Philly or Jersey?

Over the past two months my daughter has changed jobs twice now. She was waiting tables in an Italian restaurant and had been for some time when she felt the need to make a change. She chose a job closer to home, in fact, two jobs which would not end up being as lucrative as the former as a waitress. So, she set out on a quest to make the change again to a better job by filling out both Philadelphia resumes and New Jersey resumes since her home is so close to both areas. I'm not sure where her new job is, but she is happy with it for the time being. One reason, she returned to the one she where she was making a good living. We are both hoping that she will be here for the winter holidays, and she has already put in her request for the time off. I'm really excited for her!

Seeking Business Success after Raising a Family

Twenty-seven years ago Leigh made a choice that would change her life forever. She chose to be a stay-at-home mother. Her daughter Lilly was born in 1980, then came Riley in 1992, then Dougie in 1990, and finally JB in 1992. Twelve years separate the oldest from the youngest so the years in the public school system cover 24 years. One would think that a commitment to such a decision would never have a bad side to it.

During the early years and in between the second and third children Leigh went to work full time after a separation and divorce. Within three years she remarried and they added the third and forth child to their blended family. They discussed their options and once again she chose to be a stay-at-home mother. It is an awesome labor of love, one with many rewards, and she would never trade her time spent with her children.

What she wasn't prepared for was the difficulty that she would encounter upon returning to the workplace after her second divorce. She would commute from one state to another to attend classes for a major appliance plant with the encouragement that people from the classes would be hired directly to the plant. She attended all of the classes, including ones during her move to relocate to where the company is in operation, yet when she got settled in there she never received an offer of employment.

Being a responsible parent and adult she registered at a job shop and was promptly employed. She stayed with the job shop through three assignments until she was hired direct from her last assignment. She remained employed with them for over two years until their move to the middle of the state over a year ago.

She was back in the job market in search of a new job. While she was drawing unemployment she registered for college in order to work toward a degree. Soon she was back at work and everything was looking good again. Then it happened. A revelation about the company going under. Twice now she would be employed by companies who were in serious financial trouble and again she would end up looking for a new job.

She is currently working for another small business in order to meet her necessary basics of providing a home for two of her children who are still at home. She needs a job with benefits (health, dental, life and retirement) but wonders if she can find that with her work history and decision to be a stay-at-home mother for so long. What will it take to make her more desirable in today's work force? Since motherhood and it's commitment were her priority for the majority of her life, how does she pull it all together in a resume in order to have that ideal job consider her experience and skills?

What would you do?

Are You My Real Estate Agent?

Of all of the interviews I had the opportunity to attend during my search for a new job, the one that was most interesting was that for a position of real estate agent. A local rental/real estate office was seeking an bookkeeping/agent for their office. During the interview I was asked if going back to college for a real estate license would be something of interest to me. Hey, I'm up for anyway to further my education, so I responded in a positive manner. Even though the interview went well and they were impress with my computer (internet web design and html experience) the job went to another applicant. You never know, perhaps a real estate class would be a nice addition to my resume. Who knows, someday someone may just ask "Are you my real estate agent?"

How do you decide?

What factors come into play when you need to compare one job to another?

Location: Do you want to commute or work locally?

Salary: How do you determine what you need to make a job worth staying with long term?

Benefits: Do you want them included in the offer for employment or as an option for your to purchase?

Work Hours: Straight 40 hours per week, government holidays, accrued vacation, and sick time, or 28-32 hours per week for 46 weeks of the year boosted by a six week 67 hours per week stint?

What would you do if you took a job with no benefits, minimum hours in the off season, extensive hours for a six week stint, because you needed a job in order to make more than the allowed amount of unemployment and then you were offered a year round full-time job, full benefits and a higher salary? If you enjoy the job you are in and the people you are working with, how do you decide to give it all up and take the "logical" one? Will the logical one pay off in the long run? What if the offer depended upon 4 months training at which time you might not be accepted into the position for which you applied? Would you have given up a good deal in the move?

These are the questions I need to ask myself. I've grown accustomed to their faces, voices and life stories. It will be a sad thing to leave them ... but for now, until I have heard that the company wants me for the position I will remain dedicated to my current employer. More later ... sigh ... time for some sleep.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Three weeks ago I started working part-time at a company that has a great team of people. There are drawbacks though, from no benefits for health insurance, dental, or vision, no pension or retirement plan, pays only once a month and for the better part of the year you only work 28 hours per week. Today I found out that the only way to increase one's hourly rate is to increase the amount of sets of books we complete each month. In order to get a raise you need to successfully manage TEN sets of books. There is one woman there that has been there for five years and is still making the same amount of money as when she started. My boss said it all depends on how hard you want to work for your money. If we want to make a dollar more per hour then we need to get our skills honed to take on those ten sets and soon ... sigh ... wish me success! There are benefits that tend to make this job a desirable one, like a great cast of characters to work with, a Spanish class on Mondays and Thursdays, and three day weekends. I hear tell there are paid holidays, a holiday bonus and a tax season full of hours to stock up on the months with less pay. So, for now we work.

Doin' a Happy Dance! Why? I got a job!

Today at 12:43 p.m. the phone rang; it was a call about the Bookkeeping/Tax Prep position for which I had applied for yesterday! They offered me the job, and I accepted. One of the advantages of this job will be the 20 mile round trip drive to and from work each day. Now that I can handle, especially after driving nearly 80 miles round trip at my last job. The hours are less than I'd like to have at the moment, but that will allow for more time to do some free lance writing. I may even go volunteer at the school one a week until tax season.

The staff a my new place of employment are all very nice. We share a lot in common, being military brats, children, travel, and more. It has a real family feel to it all, and they even do things outside of the office together. Not sure how that will work, but I've done it before with another company I worked for here in town. It seems to be the trend some southern states. Even the more "stuffy" companies have groups of employees that band together, sometimes out of a necessity to hold a core group together as it downsizes, and sometimes out of a love for shared hobbies. My brother and some of the people he works with all ride Harley Davidson's.

Someone once asked me if I knew what the word "job" stood for? Well, I hadn't until then but I will never forget it, "Just Over Broke." Now if only my fortune cookie numbers would pay off! ;)

Find a job continues ...

It's week number seven in my search for full time employment. As a full time parent on a single income, it will be great to get back to work. Oh wait! I am working, I'm just not getting paid handsomely for it. I do have some work each week, mowing grass, cleaning house, providing taxi service, grocery delivery, and pet sitting. As for the paid part of my work, I've been fortunate enough to have earned as much as $70.00 in a weeks time blogging. One of the two businesses who offer opportunities to earn money for writing about the things you love, has been producing more work these days. This is a good thing.

As for the job search, I've completed nearly forty applications, have had four interviews, one essay interview, and a typing test. One of the companies had several applicants for the same position, participating in a series of steps in the choice for the right applicant. First everyone was to drop of their resume, followed by a fifteen minute interview with hiring personnel, then given an essay test, and finally an interview with the owners. It was an adventure, and it appears that none of us were what they were looking for as the job is once again posted on the job boards.

No wonder they say, finding a job IS a job!

One opportunity down, but I'm not out!

The interviews went well yesterday, one was very relaxed and the other was friendly, but quick as the interviewer said in advanced that quick but thorough was his style. Both had more interviews to conduct, so they well contact the most qualified applicant by next Tuesday.

As for the position working from home doing excel workbooks, there were 4 applicants and after all the test results were in, I didn't make the cut. However, the job shop will notify me if the company posts more positions. This might be a good time to dive into practicing my excel skills. For now, it's on to more searches!

2 Interviews & A Test

Today I have two interviews, the first is for an Administrative Assistant for a local health systems office, and the second is for a Teller at a credit union in a nearby town. Then later on today, I'll take a test for a job shop who has a job opening for at home work processing excel workbooks. For now, it's time to head out for the day and take Jenn to color guard & band camp. Who knows? Maybe my search will yield something really great!

30 days and counting ...

Just one month ago I found myself looking for full time employment. Nothing has changed in that regard ... wait the phone is ringing ... YES! An interview for Monday at 11:20 a.m. with a company I delivered a resume to just yesterday! Thank you Hazel! (That's the lady who hand delivered my resume to the proper party.) The position applied for is that of Admin Assistant with a health systems company. Hopefully my experiences in office settings will prove to be adequate for this position. It would be much closer than my last place of employment; 8.8 miles in comparison to 37.7 miles one way. The cost of gasoline has really put a squeeze on things having to drive 377 miles a week; it took over $225.00 per month to get to and from work alone. If we needed to go anywhere else, like the grocery store, I'd do it on the way home from work to save fuel. Not that I minded, but it would be nice to work closer to home. So, keep a positive thought wave coming my way next Monday!