GAME05

yeah, i'm starting to realize i'm worrying too much. the worst that could happen is i get written up (which really doesn't mean anything) and i'm not too popular for causing a tougher internet policy (but i'm leaving anyway). definitely will stay off the computer completely because they'll be monitoring me, and the next offense would be a direct violation of what the boss will be telling me not to do. the offense is more downloading a virus/trojan, which the boss believes is going to wipe out the entire hard drive. i've even seen the boss violate the "no internet except work sites" policy, but i promise the irony will be lost on him. heck, technically, the computer's homepage is a violation of our internet policy. the fact that i was stuck in the office by myself for 12 hours per day over Christmas doesn't really matter, since the boss expects us to be sweeping the floor or something the entire time. and if during the talk the boss wants to discuss me actually enjoying the job or not, i won't exactly open up about anything.

yep, one of those things i could have Googled and found out in thirteen seconds, sorry. "If we determine you were not fired for misconduct..." since the boss has to go through upper channels, it's paranoid to think that he'd get the ok to fire me based on "he makes small mistakes" or even "he's not right for the job (doesn't know mechanical stuff)." and even if, unemployment would really give me an opportunity to do volunteer work and network and just help pay for my transition to NC. i have an address in Austin i could use to maintain my Texas residency. and really, i doubt telling an employer "I was hired for a mechanical job but I'm not a mechanic" isn't totally going to scare anyone away from hiring me. likely i suppose it'll end up meaning the boss isn't too thrilled with me and might think i'm lazy (which i'm really not). i ended up getting a coworker/friend in trouble because of this, too (he was on the Internet that night) who said that my/our internet usage is going to be monitored very closely now, and obviously i'm going to completely avoid going on there from now on. thanks, all. i'm really feeling a lot better about the whole deal now. yeah, Monday will be rough, but i think overall, any scenario won't end up being as terrible as i'd perceived it yesterday.

pretty close. i'm currently a Park Ranger, although realistically i'm a Park Janitor. lot of bathroom cleaning and trash dumping but also some small maintenance stuff here and there. i've actually been told not to be proactive about projects since i lack the experience. i also rotate back and forth between early morning shifts and all-night shifts with as little as two days' turnaround. there aren't other positions at the organization. i'm in Texas and trying to move back to North Carolina. since full-time jobs are tough to find, i'm also looking for part-time jobs in the field. i'm hoping my graduate degree shouldn't make it too hard. so that's why i'm just holding out until roughly through April. by then i'll have either found the job or will make the decision to just go back to NC and cross my fingers (not positive on that yet). this latest incident scared me quite a bit, but no, i'm not going to get fired. the boss has to go through upper channels for that, and forgetting a garbage can and being on the computer isn't a strong justification. the boss thinks i only ever just sit around, which isn't true, but that's the way it is. he's been asking the other Rangers how i've been doing on the job. i'm going to get written up and probably won't be endearing myself to the other Rangers who might not be able to surf the Internet any longer. but i can deal with it for four months. regardless of my hatred for the job, it's one of those situations where i just don't really belong there despite my efforts to fit in (the other Rangers like me, though). it's very much a cultural thing, too. and that's what always has me nervous is that i clearly don't belong there. it's possible the boss ends up talking to me about enjoying the job and whatnot since i've messed up too often, but i can handle that, i guess. thanks for the help, guys. it's been tough the past year between not liking the job, not liking the city i live in, not fitting in anywhere and not knowing anyone down here. edit: i thought a person couldn't collect unemployment if they got fired, or at least there was a complicated appeal process. otherwise there would be nothing stopping someone purposely getting themselves fired just to collect unemployment. but strangely, unemployment would be awesome for me to help me afford possibly not finding a job in NC for a while.

how do prospective employers view a termination on an employee's record, especially if it was the past job? so-so if you have a good reason, or akin to a felony? i feel i'm on the borderline at my current job. this weekend i got a virus on the work computer, which is considered just about the worst crime that can be committed. there was nothing X-rated, but the boss is getting a LONG list of the sites i was on during Christmas weekend. it won't go well. to a veteran employee, it wouldn't be terrible, but i've been there 8 months and have already had two or three sit-down talks with the boss for what are serious offenses at the job: 1. forgot to empty the office trash can at night. 2. came in very sick on night shift but forgot to clean one restroom that happened to be very dirty. 3. voluntarily came into to work and apologized to the boss for doing a poor job one night. apart from this, what it all really amounts to (and what i would tell a prospective employer) is that i just don't quite fit into the work culture, and that i was hired as a maintenance man despite having zero maintenance experience. but i would then also have to check that "Have you ever been terminated" box on standard application forms. it's hard enough to land interviews as it is, and does checking that box mean the application pretty much goes right into the garbage? because of this, there's a small part of me that almost wants to quit before i get fired. sorry if this is mostly venting, but it really worries me. plus, all i'm really trying to do is make it until about April because by then i should be able to land a part-time job back home in North Carolina.

Nieves, do you know anything about being a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional? i was thinking of paying to get this just for resume-building. i asked an old boss who hasn't written back, but i was wondering if it held any weight at all. it's kind of expensive and very clearly just a way for the governing body to take money out of our pockets, but i'm thinking it's just one more thing that other applicants won't have (though the graduate degree tends to do that already). i am hoping to become a Certified Playground Inspector, too, because it should be a nice value-added on my resume. after these two certifications are complete, i'm going to ask for permanent night-shift duty and then get a simple-enough second job. the extra $200-300 per month will either pay off additional school loans or i could be much more willing to fly out of state for a first interview without having to dip into bill-paying money. i already lost out on a Park Ranger job because i wasn't willing to fly out for a first interview and they wouldn't do an initial talk over the phone. a second job would mean death to any possible socializing, but it's not like i know anyone here, anyway. Get me out of Texas!!!!!

sorry that i can't offer any specific advice, but it isn't surprising that you haven't found a law job in this long of a time. my boss' daughter graduated with a legal degree from a school in DC. two years ago 98% of the class got a job after graduation, and this year 98% couldn't find anything. i hate to throw that "volunteer" word out there because it's easier said than done, but even one day per week filing papers at a law office could be enough where you could put your work at the firm on the top of your resume as a '2011 to Present' position and give off a better impression that you're currently doing legal work to duck some of that "unemployed need not apply" garbage. obviously i'm sure you'll say something better than "nobody's wanted to hire me," but if that question comes up, just have something to show how you're still in the field somehow, whether it's that volunteer stuff or continuing education or just something where you can say you're a lawyer and a laborer on the side and haven't only been laboring in the meantime. are there conferences you can go to in order to network? i went to one when i was unemployed and at every seminar everyone had to stand up and introduce themselves. i was the only one there who said he was unemployed, and i have to think that's a good benefit if someone there happened to know of an opening. ---------- (unrelated) it looks like there may be an opening for a Park Ranger at my job in southern Texas if anyone happens to be interested. there is also a huge need for CDL drivers down here. also many other jobs in Oil if anyone likes very hard labor, long hours and a $2,500 paycheck per week (i have no ins, however).

i'm going to set myself a deadline that whether or not i have a new job waiting for me, i'm going to leave this job and this town in six months. in about six months' time, i'll have reached that magical two years of experience in my field which every mid-level job seems to require. some businesses are loose on this, but i've known some (government) municipalities who won't even consider resumes that don't show two years of experience if that's the requirement, regardless of other qualifications. Plus, six months more at this job will put me at 10 months total time, which is enough to say i've learned the skills of the position. i can't bear it here any longer than that. saw a job back in NC that was perfect, required a degree plus two years' experience, and then it said it paid all of $24,000 per year. a person couldn't afford a cheap apartment on that. i'd be almost tempted to take that sort of job (but in a good city) and work my way up from there. maybe i could trade in my car to get a minivan and sleep in that. i'd save up good money even on $24,000 and could shower every morning at the Y. i know it's been done and i'll try, but i don't hold out much hope of finding a low-level out-of-state job. eventually they'll want to interview you in person and i can't afford to fly to a bunch of interviews.

just thought i'd update everyone on how things were going...sorry, though, i realized i kind of bogarted this thread and didn't mean to make it all about me or anything. been at the Park Ranger job about three/four months now. absolutely miserable there. have a very hard time transitioning from the night shift to the day shift and back again, and the work isn't satisfying. but i can't complain all too much, as i'm banking $100/200 per month and this time i have a job while i look for another one. it should be interesting to try and look for government work in a struggling industry while applying out of state. i might as well have a criminal record for the impossibility of that search. but i guess i can always jump to that zipline tour guide next year if i feel like i need to. this town has been rough, too. nothing like not fitting in wherever you go. the best way to advance in my industry is to stay in one place and work your way up, so i'm going to be a little picker this time about landing in a place i know i'd want to stay at for a good while. but not to make it all about me, if you're looking for work and are good at physical labor, withstanding the heat of Texas and know something about machinery, i live right where all the shale fracking/oil exploration is down here, and workers are flooding here because you can make $100,000 for six months worth of work. people are taking home $2500 in a paycheck after taxes and i see a lot of people walking around town with $100 bills. granted, there's no available places to live, so people are living in RVs in parking lots and getting bussed to work, but so be it for that kind of money. oh, and Kilgore, so far i've been able to withstand the heat fairly well. some days are bad, but i drink a couple gallons of water per day. i also regularly dip my head in the sink and then wear a wet rag under my hat to keep my head wet. i heard once that old-time ballplayers used to wear a cabbage leaf under their hat when they played in the field to keep themselves cooler--i haven't tried that one yet, but i'm curious.

the Park Ranger part sealed it for me. those jobs are so incredibly hard to get, and one or two years there will definitely help to entrench me in the industry. two years of related Ranger experience plus a Master's degree plus industry job growth (likely, anyway) should make me incredibly marketable (i hope). definitely scared of the southern Texas heat, so i figure on keeping a cooler in my work truck full of those cooling neck bands and ice packs. it's two months of temps in the upper 90s with high humidity, which makes this Wisconsin boy nervous whether i can make it through or not. but then it's just for a year or two. plus i can keep myself busy with working out and watching the Brewers win. looks like i'm 30 minutes from the Gulf, so i guess i'll become a beach lover. and any bf.netters who want to come down my way on vacation can know they have a place to crash with me.

thanks, greeg. i found it quite telling that every single person i asked about it said "Park Ranger." i think that if i have any instinct of turning left but everyone else says turn right, then just maybe i should be turning right. despite some instincts to the contrary, i took the Park Ranger job today (pending a physical and such, of course). my father noted that since my thru-hike i've mostly been bouncing around a lot from nothing-job to nothing-job, and going to Asheville would be more of the same. at first i kept saying to myself that Asheville is really a place where i'd like to settle down permanently, but i think you can only base that strong a statement on having a career-type of job to allow you to settle. the zipline job is not exactly that job. it's a college-kid job, except i'm almost 34. for the four months of the off-season there i'd be again hoping to get that REI job for $8/hr. so guess i'm not jumping around at the prospect of being in Victoria, Texas, but i guess logic says it's the best move.

ok, i guess i'm summoning the opinions of my fellow bf.netters out there. i have an interesting dilemma to figure out by Friday morning. it's a good-good dilemma. after many months of searching, today i got offered two separate jobs, and i'm trying to quickly figure out which one would be best for me. 1. Park Ranger job--ideally i would like to become a National Park Ranger (or some non-teaching type of parks and recreation job). and no job better prepares you for being a Park Ranger than being a Park Ranger, right? of the two jobs, this job pays better, not even including the usual health/dental benefits. resume-wise, this is very clearly the better of the two jobs. the downside to this position that i keep thinking about is that it is in Southern Texas. being from Wisconsin, there is a substantial fear that i will even be able to make it through the summers, as they are 105+ degrees with high humidity for most of the year. i should add that this job is 80% outdoors. the location is somewhat near Corpus Christi, but is in an otherwise lifeless and empty town. i don't plan on staying there for that long, maybe one or two years until that good experience gets me a better job somewhere not in Texas. 2. Canopy Guide--this involves mostly ziplines and rappelling, some environmental education, leading tourists through the woods. it starts with a week of unpaid training that has a 15% failure rate, though i've been assured from a friend who manages there that i'll be fine. pay is less with no benefits. the company is young and growing. my friend was a tour guide last year and is a manager this year. the job, however, finishes the end of November and doesn't start again until about March, so i figure to be on unemployment or working at REI between then. certainly not the better of the two jobs on paper, but still somewhat applicable when it comes to a career as a Park Ranger or something similar where i'd be working as something of a tour guide and naturalist educator. Nice thing about this position is that it is located in Asheville, NC, which i consider to be quite possibly the best city in the US. now, despite being told otherwise by my Advisory Board (who happen to share my last name), i still lean somewhat to the Zipline Guide. One reason is that i don't know a soul in Southern Texas, but I have five good friends in Asheville. For whatever reason I see Southern Texas as being a very lonely existence for those one or two years. I think a lot of me leans toward Asheville is that even though the job is worse, i suffer with loneliness quite a bit and it's a value to me to have friends in Asheville. and as a 33-year-old single person, i have no problems admitting that i regularly pray to finally meet a girl and get to settle down, which i guess i don't really see happening in Southern Texas. maybe i won't meet a girl i Asheville, but at 33, maybe i don't have all that many years left for the chance to have a family. yet long-term, i can't deny that the Park Ranger job in Southern Texas almost certainly gets me to my career goal faster than being basically a tour guide. the Zipline Guide training starts on Monday morning, and i have a 20-hour drive ahead of me, not including rests. it would definitely be a quick pack and go (capable of it, even though i work tomorrow). it feels like this is a decision of logic vs. emotions, or even of short-term happiness vs. long-term gains. i've thrown out this dilemma to a good number of friends today and they pretty much had the same answer, but you all have always been so helpful to me in the past, and i was hoping that maybe you all might have something to add on it. if i take the Zipline job, i figure i'll have to leave on Friday night, so i also don't have a ton of time to be debating this whole thing.

i'd quit my part-time gig at Wal-Mart to go full-time at my outfitters in large part because they told me that soon i'd be eligible to buy into their health-care program. two days as a full-time employee there and they go "OH, sorry, you actually have to wait until May to get health care." that really got me steamed. the job pays worse than it should, but there's no point in me finding a similar job because i don't expect to be in Austin much longer--though i haven't explored the city's options as much as i'd have liked, i think i underestimated just how hot it is here (85 degrees today) and am basically frightened of the summer (told that it cools all the way down to 95 on summer nights). plus i like North Carolina and Colorado and have friends/relatives there. options on my table right now: (Educational) Program Coordinator: though i very much don't want to be a teacher (essentially what this job is), it's good for my resume plus it's located near Austin. i was supposed to get a callback today to tell me if i was selected or not among the other three candidates. Park Ranger: ideal for my resume, though located in horribly hot and humid Southern Texas. i took second or third in a previous interview, they had a new opening, and the manager emailed me to ask me to reapply (not that i'm guaranteed anything). Zipline Tour Guide: pays only $10.50/hr and only for 8 months of the year (guess i'd go for unemployment afterward). a friend is a manager there and the place has a lot of management potential. nice that it's located in North Carolina, which is ideally where i'd like to live (or Colorado), and i'd be able to apply for the few North Carolina jobs instead of applying from 1,000 miles away. after talking to a friend in the industry, i think it'd be best to take the Coordinator or Park Ranger positions if either was offered ahead of the Zipline job. then just suffer my one or two years as i build my experience and look for a new job out of the state.

well, my experiment as an employee in the Wal-Mart Deli will now be ending in a week's time. was offered full-time hours at my other job, which means i'll get dental and be able to buy into their health plan in another 30 days, which is just too valuable to pass up. i'd also been working long hours every single day for the past two months because of having two jobs, and i've hit my physical and mental breaking point (which included many days when i didn't have time to eat). surprisingly, the Wal-Mart Deli didn't turn out to be the worst job in the world, and i pretty much knew how to do all the work by the end of my first day. found what was pretty much my ideal job in my field the other day, which requirements i'm perfect for, and then saw it was a five-month temporary gig. good for the resume, but right now it seems too scary to be both broke and unemployed again in five months' time.

did extremely well on an interview for a part-time recreation (my field) job near Austin, which i'm somewhat unlikely to take. also did very very well on an interview for a full-time Park Ranger job (my ideal job) in Southern Texas. summers there are 105 degrees + 90 percent humidity, so that'll be extremely rough to handle at an outdoor job, but the experience would be too good to pass up. i'd be leaving after two years with experience and a Master's degree into a better economy, so i'd be highly marketable. if i'm not offered the job, i think i'll head back to North Carolina. i think i made a mistake thinking i could handle summers in Texas, but i think they're actually going to eat me alive. North Carolina has a terrible economy for the recreation field, but i know someone who can speak for me for openings in Charlotte, and a favourite professor of mine there knows pretty much every hiring manager in the state, and would be able to speak on my behalf. at the worst, i have a job at a summer camp just about lined up. i'd be the at the same level as a bunch of 20-year-olds, but it'd still be good resume fodder for me. i know i can't make decisions based on friends (though i want to move back to NC in part because of them), but it stinks that my friend here was really excited to have me move down. now i'm working at night so we don't hang out, and then i'd end up moving out on him right after i get here. he's moving away in two years, which at least makes me feel a tiny bit better about it.

after thinking i might head back to North Carolina, i'm starting to lean your way, Invader. talking to a friend that i graduated with, it's tough to get a Park Ranger job, so if i'm offered this job, it's better to take it long-term and just deal with an awful and painfully hot city for a year or two. at that point, then i'd be hugely marketable and could then almost choose the place i'd like to live, and with a good job. the alternative is moving to NC, to the state i enjoy, but then working 5+ years in crap jobs until i find something i enjoy. i think i've been too short-sighted on my wanting to move to a good place to live, regardless of the job prospects. now, i could very well not get this Park Ranger job, and then i may very well head to NC even though they have a horrible economy right now for my field. worse prospects but better contacts, anyway. i just have to make sure that my current situation (working a grueling schedule at two minimum-wage jobs and never able to go out) doesn't cloud my judgment. still homesick for NC, though.

had a part-time interview today and crushed it, and have an interview next week for a full-time job. now, i'm one to always consider the possibilities, and i'm not totally sure which situation might be best right now. 1. I live in Austin, Texas, right now. only three months, but i'm really missing North Carolina--the mountains, better hiking, bigger trees and a lot of my friends there. poor economy there but some good contacts. so basically it'd be with friends and where i enjoy living, but likely be spending a while at your basic crap job and just getting by for a while. 2. take a part-time gig that pays decent and at least is near Austin. 3. the full-time job interview is in the middle-of-nowhere Texas sorta-near Corpus Christi, so super-hot and super-humid, but full-time and in my field. i find myself still missing North Carolina, though. it seems the quality of the jobs i'm looking at are inversely proportional to the place where i'd like to live. if i were 20 this would be easy, but at 33, i have an equal desire to build a career but also to finally settle down in one place and call it home and not face moving again in a few years. obviously it's ultimately my own decision, but i thought maybe you all might have some advice or have something i may not have considered.

just updated the resume and on the advice above, will repost it on the industry job sites so it looks fresher. i think i'll exclude the WalMart job from the resume just because i don't want to end up pushing down or deleting the industry-specific work, but my outfitter job will be on there so that people see i'm doing something. now the decision is whether or not to apply for jobs in Dallas (three hours from me, in Austin). have zero money to pay an apartment, but the father would be more than happy to front me. wouldn't like Dallas as much, but then it's industry-specific work. ok, just decided to apply and if it's a management job, then i've got to take it. knowing it's not as good of a city, if it's menial work, then i won't.

Same thing, minor negative, turn it around. If you have to fill out a test about your behavior/beliefs, on a scale of 1-10, every answer should be a 1 or a 10. interesting. i'll get those questions every so often and always go with "8". i feel like answering "10" would show a little overconfidence, and as a kind of made-up, haven't-thought-about-it answer. i like "8" because it says you're good, but accept that you can always get better. for the "What's your weakness" i always go with "confidence," and also mention that it was my previous supervisor's negative comment about me (shows it's not made up). then i add an example of how i tried it and realized i could do it successfully. haven't decided yet if that's a strong answer yet or not. the question that always throws me is "Describe a problem you faced and how you solved it." i seriously can't think of any particular problem i've had, so i typically just tell them about how i go about solving problems. side note, i got a job at Wal-Mart part-time, and just yesterday got a job at an outfitters (an hour away, which stinks). so with two part-time jobs i should be able to get by financially now, which is a huge load off. now to wait it out for a year+ until something career-oriented comes along. hope i don't need a hospital in the meantime.

my professional resume lists relevant jobs only and i never even bother talking about work gaps--would take up too much space that i otherwise fill with more appropriate information. i just let them ask if they want. i don't know, i feel like i should save the dead grandmother excuse for getting those three days of paid grievance time off once i'm on the job. or maybe the grandmother excuse would work if you're ever accidentally late for an interview. "sorry i'm late; grandma's funeral ran long."

awesome tip. i've suddenly got a project to do tomorrow. got me a job at Wal-Mart and have an interview tomorrow at an outfitters. should i get that second job i'll be able to break even financially, which will be awesome.

i've never heard that hotels tip, thanks. i think i'll end up trying those out toward the end of the week. today was some applying at Subway Restaurants. now that i've been turned down for a stocking job at a grocery store, i need to apply to anything and everything i can find. the glimmer of hope right now is that i've kind of made a contact in the Parks field (an Aunt living here knows him). and he's no ordinary contact--you could probably say that his direct bosses are senators. he doesn't know me from Adam and certainly doesn't deal in entry-level stuff, but i'll just cross my fingers that he has a chance to call and might have some ideas for me that i haven't thought of yet.

wanted to answer a couple comments from the "What's Bugging You" thread since this thread is more appropriate here, and i don't want to hijack the other thread: Find a headhunter is that like a temp agency? i'm looking into them right now to find one who isn't IT or Engineering specific. Do you have any connections at all in your new community? vaguely. someone i haven't met forwarded my resume on to an HR person in Austin. i emailed him a simple hello when i finally got here, but he didn't email back. not sure how much more i'd be able to bug him or even what to say beyond what i have already. but i think i'll try another hello and mention a job i'd applied to that is STILL in the "review" stage but has my Wisconsin address on the application (i called and the City won't let me change it, but I mentioned my move in the cover letter). looking forward to a conference on the 19th. will chat up everyone i can and hopefully make some job contacts or non-aggressively pass out my resume during conversation.

i don't know if this thread might be a help to people or not. but i was just thinking of the handful of people on brewerfan like myself who have been looking for work for quite some time with no luck. with every job opening, an organization gets 200+ resumes, so more than ever, even getting an interview means having a contact who can help get your foot in the door. or maybe there's just a use for advice from someone in the industry. so considering the diversity and knowledge on this site, maybe people are open to getting PMd to offer help. i'm currently looking for Park and Recreation work (state or municipal, anywhere). i used to be an editor and would be happy to offer anything i might know about the industry. Thanks!