Finding a job [slightly rant-ish, mainly cause I'm drunk]

[~invisible~girl~]

Turns out it's bloody hard. I've only applied one place so far, but it was someplace I *thought* I was more than qualified for (I mean, they "requirements" said you don't even have to have finished university, just be within 6 months of finishing, and I've not only finished, I even have some amount of relevant professional experience, though much of it is somewhat non-traditional -- working for friends and family rather than a typical employer, but with the same type of kids in similar situations to what I was applying for, and I'm really freaking good at it)... and, I'm mean, I wasn't expecting to get the job or anything (ok, so part of me was, but the *rational* part knew I almost certainly wouldn't get it), but I really thought I'd at least get an interview (even my mom thought I'd get *that* much, and she's the director, and consequently in charge of hiring people, for a much more prestigious clinic than the program I was applying too), and have *some* chance to convince them how freaking good at this I'd be (and I really would be good at it, probably far better than whoever they end up hiring... I know that sounds arrogant and whatever, but I don't think that's it -- there's not much I'd say I'm particularly good at, but the particular job I was applying for, the key skills involved, are the one area where I'd say I really am exceptional in), but I just got flat out rejected based on nothing more than my resume and cover letter (not even a background check, which is what legitimately could kill my changes at, well, just about anything... I was arrested for DUI last year, so I *don't* have a clean record, and I really need to, but since they need my authorization to look into it -- a fact that the company that rejected me just confirmed earlier this evening -- I'm counting on at least getting a chance to explain before prospective employers find out about it, and hopefully I can smooth it over, cause it's something that truthfully won't ever in a million years even come close to effecting my work with children, and if prospective employers will just give me a chance, I'm confident I could convince them of that), even though I have relevant experience, I've worked at some pretty flashy places, and I even have a freaking publication on there... And it's not like they found someone better, either, cause they're still posting on Craigslist multiple times a day looking for applicants for the exact same position for which I was rejected without so much as an interview...

So I know most of you are in the UK, and it's totally different over there, but still, any suggestions? Even if it's just that I should move to the UK, that's still appreciated :p
I want to work with kids, preferably in a special education or mental health center, and preferably with younger children (i.e. primary school or younger), though mainly cause, as a small, white female from a pretty affluent background, I'm justifiably terrified of the local high-risk, low-income adolescent population, which is what most adolescent units around here serve...

So, um, any suggestions, or words of advice, or anything?

And btw, please disregard any incoherentness, rambling, etc. in this post -- I'm piss drunk right now... in addition to the rejection letter from the job I wanted, I also got bad news from the DMV about when I can get my driving license back (not to mention that the first person I talked to was super hostile, and would barely let me finish a sentence... I ended up hanging up and trying again to talk to someone else, but was already close to tears when I did so), and decided, in an extremely high-functioning and adaptive course of action [/sarcasm] to drown out my troubles with alcohol, so... while underlying ideas are genuine, the presentation is beyond my control, and I apologize in advance (of me re-reading it tomorrow and realizing who stupid I sounded) for my lack of coherency...

[The One Who]

You need to keep applying for jobs, even if they aren't the "perfect" one. You could also look into interning or volunteering with different organisations, although I know that that isn't always possible for people. If you can, it can be great for the experience, the reference and the "professional relevance".

You could also try to ask them for feedback on your application, although I wouldn't hold your breath on receiving any.

[~invisible~girl~]

Yeah, I know I need to keep applying. But there aren't that many available jobs of any kind that I'm at all qualified for within reasonable driving distance of where I live, let alone ones that are at all related to what I actually want to do. And even for volunteering, the organizations I'd want to work for seem to just take one look at my resume and through it out the window, even though I went to one of the top universities in the country, worked for some great (and very well known/respected) organizations, and even published a freaking paper.. not to mention that if they'd give me half a chance, I'm really freaking good at what I do, and could count on one hand the number of people I've met who are better...

[Aardbei]

I don't have any advice but I will say that I've been having the same problems. I graduated with the highest grade you can get in my degree, I've worked with a huge variety of different people and have a ton of experience - so when I applied for a job that was essentially my final year project in practice, I thought I'd at least get an interview. I heard nothing and have just seen the job being advertised again so my application wasn't even good enough to respond to. The tricky thing is you don't know who you're up against. I know it's frustrating especially if the job is pretty much perfect for you, but keep trying!

[~invisible~girl~]

I've decided that employers are idiots, and don't know what they're missing. Ali, I think you're in a similar position, that we both applied for jobs we're really good at, and probably would have been way better at than whoever they ultimately end up with, but they weren't willing to give us a chance even without finding someone else with a more impressive resume.

What's frustrating isn't that I didn't get the job. I didn't expect to actually get it (okay, I actually did kind of expect to... but *intellectually,* I knew I probably wouldn't get it), but that they wouldn't even consider me. If I'd lost out to someone better, I could totally live with that. Whether or not the other person was actually better at the job that I would have been (and I'd never know anyway), I know that my resume isn't super impressive for the job I was applying for. But I thought it would at least be enough to get an interview... especially if they didn't have anyone better applying for the job. And seeing the same job advertised, with them practically begging people to apply for it for weeks, even though I *did* apply, and met all of the qualifications they listed, and would have been bloody good at it, but they're telling me I'm not even good enough that hiring me would be better not hiring anyone and being understaffed... that kind of stings.

Also, for the kind of work I want to do (working with emotionally disturbed and/or mentally and behaviorally challenged children), apparently the kind of experience I'll need to get the kind of job I want is at least a year or two working shift work in a residential setting, most likely a youth center (this is according to my mom, who is a clinical psychologist, and works with some of the same populations I want to work with)... Now, I'm fine with working nights and whatever, and I can handle most behaviors children can throw at me (I've been bitten more than once, and the only problem I have with it is the fact that the child is engaging in that behavior -- I can totally handle it -- and I'm plenty used to changing dirty diapers and whatever, to the point where even toilet-related behaviors don't really phase me)... but for religious reasons, I can't work from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday (i.e. Friday night and Saturday daytime shifts), which rule out the least desirable and consequently easiest to get shifts... and probably more significantly, I'm a small, affluent, young (and even younger-looking), white female, and while I can handle just about anything a school-age (i.e. 5-12 year old) child can throw at me, the streets near where I live can be pretty rough, most 14-year-olds from the ethnic groups that make up most of the local low-income population are significantly larger than I am, and I just don't have the physical or interpersonal strength or skill to deal with some of the situations that can develop with troubled teens. Basically, a lot of the less-desirable (i.e. easier to get) work in the field I'm interested in is completely out of the question for me for the simple reason that there is a very real and objective possibility that I would actually be killed on the job... let alone the possibility that I would simply not be able to handle it enough to be able to do a good job. But yet, the fact that I don't have experience working with high-risk teenagers and young adults (about 16-22 year olds... keep in mind that I'm only 25, and have considerably less "life experience" than many of these young people -- for instance, I've never had sex, or even fully moved out of my parents' house -- which makes it even harder to maintain an authority role with this population) makes it that much harder for me to find a job working with 2-8 year olds (that's approximately my first-choice age range to work with), and despite having a relatively limited ability to control older adolescents (maybe 15-18 years old... although even then, I know from experience that I can be plenty intimidating and authoritative if I really need to be), I'm exceptionally skilled and talented with younger children, including making them do as I say when I feel it's important (and as a point of reference, at the summer camp where I worked this past summer, despite being considerably stricter with the children than many of the counselors, and less inclined to try to convince them what I was telling them to do would be "fun" -- this is a technique I saw with a lot of the younger counselors, but even from people who are older than my mom and have a large number of children of their own, but personally, I feel quite strongly that while I want children to have fun, especially at summer camp, if I tell them to do something, they need to do it simply because I told them to, whether they want to or not... convincing them they want to do it is all well and good when the issue is whether they continue playing sports or move on to arts and crafts, but when I'm shouting at them to get out of the street, or even just to stay with me when I have too many kids in my care to follow one without leaving another unsupervised, I need them to listen, and if going to arts and crafts is optional, so is getting out of the street or staying by the stroller)... but apparently, it doesn't matter how good I am with difficult 5-year-olds, if I want to be able to work with them in school, I first have to prove myself by supervising aggressive 16-year-olds on Friday nights, even though it's a totally different skill, and in conflict with my religious beliefs... plus if they'd let me have a go at the 5-year-olds, they wouldn't end up in the position the 16-year-olds are in, but apparently before I can work to prevent negative outcomes, I first have to be able to address the outcomes others failed to prevent...

[The One Who]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~invisible~girl~

But there aren't that many available jobs of any kind that I'm at all qualified for within reasonable driving distance of where I live, let alone ones that are at all related to what I actually want to do. And even for volunteering, the organizations I'd want to work for seem to just take one look at my resume and through it out the window

Can you consider moving away to find work? Not always possible, I know.

As for the volunteering, you may need to consider looking at places you don't particularly want to work for. You may need to lower your expectations a little bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~invisible~girl~

I've decided that employers are idiots, and don't know what they're missing. Ali, I think you're in a similar position, that we both applied for jobs we're really good at, and probably would have been way better at than whoever they ultimately end up with, but they weren't willing to give us a chance even without finding someone else with a more impressive resume.

Re-apply. If they aren't specifying the "previous applicants need not apply", then try again. Change up your application and be explicit in how you meet each and every criteria they are asking for.

There's nothing wrong with having confidence in your ability, but if it's making you resentful then maybe you need to change your attitude a little bit. We'd all love to get that perfect job straight away, but lots of people need to do a lot of crappy legwork to get there. If that's what you need to do, then you need to do it. It might make you appreciate the final job more as well.

I really don't think it's helpful to consider yourself "better" than the other applicants, or who eventually gets the job. There was obviously a reason that they did, and you never saw their application or know their experiences.

Quote:

and probably more significantly, I'm a small, affluent, young (and even younger-looking), white female, and while I can handle just about anything a school-age (i.e. 5-12 year old) child can throw at me, the streets near where I live can be pretty rough, most 14-year-olds from the ethnic groups that make up most of the local low-income population are significantly larger than I am, and I just don't have the physical or interpersonal strength or skill to deal with some of the situations that can develop with troubled teens.

They should train you in physical restrain techniques, if those are going to be necessary. You could also look into doing some martial arts (judo maybe?) to help build your own skills, and perhaps increase your confidence with being around them.

[makedamnsure]

Consider taking your cv/resume to a careers advice centre, or even emailing it to a friend. Often good applicants are turned down because of simple things, an employer only looks at each cv for an average of eight seconds apparently so you need to make an impact.