search continues and my prayers will hopefully soon be answered.

I will keep you posted.

This is my world...