JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!

[LotsWife]

JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#0

Posted: 9/25/04 at 1:43pm

You know, I've been looking for a job in this crazy city for some time now and it's so hard. I would like to hear commentary from other Broadwayworld posters who have had experience getting work, not only in this industry but in this city all-together.

I'm so thrown off by "Experience Required" ... It's the catch 22 of how do you get experience if every job requires experience. It's such crap! I have a bachelors degree from a credible university in a credible field. I mean, it can't be that hard ... it's entry-level, right?

Then comes the "just trying to get an interview" portion. How are you supposed to get even an interview when you're in a pool of 500 other New Yorkers who want the exact same thing. I hate to be honest, but I did a bad thing ... I posted an available job on Craigslist and set up an email account just to accept resumes and emails, etc. I set it up on a Friday and by the next morning, I had something like 300 emails. Is that ridiculous or WHAT?

I just think this issue needs to be address and I want opinions and stories.

[Gothampc]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#1

Posted: 9/25/04 at 4:47pm

I have done a lot of studying of employment trends in NYC. There are several factors at work. Baby-boomers are staying in their jobs longer and putting off retirement. Over the last 20 years, more women have entered the job market. These two factors are combined with the fact that fewer jobs are being created. This causes current graduates to postpone working and seek higher degrees. Then what happens is you have over-educated, under-experienced job seekers. At some point, the U.S. is going to have to acknowledge the problem because it's going to mean a tax loss from the shrinking middle class.

I understand the frustration you are going through, there are thousands of others just like you out there.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

[MargoChanning]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#2

Posted: 9/25/04 at 4:52pm

More and more people straight out of college and grad school (not to mention a lot folks who've already been in the marketplace) are having to go the temp route in order to survive. Register with bunch of agencies and start temping -- it does happen sometimes that an employer will be impressed with your work on a temp assignment and decide to take you on permanently (several friends of mine got jobs this way).

"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

[buddha2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#3

Posted: 9/25/04 at 5:36pm

A little ad in the back of HX or Next works well for some

[redhotinnyc2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#4

Posted: 9/25/04 at 7:53pm

Margo is dead-on in her appraisal. I got my last two jobs by temping. After being at both places a relatively short while as a temp, I was offered the full time thing, with great benefits, etc. I highly recommend registering with a few agencies. I use The Laury Group, because they are very actor-friendly.

"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!" Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!

[Suttonfosteronline]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#5

Posted: 9/26/04 at 2:03am

Can anyone share the good temp and recruiting agencies?

Great suggestions here. I had actually heard the same, but I has also wondered if anyone else was having different experiences.

I second your comments LOTSWIFE ... It's crazy out there trying to get a job!

Visit Sutton Foster Online!

Updated On: 9/26/04 at 02:03 AM

[LotsWife]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#6

Posted: 9/26/04 at 1:35pm

MY QUESTION is this ... so you apply through a few temp agencies, right? to increase your chances of getting work ... what I don't understand is how you manage the work load they give you.

Say two temp agencies call you with work ... how do you handle that?

[Unknown User]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#7

Posted: 9/26/04 at 1:51pm

Did you do any internships while you were in college?

What is your degree in?

I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum: Lots of experience, but I have no degree.

[laactress]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#8

Posted: 9/26/04 at 1:57pm

I am not the "sit at a desk" all day type of girl so I got a job as a nanny and I can still go on auditions and I get paid way more than any sit at a desk all day job. Do you like kids? I was a server too but the hours just sucked!

It started with a sipmle idea, collecting one paper clip for every life lost, the feelings that connect us...are greater than those that divide us!

[LotsWife]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#9

Posted: 9/26/04 at 2:40pm

Yes ... no experience for me, but I do have an internship under my belt ... and a business degree.

[CurtainUp2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#10

Posted: 9/26/04 at 3:42pm

It's a very sad state of affairs. Experience doesn't seem to count for very much anymore. (Even twenty-three years worth!) In fact, too much experience can work against you. I've been told that I'm "over-qualified" more times than I care to count. If I don't find a job by the end of the year, I'm seriously considering taking what little money I've managed to save and moving to another country. And if Bush gets re-elected, that'll pretty much seel the deal!

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. - Nelson Mandela

Updated On: 9/26/04 at 03:42 PM

[Rathnait62]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#11

Posted: 9/26/04 at 3:46pm

CurtainUp, it's also amazing that having gleaned the same amount of experience as you, but not a degree, that it took me six months to find the job I have now. Most job postings, even for administrative work, demand a bachelor's degree or above for any applicants. Apparently companies would rather hire someone just out of college with no experience rather than someone with 23 years in the real working world.

Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson

[Kristie-K2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#12

Posted: 9/26/04 at 4:03pm

I have friends in their 50's with master degrees who can't get jobs.....They are too old and one is overweight......I think appearance has alot to do with getting a good job...One got so desperate that he took a job as a Guard.......My overweight friend is tutoring kids.....

[Sunfish]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#13

Posted: 9/26/04 at 4:08pm

Anyone over 50 is pretty much doomed, unless they are million-dollar CEO's who can bounce from company to company. There are many, many stories like your friends', Kristie.

[CurtainUp2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#14

Posted: 9/26/04 at 4:10pm

Thank you Rath. It's so true. And I'm talking twenty-three years of dedicated service and experience working for one "Fortune 500" employer. But it just doesn't seem to account for much anymore. What with the abysmal level of customer service out there, you'd think that an employer would be eager to higher someone conscientious, loyal, and experienced. But with so few jobs, and so many applicants, it's a long and arduous process. Glad you eventually found something though.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. - Nelson Mandela

Updated On: 9/26/04 at 04:10 PM

[Kristie-K2]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#15

Posted: 9/26/04 at 4:18pm

How sad is that...What do people do who are over 50?.....Maybe get a job at Walmart as a greeter....oh dear...

[LotsWife]

re: JOBS in the City ... as opposed to you know what!#16

Posted: 9/26/04 at 4:24pm

It's the same all over ...

Companies are in a state of flux and they have their heads "you know where" ... what have you guys been doing to make money? It even seems that the little retail jobs are harder and harder to get. Everyone wants more money and there aren't enough jobs giving money.

I'm just not sure what I am going to do ... considering moving ... but what does that prove to myself. Am I giving up on the city and has it conquered me?

Someone very close to me is mid-50s and an ex-CEO and can't get hired for the life of him. He has now come to the conclusion that he may need to buy a business, build it up and make money that way. It sounds like the only sure way to make money --- but what is sure these days anyway?