16 job applications submitted and still no job.

[Brahma Bull]

:wtf: is up with that? I think I'm overqualified. I've applied to several department stores and fast food places. Maybe it's because of my 3 1/2 years of college education. Maybe it's the horseshit economy. Who knows.

I don't think I'll be able to get a job this summer. I really need one to pay for college too. :cry: :(

[tcfrogs]

1. Good luck!

I got laid off a couple of years ago, and sent literally hundreds of applications to open positions. Always over or under qualified.

No fun - best wishes.

[theivoryqueen]

2. how is the convention biz in Minnesota?

i suggest trying several large hotels and catering companies and booking yourself out as a contract catering server. It is pretty easy to get into catering jobs. They pay between $15 - 25 per hour plus the occasional nice tip. For fun - if travel is an option, try cool works - hang on -will edit with link.

here 'tis:

http://www.coolworks.com/

look around on the site - there are occasionally some interesting jobs!

[theivoryqueen]

5. also - welcome to DU!

and keep note of cool works for next summer if this one doesn't pan out

[Brahma Bull]

7. I'm going to try to apply at catering places.

Tomorrow, I'll be applying at the Holiday Inn as a banquet server and/or a dishwasher.

I pray to God I'll get a job there.

[theivoryqueen]

go for server

but also apply with independant caterers - if no personal referrals, use the yellow pages and find caterers. It's not quite the end of wedding season!

on edit - book with more than one company and also chech out your convention center if applicable. They usually pay about 50 bucks per 4 hours.

[VolcanoJen]

16. Server jobs aren't even plentiful right now... but will be...

... in about a month.

Right now, college students on summer break are hogging up all the good server/bartender/line chef/host/barback/bouncer jobs. However, they usually grow bored or non-committal around mid-July, which is the perfect time to look for such jobs.

I start recruiting for such jobs right around the end of the first week of July... early bird catches the worm, if that helps!

:D

[Renew Deal]

3. Those jobs are not available.

There are adults and immigrants that have poured into those because the economy sucks. The stores actually have full staffs of adults for a change.

[charliebrown]

24. Yeah, I feel I have a Dark Halo over my head.

Sometimes, Its as though an absosolutmauser is making sure my life is miserable. All I want is a job that I can live off and maybe have a night out once a month.

DO I want to work and make money? HELL YES!!!! Do I want to work at Burger King..HELL,,NO!!!

I am sick of this BS Economy and want MY America Back!!!!

[testing123]

4. Do you live near the Mall of America?

[Brahma Bull]

8. Um...the Mall of America is a 3 hour drive.

I think that's pretty much out of the equation.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. Sixteen? Only sixteen?

I made 1100 contacts from late 2001 until late last year, with about 70% of them getting my resume. And what did I get? Bupkiss!

I don't know what your exact situation is, but the way Bush has it rigged, if you're under 40 you can always join the Army.

--bkl

[Brahma Bull]

9. Yes...that's the most I've ever applied for.

Usually, I get a job at the first application I put in.

I am NOT going to go into the army. There's no way in Hell I'd ever get that desperate.

Thanks anyways.

[iconoclastic cat]

15. Uh, Brahma, I must take exception to your statement.

Not everyone who joins the military does so out of desperation.

[Sadie5]

11. I know what you mean

My daughter applied at I don't remember how many jobs after she graduated College in December. The best she could come up with after dozens of resumes and much street pounding was a job with a temp agency that paid $8.89 per hour, and the job was only for a receptionist. The guy promised her if she worked hard then he might consider her for a job in his accounting department. He has really stacked the work on her and she is afraid to say anything for fear of getting fired. Because she is a temp I guess he figures he will get his money's worth. Aside from the busy phone lines she is practically doing the accounting job now.

[iconoclastic cat]

20. Damn, BareKnuckledLib, that's harsh.

Let me guess: Web designer?

[Dogmudgeon]

23. Computer programmer

Visual Basic, but I developed Microsoft Office apps. Actually pretty challenging stuff.

They sent the job to you-know-where because they had a programmer who said he could do the same job at a fifth of my salary. He couldn't, but they decided they didn't need anyone to enhance Word and Excel for their company (one of the Big Pharma behemoths) after all.

I've been slowly getting some freelance work (mainly in document assembly), but I also have a full-time job taking care of my ailing mother and grandmother. My mother, bless her soul, still works. She has to, especially after Reagan decimated my Father's military pension. When he died, instead of getting 85%, she got 30%.

I don't mean to turn this into a "my whuppin' hurt worser than your whuppin'" contest, but I found it's typical for computer developers. So sixteen job interviews gone bad is to be expected in this economy. It's wonderful for business, though.

--bkl

[NightTrain]

10. Unfortunately, there's a lot of that going around.

For whatever it's worth, at least you aren't alone in your inability to find work.

Let's hear it for the Bush Junta!

[iconoclastic cat]

12. Don't give up. Keep yourself moving. If you can't do anything related to

your job search one day, spend that time volunteering.

And remember: A lot of us have master's degrees (2!) and are also unemployed. Just keep moving.

Always come to DU for a good round of that liberal-style optimism! (you know, authentic optimism, not the faked conservative kind that just serves as a thin fig leaf)

[Brahma Bull]

13. I know...but...

I'm looking for temporary summer work, not a career. I can't even find temp work! :grr:

[iconoclastic cat]

14. I know, I know. Look at what's happening to the grocery stores.

I should ask this in a post: Have you noticed a difference in the type of people who are working in your local grocery store? They aren't high school kids anymore, let's put it that way.

[Brahma Bull]

17. They are!

You don't see much high-school or college-aged kids working in grocery stores anymore! It's all older individuals who got canned from their careers! :grr:

[iconoclastic cat]

18. A Jewel store in the burbs used to hire cognitively challenged people,

which was why Mrs. Cat and I did all our shopping there, despite the fact that there were 5 Jewels on the way. We even told the managers that the reason we shopped there was because of the fact that they hired people who were trying to live normal lives despite their challenges. Withing the last 6 months, the store began replacing the challenged workers with people that were not challenged mentally, but were people who had not found employment elsewhere.

This is George W. Bush's America. This right here.

[Brahma Bull]

19. God damn Bush.

I really really hope he's gone in January. :grr:

[TheWizardOfMudd]

21. Smile at interviews. Be positive. Articulate your knowledge. Listerine.

[Brahma Bull]

22. I'm not even getting called in for interviews.

[Dogmudgeon]

25. Craps.

That's all it is -- luck.

Smiling, having a Good Attitude, speaking well, and smelling good are not determining factors.

Chances are better improved if the interviewer finds you attractive and you make a pass at him/her. Yes, that's how bad it is.

Incidentally, Wal-Mart won't hire unemployed professional people like me. We're too "uppity". We're used to not being treated like children, taking the initiative, and producing results -- not obedience and subservience.

So I'm free-lancing. And after Pakistan declares war on India and all that outsourced work comes home, my starting rate will be $95 per hour. Full bennies. No time clock. No drug test. No disciplinary regime. No exceptions.

--bkl

[nickgutierrez]

26. Oh, boy... join the club

I'm in the same mess... :(

[WindRavenX]

27. Same here

Another college kid lookin for a temp job.
Folks, Dairy Queen didn't even call me back....and I WORKED in the fast food industry for four straight years...
Jesus h Christ.

[JCMach1]

28. 16 and you are giving up!

LOL


You should try working and looking for a job in academia. Applications will usually number 100 before you get anything positive back.

Stiff upper lip and keep it up!

[Champ]

29. Wow 16

I applied for over 65 and still no job, sorry if I came off insensitive. I've had a really really bad day.

[Shananigans]

30. Ha, don't worry, I sent out almost 100 applications before

I got my temp job. Finally now I am full time. Have you applied at any temp agencies???

[CrownPrinceBandar]

31. How about 6 months out of work............

with a college degree even. I have sent out a shitload of resumes and applications and have gotten -0- responses. If I go one more month without a job, I will have to vacate my apartment, move home and figure a way to keep paying for my car.

Hang tight until school starts again.