Job scene in NYC

[nygrl232]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 6:27pm

I've been out of work for a long while. I've personally found the job situation in NYC (for example temping and permanent office work) to be very difficult to get back into.

I am just plum out of ideas. Yeah, this is pathetic, even for these economic times. I've always been able to sort things out before, but man, no angle seems like the 'right' one.

Just venting a bit...a la the "shut up" thread, but more specific.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 6:37pm

nygrl, you are not alone. I luckily have a good part time job but it isn't enough to get back up on my own feet.

Temp agencies just aren't responding for the most part. Then there is the thing where companies are not hiring unemployed people. You have to be employed to apply for a job. I think I read somewhere that it wasn't actually the companies that stipulated this but it was the employment agencies.

I have lucked out with great friends who are helping me out and I am just starting from scracth and trying to move in a different direction. But that takes a lot of time.

Throw in that wages are not going up but the cost of living is. It is getting harder to find a job that will pay the bills.
Edit: Oh, I dropped everything in Denver and moved here because I could no longer afford to live there on my own. Had the part time job when I moved here (Jersey) and a place to stay. I work in Manhattan.

Updated On: 8/30/11 at 06:37 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 6:41pm

nygirl, I am sorry for you and you get all my empathy. I hope something turns up for you. You are not alone. I do not live in NYC but many of my friends can not find gainful employment and these are talented qualified people. It is very hard on the spirit.

Employers are burnt out from being inundated with responses so they just don't respond to everyone, which makes people feel even more dehumanized. Employers often can dangle jobs like carrots and keep people waiting while they take months to interview people.

When I see these news reports about the economy and job market improving, I wonder "where exactly are they getting this information."

Hang tough-I send you good wishes.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 6:54pm

Youre right, it's really bad right now especially in NYC. I'm back taking classes and will hopefully be going back to school full time to become a sign language interpreter in a few months. Things in the city it just seems are getting more and more expensive and I know so many people who are leaving in order to have a life where they can do more than "survive" and live week to week. I've even thought seriously about moving back down south where I can have a four bedroom house with a pool for what I'm paying for just my share of my apartment.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 6:57pm

Betty is correct. And to add to that, a lot of the companies that are looking for temps are requiring drug testing and interviews. That means that you have to spend your money to get to the interview and the drug testing facility. In June I had to take a test for a 2 week assignment. I could see if it was for 6 months, but not for 2 weeks.

Before I left Denver I applied for a position at a bank. I was told that I was not going to get the job I applied for but they were going to consider me for another job. I waited to hear from them and didn't. So I made the decision to move across country. 2 months after I got here I was contacted about the other position and, of course, couldn't take it. I was really devastated but had to shake it off and move on.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 7:12pm

My friend Coco was at the HoJo Times Square and this really nice (seeming) photographer told her how pretty she was and how he thought she should be a MODEL. Anyway, if you decide to be a model, do NOT let a nice (seeming) photographer convince you to unbutton a single button more than you're comfortable unbuttoning. Okay?

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 7:15pm

I want to live forever!

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 7:18pm

Jordan, one of the sad things about going back to school (And I hope this doesn't happen with you) is that people were told to go back to school, learn something new to take you in a different direction. people did this and after they finished their courses they still could not find a job and then had/have loans to pay. I thought about going back to school but instead decided to move in the direction of theater with the experience I had in Denver. I didn't get paid for it but it taught me a lot.

[nygrl232]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 7:42pm

Thanks for the good wishes.. :}

I had to pee in a cup to temp at an investment bank. Oh, and get fingerprinted. Nothing says 'welcome' like a tox screening and a law enforcement officer who doesn't believe in removing his gun belt lest someone, oh, go on a collating spree.

Panicking solves nothing, and yet, it occurs.

Updated On: 8/30/11 at 07:42 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 7:53pm

nyg, I can kind of see fingerprinting and background check for the banking industry, but i think the drug test is bogus as it only detects pot. I could do coke 48 hours before the test and pass. You can smoke pot 2 weeks before the test and fail it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 8:18pm

Uncageg, I can only hope that this sign language interpretation continues to be a field that keeps growing like it is now. There will always be deaf people who need help communicating in the hearing world, be it interpreting theater or interpreting little Johnny's 6th grade science class.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 8:55pm

Jordan, a friend of mine is moving back to NYC in a couple of weeks and signing is her field also. She seems confident that there'll be plenty of work for her here. I tend to agree-I think you made a wise choice.

I hope I can get my friend some signing work at my job.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 8:57pm

Thank you, Jane. That actually made me feel EXTREMELY good to hear you say that. :)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 8:59pm

It's much better here in NYC than in California. But as someone who moved here in March and has already been unemployed twice, I wish everyone the best!

Updated On: 8/30/11 at 08:59 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 9:10pm

"That actually made me feel EXTREMELY good to hear you say that. :)"

and that's why I said it-to give you encouragement!

[nygrl232]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 9:25pm

Last time I had jury duty, I overheard one of the jurors talking to the stenographer. Seemed like not a bad gig. Flexible hours, decent pay and benefits.

Both the judge and the stenographer were falling asleep during the trial, though. :) Seems like you have to be a model of patience.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 9:56pm

Jordan, I didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer. Was just speaking on what I have seen. You know I wish you all the best.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 10:10pm

There will always be deaf people who need help communicating in the hearing world, be it interpreting theater or interpreting little Johnny's 6th grade science class.

Funny you mention Johnny's 6th grade science class. In one of my classes this year I have a child who is hard of hearing (I have to wear a headset for that class- I look like a stage manager). In another class, I have a deaf student, who has an ASL interpreter with her.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 10:41pm

And the two things I mentioned, theatrical interpretation and helping kids are the things I would very much like to focus on, once certified. :)

Adamgreer, do you have many deaf students in your school? I'm also curious how they interact with the hearing students... Updated On: 8/30/11 at 10:41 PM

[singtopher]

Posted: 8/30/11 at 11:36pm

Good luck everyone. I'm temping right now (well, starting Thursday) and realize how lucky I should really feel. Unemployment sucks.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 6:04am

Adamgreer, do you have many deaf students in your school? I'm also curious how they interact with the hearing students...

This is the first time I've ever taught a completely deaf student, but not the first time I've taught a hard of hearing student. Right now the challenge is to get the rest of the kids to keep their eyes on me, not the interpreter, because they're all FASCINATED by the lady sitting in the back of my room signing.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 6:04am

Adamgreer, do you have many deaf students in your school? I'm also curious how they interact with the hearing students...

This is the first time I've ever taught a completely deaf student, but not the first time I've taught a hard of hearing student. Right now the challenge is to get the rest of the kids to keep their eyes on me, not the interpreter, because they're all FASCINATED by the lady sitting in the back of my room signing.

[nygrl232]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 9:21am

Gotta say, SNAFU, I understand neither your post nor your avatar. I'm frightened.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 9:25am

His post is referring to Namo's.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/31/11 at 9:33am

Yes, the post was in response to Namo's....

My avatar? Well it is , what it is.