For the past few weeks I worked at the school as a personal care aide, one of my three jobs, and I loved it. There is quite possibly a full-time aide position opening up for the following school year. I have written a letter of interest, which I was told to do by the administration department. I asked fellow employees and other teachers who teach in the same curriculumn if I needed to do anything else in applying for the position and the answer was "no".

I've been a substitute at this school for three years. Is there anything else I should be doing to ensure the hiring committee that I really would love the job or should I just wait and see what happens? Afterall, summer hasn't begun yet. I think I made it pretty clear that I want the job, but I feel that I need to "get my foot in the door" now (even if I already am a sub), who knows who the school will hire.

I heard that the woman who is leaving the job will not be giving her notice until the end of summer. If she decides to do this, I will go crazy. Full-time jobs are hard to come by, especially the one I like doing. I'm waiting for this job to pan out. Should I plan on finding something else for this fall just in case it doesn't? I already have this job, plus two other casual jobs.

How much time do I give them until I call and see if the position was filled or even if the woman has left the position yet? I don't want to be bothersome.

Posted by Jill E on May 31, 2007 at 7:37 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since the last blog; I have been a busy bee. Earlier this month I did something I don't recall having really ever done while trying to form my career path. What you ask? Identify my strengths and weaknesses. I'll keep both to myself for now. One resource said "taking stock" of yourself is the first step in a successful job search. I never really thought about doing that before. I guess human nature makes it hard sometimes to be critical of yourself, as opposed to being critical of others. This online resource and a couple of other ones I hope will help me be more proactive in my job search. I wrote down my strengths and weaknesses, and ironically, a week later in the newspaper was an article talking about the same subject as it relates to Generation Y, my generation. This sounds like good karma! I will talk about Gen Y's strengths and weaknesses in another blog.

I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day. Let the summer begin!

Posted by William F on May 31, 2007 at 11:27 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Hello all!

As the newest member in this blogging community, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to all of you job seekers out there, as well as give you an idea of what you might be reading in the upcoming days/weeks/months.

As any good introduction starts with, my name is Chris Hollis. I am a 23 year old Publicity Agent in (mostly) sunny Orlando, Florida. I work for a great company, one that has offered me a world of opportunity.

Now I know some of you are asking, "Why should I care about this Chris Hollis guy who already has a job and isn't dealing with the stress of graduating and finding a place in the workforce?"

Fair question. However, my goal here is not to tell you how wonderful my life is because I have found a job that I enjoy and don't mind waking up for every morning. I'm here to be a supportive force for those who are trying to do the same: land that first job.

I hope to offer some insight, some anecdotes and some degree of understanding to each of you that decide to read what I have put on the screen in front of you. I graduated from school 12 not-so-distant months ago, and the memories and lessons of the job hunt are still fresh in my mind.

So feel free to read this and agree/disagree/or just not care. For those that are interested in what I am putting out there, I'd love to hear from you. I would love to listen to the ups and downs of your job hunt. I would love to support you when an interview goes badly and congratulate you when you knock em' dead. And I would enjoy to no end to hear the satisfaction in your voice when that day comes and you find yourself in that first job you have worked so hard to get.

That's it for now. I'll leave all of you job seekers with a great quote from Oliver Wendall Holmes:

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand,
as in what direction we are moving."

-Chris

Posted by Chris Hollis on May 30, 2007 at 1:32 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

Second Life is a unique concept that intrigues me. On one hand I'd really like to create an identity and begin my new life doing whatever I feel like doing. It would be an opportunity for me to start all over and become something or someone that I might not have the chance to become in my real life. On the other hand, I am one of those "cease the day" kinds of people. I don't spend a lot of time looking back and regretting what I didn't do. I spend my time looking forward, setting goals for the future. This has given me lots of opportunities in this life to be the person I want to be. I don't necessarily feel like I need a make believe life to fulfill my desire to be someone. I'm already someone and I want to use the time that I have in my real life doing whatever I feel like doing. Therefore, for me Second Life virtual career fairs will not become something that I will participate in because I don't have an identity created there. However, Second Life is like any other unique operation out there. There will be diehards who will gravitate to it and use it to the full potential including participating in virtual career fairs. To them I say, great job! I commend you for giving it your all and I hope for your sake that it is a successful use of your time!

Second Life is a unique concept that intrigues me.

-- Article by Innovative Recruiting. This article is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com , a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 24, 2007 at 10:28 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Hi, all!

I haven't posted for sometime as I haven't had internet access at home for awhile.

At my last blog, I had been unemployed from June 2006 until early 2007 and I had moved to the Central Florida area.

I am now working in a huge entertainment industry company in the FL area. I started here in March '07. I am in a very entry-level, front desk position. This is the last thing I wanted, but the only reason I accepted it is that it is a large company with much room for growth. I am working here through a staffing agency and recently had an interview to stay in this position perm. If this were to occur, I would stay in the position for about 1 yr from the time I was hired through the staffing agency and hopefully a position that I am interested in will be posted around that time .... I am also planning on attending graduate school around that time, so I am prepping for the GRE and all of that fun stuff right now as well as trying to work on freelancing. I plan to go to graduate school in Mass Communications as my second bachelor's is in Journalism. I have high hopes that a Public Relations or related position will open up in this company.

At any rate, I wanted to post as so many changes have occurred and I haven't posted in so very long! I am very excited to have been able to experience this opportunity as the company itself is a great way to transgress to higher levels and finally work in a field related to my degree and what I am really interested in! I am almost there!!!!

I will check in again soon and hope to have a more in-depth blog to share with you all!

Posted by Amy M on May 23, 2007 at 3:46 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

I have not been here for a while. I am sure I have said this before, but when myself and all my friends already have jobs it becomes hard to write stories about looking for jobs.

Well, if you happen to like my entries for whatever reason, good news! One of my friends tells me that he was "not cut out" for his job. I don't know if that means that he quit or was fired because I never asked, but he is now looking around. And now more recently I have been informed that my office is scaling back employment from about 100 people to closer to 30 sometime before the end of the year. That is all that I have to say for now, will have to see how things go before commenting further.

Posted by Andrew S on May 21, 2007 at 1:00 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

There is a new online focal point in my area designed to help people looking for careers. The Pee Dee Regional Education Center is helping to create an opportunity for career-oriented education. It is committed to providing career planning services for students and adults, professional development for educators, and work force education programs. Students can experience an option of career fields by way of internships, job shadowing, and apprenticeships with the support of local businesses.

A total of 12 new virtual centers are being created across South Carolina as part of the Personal Pathways to Success education initiative; all of these centers should be completely operational by the end of December (The Pee Dee center by June). The new coordinator for The Pee Dee Center will work with an advisory board to form partnerships and organize career-oriented learning experiences between local businesses, students, and educators. The website, which is new and has never been tried before, will be the main emphasis of contact. It will allow students and others to find positions with companies in the area. Perhaps, a new opportunity has arrived.

Personal Pathways was created by the Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) to help students decide on and achieve their postgraduation goals; the process is expected to be entirely carried out by July 2011.

Posted by William F on May 7, 2007 at 10:34 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Yesterday, my mom asked me if I could help out a co-worker's son with his math. Her co-worker said he had a good grade, but said it has since dropped some. I told mom I would try to help if I could and met with him at his house. It turns out he had some homework that needed to be checked. After going over it, he said he felt comfortable with everything else. He thanked me, even though I did not feel like I did much. His mother also thanked me, and to my surprise, paid me $15. Now I'm not a tutor, but I sure felt like one. It was a blessing from God to earn some unexpected cash, but more importantly, help someone in need.

Posted by William F on May 1, 2007 at 12:38 PM | Leave a Comment (0)