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Need help finding a new job/ career
SirAltAlot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello all!
So! My story is this- for the last decade I've worked with severely handicapped students (mostly in a lower-functioning autistic population). I enjoyed teaching, the dynamism of my day, my co workers. While I am ultimately glad I did it, I was actually supremely relieved that I didn't get rehired when my contract expired. It was killing my psyche and my stress was through the roof. As in cusp of a breakdown. I worked as a para, so no, I don't actually have a teacher's cert. The reasons for this are varied but run the gamut from money to a lack of trust in the industry not turning into a dumpster fire.
So! I need help looking for a new job/ career!
1. I don't want to teach again, finito, kaput, done. And before someone suggests working with higher functioning students, I did that for awhile, and same deal more or less. I just don't want that kind of stress in my life anymore where roughly half of your ability to succeed or fail at your job is based on factors you can't control (home life, difficult parents, etc).
2. I have a degree in English Literature. I do not have any other certifications (again, this including a teacher's certificate) outside of in-service certificates. (Thank god, from a financial standpoint.)
3. I am a terrific speaker. I am approachable, well read, verbose, and downright charming when I'm in my element. We're talking selling ketchup to a woman in white gloves territory.
4. I'm fairly tech savvy and already do modest IT work for my family. I have no actual training, but I understand that Google is my friend and I'm a fast and intuitive learner. I also have an excellent capacity for knowledge of things I find interesting.
5. I'm good with my hands and don't mind getting them dirty.
6. My typing skills have atrophied since college, but this can be addressed.
7. I'm used to dealing with difficult scenarios and persons, but the problem with that was becoming type-cast as that guy who would deal with it.
8. Yes, I'm medicated.
9. Besides teaching, retail gigs as a teenager, and a brief stint in publishing, my only work experience has been doing off-season custodial work. I actually enjoyed the custodial stuff, and may even have an "in" there, but I will absolutely get shit from my family for going down that route. Or I'll give myself shit for it. So part of the issue is that I legitimately have no clue what I would want to do, be good at, and wouldn't cause me to have another nervous breakdown.
10. I kind of blundered into teaching and found I had both a knack for it and (for a time) really enjoyed it.
A paycheck isn't IMMEDIATELY necessary, but my unemployment ends in a month. So, it's coming down to the wire, and I don't have much time to waste.
So! My story is this- for the last decade I've worked with severely handicapped students (mostly in a lower-functioning autistic population). I enjoyed teaching, the dynamism of my day, my co workers. While I am ultimately glad I did it, I was actually supremely relieved that I didn't get rehired when my contract expired. It was killing my psyche and my stress was through the roof. As in cusp of a breakdown. I worked as a para, so no, I don't actually have a teacher's cert. The reasons for this are varied but run the gamut from money to a lack of trust in the industry not turning into a dumpster fire.
So! I need help looking for a new job/ career!
1. I don't want to teach again, finito, kaput, done. And before someone suggests working with higher functioning students, I did that for awhile, and same deal more or less. I just don't want that kind of stress in my life anymore where roughly half of your ability to succeed or fail at your job is based on factors you can't control (home life, difficult parents, etc).
2. I have a degree in English Literature. I do not have any other certifications (again, this including a teacher's certificate) outside of in-service certificates. (Thank god, from a financial standpoint.)
3. I am a terrific speaker. I am approachable, well read, verbose, and downright charming when I'm in my element. We're talking selling ketchup to a woman in white gloves territory.
4. I'm fairly tech savvy and already do modest IT work for my family. I have no actual training, but I understand that Google is my friend and I'm a fast and intuitive learner. I also have an excellent capacity for knowledge of things I find interesting.
5. I'm good with my hands and don't mind getting them dirty.
6. My typing skills have atrophied since college, but this can be addressed.
7. I'm used to dealing with difficult scenarios and persons, but the problem with that was becoming type-cast as that guy who would deal with it.
8. Yes, I'm medicated.
9. Besides teaching, retail gigs as a teenager, and a brief stint in publishing, my only work experience has been doing off-season custodial work. I actually enjoyed the custodial stuff, and may even have an "in" there, but I will absolutely get shit from my family for going down that route. Or I'll give myself shit for it. So part of the issue is that I legitimately have no clue what I would want to do, be good at, and wouldn't cause me to have another nervous breakdown.
10. I kind of blundered into teaching and found I had both a knack for it and (for a time) really enjoyed it.
A paycheck isn't IMMEDIATELY necessary, but my unemployment ends in a month. So, it's coming down to the wire, and I don't have much time to waste.
SirAltAlot on
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...is there something you want to do, even a little more than the others?
Well. My unemployment ends in early February. That said I currently live with my parents *sigh*, but I don't have to worry about running out of cash due to rent, utilities, or groceries.
I don't have the money for school, and even then I wouldn't even know what to go for, not teaching that's for damn sure. I would consider IT, but I don't know how viable the market is despite the twenty-somethings that did IT for the school district seemingly having it made.
Basically I need a job that pays decent money so I can finally escape Mom's basement. I'm in the New Jersey area, I have an offer with a buddy for 700 a month total, which would have been spectacular at any point in the last 8 years.
Edit: I worked with a guy who was in EVS (Environmental Services - think janitor/housekeeper) in surgery who finished an English Literature degree and went off to be the librarian for the hospital in the Children's Library / Parent Education Center. Which reminds me I still have a copy of The Catcher in the Rye he loaned me.
I don't know of any other industry that has even a fraction of the variety that healthcare does... maybe the military?
Edit2: Just looking at the job listing for the hospital I worked at a few years ago, I see so many jobs you might be qualified for.
A paycheck isn't IMMEDIATELY necessary, but my unemployment ends in a month. So, it's coming down to the wire.
I'll add this and what not to the OP
What do you want us to do for you?
Are you looking for resume help? Cause we've got some amazing resume ninjas on the forum if you can post up what you've got.
Are you looking for viable career paths that you haven't considered? Are you looking for recomendations on where to look that you haven't already?
Are you looking for connections in your area that might be able to put a resume into the right hands?
Are you looking for interview advice? Just trying to figure out what you're asking for so we don't give advice that's not helpful.
The English Lit degree and being good at talking to people would seem to lend itself to library work in my mind (Please note: I could be very wrong on that front, I've never worked in a library). Being the person in the library that can point out where a person need to looks for their research paper, then can recommend a great book for someone else who's looking for something new.
In the short term where you're looking for a paycheck that's not a career, I spent a few years in a gas station, that paid pretty well at the time and gave a lot of experience in a wide variety of roles. Flexible hours make interviewing for career type jobs a bit easier, and graveyard shifts might lend themselves to the whole continuing education thing if that's an option.
Pretty much this, thank you for narrowing it down.
I might go see my old custodial boss, see how it goes.
I have, but the whole commission thing smacks of high pressure and that is the very last thing I want. All jobs have stress, but I'm just leaving a career that was a high octane stress as you can get.
What geographic region?
As a follow up to that, what about a sales trainer or customer success manager? Both require the types of skills you have developed. If you have any interest in software or IT, there is a big need for this type of skillset as companies are investing more on customer enablement on the front end to ensure they stick around.
2008, 2012, 2014 D&D "Rare With No Sauce" League Fantasy Football Champion!
Are you looking to be fulfilled in your job/career or just need something to give you money to seek that outside your life?
Either option is fine, but I found from friends that those that seek and do something they love are also in fields that have the most stressed. Which makes sense, they stay because they love it.
Personally I fall in the latter. My job is a paycheck. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. I'm glad I have somewhere to go and get money though so I can pursue the things I do love.
I've scanned the responses and I'll make a post later answering them!
The road to finding a good place in manufacturing to work is long and arduous, and most places still expect you to 'pay your dues', but most companies will notice, and promote those that are actively making the company money, instead of being just another warm body, which sadly, is what you mostly find now. Also, the blue-collar work force is aging, and it is getting harder to find qualified individuals.
Shit is always being built. Go find a temp agency and get a job in construction or in a welding shop, even if its until the next thing comes around. When I hire people, I take gaps in employment into heavy consideration. It will at least let you know if you still enjoy working with your hands and getting dirty. If this is the case, consider taking classes at a community college or trade school in welding, machining, cnc programming, cad, or any other variety of needed skills.
I live in New Jersey. I've dabbled in white-collar work, what exactly would I be doing in with regards target analyst work?
The issue would be making money in the interim while studying IT support. Unless you're saying they'd be willing train me there, which I would be all for doing. I'm a fast and intuitive learner.
This. If I could snag a job I loved AND made great money, fantastic, buuuuut I'm realistic and for now I'm looking for decent pay, stability, and lower stress relative to working in special education.
For starters thanks for this in depth post.
Can you explain a little more about the bolded with regards to what sort of day to day work I would be doing? I'm a great problem solver, good with my hands, but I'm not entirely sure what you mean by making cutthroat decisions.
I showed this response to my friend who's an engineer and he said it's good advice. Part of my main issue is that I don't have necessarily have the cash for the classes/ I would still need to working whilst taking the classes in order to pay for them.
My engineer buddy had also suggested working telecom tech, cable splicing, trouble shooting, etc.
Helpdesk is also attractive because it combines the people skills/ problem solving/ and tech savvy strengths I have.
I take "cutthroat decisions" to mean apparently risky choices that often trade short term stability or profit for long term gains. It can mean shuttering projects, letting people go and closing down departments. But basically I think Forbe! is talking about using your brain at work, and people who can plan, decide and act for the good of the company instead of just showing up, clocking 8 hours of not rocking the boat and then punching out.
You say you're a great problem solver, and that's part of it, but you also have to have a mindset that looks for problems that need solving. Some people are really good at handling problems they're given, but it's better to be the one that finds those problems and gets them fixed. At the same time you usually also have to be able to work with the people under and above you. That is, sometimes you have to rock the boat, but doing so constructively can be hard when it's not just you on the boat.
I don't think it's possible to provide a detailed answer on day-to-day work that applies to all companies, but the idea is to not just do your job, but also think about how it could be done better. Like, if you're on an assembly line, you can screw in the same part every day and go home, but you can also consider how rearranging workstations or job assignments could improve safety, throughput or quality control, what kind of equipment could speed up your job or help do it better, etc., etc.
https://www.iiba.org/Careers/Careers/understanding-the-s-in-business-systems-analysis.aspx
Basically we're the bridge between technology and people, solving problems with both systems and process.
These are all good suggestions.
The variety of work in manufacturing is huge. I work for a company of about 50, in a division of that company of about 12 employees, where we make custom metalwork. Most generally every week is different for each employee. I sweep floors, weld, grind, cut, machine, forge, fix machinery, load/unload trucks, drive heavy equipment, paint, etc, etc. It appeals to me because I like variety.
Other places you are expected to stay at station 2-C, in section 4, and attach Widget-A to Widget-B with screw 3. I don't have recommendations other than look for places that do custom work, be it in wood, metal, stone, computers, whatever you might be into. But sometimes, taking a job just to see if you are good at it, or interested in it is worth it.
It sounds like you have a decent idea of what you may be good at or like to look in to.
This isn't to say that I'm uninterested in a job that with responsibilities; far from it, I was just sick and tired (literally) from spending my nights paranoid over getting chewed out over something ludicrous I had no control over.
That's not something to do with a job, that's bad management. Make sure to ask lots of questions during the interview process around how performance is managed/assessed and development programs/ethos. Good management should have a decent focus with sound reasoning on both, preferably tied to published metrics or common role frameworks. Weak management will not have it and bad management will likely sound off on dumb things like "earning respect" or similar.
Not sure in a blue collar situation, but I think the advice for a white collar situation would be similar: you need to be able to decide that you can solve the problem and execute with little direction from your superiors. No one wants to hire someone who cannot distinguish between a little problem (where they can be trusted to determine for themselves what to do) and a big problem (where they should rope in someone with more experience if they are not positive what to do). Those who cannot distinguish either (a) are constantly pestering others, who likely have their own issues that you cannot handle, to get guidance on what to do or (b) don't do shit when they aren't sure so it ends up becoming a bigger problem later.
IMO there is nothing attractive about helpdesk. To analogize to your teaching position, you'll be working with those parents all the time and not the students. Have an exit strategy, be it going into higher level IT or management.
it can be very rewarding with a company that values upskilling. that said, it really only leads you further down the rabbit hole in IT, and if you don't have a passion for tech you will probably get burnt out. there are days when everything is on fire all the time and it's the pits but there are those other times where things are moving along and you can focus on project work.
really the tl;dr here is to find a company with a good culture. if you are solid, a good company will reward you.
I might have found an "in" somewhere. I was going to go see a buddy about it to pour over available positions.
Working on resume. Is there anyone specific I can speak to for resume advice? I'm having a little trouble because I worked at various locations doing more or less the same thing. I can PM if necessary.
For example if you did several fast food stints and you want to resume to look more substantial.
Instead of
Burger Meister January 2015 - October 2015
Burger king
Fry Annihilator November 2015 - March 2016
McDonalds
Roll them into
Fast Food assassin January 2015 - March 2016
Burger King, Mcdonalds
list of accomplishments and responsibilities.
Edit out your personal contact information, obviously, but the rest should be safe to post (unless you've worked in spectacularly specific and unique positions that might show up on a random google search).
But, posting it in the thread allows anyone to see and make suggestions or argue virtues or specific wording. At best that can provide a good rewording for your job descriptions and at the very least that gives you options that you may not have considered before.
1) Brush up that resume
Go over your resume with a fine tooth comb and clean it up. Think about what you are going for in terms of a job and describe your past positions in this light. Also, when you describe what your accomplishments were at your previous jobs, make them quantifiable while still describing your skills. For example, one of my previous employers was a litigation firm and in accomplishments I described what I contributed to a case and phrased it to emphasize my knowledge of contract law, trial work, settlement and negotiation in order to win. In summary, think of what you did, how you did it, and why it makes you a good/qualified candidate.
I don't really hold to the "a resume should only be a page" rule, and you'll hear both pros and cons. A friend of mine who works in a large law firm told me that if he ever saw a resume of more than one page it would go in the trash pile, while others have told me that a cramped resume is distracting and sloppy and they often feel they are not getting a robust picture of a candidate. Personally, my resume has been two pages, which fit where I was during my career/job search due to internships, shorter jobs, etc, but if I ever job search again I'll probably bump it down to one page due to how my career has focused. Use the pages you need to make your case that you're the best candidate possible, however, if you can't fit it all on one page, be sure to fill up that second page because otherwise you will look like someone who couldn't be arsed to fit it all in one.
Have someone who is unafraid to be critical review your resume.
Finally, others may disagree, but I think putting a small section for your interests at the end of your resume humanizes a candidate and gives you and the interviewer something to talk about other than the job specifics. For example, my interests section indicated that I am a family man who loves science fiction and classical literature, and those interests were discussed in almost all of my interviews.
2) Figure out your cover letter
A cover letter shouldn't rehash your resume, but it should sell you and point out how your experience makes you the best candidate ever. I generally kept my cover letter to three paragraphs. A good way to revise your cover letter for every new employer is to make a default template cover letter with highlighted fields that you can fill in with the position/company name, etc. There are a lot of resources out on the web that talk about what to include and how to write a cover letter, and my advice is to read up on all of it that you can, take heed of the lessons they're teaching, and build your own cover letter. Also be willing to completely tear your letter down and rebuild it from the ground up. Finally, get your cover letter reviewed by someone else who can critique it thematically, grammatically, and structurally.
3) Get a linkedin profile
I'll say it again, if you don't have one, get a LinkedIn profile. Get your picture up there. Make it the more robust version of your resume. People will look at it.
4) Automate the job search
Job searching is tiring, so automate as much as you can. Determine what key words hit jobs that you want, and set up job alert agents with your preferred job search engine. In my experience, LinkedIn and Indeed provided the best jobs that fit what I was looking for, but your mileage may vary.
5) Network
This works for some people, but not for everybody. There's no harm in trying, and at the very least it helps out if you eventually need to provide references.
6) Apply to everything
If you want a job, you need to apply for a job, and I don't think I'm alone in my experience that it will take a lot of applying to land a single interview, and a lot more to get the job. I applied for almost 400 jobs last year, I had phone interviews with four of them, I had two second interviews, and one in person which ended up being the job I got. Those are not encouraging figures, but its the way it is.
7) It's going to suck
There's no sugar-coating it. Finding a job is hard, and it takes forever. Financial stress makes it worse. You will apply to many jobs, and most will outright reject you without so much as a "thank you for applying" e-mail. The fact that you were even rejected won't make any sense. There were many jobs where I was a perfect candidate for the job posting, and it took less than 24 hours for them to let me know that I wasn't a good fit. It's ridiculous, and its disheartening, and you just have to push through.
I hope that helps, and feel free to PM me to add you on Linkedin. My company is always looking for people and I'm happy to be a reference. That goes for anyone else as well.
I'll be honest, monster is garbo.
Now all that work made it real easy to update my resumes and get my latest position, because they were already keyword coded and had were theme focused. So this is very helpful for your next job as well.
Also when formatting your resume the most important thing is to make it look purposeful. If I see a poorly formatted resume, where half of a job is on one page and the other half carry over I get a bit annoyed. Make it look intentional where you put the breaks and edits. I do a 1 3/4 page resume, and with my latest position I will make it a 2 page resume.
If you are tech savvy and have education experience, you might consider online teaching or online tutoring. I think there is generally more demand for STEM tutors (surprise, surprise), but it might not hurt to explore the idea, if anything to supplement the income from whatever other job you might find.
You can try out different work for a couple of months, pad out your resume while getting experience and pay.