Need to resume a job search.

[coloradodem2005]

With the economy still a mess, I am quite worried about doing that. I need to make money. I had 1 job in college for 2.5 years and then have been more or less unemployed for the last year and a half. I need to find some work soon. I don't know if my resume is thick enough.

[drb]

1. Don't worry about your resume as much as...

(a) Doing what you like to do and
(b) Networking with everyone you know to find a job doing that.

...or maybe finding a job that will lead you to be able to do the job you love.

Talk to lots of people. Ask their advice about what they think you would be good at. You might even try some "junk jobs" and see what's fun.

[rocktivity]

2. Monster.com or Hotjobs.com

can give you some good advice about assessing your skills and goals and putting together the best resume. Did you finish college? What skills do you have?

:headbang:
rocknation

[coloradodem2005]

3. I have a BA in Mathematics.

I am actually trying to get into Graduate School in the Fall to get an MS in Applied Math with an emphasis in Statistics.

[iconoclastic cat]

4. Well, have you considered teaching?

Many alternative cert. programs go for 18 weeks, and if I were not also unemployed, I would bet that a principal would hire you sight unseen (although if you didn't follow through, you'd be canned).

[coloradodem2005]

5. No.

I had a bad experience teaching. I have considered that and after what I went through, I would sooner slit my wrists.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. Okay, now my curiosity is piqued. Tell me the story.

And don't skimp on the details.

[coloradodem2005]

9. I would but I have been through too much with this story.

I was the victim of some people who essentially told me I was not ready, but never really told me why. My aunt who was a teacher said that the things they said made no sense. The thing is I may have made some mistakes unknowingly, one was trusting my supervising teachers too much with privelaged information about my past, that I was in special ed way back in elementary and middle school. I will not teach below the college level. If I were to teach at the college level, that would require more school. What they did was very dirty and there is no defense for it. It was during my student teaching.

The thing is that I have become even more fearful since then about dealing with people. I fear that if I actually get a job that I do care about again, that I will get burned the way I did in the student teaching and I don't ever want that to happen again and quite frankly, I am quite frightened. That and I have not been able to find a job that did not involve some sort of solicitation which I suck at regardless of what it is for.

[Stephanie]

10. You could tutor one-on-one for college prep tests

Get them ready for SAT's, or GRE's.

[coloradodem2005]

11. Maybe.

I just don't want to be a screw-up with them.

[iconoclastic cat]

12. Actually, that kind of crap happens a lot.

When I finished student teaching, out of the eight of us, two were given "unsatisfactory" scores. I am very suspicious about the true motives of our supervisors for 2 reasons: first, how did these two people manage to pass their other courses if they were incompetent? Second, one of them was Muslim; the other was gay, and he refused to be closeted. Odd, to say the least.

Now, cd'04(as I will call you), I need to make something clear: I did both the "corporate America" thing at the same time that I was working at a record label, and I have grown some very sensitive antennae for detecting incoming slime. I know how to play politics, and I will not hesitate to cover my ass whenever possible. I absolutely will not stab others in the back, but I have no problem with quarantining toxic people from the rest of the pack. Most importantly, I never tell people more about me than they absolutely need to know unless I know that I absolutely can trust them--and even then, I watch my back. This may sound jaded, but after a few nasty incidents of the sort that you have described, I learned that I need to preserve myself in order to be of any help to anyone else.

This is not to say that teaching is all treachery and malevolence--it's one of the best gigs in the world. How many jobs can you say that you do something different every day, and that your biggest challenge is to make that 45 minutes the most kick-ass 45 min. in your students' day? It rocks.

Of course, the politics may very well be what keeps me out, too, but only because I happen to fall into a demographic that is very well represented already. I may find myself working on a campaign, or for a non-profit. I could still pick up a night class somewhere. As long as I'm not a parasite on society, or a vulture of human misery, I'll be happy.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you loved teaching, try again. If not, keep examining yourself for other possibilities that move you.

[coloradodem2005]

15. I agree.

I know that I should never volunteer information. As for slime, how do you detect them. I was pulled out very prematurely.

How do I detect the incoming slime and keep them at bay? How do you do it?

[iconoclastic cat]

16. Well, I need to crash, so I'll have to go into this in more detail later.

The first thing, though, is to not wait for slime to be flung. You must understand what each person is trying to accomplish. Keep them focused on themselves by limiting your interaction to whatever you need to do to stroke their ego and make them feel as if you are their advocate. Now, I do not mean that you should kiss ass--that is always transparent and distasteful. Let me give an example: you discover that this person's main concern is keeping accurate records. Since you are technically their subordinate, once you finish your obligations, it will seem very helpful if you attempt to assist them. Now, I cannot stress this enough: you must have completed everything that you need to do before you begin to ingratiate yourself. But when people see that you are an advocate for their needs, they will become irrationally protective of you, even if they don't particularly like you as a person. In addition, be very careful with criticism: mediocre minds equate dissent with disloyalty, and for superiors who already feel guilt or inadequacy, the slightest appearance of disloyalty will spawn deep paranoia.

Okay, I really need to go to sleep. I'll write more on this later.

[coloradodem2005]

17. Send me an email.

On a side note, I like what you said about mediocre minds and criticism. The description fits our current President like a glove.

[SheilaT]

6. With the math background,

maybe you can get hired as a pollster with a political campaign. It's kind of late, but it might be worth a try.

[coloradodem2005]

7. Like with Kerry's?

How would I go about that? Could I do it for the DNC?

[JI7]

13. what state do you live in ?

if it's a state where kerry is competing in try to contact the kerry campaign and the state democratic party . i assume you have knowledge and interest in politics also since you are on du. so let them know about your degree in math and tell them you have knowledge of politics also. i'm not sure you will be gauranteed a job. but it's worth a try.

[coloradodem2005]

14. Colorado.

As my alias should suggest.

[JI7]

18. Kerry said he will campaign in the state

he had things scheduled last week but cancelled because of the whole reagan thing. but i'm sure he will reschedule again. i'm not sure if he has opened any offices in the state yet. but maybe you can contact the state democratic party and see if they have any job openings. since kerry is just starting out in the state it might be easier to get ajob with them since there isn't anything in place already and they still have to set things up.