A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

employment

Common courtesy seems to be going away these days

(Note: This is the first of likely several posts over the next month or so that were written a while back and saved in drafts (this might be the only one — I haven’t gone through them all yet!) I’m attempting to clean out the folder, so if they seem worthy of publishing, I will do so. If not, they get deleted!)

What is going on in the world of employment?

Realize that employment rates seem to be going up, but it’s not easy to track people who are without work and can no longer collect unemployment benefits. I personally know people who have been out of work for a while and who can’t seem to find a way to get back into the employed world.

Part of the problem, no doubt, is credentials. Another part is outsourcing. Another part is flat-out downsizing.

I truly feel bad for future generations. With computers and cheap labor overseas, there are going to be people without work.

But this post isn’t just about that, rather how things have changed as things are more and more competitive. When a job attracts some 200 applications, things get lost it seems. And what happened to the personal touch? People spend hours on cover letters and getting things right. They at least deserve a form letter, don’t they?

After spending so much times on resumes and/or cover letters, shouldn't people get some sort of a response -- even if it's a form letter?

After spending so much times on resumes and/or cover letters, shouldn’t people get some sort of a response — even if it’s a form letter?

During my 2.5 years of unemployment, I didn’t always get notification that my application was received – even with some electronic ones, which can be set up to automatically give notice. And it was highly rare to hear back from places, even after an interview.

Sometimes, too, you just have to wonder about the whole situation.

When I got out of college – with my master’s degree – I had a lot of experience. Not all that experience was what a daily newspaper would want, and I got that. But it’s not like I had never worked under a daily deadline before.

Anyway, out of college I started to freelance at my local daily. It had always been my goal to not work there, because I wanted to go beyond local. But interviews at other papers didn’t work out. So I started freelancing there. From there, it became part-time. They opened a search for a spot that opened. It was split between two of us who were working … then the other went to another full-time spot at the paper. I had basically been told that one of us would get it… so it seemed like it would be mine, right?

Nope.

A search happened. I interviewed – again. It was offered to somebody else who ended up not taking it. They advertised for it … again. Seriously, a second time. Another offer to somebody else.

I have to be honest – if I had any other viable options, I likely would have taken them.

They waited nearly two weeks for this person – TWO WEEKS! – to give an answer. They never got it. It was offered to me, and I basically had to say yes what they were offering (though, honestly, I should have tried to get more – nobody else was accepting the position at this point. Live and learn).

That gave me the start of the next seven years. I always remembered that, though. And I always pushed myself to get pretty better, in spite of everything. I did things wrong, sure. But I did way more right. And I won some awards and was a pretty model employee.

Until they decided my position was no longer needed, which then started me to eventually land on my feet much better than before.

It also made me remember a few other times I was brought in for interviews and how bizarre things could be, though none are more bizarre than asking about my feelings about dogs. Many of the places I applied to barely acknowledged they received my resume, let alone once they made a decision. That even happened at a few places where I actually had an interview!

I have friends still searching. They are qualified for many of the jobs out there. But they don’t ever know where they stand. The lack of communication is crazy. All they want to know is where they stand in the big scheme of things.

So where did things go so wrong? Why are there no more personal responses? Or even a form letter? Why are people kept in the dark, yet told not to call to follow up? It seems rude to me. And I also understand that with so many applications, it might not be feasible to answer everybody. But a form letter? A form e-mail?

Anything?

Where are we going in the future? Is it going to get worse? Will it get better? Only time will tell. But it can be very scary to think about when looking at the big picture. For those of you — me included — who are employed, be thankful for what you have as it’s a crazy world out there. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

One year later: Still smiling

One year later, I’m still smiling.

Nov. 14, 2013 was a massively huge day for me. It was a day where a more than two-year nightmare ended for me.

It was a day when my unemployment ended.

I’ve documented my two-plus years on this blog more than once. In fact, this blog was a massive help for me during that span. It gave me a creative outlet and a way to continue to write. But the road was long. I didn’t get interviews, and those where I did get them, I felt like things were already stacked against me.

Heck, I couldn’t even get interviewed at some of the big box chain stores. Imagine that?

Then my current job came along. Everything happened fast. There was the interview and the next day an offer. I accepted, of course. And a few days later, I started.

Just like that.

I consider myself lucky to have gotten into this position. The service I am part of is growing and we actually just hired another person. Hopefully that’s a sign of more and more growth.

As for me, I’ve grown professionally and personally over the last year. I smile more. I truly do feel like I found something that was waiting for me. And I’ve learned. Oh, how I’ve learned.

I work in the communications field, as many of you know. But though I dabbled in some PR, my background has been, for the most part, newspaper journalism. And I was pretty good at it, too. I’m not always a “self-back patter” but I won several awards and had grown so much over a seven-year stay at a daily newspaper.

But the reality is, newspapers are not what they once were. Daily papers get thinner, circulations are shrinking – almost as fast as paychecks – and it’s not a profession that it once was. I still read newspapers because it’s something I always believed in. But the amount of errors on a daily basis in many (typos, headlines wrong, bad information, etc.) makes me cringe. Many newspapers don’t keep up with the times and technology, either, which then makes them “yesterday’s news.”

Times are a changing, that’s for sure.

And, now, I’m on the opposite end. I’m flipped. I’m in the PR/communications side of things. I work with websites and social media and releases on a regular basis. PR is no longer just about feeding a newspaper or radio station a story. It’s about drawing readers and others to your media sites. It’s about showing the story, not necessarily digging for other things.

And I have loved it.

I’ve learned many things over this year, from budgets to educational battles, to working on events and making many contacts in the community or political world. You really run the gamut. All the while, I still believe in working with the traditional news sources and getting them information they need.

This past Friday was the one-year anniversary of being offered (and accepting) the job. I started a year ago tomorrow. I was nervous, excited and everything else in between. Since then, I’ve grown and will continue to grow.

It’s amazing what happens when you land on your feet in a place where you feel you are part of something special. I am excited with the future and what it will bring. I love where I am in life, and the past will never destroy me as it made me realize many things I will use for the rest of my career – and life.

One year ago, things changed – for the better. I’m a better person for it all, too, as I now don’t take things for granted. It can end in a moment and without you ever having a clue it was coming.

Today, take a deep breath wherever you are. Smile. Realize the world could be much worse. Take a moment to look around. Being alive is a gift in itself, so always keep that in mind.

For a couple of the posts I had about my unemployment run and finding a job, finally, follow the links below:

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Quick update

Whew!

OK, so I know it’s only been a couple of days, but I feel like I’m neglecting the blog when I go two or three days without a post!

With that in mind, I wanted to drop a quick note about a couple of things.

First, the new job started this week (Yay!) but I’m getting my feet wet and getting the early things done, so when I get home, I’m haven’t been in the mood to blog much. I know that will wear off soon enough. I have a few posts I’ve started, so hopefully in the next day or two, I’ll get things done!

Also, not sure if I mentioned this before, but about three weeks ago, I stepped on a nail. I went to the ER, they gave me a tetanus shot and sent me home. Five days later or so, the foot was swollen (infected), so I went back to the ER and got an antibiotic.

That antibiotic seemed to work some, but now it’s still swollen. Not as bad as it once was, but bad enough. So, despite health insurance not kicking in yet, I went to the convenient care center tonight. The PA I saw noted it’s still looking infected (yup, I got that) and gave me a different antibiotic to try. He wanted me to not work the next three days (seriously? I’ve been off for nearly three years — not happening), but I’m going to make sure I elevate the foot as much as possible and that means, when I’m home, not sitting on the computer much.

Anyway, I’ll be back to normal soon.

I hope!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Ten Things of Thankful: Moving on with high spirits

I figured this week is probably a good one to do my second go at the Ten Things of Thankful. To say I have a lot of things to be thankful for is probably an understatement.

With that in mind, I’m going to find my 10 things and take part in Lizzi’s weekly challenge.

Realize, some of these will be about the same sort of topic — the job. And, of course, I’ll be throwing some other things in there as well.

So, without blabbing any further, here’s my 10 things.

1. Opportunity

This goes without saying. If you read my Friday post (and if you didn’t, I would highly encourage you to do so!), you know I’m gainfully employed again. Words can’t express enough how appreciative I am for this opportunity.

2. Timing

This is one of those jobs that moved fast. I got my stuff in a couple of days before the deadline, had the interview a handful of days later and then had the offer the next day. Talk about things working together in strong timing!

3. Interview

OK, I’m not always the best interview. Sometimes I think I do well and others I don’t. It hasn’t mattered much in recent years as it’s all ended with the same result. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I had an interview. I walked out figuring I wouldn’t get an offer and didn’t. But this one? Yeah. I rocked it and thought that. I left with cautious optimism and, in the end, it turns out the interview was solid.

4. Friends and family

The past three years have been tough. Without friends and family, I’d have been fully lost. I opened my guard up a little on this situation and, after I got the chance, I posted about it on Facebook (after contacting some people). The outpouring of comments was extremely humbling and words can’t describe how thankful I am.

5. Being well-rounded

OK, this is the last thankful that will go with the job stuff. But one think I learned at a few past stops on the job train was being well-rounded is important. I think it really helped me here as I showed confidence in every aspect that will be needed for this gig.

6. The Blogging World

I can’t express how important blogging has become to me. What a great community. It has been such an important part of my life and hopefully, it will continue. I find surprises every day and I want that to continue. I have some ideas I am going to start working on for my blog and it’s my hope it will entertain readers!

7. Podcasts

OK, I’m a little behind the time here. But I am really starting to get into podcasts. Some are really awesome. I’ll be blogging about one or two of them in the near future, but I want to keep finding high-quality podcasts to listen to. As much as I love driving to music, being able to listen to a quality podcast makes drives much faster!

8. Milk

A few weeks back, I stepped on a nail. I had to go to the ER and, then, a second time. At that point, I got an antibiotic I needed to take for 10 days. Dairy could only be had at certain times when taking this, so I basically avoided it. When the 10 days came and went, I had a big glass of milk. I really do love milk and it’s nice to be able to have a glass whenever I want!

9. Championship weekend

I’m also thankful that, for the second straight year, my niece is playing for a state championship in girls soccer. She’s but just a junior, and she starts on the squad this year. Last year, they lost in the final. Here’s hoping that changes this year.

10. Challenges

I really do enjoy challenges. I need to keep on top of them a bit more, but I do love ’em. Whether writing, photo or whatever else, they are a bit of fun. And with that, here’s another Ten Things of Thankful.

Ten Things of Thankful

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Stepping out into the light

I don’t plan on getting into specifics here, but I figured I should share something.

As many of my regular readers know, I’ve battled the unemployment thing for the past two-plus years. I’ve harbored some ill feelings toward some people over that time. I’m actually not sure if those will ever go away, but at least they remained contained. The odds are I won’t ever see the people in question, so it’s no biggie.

Over those two-plus years, I’ve blogged about the downside of all of this. My job hunt, my thoughts and everything else. I knew it would be silly for me not to share this news with readers.

The past two years have been some of the hardest in my life. I had unemployment for a long time and that helped me keep up on bills and living. That ended in early January.

Ugh.

Then came me having to tap into a small retirement account.

Sigh.

Thankfully, I got a tax return (though New York State, several months later, still hasn’t sent me my refund. Bet they would be ticked if I owed and didn’t pay on time, eh?), which got me through a couple more months.

In the past several months, I’ve applied for jobs not only in my field (communications, media etc., if anyone is hiring full time), but for everyday jobs, too. Such as a delivery driver for a local electronics place. I didn’t get call backs.

I was honestly starting to wonder if I’d ever work again.

All this time, I’ve laughed as politicians and others say it’s getting better. So many jobs were added, they say. Unemployment has gone down, they yell. It’s because people are running out of benefits, people. It’s not getting better. I know so many people still in the same boat. And I have friends who have been losing jobs.

Better my rear.

Still, I try and keep upbeat. I know I don’t have it as bad as some and I try and keep it into perspective. Am I going to be able to retire and live my later years on a beach somewhere? Likely not. But I still have to believe my experience and education will get me somewhere, right?

Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel is finally getting bigger.

Despite not getting a dream job I interviewed for a month or so ago, I kept looking and plugging away. I had a certain calmness to me. The weather was turning better and I enjoyed being alive a bit more. I didn’t have any money, but I could at least go outside, throw a disc or two, find a geocache and breathe fresh air.

Then I got a call.

I had applied for a seasonal job. I interviewed, it went well and they hired me for the position I truly wanted. It will last about three months or so this summer. It should be a fun job and it gives me a chance to be outside, earn a paycheck and feel like society isn’t kicking me every which way but loose.

And, maybe, this could lead to something else? They say you are more apt to land some other job when you have a job, no? So maybe this can be a good thing in more ways than one. In a perfect world, this would be the type of company I’d like to land with full time.

Again, I don’t want to get into specifics because that’s the type of person I am. I try not to mix personal and professional when it comes to blogging, so I’ll just say I’m happy with this summer gig and excited to be doing something again. It’s been a long time coming and it will be nice to have some sort of income. Add to that, from everybody I’ve talked to, it’s a great place to work.

So the mood is upbeat. I’m still chugging along and maybe things are looking up for me. Maybe. I’m excited for the future and hopefully I can keep that excitement up and raring to go.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!