Still no luck :(

[EmilyRyan]

Have you looked at landscaping jobs?  This is the season they will be hiring.  My son did that for a couple of years.  The work is hard but it seemed like the contractors were always looking for workers in town.

Actually I did about three weeks ago. Thought I got a job with one the major landscaping businesses in my town till I was turned away the moment I showed up for work apparently I didn't look "physically able" according to the person I was gonna be working under and I would've been considered a "waste of time".

[Sno]

Have you had a look to see if there are any call centres near you.? They have a high recruitment rate (can be quite stressful)..

Sno

[EmilyRyan]

There is and tried about five times getting on. I fail the aptitude test, that's required to pass in order to get hired, every time and that's the limit before they stop considering your application.   

[EmilyRyan]

Actually had a job interview today for a receptionist position at a financial office and not only did I not get the job it made me realize that my voice maybe also be a factor to why employers don't consider hiring me when I do manage to land an interview. Yeah apparently my voice was considered effeminate and that clients may get a bit uneasy and turn away. Unfortunately this is Tennessee so they can get away with it.

I never had a very deep voice to begin with and if that's truly a factor that's gonna prevent me from being hired then I guess I'm really am unemployable. Jeez     

[Tristyn]

My wife lived "on the streets" (actually, in a park) for the first few months that she lived in Seattle -- she decided she was fed up with her parents, and moved across the country with a few hundred bucks and the clothes on her back.  Now is pretty much the best time to move with that plan -- if this year is anything like the last three, you'll have 5-7 months of nice weather before the rain comes back.  That's plenty of time to get back on your feet, find a job, and find some roommates.

Another reasonable entry-level job: I've been to several coffee shops in Seattle which have employed transgender baristas -- and I don't mean that I clocked stealth transgender people with my highly-evolved transdar.  I mean, totally obvious nonbinary folk.

I'm thinking of doing this too. I am sick of my father starving me every weekend until monday just so he can juice. I always lose about three pounds on the following tuesday! I can't take his crap anymore. The only thing really holding me back is dialysis and my other health issues. I'm doomed too. Sorry for making this sound worse, but I would sound like the biggest hypocrite to say otherwise.

Also, what if you don't live in Seattle? Then what? What if you live in stupid Florida like I do?

[Tristyn]

Actually had a job interview today for a receptionist position at a financial office and not only did I not get the job it made me realize that my voice maybe also be a factor to why employers don't consider hiring me when I do manage to land an interview. Yeah apparently my voice was considered effeminate and that clients may get a bit uneasy and turn away. Unfortunately this is Tennessee so they can get away with it.

I never had a very deep voice to begin with and if that's truly a factor that's gonna prevent me from being hired then I guess I'm really am unemployable. Jeez 

Oh my god, Emily, I feel just like you! I don't know, are we like the only ones here who are unemployable, because I swear I can relate. One manager told me that I didn't dress womanly enough! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  I didn't dress womanly enough?! Really?!

Yes! I empathize with your struggle here. No one sees me as a valuable asset. I don't want to encourage you to ever kill yourself, but for me, I am thinking like my only other options would be to continue to suffer with my dad until he dies and I am in my 40s with no life, no job, no experience, a virgin, no money. I wonder compared to that could suicide really be that bad for me? I'm sick of this ->-bleeped-<-! I, myself, would take active euthanasia any day at this point but I do not wish this for anyone. I hope you keep trying Emily. I know I sound fake as hell telling you that, but I ain't got the right to advise no body to take they life...ever. That decision can only be made for myself........

[Dena]

Actually had a job interview today for a receptionist position at a financial office and not only did I not get the job it made me realize that my voice maybe also be a factor to why employers don't consider hiring me when I do manage to land an interview. Yeah apparently my voice was considered effeminate and that clients may get a bit uneasy and turn away. Unfortunately this is Tennessee so they can get away with it.

I never had a very deep voice to begin with and if that's truly a factor that's gonna prevent me from being hired then I guess I'm really am unemployable. Jeez 

If you think you have issues with your voice and would like to work with it, leave a sample in the voice section for us to evaluate. I have had a fair amount of experience working with voice so if you would like me to take a look at it, leave me a PM if I miss it.

[ryokohimura]

Actually had a job interview today for a receptionist position at a financial office and not only did I not get the job it made me realize that my voice maybe also be a factor to why employers don't consider hiring me when I do manage to land an interview. Yeah apparently my voice was considered effeminate and that clients may get a bit uneasy and turn away. Unfortunately this is Tennessee so they can get away with it.

I never had a very deep voice to begin with and if that's truly a factor that's gonna prevent me from being hired then I guess I'm really am unemployable. Jeez 

You too?!?! I swear whenever I go in for interviews after a phone interview with the person I'm meeting, said interviewer is thrown off. And since I've always lived "up north", no one has ever came out and said "Yeah, it's cause you sound like a woman." It was my hormone doctor who finally said "You can look into vocal therapy, but voice is already fairly feminine."

Finally!

[EmilyRyan]

Oh my god, Emily, I feel just like you! I don't know, are we like the only ones here who are unemployable, because I swear I can relate. One manager told me that I didn't dress womanly enough! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  I didn't dress womanly enough?! Really?!

Yes! I empathize with your struggle here. No one sees me as a valuable asset. I don't want to encourage you to ever kill yourself, but for me, I am thinking like my only other options would be to continue to suffer with my dad until he dies and I am in my 40s with no life, no job, no experience, a virgin, no money. I wonder compared to that could suicide really be that bad for me? I'm sick of this ->-bleeped-<-! I, myself, would take active euthanasia any day at this point but I do not wish this for anyone. I hope you keep trying Emily. I know I sound fake as hell telling you that, but I ain't got the right to advise no body to take they life...ever. That decision can only be made for myself........

I'll keep trying but at this point it's looking like I need to figure out how to survive without a job/income. Really wish guaranteed employment was a thing. I want to work for my money but the current process and steps in order to get a job is broken and puts some individuals at a disadvantage. 

[Deborah]

The key to doing well in interviews is to impress the interviewer.  Whatever qualifications you have mean nothing if the interviewer isn't impressed. From my time when I was interviewing people for employment this is what I looked at.
- Well dressed, clean, and neat demonstrating that the candidate cares about the job and cares about them self.
-Self assured and confident.  The thing here is that it doesn't matter if you really are.  You just have to fake it enough so they think you are.
- Well spoken.  Answer each question and elaborate to highlight your strengths.  Never simply answer with a yes/no.
- Enthusiastic about wanting the job.  Not fake bravado but a genuine interest.
- At ease and not overly nervous.  Again, even if you are nervous, and everybody is, you cannot show it.
- Friendly. Nobody wants to hire someone that will cause disquiet on the job..

After someone passes all those things then qualifications and experience start to matter.

The bottom line if you are interviewing is that you first have to make yourself liked by the one that will make the decision.  So you key off their body language and reactions as you proceed through the interview.


Sapere Aude

[EmilyRyan]

I already do those things I even attended a workshop to learn to get better at interviews (and they also helped me put my resume together the correct way).

Personally I think interviewers need to be less biased and just focus on qualifications and attitude.

[Dena]

An interview is about that feeling you have in the pit of your stomach. You don't want to hire somebody you will be firing in three months. Ability is part of it but when you work with people long enough you develop a sixth sense about them and if the feeling is wrong, you look for somebody else in your pile of resumes that you have a better feeling about. You may have to stand out from hundreds of others who applied for the job and that means everything must be perfect if you want to be considered.

[EmilyRyan]

Again I think they should just focus on qualifications sorry but I stand by my belief here.

[Deborah]

In this job market, except for a few positions with highly specific qualifications, a hirer will receive dozens of resumes all of which are fully qualified.  Resumes and the rest simply serve to get an interview.  The interview is where you get hired by standing above the rest.

The only exception to this is if you are applying to a position where you are already well known by both performance and reputation.


Sapere Aude

[EmilyRyan]

I believe it shouldn't be a competition just to be able to make a living in order to survive

[Deborah]

I agree that it shouldn't be, but it is.  You have to deal with the reality that is, not what should be.


Sapere Aude

[EmilyRyan]

If only there was guaranteed employment in this country so those of us who want/need a job can get one.

[Shadow Wolf]

I get you on the difficulties with employment. What helped me was when I decided to repair electronics for money, since I do it for myself anyways. I just started buying broken electronics, fixing them, and selling them. It's not much money, but it is income.
Have you considered using whatever skills you have to make money on your own without a "job?"

[EmilyRyan]

I get you on the difficulties with employment. What helped me was when I decided to repair electronics for money, since I do it for myself anyways. I just started buying broken electronics, fixing them, and selling them. It's not much money, but it is income.
Have you considered using whatever skills you have to make money on your own without a "job?"

Not unless people suddenly need someone that can read maps or simply knows history. Those are like the only skills that I have and it's like the only things I'm good at.

[EmilyRyan]

Actually I think I found a trade that I may be able to do and learn. I like to look into being a Sterile Processing Technician.