Money Does Not Grow on Trees

Last week, I signed up to sell Avon. That's not the same as selling Avon. I just haven't made the effort yet. I have to leave that mentality that just because my name is slapped on "Avon sales rep" doesn't mean money will flow towards me. For years I could go to work, sign/punch in and do whatever was needed, and whether there were a lot of work or lack of, I'd get paid a certain amount for however many hours I worked.

But it's a whole different ball game now. My feelings towards this is on a scale that tips back and forth very fast. One minute I feel I'm wasting time and just gathering a collection of Avon booklets, and other times something goes through my mind and heart that I can do this. The attempt I mean. If I can go out there to a certain number of people and push sales, initially it wouldn't matter that I didn't get any customers. It's the fact that I tried. Sometimes I'm just not a people person. Perhaps that's why I've gotten fired from a couple of places, because of my attitude. Though I am my own boss this time. I set my own hours and I can do whatever I say.

The era of laziness is over.....I hope.

Does Slow and Steady Win the Race?

Calling that number for help finding a job didn't work out so well. So I just became stuck. I still want to work at home, but I believe someone upstairs is telling me that won't be happening anytime soon.

I told my mother that I would be out of the house this September, so I need to act fast. Finding a job now is hard-with or without a kid. If I didn't have Elliot, I'd still be in the same position now. But in any case, I need something. Pride still consumes me, so I won't be looking at any grocery stores, or anywhere that requires their employees to wear a uniform.

Jeff had an interview today, and he says it seemed to go well. If he gets this job, then it's a step up. Not sure if it's a huge step, but it'll be one step out of our parent's door.

Reaching Out

I hit a snag the other day. My main goal so far has been to find a job I can do in the comfort of my own parent's home, or at least go to a job where I can take my son. With with career, I wanted to find something where I could incorporate my writing, blogging to be exact. So a work at home or telecommuting career where I can write. It sounded good to me. So as the search for my ideal career began, it didn't hit me that my choice was very broad, and therefore resulted in nothing. When I typed in "writing" in Louisville, Ky, the only option that was brought to my attention was a website called Examiner. It was the same as a lot of blog sites. Very categorized. Lifestyle, politics, fashion. You have to have a good knowledge about a particular category. There's no category for "What I did today." The Examiner was out.

I've tried countless of other sites, and nothing seemed to be what I needed. I was beginning to think maybe my passion for writing was and is just a hobby. Then I told myself "There are many careers where you can write. It might not be the writing you want to do, but it could still be putting the pen to paper or fingers to keyboard." I began my search once more. The results were a little clearer, but in true fashion, I was either in the wrong location, or my Associate's was not good enough.

I prayed about it, and all I heard was, "Keep doing what you're doing, and it'll come." I've been writing three blogs, and updating Twitter for a while. In total I have three followers. Not that I'm complaining, I love the thought that someone is reading my thoughts-on computer that is. Though I will continue to write my blogs and updating Twitter, I'm taking it a step further. I am reaching out for help. I came across a flyer for a local job search site where they can assist people in need of help finding a job. I still want to write, but I believe at this point I have to think realistically. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have their dream job, and it seems as though I might be among that majority that doesn't love their job.

I told Jeff the other day that there have been two jobs that I've worked for longer than a year, and both of those jobs my mother has found and or have gotten me. The very first job I had was a bagger at Winn Dixie. Though I wanted to quit on my first day, I struggled through two years before leaving. When my job at the Sweet Factory ended due to the closing of the business, my mother had gotten me an interview with someone she worked with at U of L. I didn't like working for the students, yet I was there for two years. All of the other jobs I had found I wasn't there for very long, just a few months.

So I am reaching out for help from a complete stranger. This is crunch time, and though we are in a tough economy and I should not be picky when it comes to earning an income, I can not help but choose carefully. I hope that my next job will turn into a long lasting career. I might not love it, but I'd rather be confortable at it.

Full Time Job Searching

These past few days, I've been trying to update my resume. It doesn't seem to take long to redo your resume, because you know all the facts-your name, address, employment history, etc. What can take long is how you organize it. Whenever I start a new document on Word, I scroll down to the resume templates. There are so many, that it's not even funny. So which to choose from? First I chose the one for Administrative Assistant, and continued to plug in my information. Then after reading various sites, I came across a tip which stated not to use templates. Well any advice is good advice, so I revised my resume by starting over from scratch.

Not only that, but I decided to redo my objective as well. When we first learned how to write a resume in high school, I hated writing what my objective was. It had to be professional, quick and to the point. I just wanted to write, "Look I need a job, here's what I used to do." Why can't all resumes be raw and honest? However, I couldn't do that, not if I wanted a job, though at an interview, I was asked why I wanted the position, and I flat out said because I needed a job. So I figured if I put my objective as finding a telecommuting job in sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com, then employment opportunities in that field will come my way.

Well I've finished my newly revised resume, and sent it into various job search sites. Then, I began to search for them myself. I've discovered that finding employment is a job all by itself. You spend a couple of hours searching and searching, until you find one that doesn't exactly describe your educational background, or even work history, but you submit your resume anyways. Why can't we get paid to look for jobs? There are those out there who recieve unemployment checks, and some of them don't do anything constructive with their money. At least I'm putting in hours of looking, and researching how I can improve my resume.

Some times it can be easy to find a job opportunity, or even a interview. But the real hard work comes in once you get the interview, and then you have to put on your biggest smile, dress like there's no tomorrow, and you better research that company before you're asked if you know anything about them. Yet, I am at square one-finding a job. And finding does not bring any income.

For better or for worse

My mother was driving with me in the front passenger seat, Jeff behind the driver's seat, and Elliot right behind me. Coming from visiting my aunt, uncle and cousin in Indiana, we stopped at Rally's so mom could purchase a chicken sandwich. The fast food joint was in the same shopping area as my very first place of employment, Winn-Dixie. I recalled the time I was on my break and I ventured over to Rally's to eat where I was approached by a Middle Eastern man, trying to win my affection. I silently escaped once he finished talking to me and went to order his meal. Afterwards, I began to think of my time at the grocery store. At the end of my first day I wanted to quit. I didn't like going out in the blistering heat fetching carts that were not returned to the rightful cart returning area. I didn't like escorting shoppers to their cars if all of their purchases were in the shopping baskets. Cleaning the women's restroom made me gag everytime I mopped and emptied the trash. In fact, the only thing I enjoyed doing, besides clocking out, was what we called go backs. Go backs were simply putting back items that were out of place. But I enjoyed doing that duty because I was not bothered by virtually anyone, my bosses or even the customers. Though I wanted to quit after my first day, my mother didn't allow it, and I ended up chasing carts and fetching cigarettes for customers for nearly two years.

Soon I began to think of all the jobs that proceeded Winn-Dixie, and then it hit me-jobs are like relationships. Most of the time, we are attracted to one particular job field, we work hard at it to stay in the relationship, and at times we may curse at it, or love it like we have never loved before. Sometimes we take a break from the relationship, some longer than others. Many of us are married to our jobs, others want to depart, or divorce it. And sadly, there are the times that the jobs leave us, or kick us out to the curb. But there is a common theme to each circumstance after one employment has been finished. Learning. We either learn from our prior relationships, or jobs, or we don't learn and continue to search for that job that was similar to the last. I have been attracted to the same kind of job, all through my resume, and I'm learning to see what else is out there.

Customer service isn't for me. I've felt as though I was abused by these jobs, mentally and physically, and the changes it made inside me were not for the better. I became angry, frustrated, tired, and urging to get out of the relationship. But in order for me to get out, I had to search for another relationship to jump into. Often there were no jumping into anything. I was single. And during my time as being single, I should have taken myself aside and gave me a pep talk in learning how to get out of my comfort zone and search for an entirely different relationship, or job field. I don't have to please others and continue on in a relationship I no longer want to be a part of. I must break the cycle myself and find joy in the new relationship. Writing and I have been flirting for quite some time now, and we think we want to take it to the next level. Getting to know each other on a more personal level. It's a brand new, yet scary relationship that I know in my heart could be the one for me. But relationships are 50/50-give a little, take a little. It will be hard, but I'm ready, and willing to learn.

You can learn plenty from children's books

To improve my writing skills, I turned to the library's website. In its catalogue, the search presented me with numerous children's books. I was confused. If people want to enhance their skills, why should they look towards the kid's section. Then I began to read some of the titles, and my interests perked up. One book I came across and eventually checked out was Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Writing. At first sight, I figured the author and publishers of this book thought that adults should already be well into their careers, or going to school for their potential career. Still, I figured what could this hurt?

The book discussed in detail the various careers that comes from writing such as freelance writing, becoming an author, editor, corporate communicator, and advertising copywriting. In my notebook, I jotted down the interesting career descriptions. The funny thing is that it was published in 1998, so who knows how many more careers have blossomed from the world of writing. Also in the book, were exercises to further the interests of potenial careers. I have a few that I'd like to research more about, and hopefully one day, I will become a successful freelance writer, advertising copywriter, or paralegal.

You'd be suprised what you can discover from children's books. Certainly don't judge a book by its cover, but also don't judge it by what the book is about. These were "grown up" careers. Careers I've never even heard of when I was the age of this book's target audience. In any case, I will continue my quest to become a telecommuting mommy who writes, and with this book, my journey has taken a new direction.

I didn't know I was such an artist

Writing a resume is like painting a picture. Better yet, like the painting of Georges-Pierre Seurat's , A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

If you studied the painting, or just know what makes it so special, then you know that if you look at the painting practically with your nose pressed against it, you'll see that the iconic painting is made up of tiny dots.  

That's what I think of when it comes to writing resumes. Everything has to be so carefully detailed and structured so that when potential employers glance at it, they'll see what they like, and want to study it. The result is an interview. And at the interview, you are the painter who better darn well know and explain how you painted your resume. But you go the extra mile when the person who is conducting the interview asks you the standard questions like what are your strengths, weakness, and why should you be consider for the job over other applicants. Some kids (and adults) have trouble coloring within the lines, and at the interview, you dare not to cross those lines. Your resume can not be a work of neoimpressionism, such as Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon, and your interview is a work of post-impressionism. They both have to be a inside the lines.

Standard resumes are usually comprised of the same components-name, address, phone number, email, educational background, objective, then the names of the job titles, location of employment, dates of employment, description of the job, and last references. Sounds simple, right? If only. Assuming the person meets all of the requirements of the job from the particular job listing, it's all about how the resume was painted. Sloppy resumes get tossed into the trashed, while well structured resumes gain interest.

I am no resume writing expert by any means. If I were, I'd have a job by now, making money, reaching that goal of moving out of my parents house. This is only from my experiences and what I've read in books and online articles. I always felt my resume were passable, but after reading Leslie Truex's  The Work at Home Success Bible, I felt like an amateur when reading her tips about resumes. Use active words when describing education and experience, and don't use too many adjectives and adverbs. She also had a tip about sending a resume through email, and once I read it, I realized this was probably a big reason why I don't recieve phone calls to come in for a interview. Don't send the resume as an attachment, only as text. It just never occured to me to do that. I suppose I found it was the quickest way to let the potential employer know that I am interested in the position, then go on to the next job listing.

After reading her tips and advice on resume and cover letter building, I started over from scratch. I first wrote down on paper every single job I've had, including volunteer jobs. I went into more detail in the job description. I did something I have not done whenever I wrote my resume-I took my time. Employers don't want you rushing your work (unless it's called for it), so why rush writing your resume? Would you want someone to rush when preparing your food at an upscale restaurant? No, you'd want them to take their time, but still finish it in a timely manner. I want my steak cooked, not tossed into the microwave and called gourmet.

My hurdle now is how to paint my resume as someone who wishes to have a telecommuting job, preferably in the writing field. That is where my resume research digs a bit deeper, and I am confident that I will paint a resume worth looking at and discussed. However, painting a beautiful resume may not be enough. The painting of the resume will always stick to paper, but it's the painter who brings it to life.