Walkabout

Ladies room wall
Mason Dixon Bar
Lower East Side, NYC

Fun With Craigslist

You may have noticed that I don't spend a lot of time writing about all the resumes I'm sending out. And there is good reason, kids. I am not sending out a lot of them.

Why? you ask. Am I loving a life of leisure lived on the stipend of unemployment? Oh hell no. I like working. I miss working. I am a happier person (made evident by the crazy sadness that overcame me a couple of days ago for no reason at all) when I am doing a lot of things and have seemingly little time in my schedule.

There is just not a lot out there right now. Those unemployed amongst you know that.

In that vein, here are some fun snippets from Craigslist that I've collected over the past day or two.

I am looking for a personal assistant. I am only looking for a female. I need her to organize schedhules, and documents, call back clients, and answer phone calls. I am willing to pay anywhere from $1600-$2000 a month in salary, plus there will be comissions as well. Hour needed are from 2-10pm. I need someone devoted, so please only respond if your serious in working. 20-30 yrs old is a plus.

Um ... it's entirely illegal to require someone to be a certain age for a job. It's not specified if the poster is a female (who is freaked out by men) or a creepy guy - but my first reaction to it was that this was a lecherous guy who just wanted to get a hot, young woman into his home office on a daily basis. Ew.

To be considered for the position- please fax a HANDWRITTEN cover letter with resume

I'm not going to say what company posted this, and I am actually considering applying for it, as several of the requirements are right up my alley. Over dinner the other evening, I was chatting with a woman I know from the beauty industry who had applied for a different position with the same company. I just figured they wanted a hand written cover letter faxed to cut down on lazy or under-qualified people applying to the job. But, apparently the woman who does the hiring is very into handwriting analysis and if you make it into the interview process, there is a 12 page analysis of your writing ...

Looking to fill position ASAP. Again, you must live within 20-minutes of SoHo; no exceptions.

This person will be missing out on some qualified people. Of course, they probably want someone who lives nearby who can be at their beck and call at all hours. Next!

You must be able to anticipate needs of a fairly off the wall ADD entrepreneur If you need a lot of supervision and cannot think independently you will not be happy here.

In my experience, even people who actually do need a lot of supervision do not think that they need a lot of supervision. Props to the person to admitting their quirks in the actual posting, though.

$10-$14 an hour, depending on qualifications.
MUST SPEAK SPANISH. MUST BE BILINGUAL

This one is not that crazy, I'll admit. It's just an example of many low-paid jobs I've seen posted that have several requirements and require at least two languages (I see Mandarin and Russian a lot). Not so crazy in New York, I know, but at least offer a little cash!

This is a diverse job in which we hope you can grow into Managing and quoting custom Jobs. If you are not bright, articulate, energetic and good with numbers please don’t waste anyone’s time.

Um ... who doesn't think that they themselves are bright and articulate? I don't think anyone out there would be like, "Hey, I'm a dumb-ass, I better not apply."

Salary is $10 per hour and there are no benefits. Please send resume.

Woo-hoo! That sounds great. No benefits. Full-time. And not enough of a wage to pay for one's own benefits.

I know it's tough out there. And I know employers are hurting, too. But one of the first rules of running a successful business is to treat your employees well - it builds loyalty and breeds a harder working employee. Which can only help your business in the long run, no?

Free Work?

For those of you on the hunt for a new job or a career change (as I am trying to make), here is an interview with Leslie Stahl (of 60 Minutes) on yesterday's Brian Lehrer show on WNYC about becoming an intern later in life.

The comments are interesting, as well.

The question comes, when you are at a certain juncture in your life, can you do "free" work? I don't disagree with those college-aged interns who are posting that they feel they get little out of their internships besides getting "the right colored post-its and coffee". But I have to say that they are too young to full realize how a few well placed contacts in the industry of their choice can give them a leg up when it comes time to enter the job market for real. Maybe they don't love getting the boss their 10am Starbuck's fix every day, but they don't realize if they do it with a smile, on time and without complaint every day, as well as remembering to offer to help out when it's not necessarily "their job", that their boss/supervisor/whomever will remember them, will want to be their mentor and will probably not only be able, but very happy, to assist them in their future endeavors.

I'm not in the place where I am looking for an internship quite yet, though I do look at the FIT job board from time to time (the perks of being enrolled, even part time as a student) and if I saw one in the right field, I am not above applying for it.

If you are on the dole, with that employment check coming in, small as it may be, and all your actual job prospects seem very poor, why not spend a handful of hours a week in a work environment? Sure, maybe you could learn a thing or two but, and so much more importantly, you can network with the right people.

Getting Down To Business

Yesterday, I posted a link to a website about how to use your time wisely when unemployed. And, in previous posts, you may get the feeling that I haven't really been doing so. And you might be right with that assumption. I sleep too late. I stay up too late ... And that, in itself, can sometimes throw off any hope for regular productivity.

So, today, I woke earlier than normal - did yoga, drank some coffee and got my butt out into the sunshine day. It's a beautiful day in Greenpoint Brooklyn. I met my friend N, a photographer, for a late breakfast/early lunch at Roebling Tea Room and then got down to business.

I've always been a crafty girl. I have a degree in studio art. I have a huge collection of gorgeous fabrics that I never know what to do with. When I was a kid, I was quite crafty. I decided to make a present for my friend's newborn with some pretty awesome vintage fabric I've been hoarding since the 90s. Today was the great quest for poly-fill in the neighborhood. You'd think it'd be an easy find ... not so much. Shout out to the ladies at Space Craft on Bedford/South 4th, who didn't have what I needed but were not only super nice (and their store is super cute) but they told me where I might find some and some alternatives to store bought poly-fill that were so simple, but I never would have thought of - so then I walked and walked to a cool little fabric store jam packed with stuff on Grand between Lorimer and Leonard (will definitely hit that up before my next trip to Mood!!).

And there it is. Does it have anything to do with the job I'm currently looking for? No. Not so much. I'm really just looking for an admin position in fashion/beauty/retail, as I've done for so long already. But. It does have something to do with the job I'm hoping to get once I'm done with the classes I want to take (and am currently taking) at FIT. And it's something to talk about in an interview when one eventually comes my way. What have I been up to in these months of unemployment? Sitting on my ass? Oh no, not me! I've been using this time to catch up on some crafting that I didn't really have time for before. I've been taking classes at FIT. I've been making little stuffed animals for my friend's infant daughter. Sure, of course I've sent out resumes, but I've been using my time - hopefully - wisely.

It's so easy to feel bummed out, down and depressed when you're unemployed. Especially when you've been so for a while. And it's true that you cannot spend 8 hours a day looking for a job. You'll only make yourself crazy. And, really? You want to tell the HR person at your next interview that you've been spending the day cooped up on the internet? That doesn't make you seem like a very interesting person. Who wants to hire someone dull?

So you have the time! I have the time! Let's use it!!!

Craft. Exercise. Paint. Sew. Walk around the neighborhood and take pictures of the things you see. Just get out there and try not to feel sorry for yourself. There're a lot of unemployed peeps out there right now. It's nothing personal.

Walkabout

An image from one of my afternoon walks.
West Street and Milton in Greenpoint

Helpful Hints

I have one friend, who will remain unnamed, who, whenever we speak since my lay-off asks me about the resumes I've sent out and how the job hunt is going. I've weaned him off it a bit, as there was a while that he was basically saying I should apply for any possible job, whether I was over-qualified or it would pay way less than what I was making before.

Here's the thing. I can't do that. I can't, at this juncture, take just any job that comes my way. I can't apply for a job that pays $11/hour. I can't remember the time that I made that little money but I'm reasonably sure that it was before the millennium. So, every morning, I sit down with the job websites. And I look. And I look. And I look. And every now and then there is somewhere to send my resume. So I work up and appropriate cover letter. I attach my resume (unless it says to past it in the body and then I do that). And I wait.

I've also been reading some blogs/websites/etc ... with helpful hints for the unemployed. Some of them are about how to stay frugal. Some of them are about networking. Some of them are about making use of the free time that you have on your hands. Today I stumbled upon The Brazen Careerist, which seems to be a pretty cool site with some useful hints and advice.

Some of these things are, of course, pretty practical and you probably should have thought of them yourself. But, sometimes in those dark days on unemployment and rejection, it's hard to bring your mind back to reality/practicality and what should be common knowledge. So, a little advice, from someone who's been there before, is never a bad thing.

Day In The Life ...

So, it's been a couple of weeks sit I've sat down in front of the laptop to write anything here. Don't worry, dear readers, I'm still on the dole. And, the way things are going, it doesn't look like there is anything on the horizon any time soon.

A day in my life ... lately:
Sleep a little bit too late
Pop in contacts and wash face (maybe in the other order. I can't be sure - I've not had any coffee when I'm doing it)
Put on the coffee pot
Yoga
Drink the coffee from the coffee pot
Spend some time on the internet - Craigslist, MediaBistro, Crack(I mean Face)Book, respond to e-mails and send out resumes
Nosh on ... well, pretty much whatever is in the house
Shower
Dress
And here's where it varies - sometimes I take a long walk. Sometimes I sit on the couch and read. Sometimes I watch really stupid TV (sometimes I watch Gilmore Girls, which is not stupid TV no matter what you say). Sometimes I head into Manhattan and wander around MoMA. Sometimes I meet up with a fellow, unemployed friend (there are, fortunately for them, not too many right now).

Always, I stay up too late playing on the internet and the vicious cycle of not getting up early in the morning starts all over again.

Today's afternoon variant was errand running and a very long walk.

This evening will involve a game of Scrabble and perhaps a cup of tea.

Ah, the excitement in the life of the single and unemployed girl in NYC ...