No more work

Yup .. officially unemployed .. today is the first day and my family (own and in-laws) is already nagging me .. getting calls from all over the places .. Paris, Toronto, LA, Houston, Chicago .. WTF .. they lecturing me on how I should start social networking and all that craps and today is only the first day.

I contacted a few "friends" back in May but none responded ... despite follow-up emails. So much for friends .. I didn't expect them to find me a job immediately or whatever but a reply of support would have been nice. Anyway, unemployed supposed to be carefree and relaxed; however, I feel like it's more stressful than going to work.

My phone has been ringing off the hook .. instead of offering job leads .. only asked what I am going to do .. financially ...blah, blah, blah ..

 

well that's life i guess... extended family will usually just nag nag nag
but you know what the situation is, and its not like you haven't tried
i'm sure time will tell, but there's always opportunities out there
just a matter of what is best for you, and your family (vs what you want)

 

I know it's difficult considering the position you are in, but try thinking of their "nag" as concern of you. It's difficult, but try keeping an optimistic view..

Good luck with everything man.

 

Boy, that sure sucks. Sorry to hear about this, Neg.

 

try linkedin

 

Lmao.

This is equivalent to saying:

"I need to find something."
"Try Google".

No. Shit. Sherlock. lol.

 

I agree with this, It's best to not depend on others in this situation, by all means, have your friends and fam help if they can, some will, some wont, but in the end you gotta make things happen yourself.

not sure how benefits work in your country but get that sorted while you're looking for work. imo the most important (potentially) one is the MIB (Mortgage Interest Benefit) then obliviously JSA or your equivalent. If you've earned it in tax contributions then go for it. But that's also up to you, I know some people are iffy about that stuff, even if they have earned it.

 

Another bad day .. took my daughter out for a stroll in the neighborhood and we were sitting on top of the hill; joining a bunch of people observing the sun tonight. An Asian guy with two dogs walked up and sat at a bench near by. He was looking at me .. as if I was some freak. After about an hour, we walked back down the hill towards home and that very guy was half-way in between .. weird cuz he left like 30 min earlier .. anyway, started to talk to me out of the blue .. the catch phrase .. have we met somewhere before .. you look very familiar .. WTF .. my obvious answer was no and blah, blah, blah .. I wasn't listening anymore cuz I need to look after my daughter .. the next thing I know, he asked for my number and if we can grab a coffee sometimes ..

I gave him a fake number .. not sure if that was some friendly neighbor get to know you or not but the guy gave me the creep.

Back to the job hunt .. no .. ever since May and the follow-up emails to friends with no reply .. I gave up on that route altogether.

I think as we age, the only close friends we have left is really those from "grades" school or possibly "college" .. work colleagues aren't really friend. Unfortunately, those close friends don't live here but NYC, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Houston, and New Orlean. SADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I have been surfing the web all day and seriously, there weren't much that truly match my background .. I am considering about applying for whatever and get a foot in the door .. hopefully shine and transfer within .. I dunno ... still waiting to hear from these job if any at all.

 

seems like u a dude magnet way to go! anyways good luck shit economy is shit.

 

Negiq I wish you the very best in your job search.

Being a "friend" is situational, in my opinion. A good friend can be found in any location, not just strictly from school. However, just because a friend does not "hook you up" with a job, does not mean they are not potential good friends. You see, I think friends and work really don't go well together. If I were a hiring manager, I will tell you I will not even hire my best friend. The reason is because the liability increases, expectations are greater etc. If the friend got into trouble, you get into trouble. However, does that make me a bad friend? I don't think so, as I will gladly lay down my life for my friend any day. Thinking of it in that manner induces positivity, and helps to cope with difficult conditions (I know it's difficult, and I know since I'm not in your shoes, I can't understand. But try thinking positively despite the most negative of times, it really helps reduce the built-up stress).

Also, in regards to that creepy individual, I don't blame you for not wanting to listen to him any more in order to safeguard your child. However, what have you got to lose by listening a bit longer? I've heard of many scenarios in which an individual was creepily approached, and turned out to be a huge opportunity. Of course that won't always happen, but the worst you've got to lose is gaining some new data. I'm not saying you should give him your number, but when he asks for your number, inquire about why he needs your number. Who knows, he might tell you exactly what he wants to talk to you about. If you deem it beneficial, continue the conversation. If not, then you can decline. But declining without knowing his intentions is turning a blind eye to a potential benefit. If it's not a benefit, oh well, some few minutes lost, nothing much to lose.

Spoiler: Extra stuff, up to you if you choose to read or not

I was approached in a similar manner to you once. I was waiting for a birthday to begin, and it happened to be a fancy birthday. I was waiting in a book store with a suit and everything, and this lady shows up, saying my attire caught her eye. She wanted to hire me. Obviously, I was sceptical of a random lady wanting to hire me, but I listened away. I ended up learning new things, such as what the company is about, how people like her approach potential candidates. It was all useless information, but I still learned something new. I ended up not contacting her, but I didn't regret listening for a bit longer.

But this positive and inquiring attitude may be advantageous to your job hunt, and would be a factor in what employers aim to look for.



Now, if you deem what I said above useful, you've gained new data. If you deem what I said above useless, you've also gained data (albeit useless, but data nonetheless). You can now decide to yourself whether to take it in or reject it. But all you've lost is a few minutes of reading.

Think positively and good luck!

 

Damn, that's the kind of scary shit that I thought one only sees in B movies. IMHO, you were being too polite. If that were me I'd immediately pulled out my phone and taken a picture of him; if he would ask me why I needed a picture, I would bluntly say "in case I need it for the police." I would have then told him to get lost. I mean, sure there is always the possibility that this stranger may come into one's life and change it for the better. But knowing how society and criminal minds work, of the chances it being good luck versus a good scam; IMHO, the latter is by far the better possibility. Intuition is something honed over a lifetime. There's probably very good reason that the guy gave you the creeps. A five minute conversation would not have been enough suspension of disbelief to discount a lifetime of experience telling you to be careful and not trust the strangers. Go with your gut, Neg. Just my two cents.

 

^ Wow that's intense lol. Maybe it's just me, but I find that one can still remain on guard, while chatting up with strangers. I personally dislike automatically label someone as a criminal and give them the benefit of the doubt, in case I've mislabelled them. There are cases where a stranger may flick every single alarm in your mind, and I'd stay away, but for the most part, remaining on guard, and chatting is similar to just chatting up with, say, a barista or something.

But anyway, to each their own. Good luck Negiq on the job hunt, nonetheless.

 

Thanks Dan; but Ralph is right on.

My situation was different from yours but I know what you were trying to say. For me .. talking to strangers depends on time and place .. like wedding, party, bar, blah, blah .. at a park where you frequent or gym ..

Learning is a lifetime thing but I am not gonna waste time listening to useless stuffs .. come from exp .. for ex .. most cars (not sure all cars) are keyless nowadays .. for my wife .. she wasn't intuitive about where to start up the car, how to read this or that on the hybrid .. for me .. it was more like p&p thing .. no need to listen to the rep or read up on the manual .. get my drift

No job today .. keeping my fingers crossed .. actually, I wsh to spend more time with my kid whilst i am home .. summer now too ... i am losing much after all. If things don't look up and I am that desperate .. I am sure McD is always hiring .. right? Hopefully, that won't happen but you just never know ..

I remember when I was a kid .. my parents used to say .. college = job and professional (doc/lawyer) = $$$ ... the point is that graduating from college guarantees you a job ... nowadays .. BS is indeed BS .. you have to get MS or higher to compete in the field or move up the ladder. I am sure my parents didn't expect that to happen .. time changes and expectation changes too .. so yeah .. I just might be serving burgers and fries somewhere .. who know ..

 

Job interview today .. pissed me off ..

When I walked in with my suit and all .. the first thing the guy told me was that we're paying between $ - $$ .. 40% cut from my last salary. I didn't mind because it was a good way to get in the door and perhaps show them my potential ... leads to better job or what not ... then the guy concluded the interview that after a more thorough look at my resume, he said I have a diverse experience .. too much to offer for this mediocre job ... might leave soon .. and blah, blah, blah .. WTF .. don't you read people's CVs first before calling them in .. or phone in .. shit. Total waste of my time and money.

HOnestly .. this guy acted like he just got out from biz school .. dumb ass.

 

IMHO, he may have been a bumbling idiot, but at least he was honest and in accordance with his company's hiring criteria, probably did the right thing. Also, his being a dumbass could have worked to your advantage. Here's a suggestion; had I been in your shoes, I would have immediately addressed that particular concern citing that while...

IMHO, what you needed to do here Neg, was to convince him that he just found a bag of gold with no name in it. In other words, you're such a fabulous find that he feels compelled to bend the usual rules, but not having enough authority to do so, he's going to have to kick it up to his supervisor or boss. That's what you want; to bump it from the hands of the front desk and take it to someone that recognizes your high value plus your obvious ability to think on your feet. In that way, you get a better chance to showcase your talent to someone who can better appreciate your skill sets.

Anyways, just my two cents, but good luck

 

No fuck that.. don't sell yourself short.. you better than that.. you don't need that job.. go find something better..

 

You know I knew this would happen, but what I meant was, it was a way for him to get in the door. Else, why bother interviewing in the first place if one didn't even want the job? One is more than welcome to change one's mind once something better comes along, but that's certainly not what one would say to a prospective employer during an interview.

 

It's not about selling yourself short .. like Ralph said, during such difficult economic time, jobs are hard to come by. I tried but perhaps I haven't been to an interview for a long, long time, it was hard to think on my feet too quickly. After all, I am not a marketing major .. lol

I have a few more lined up this week but none of them I like .. more so applied and see where things go .. if things seem reasonable, then I'll settle for it until I find my ideal one. I am thinking about starting my own business however I need more time to do research and all .. we'll see.

 

I would agree... Finding another job is definitely a luxury these days, depending on the industry of your profession (some more difficult than others).

As opposed to thinking of it as "selling yourself short", the strategy that I would take, and as Ralph mentioned, would be to frame myself to be such a rare find, that it'll be hard for the employer to find another.

The ability to passively persuade, and thus sell (anything, whether a product, service or oneself) is a such a beneficial skill in both the professional and personal lives. My old co-worker practically mastered this skill. The company he was applying for did not have an opening that fit his skill-set, and was short on hiring tickets. However, he managed to turn the tables around and convince the hiring manager to create a position specifically for him, by chatting over a beer. This company is VMWare lol.

I would love to be able to master the ability to always make people say 'yes'.

So as opposed to "selling oneself short", I'd just think of it as "selling oneself effectively". If you can sell yourself to a job, you've accomplished your goal.

Neg, if I make ask, what is your industry of profession?