Standing in the unemployment line

[locachica73]

anyone wanna buy some jewelry from me

no thanks, im allergic.

[chairmenmeow47]

sorry to hear, courtney

my only advice to offer as someone who frequently interviews and helps hire people is that gaps in employment are red flags. people also like to hire people with jobs for some reason, so the sooner after your lay off you can get a job, the better. if you're going to take a break/vacation, perhaps you could do some volunteer work or something very part-time or even a class maybe to fill in the gaps to show you just weren't doing nothing during that time.

i hope this helps and definitely enjoy the time while you've got it. and if you do move somewhere and want to go to school, i recommend working for the school to take advantage of free tutition. best of luck

[Courtney]

I am limiting it to the Seattle area for the time being. I'm doing a mix of job listing and contacts I've already made.

As far as grad school goes, I got into NYU but the whole baby thing happened.... So that is postponed (I'm applying again this year).

Oh yeah. Baby. But congrats on NYU. If you got in last time, and you get a job doing something at least remotely related to your field or volunteer or do extra-curricular field-related activities, I'd imagine you should be able to get in again the next time you apply.

I am the worst networker ever. I'm always afraid of being perceived as being the sleazy guy handing out business cards at cocktail parties. It would probably behoove me to get over that fear, in terms of using contacts to try to get jobs.

[bug on your lip]

or just be handsome

[wmgaretjax]

I am the worst networker ever. I'm always afraid of being perceived as being the sleazy guy handing out business cards as cocktail parties. It would probably behoove me to get over that fear, in terms of using contacts to try to get jobs.

I have the exact same problem. So that's why I just hit up my friends working at Amazon or Microsoft to help push my resume through (it's hiring season for those companies, so I have my fingers crossed).

[TommyboyUNM]

4 mos in NM made me want to give up on life. Drive thru towns like Socorro or Gallup or Grants and see how 'arty' and 'beautiful' they are. Report back .............

I can't believe a New Mexico discussion got going and I was at lunch (at a good NM pizza place called Dion's). Yeah, Gallup and Grants are pretty bad. That's pretty hard to argue. If you enjoy the outdoors, there is a lot to do in New Mexico. Especially the more central you get in the state. There's nothing good in western NM. But places like Taos, Santa Fe, Penasco and Ruidoso are nice spots to hit. I've only lived in Albuquerque, so I can only speak on that. I love it here. The weather is great. We have the mountains right here. It's getting big, but still kind of a college feel to it. It's a good spot for the artsy types. Not many great concerts come around, but Phoenix and Denver are easy drives if you're the road trip type. I'm actually driving to Phoenix this weekend for a football game.

[chairmenmeow47]

Oh yeah. Baby. But congrats on NYU. If you got in last time, and you get a job doing something at least remotely related to your field or volunteer or do extra-curricular field-related activities, I'd imagine you should be able to get in again the next time you apply.

I am the worst networker ever. I'm always afraid of being perceived as being the sleazy guy handing out business cards at cocktail parties. It would probably behoove me to get over that fear, in terms of using contacts to try to get jobs.

one way to help with networking is join message boards where people in your field might post. this is easy for IT people for example, i've seen people get jobs simply by posting with people on fark.com for example. also, if there are professional societies in your work, that can help. networking is difficult, good luck with that.

[zenidogx]

Von Iva is gonna be there in like a week or two. You should go, I am.

the Partisan is 21+
unhappy face.

[bug on your lip]

i travel around the country & scoop poop at parades

my peers tend not to be digitally literate

[marooko]

the Partisan is 21+
unhappy face.

oh noezzz. sorry.

[shakermaker113]

1. Yuma, Ariz.:21.4

wow. I always knew Yuma sucked, but my god. that's a whole 4 percentage points higher than #2.

[captncrzy]

[QUOTE=thefunkylama;749710]12. Yuba City, Calif.: 8.2

[QUOTE]

Where is Yuba City? Just curious-never heard of it...

Huh, this makes Hawaii look really good. Maybe I don't know how good we have it here.



If this is directed at me, I'm 26.

I'm still always on the lookout for a job with Hawaiian Airlines. As soon as one opens up, I'm going for it.

anyone wanna buy some jewelry from me

Are your jewelry crafts made from baby ears? Cuz if so, yes.

wow. I always knew Yuma sucked, but my god. that's a whole 4 percentage points higher than #2.

It sucks regardless

[anti-square]

just stay away from these cities
2. El Centro, Calif.: 17.3

1. Yuma, Ariz.:21.4

I'm smack in the middle of these two cities and just got a job last week. It's nice being a Vet sometimes.

[zenidogx]

oh noezzz. sorry.

you'd think they'd try more to attract UC students. then again, iunno how the venue runs. maybe it relies to heavily on alcohol sales. bastards. Earlimart is playing today too.

[Courtney]

sorry to hear, courtney

my only advice to offer as someone who frequently interviews and helps hire people is that gaps in employment are red flags. people also like to hire people with jobs for some reason, so the sooner after your lay off you can get a job, the better. if you're going to take a break/vacation, perhaps you could do some volunteer work or something very part-time or even a class maybe to fill in the gaps to show you just weren't doing nothing during that time.

i hope this helps and definitely enjoy the time while you've got it. and if you do move somewhere and want to go to school, i recommend working for the school to take advantage of free tutition. best of luck

Thanks Ivy. I'm definitely going to continue on doing all of the extracurricular actives in my field I currently do to stay busy, like curating a November fundraiser art exhibit to benefit women and children against domestic violence. I'm also taking a French class to try to un-rustify my speaking abilities.

The working for a school idea is terrific, and something I hadn't actually considered. Hmmm.

[chairmenmeow47]

i've worked for a for-profit university for 6 years and i attend one of their subsidiaries. my dad worked for arizona state part-time as a janitor for 10 years and recently retired. he only took the job for tuition, and now that he's "vested", he gets life-long tuition benefits. not too shabby. not to mention it would open the door to other extra-curricular or research opportunities. and help with the whole networking thing.

the tuition benefit thing is great if you take advantage, though you have to realize your pay might be less than it would in other companies. also, since universities offer free tuition, you're generally competing against people with multiple degrees for jobs, so be sure to showcase what you can bring to the table besides a degree.

it's the way to go though if you really want to go to school, IMO. unless you get a bunch of grants or scholarships, who really wants to pay back a bunch of loans for school? especially if you're going into an arts related field.

[thefunkylama]

[Courtney]

I have the exact same problem. So that's why I just hit up my friends working at Amazon or Microsoft to help push my resume through (it's hiring season for those companies, so I have my fingers crossed).

Yeah, it seems like tech skills can be a big plus for a lot of the job openings currently available. Our IT guy is a consultant who owns his own company, and he was just telling me how it's too bad that I know nothing about computers because otherwise he could point me to multiple openings that companies have been having difficulty filling

one way to help with networking is join message boards where people in your field might post. this is easy for IT people for example, i've seen people get jobs simply by posting with people on fark.com for example. also, if there are professional societies in your work, that can help. networking is difficult, good luck with that.

Art museums/galleries/nonprofits aren't as big on the message board thing, from what I can tell. Although I am involved with several museum-related listservs, and also a couple of professional societies. Maybe I should start blogging?

[kreutz2112]

So, I have 6.5 months of state unemployment benefits coming my way. How unethical would it be to nix the job hunt for a couple weeks and take the money and go on a fabulous vacation?

It's not immoral at all. If I understand unemployment correctly the company you used to work for contributes a certain amount of money to an unemployment insurance plan they have and then when someone needs to collect they draw from that insurance plan (i.e. make a claim). I don't think tax dollars pay much, if any, into most unemployment packages.

[thefunkylama]

Blog Your Way to a New Job!

[chairmenmeow47]

blogging is good too. but i don't mean like "professional" message boards, i mean more like "message boards that are relevant to your peer's interests". for example, fark is just a news forum where geeks post, but geeks have found jobs from each other there. maybe if there was some sort of like "talk about art for fun" type message board, you may meet other people like you in a non-professional way who can help you out professionally. would be more natural than a professional society, but probably the help would be minimal and random. just a thought

[RotationSlimWang]

You mean it's HARD to find gainful employment as an expert in French lithographs?

What is the world coming to...

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

*gigglez*

[Courtney]

Where is Yuba City? Just curious-never heard of it...

Honestly, I don't know where 18 out of those 20 cities are.

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

Honestly, I don't know where 18 out of those 20 cities are.

Really, I don't think anyone here needs to know where they are either...

[chairmenmeow47]

Really, I don't think anyone here needs to know where they are either...

TEAMCOACHELLAHELLYEAH HATES SMALL TOWN AMERICANS!

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

TEAMCOACHELLAHELLYEAH HATES SMALL TOWN AMERICANS!

Well I am apart of the Liberal Media Elite.

[RotationSlimWang]

TEAMCOACHELLAHELLYEAH HATES SMALL TOWN AMERICANS!

Who doesn't? If you don't, you're probably a dumb fuck.

[menikmati]

I want some kind of computer job.

[SFChrissy]

courtney sorry to hear 'bout your loss of income!!! I'm in construction and was let go from my previous company last year and was out of work for 6 months $1600/month is peanuts and makes it really hard to pay rent, gas, groceries with 2 little ones to care for.

I got a lot of interviews through employment agencies,on line employment networking sites and craigslist...I found that I had to maintain my search at least 3 days a week so that there was always something in the pipeline and coordinated interviews 3-5 times a week. It sucks when you haven't had an interview in several weeks...

Good Luck and enjoy the days at the beach while you can!!!