[Luke Skyfreeper]

A ping to some folks who might be interested in this thread, or who may know someone who is...

[Doc-Joe]

I'm unemployed, but by choice. I walked out of my teaching job at a local CC just last week. Thanfully, I already have two hospitals showing interest in hiring me. Still a little uneasy being without a job.

[neutrino]

Great idea! The recession hasn't hit me personally yet - but I don't think any of us are immune.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

For anyone who missed this thread, it has some good ideas of how to successfully market even basic computer skills.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/958885/posts

[PJ-Comix]

Summer is the slow time for me. Thank God for eBay. Recently some woman has been giving me big amounts from her jewelry collection to sell for her. I've done a lot of eBaying but never in jewelry before so I am just now getting the hang of it. I sort of got spoiled by the early years of eBay when you could sell T-Shirts for over $40. Those days are gone but if you are willing to make small profits on large quantities of items, it can add up.

[Libertina]

I believe Utah Girl just got a new job. Way to go!

[Noumenon]

I lost my six figure job over a year ago. I've tried a few things, but my StarBand satellite Internet access dealership is starting to gain some momentum. I'm just barely getting by, installation by installation. I make a mere $200 per install, but there are always extras that folks want. Working the security side of it is getting to be significant.

The local StarBand installers are without exception inept.

[11B3]

I've been self-employed for over 10 years now, but constantly changing my business. (Gotta go where there's some money.) What I'd like to pass on to anyone who is newly out of the workforce is the subject of the cash economy. (My divorce sent me to the cash economy, BTW.) Basically, it's life "under the radar" of the gov't, or near liberty.

As mentioned above, E-bay is a great way to make some cash - it is a major supplement to me for sure. I know that there are some others in here that enjoy restoring cars or other mechanical items, which is the main part of my income. Generally, I tend to watch the local legal notices for towing/impound auctions. There are lots of them here in Tacoma, I don't know how each city/county would list theirs - but it is worth the effort to find them. I've seen 6-7 year old cars go for as little as $100 with very little damage on them. (No one believes me until they go to the auctions.) After a little work, you've got a car worth several thousand dollars - toss it on E-Bay. Best of all, you never had to register it to yourself, leaving no paper trail with your name on it. By taking cash/money orders only for the payment you remain totally anonymous.

It's not for everyone. Self employment is the hardest you'll ever work, with the longest hours. But freedom isn't free.

[moneyrunner]

One piece of generic advice for job seekers: try to find a job from that allows you to define your own role, rewards you for what you can accomplish and from which the only route to failure is a personal one.

I left the corporate world about 20 years ago, resigning from GE in my mid 40s. I joined Kidder, Peabody as a rookie broker. I thought I was moving from a low risk environment to a high risk one. I was wrong. Friends who stayed at GE are now looking for jobs or wondering about their job security. Meanwhile, I am working for my clients numbering in the hundred, who give me job security.

If I were starting a job search, I would see about starting my own service business: mowing lawns, washing cars, opening a restaurant, doing what I know best, but working for myself. The future is unlimited and you don’t have to worry about corporate downsizing or office politics.

My advice: don’t look for a job … create one.

[LibKill]

All I can say is never give up. I've been there.

[PeterPrinciple]

Add me to the list.....combination midlife crisis and disappointment in the leadership of the organization I was working for led me to quit and remodel the house for past two years.

I worked with farmers and always said 10% of them were entrepreneurial......Surprisingly that group stayed with me and I am still employed part time........now I am trying to figure out what that means.

One question I am wrestling with is what type of services do entrepreneurs need.

My sabbatical is about over and need to get back in the saddle sometime in the near future.

[Billthedrill]

One little suggestion - for those who haven't done it yet, make sure your current state is reflected in your member profile, and give just a hint of what you do there. That way when somebody does come up with something it won't be hard to find you.

I've been there too and it blows chunks. My advice is to consciously remind yourself that unemployment is not a character judgment, and that a really miserable job will kill you quicker than poverty will. Cold comfort when you're pinching pennies, I know, but it's a fact.

[southern rock]

I tried this well over a year ago

Man, has it been that long? I left New York shortly after this and have been to Texas and now back to New Jersey again, all in about a year. Things aren't great yet, but at least the wife and I are working, and making the bills now. 2001 and 2002 were a couple of sucky years for me, but I wasn't alone.

Good luck to all.

[BushCountry]

If anyone is thinking of moving, this is the lastest and greatest list of the best places to live and work.

1. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
2. Madison,WI
3. Austin, TX
4. Huntsville, AL
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Nashville, TN
7. Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN
8. Minneapolis, MN
9. San Diego, CA
10. Salt Lake City, UT
11. Columbus, OH
12. Tampa, FL
13. Cambridge, MA
14. Louisville, KY
15. Overland Park, KS
16. Tucson, AZ
17. Bellevue, WA
18. Omaha, NE
19. Charlottesville, VA
20. Boulder, CO

 

[swheats]

Be encouraged. This might be the time to actually find what you really like to do and go after it.

I decided to quit my job in 9/2002 to care for my children. My husband's art commissions have grown steadily, something that he loves to do.

[TaxRelief]

*ping* Hardtimes/unemployment thread.

[Starwind]

This may have been done or may not be practical, but...

'spose you guys swapped job leads cross country.

Freeper A in zip code N needs a job doing Y but only knows of job doing X in his zipcode N.

Freeper B in zipcode M can do job X, and knows of job Y in his zipcode M

If each freeper exchanged leads and inside info, they might apply for these jobs without having to go thru agencies or HR drop boxes. Obviously moves would be necessary if accepted, but if a freeper has exhausted his local leads...

[rface]

I am not facing hard times now, but in '98 I moved from Boston to Columbia, Missouri because my wife was accepted to graduate school. I left a job in Boston (not a great job, but it was something good to put on my resume) and moved to Missouri with no job prospects and only a couple thousand $$ which I had to get an apartment and all the things that go with setting up a new living space...

After a couple months of discouragment and shrinking funds, I decided to go to the Temp. Service place and I signed up...... for what ever I could get. I took odd jobs, and it kept a little $$ rolling in. I also made sure to scour the papers and fine tune my resume (my wife helped a lot with this - this is very important.) I hand dropped off my applications and resume every chance I could.

I went to any interview that wanted to talk with me - some of these interviews sucked - some were not so bad...

When I least expected it, I was offered a position - far below what I thought I was worth, but I took it anyways. I new I could work my way to a better paycheck.

*****My suggestion = go to a temp service if you have to. It lets you begin to network with people and it keeps you from moping around. Get you resume in fine shape and target it specifically to each job that you apply to.

I you belong to a church, let the people there know that you are looking for a job. Talk to the Pastor or Priest - he knows the congregation.

Don't be afraid to look outside your immediate geographic area *****

Sometimes its hard to stay positive - but you have to.

((thanks for the "ping"))

[Marauder]

I was looking for something to do after winding down a career in high-tech sales and a nasty divorce, barely maintaining myself and child support payments by playing music and working as a carpenter during the day, when I started dinking around with dBase III+ as a viable computer language.
I soon discovered FoxBase (now Visual FoxPro) and sort of fell into the e-whirlwind that became the dotcom bubble, and three major cities and many lucrative development contracts later, here I sit again in the same small town I was in when I started. Mrs Marauder and I figured it's a lot cheaper to be unemployed in this small town than in a big city, where our house payments were four times the amount of this one.
Back to playing music, but since I'm in my sixties now, I think I'll just take it easy; find a job in a small retail store - musical instruments or building supply - and relax. Kids are all grown, so the only pressing need is house payments and groceries. Don't really wanna retire yet.

[King Prout]

Hrmn.
Best I can offer right now is a distillation of painfully-bought wisdom:
1. Never trust anyone.
2. Never assume anything.
3. If it ain't in writing, don't believe it.
4. Before signing, be SURE to see a copy of their annual review forms/protocols.
5. Always quote a price higher than you think you deserve.
6. If you do not ABSOLUTELY NEED IT, then you ABSOUTELY MUST NOT BUY IT.
7. Credit is the Devil's work. Cash and carry ONLY.
8. Diversify. Never stop adding/honing skills. Never stop looking for another job. It is called "having outs".
9. Your family/life is more important than your career.
10. Most important: You do NOT work for them - you work for yourself. Even if you are employed by another, this remains true. They rent your time and talents, you rent out your time and talents in order to see to your own ends. They do not own you unless you let them.