Job market is really that tough?

[Sonata]

I really just want freelance opportunities, but a part-time job at pretty much ANYTHING would be great... So far, nothing at all... :<

[Rainbowjuice]

I'm a trained teacher. Working in McDonalds.
What is my life?

Stupid job market. *le sigh*

[Malancaiwen]

When in France, despite talking 4 languages (french, english, spanish and chinese) all I got was a front desk position in a company that turned me down at first (big thank you to the guy who interviewed me and insisted that they meet me!)...

All I could do was move far away, arrive in China again and be a teacher. Salary is really not bad and kids are great, I'm just feeling sad that my parents still think I'm just "fooling around". Hey, at least I'll have a stable job!

[Ginger]

Wow.. how disheartening. I don't understand why employers discard the older and more experienced?! My first workplace hires a lot of 14-17 year olds but a couple years ago a lady in her 60's needed extra work so my boss hired her. She is AMAZING. I'm the "manager" but we work as a team. I feel like I'm babysitting some of those kids who come in though.

I have been SO fortunate when it comes to employement so far. I got my first job at 14 but it was only open on weekends. A couple years ago, a regular customer came by, liked my work ethic, so he got me hired at his daughter's Dairy Queen. Now I have a new opportunity waiting at my favorite fabric shop. The manager there has seen my friend and I come in for years, she hired my friend and now she wants me. Shy lil' me somehow managed to make connections.

These jobs have been getting me through Community College out-of-pocket, are paying for a car, allow me to get airplane tickets so I can see my long-distant boyfriend, and buy ponies! As a student living at home I am SO blessed.

On the flip-side, my dad's company is doing a HUGE layoff at the end of next month. We're keeig our fingers crossed.

[Sonata]

Man, things sure look tough with all of you guys... I was lucky enough to get a freelance opportunity at the beginning of this year and I can tell the guy gave me the job also because he understood that it's hard to start on your own when you want to freelance. I am so happy someone gave me a chance at all ! But still, I will need a more stable job or more commissions by the end of August when I finish my MA to release a bit of the pressure on my family... My family are putting a lot of effort on keeping me here and, although I live together with my boyfriend, it is still hard to think that they are all making such an effort - both the families are ! My boyfriend is doing an internship right now, but we are both scared because he can't seem to get a job in his area at all. And it's not only about being overqualified, it's more about people not wanting to give him a chance since he has nearly no experience at all ! I really wish someone else would give him another chance like they gave me... That is also why I am working hard on the job I have now and working on personal projects to make my work be seen out there and become a better artist. I feel that I need to cover things ahead until he gets a job. It's a lot of pressure on me, but I don't mind because I believe things will get better eventually.

But you know, for all of you who need a job as much as we do: don't give up. Keep on believing that things will get better and they will, don't doubt it ! Work hard on your dreams and on what makes you happy the most and your dreams will come true. Call me naive, young, unexperienced or whatever you want, but this is how I want to see things and how I wish more people would see things as well. That, and doing what we both did requires a lot of guts to do and if we both didn't think positive... we would be sinking into depression by now.

So, to all of you, keep your hopes up !

[ZennaBug]

I'm unemployed.  I apply to entry level positions that I'm plenty qualified for, but I'm up against people who are just as qualified and have years of experience (but were laid off from better positions).  So I'm sent away because I don't have enough experience.  For an entry level position.  So then I apply to retail stores, just to make ends meet.  And they send me away because I'm overqualified.  I'm seriously debating making a resume that doesn't mention my degree, just so a store will hire me until I can find a job that I actually want.

I spent a couple months job searching after graduation last year, before taking a seasonal position as a horticultural assistant.  I'd worked there during the summer before, which is why they hired me.  They extended my position a couple times because they had wiggle room in the budget, but once the year ended, there was nothing for me to do.  So I was sent home again.  And now I'm back to job searching.

[DoctorMowinckel]

Getting work doesn't have much of anything to do with experience, or education, it's more about who you know. Your network, who you know that can get you a job.

[Rainbowjuice]

Getting work doesn't have much of anything to do with experience, or education, it's more about who you know. Your network, who you know that can get you a job.

which is wrong!

[ponybabe]

Getting work doesn't have much of anything to do with experience, or education, it's more about who you know. Your network, who you know that can get you a job.

which is wrong!

Yes it's very wrong, I'm sure lots of people who are talented in their field end up never getting a chance and I'm scared I might end up being one of them I can't help it that we moved here when I was 16 and my mother and family don't know anyone in my field, it doesn't make me any less qualified than someone who's e.g. aunt or father can get them in. It's a horrible way to hire people because for the most part, you're excluding newly graduated people who may very well be very talented with a little training and can perhaps give the company new and innovative ideas. These young people eventually give up and end up driving buses or taxis or something else were their talents and education go to waste. That's the way it happens here.
It's so disheartening to see people I went to high school with having huge careers since they were lucky to have family that could get them a foot in the door while I'm struggling so hard just to get a "measley" Lab Tech job since I've pretty much given up on ever getting anything based on my Master's

[flyawayraven]

What's really sad is we have a whole generation now, my generation, that was taught from day one that a BA was guaranteed to get you a decent salaried position. That's not the case anymore. The reality is that a BA is a high school diploma, a Masters is a BA, and a PhD is a Master's. When a college education was rarer in the US, that diploma meant more job-wise. Now it's no more than toilet paper. Expensive toilet paper. Tuition keeps going up and the value of the degree keeps going down. It's heartbreaking.

The only reason I managed to find my job is through a connection of my father's. It's a good job, thankfully, but I wouldn't have it if not for him.

Good luck to all of you out there.

[Rainbowjuice]

What's really sad is we have a whole generation now, my generation, that was taught from day one that a BA was guaranteed to get you a decent salaried position. That's not the case anymore. The reality is that a BA is a high school diploma, a Masters is a BA, and a PhD is a Master's. When a college education was rarer in the US, that diploma meant more job-wise. Now it's no more than toilet paper. Expensive toilet paper. Tuition keeps going up and the value of the degree keeps going down. It's heartbreaking.

The only reason I managed to find my job is through a connection of my father's. It's a good job, thankfully, but I wouldn't have it if not for him.

Good luck to all of you out there.

My degree is now a rather expensive looking picture hanging on my wall, with Brian May's (Yes, of Queen fame) signature on it.
People keep telling me I should go back to University and retrain. the issues I have with that are, that the UK government has lifted the university cap on their fee's. Basically meaning a university can charge pretty much whatever they like for a course.
This said, I can't afford adding another £20,000 to the debt I owe from my FIRST course.

Also, I don't want to retrain. I want to do the job I originally planned for but..YAY job market ¬¬

[StoryDreamer]

Yeah, I moved 13 hrs away to find a job because Florida is awful for jobs. I applied to a lot of law places and office type jobs on Craigslist, and with each post that sounded sketchy, I'd google it, and see if the same language was used in multiple ads, or I'd email them a question like "Where are you located?" and my resume had my name and phone number, no address (I'd only list my city).  I applied to maybe 15 places on craigslist while I was working at Borders and ended up getting a law office job.  But my degrees are in English and Communications.  Yet I love my job. It was hard though moving here and getting "nos" everywhere and not knowing anyone and just..ugh..awful.

[dollhands]

I've already given up looking for a job because I got a D in maths and english GCSE's. I hope to open up my own vintage video game shop, but everybody is putting me down, saying that I can't do it...

Aww don't listen to them! Maybe you could open up a video game shop, which mainly stocks vintage games/game systems, but also stocks newer stuff. So you'd get people coming in looking for a vintage game and seeing new games too they'd like to buy as well.

Don't give up on your dreams, and keep looking for jobs even though it's hard. You might miss out on a great opportunity.

Hugs to you, and everyone else who is having a tough time at the moment.

[pinkkittywinks]

   i know that a new store opened in town late last year and they had over 4,500 applicants for 150 jobs.

it is hard, and even harder if you need full time, full time work no longer exists it is all part time jobs, doing 12 hours a week broken into 4 hour shifts. don't get me wrong this is good for a student and the shifts fit with lessons or you are a mom, but in other ways it is not that good.

in fact it is better to be on the dole than have a 12 hour a week job!!!!! you get more money (i am totally serious, you get more money from the dole per week than you would working 12 hours per week on minimum wage!!!) and better benefits (sickness, national insurance, free prescriptions etc). companies are screwing their workers to save a buck, by making sure they are employed for less than 18 hours a week. this way they don't have to pay sickness pay, national insurance, you also don't get breaks and you get less holiday entitlement.  out of a companies budget wages are the biggest spend so that is the first thing they cut, by getting rid of people and cutting the hours down.

i was made redundant january 2011 from my job of 10 years. i knew where i was working was going to close as they had to give us 5 months notice. it took me 5 months to find a job and i was lucky imho. i was sending of my cv left, right and center with very little responce back. some of my friends who were made redundant with me, were still out of work in september 2011 and it was not for want of trying to get a job either they had been looking for over 12 months with no joy.
 
there is no security in any job now, there is always the threat of cut backs and being cut down in working hours or being made redundant.
 
love pkw xxx

[LadyMoondancer]

The job situation around here got even worse once the state slashed WorkStudy funding.  Suddenly a bunch of college kids who had previously been doing little on-campus jobs like barista or research assistant were looking for non-University part-time jobs.  I mean, how does that help the state's economy??  And it's not like those on-campus jobs aren't needed any more, they will still need people to serve coffee and help with research . . . It doesn't make any sense!


I have been super lucky in terms of jobs . . . I got out of my old dead-end job about two years before the economy tanked, and have been fortunate enough to find part-time and summer jobs through my professors since then.


To you folks in college, really try to connect with your teachers, take advantage of seminars and talks where you can meet people from industries you might like to work in, and network, network, network.   That is what will get you a job.