Day 57: Unsolicited Advice

Day 57, still no word on a job, or my unemployment insurance benefits. Emailed the DES office asking what's going on and who I should contact but it's the government. If I get a response I think it will send me into a coma.

Also, Have you ever noticed that when your unemployed or struggling with something everyone takes the chance to give you advice that you didn't ask for? And it's usually the same thing everyone says. "Hang in there" "Everything happens for a reason" "It will all work out". Well yeah I will hang in there cause I have no other choice, And yes everything happens for a reason it's called the law of cause and effect. I'm sure I will find work, the only question is will I find work before I get evicted from my apartment?

I get that they are trying to make me feel better, or being nice, or whatever. But if I wanted to hear the same old cliche sayings over and over again I would just make a recording and replay it.

Other than all that, nothing new going on. Still applying at ton's of places and getting no responses, still fighting with the government trying to get some Unemployment Insurance Benefits. And still "keeping my chin up" and "my spirits high".

Day 50: The Career Fair

So today I went to a "Career Fair" hosted by the Unemployment office. I was told that I needed to come dressed like I'm going to an interview as the places will typically interview and hire on the spot. Awesome right?

Well I show up there in a nice dress shirt, tie, dress pants, dress shoes, looking like a prime employee. Let me tell you I was probably the only one there "dressed for success". Walked around for 20 minutes stopping at every employer's table and got the same response from every table. "Go to our website and you can see all the available position. Just apply online." Well that's great. I could've figured that out by myself. What was the point in dressing up and going for this information.

Needless to say I am a little disappointed. So back to applying online. Also checking with some friends and family for jobs available and references. Networking is everything right? Well not a whole lot going on other than that on the job front. Like I said in a previous post it was crazy to see how many people were at the job fair. Sad to see how many people are effected and looking for jobs desperately now.

Day 47: "Reemployment Orientation"

So just got back from my Reemployment Orientation. Must say it was better than I expected.

So it began with sitting in a room with 15-20 other individuals that are all in the same boat. Meaning we are all unemployed and have been for at least 4 weeks. It was a little surprising to see so many people in just todays orientation. Makes you realize just how hard it is to find a job in these troubled times. What will pull us out of this?
Anyways, after watching a powerpoint presentation about all the services they offer, we were then taken to a room with computers and signed up for their online site. Which actually seems like it may be a beneficial tool as it pulls job postings from Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, Craigslist, and Private sites from any employer in Arizona. Furthermore, There are multiple employers that have agreements to post their available jobs on this site first. Amazing to have resources given to you.
Then to add to it you meet with a person who is trained in reviewing resumes. The person I met with was very helpful and gave me a great amount of advice on how to improve my resume.
Anyone looking for a job I would suggest checking out their website, they help unemployed people, but also help people with jobs that are looking for a new career. www.Arizonavirtualonestop.com

This might be the break I was needing. Hopefully this blog will be short lived and I can move on to a "starting a new job" blog.

Backstory

Ok so here is my backstory for my first blog post.
I was let go from my last job on 07/31/2010 and have since been looking for employment. I have sent out so many applications I have lost track. And have received responses from very few so far. Most of those responses have been standard "We have decided to go in a different direction..." sort of things. Quite depressing.
In addition to this. I have been stuck trying desperately to get Unemployment Benefits to survive. This has been like banging my head against a brick wall over and over again. First you fill out a form, then they send you paper forms, then you send those back, then you don't hear anything. Still don't know if I will be receiving benefits or not. A few days ago I received a notice that I need to go to a "Reemployment Services Orientation" I have not idea what to expect but have a feeling it's going to be dreadful. Notice says to expect to spend "one to three hours". One to Three HOURS!! just to look at my Work Search logs and Resume? Well that happens in about an hour. So if nothing else it will give me something new to blog about.

I miss the days when looking for a job involved walking into a company, shaking the hand of a manager, and making that all important first impression. Now a days you just sit around in front of your computer and put data into text boxes. How does someone know the applicants communication skills? Maybe I am just Old School with this. I don't know.