*JOB SEARCH
I'm going to write this out as I go, in case it can help others in their Search for another Job… or even for your 1st Job… and, as always, I'm explaining the details because it shows that Sylvia is still interacting and guiding me through every step of my journey on "this" side of the "Veil".
- I think I previously mentioned that Sylvia and I were going to start a Band, instead of looking for another "Job". I did some initial groundwork into this and quickly realized that I would need to buy a new electronic Drumset. The one that Sylvia bought me for my Birthday one year is a bit worn and the Cymbals don't always Trigger (activate the sound) when I hit them. New Drumsets cost money. So I first have to find a "standard" Job.
- Then Sylvia had me look at some of my "Inventions". (These are ideas I had come up with over the Decades but never formally 'Patented". I thought, maybe that would be a great way to have an "Income" and work for "us" doing something we love. However, after checking on how much it costs to file a "Patent", for just ONE Invention, I, again, realized it costs a LOT of money. So I first have to find a "standard" Job.)
- So, no matter which Path we travel along, Sylvia and I have to get a standard "Job" before we can move forward with either (or both) of these ideas.
I'm still looking for a new Job and this "journey" is a learning experience for me.
Sylvia and I haven't had to look for a Job for a few Decades, because we had our own computer company. We didn't make a lot of money but with Sylvia's natural magic with finances and us living very simply, we didn't really need much money.
So, now, I've been plunged into the "quest for a Job" Job again. Yes, finding a Job which meets "most" of your ("my") picky requirements, is a LOT of work.
- After giving our previous Employer a "3-week Notice", Sylvia and I quit. Without the Heaters on the Loading Dock working properly, the cold really started to get to us. So we've been out of work for 4-weeks now.
Because of the Vacation Time I had accumulated at our previous Job, Sylvia told me: "I gave you 2-months" to find a new Job. Because my "Reasoning" is still not what it should be and because I haven't really been motivated to do anything since she crossed-over (461-weeks ago), I figured I really had "2-months" before I had to "start" looking for another Job. Today i realized that's not true.
- Even if a company hired me today, Sylvia and I wouldn't see that 1st Paycheck for almost 2-weeks.
- When I simply walk into a company, to ask basic "possible new Job" questions, the 1st thing I'm told is: "Did you fill out an Application?" Most employers won't even talk to their possible new employees until they've had a chance to view that person's Job Application.
- The foundational idea of an "Employment Service" is to connect Employers with possible Job Applicants. The faster the "Service" can get someone hired, the quicker they make money. So it was a surprise to us when I filled out online Applications with 2 or 3 different "Services" and never heard anything back. Not even a "We've hired someone else" courtesy note. The best response I've seen is when one of them sent me an eMail saying: "I see you're interested in our "Assembler" Job…" I wrote back saying: "I never applied for an "Assembler" Job but I did apply for…" Her response was: "Oh. Sorry. That's job's been filled. Let me know if we can help with anything else." (or something like that)
I don't want to say:
- "Things were better when I was young."
…but the "Job Market", the "Hiring Process" and what's expected of each employee is MUCH different than when I was working my 1st handful of Jobs back in the 70s.
With this current Job Search, my thinking is to determine my "limits" / "requirements" and check possible Job Listings, to be sure they fit within my guidelines. (This is why I haven't simply applied for every Job I see Listed):
- Full Time or Part Time?
- Day Shift or Night Shift?
- How many hours per week would be the "minimum"?
- How many miles from home?
In "my" case, I also need to know if the Job location is close to a Restaurant.
- It's not that I'm "bad gaging Time" (well, not "real" bad) but things just "happen" when I'm doing my best to get to work on Time… Breakfast takes longer than usual to cook, have to defrost the car, lots of traffic, road detoured, Traffic Lights not working, etc.
So what I've been doing is… having Breakfast as close to our workplace as possible each morning. Yes, this adds-up to a lot of money BUT I'm almost never late any more. (Once or twice the Restaurant was extra busy or had smoke fumes from a faulty grill.)
I'm not late for work because I looked at the "Variables" that I was dealing with:
- "my" Cooking Time,
- Bathroom Time,
- Car preparation Time,
- Amount of Time in traffic, etc.
…and move all of those Variables to something "I" could control: "the Time it takes me to eat Breakfast". (I'm a very slow eater but it can be done.) So if there's unforeseen traffic, on the way to work, I simply have to eat a little faster. Because our workplace is within a mile of the Restaurant, there's really no "traffic", or other things which might make us late.
Of course, this also means we have to find a place of employment which is near a Restaurant… and one that is open at least an hour before having to Clock-In. This is why I've ignored LOTS of good-paying Jobs, simply because they require you to start at 7a. Most Subway Restaurants, around here, open at 7a. Of course, Waffle House is 24-hours. (Actually, they NEVER close.)
Sylvia and I realized, long ago, that the next "work day" really begins the night before. It doesn't help when you go to bed at 3a only to realize you have to get up at 5a. Because Sylvia and I still want to start a Band, we know we have to keep our nights free. So any Job we accept has to start at either 8a or 9a. For "us", a Job starting at 7a (and many do) means we'd have to get up around 4:30a, in order to be at the Restaurant around 6a. (Remember, we're very slow eaters.)
Sylvia's Guidance?
This whole process is extremely draining. I spend countless hours sifting through online Job Listings and wracking my brain, to see if there's a business close to home that I can "possibly" work for. ("Closer to home" saves Time, gas and means we could sleep longer.)
Yesterday, I told Sylvia:
- "I give up. I'm just going to let YOU do it. YOU show me where you want us to work."
I may have seen 3 pieces of feedback to this, this morning…
- The 1st "possible Job" we went to today was a Shoe Retailer. Everything looked good in their Job Description and when we got there, I asked an employee some basic questions. We spoke for several minutes, waiting for a Manager to come out of their Loading Dock, to talk to me. The energy was good. Everything was looking very favorable. When I finally spoke with the Manager, one of the 1st things she mentioned was that ALL of their employees had to run the Cash Register — including the Warehouse workers. This instantly dissipated that energy and Sylvia indicated that it was Time to leave. Nothing more could be said. (I'm not "dyslexic" but, if I have to count-out Change, especially when it's someone else's money, I have to count it several times. Sylvia has always told me… Because I spend so much of my energy "on the other side", I "jump" between various events and, sometimes, miss some of the information. "Jump" is Sylvia's word for what I do, in this case.) So this instant deflation of the energy that was building between me and that business was "Sylvia" indicating that I wasn't supposed to work there… because, in checking the Job Listing for that business (for a few weeks), I never read anything about their employees having to run a Cash Register.
- The 2nd business we went to today, to ask a few "pre-apply" questions, was a Restaurant. I spoke with a Manager about a Cooking position. He was a tiny bit surprised and told me they don't have any Job Listings on "Indeed". He said they're only looking for "FOH" (Front Of House) employees: Hostess, Servers, etc. I was a bit stunned because I had been following their Kitchen positions for several weeks and this was one of my "sure bet" Jobs, along with the Shoe Retailer! So we just left. When we got home, I looked it up and… not only DID they have Listings on "Indeed" but they also have them on THEIR OWN WEBSITE! So, was this Sylvia telling me: "This is not the energy I want you involved with at this point in Time?"
- After that, we drove nearby to another "Job option" I had looked at last night (online). It's a Retail Chain. Two employees, on the main floor, told me to go upstairs and use their Kiosk, to fill out an Application. I was then near the Kiosk room but still a bit lost. An employee walked by and asked if I needed some help. She then took me to the Kiosk and got it setup, so I could fill out their forms. She then introduced herself… Her 1st name is the SAME 1st name as the person who hired me at the Job I recently quit. Is this Sylvia's way of telling me: "This is where I need you to work." or maybe it's just a "Sign" from Sylvia, telling me that I'm on the right Track… "Keep going". Only Time will tell.
I guess my Point with all this is that "Job Hunting" is a slow-motion process. Each Time I apply for a Job, I have to wait a few days or more, in order to give that business enough Time to gather their recent Applications, look them over, discuss which Applicants are suitable and then contact the most promising people.
- My goal for today was to speak with someone in Management, at 4 different businesses and, if those didn't pan-out, drive to an "Employment Service" (that we picked-out last night) and see if they could help us find a "Temp-to-Hire" Job. However, our 3rd contact today proved to be a "possibility". Now that we've filled-out that Retailer's online Application, it's only polite to give the Manager enough Time to review our Application. So we simply came back home after that. Now we have to wait a day or 2. If we don't hear from them in, say, 2-days, we'll have to call them.
This is stressful, frustrating and very "slow-motion".