(This first part is basically my job history...not so much a rant as just blabbing. The important stuff comes after it.)
I typed "Orlando forum job OR employment" into Google and found a forum that I've been reading. Right now I'm reading a thread that started in April 2008 about how the job market in Orlando sucks. No, I wasn't forced to move to Orlando. When I initially wanted out of my parents' house, I just wanted to move in with someone in Massachusetts. Then comes along Bobby who loves Florida since he vacationed here all the time growing up, and that was my way out. I was 19.
Even receptionist jobs or hotel front desk jobs here require 2-5 years of experience. I'm not saying that I'm the smartest person ever, but I had a 3.5 GPA in college (well, 3.4 in my last semester, but shhh!) and I think that I'm a quick learner.
I worked at Burger King when I was 15 for 2 weeks because I was bored, but my stomach issues were too much (working an 8 hour shift when you have a tummyache sucks), so I quit. When I was 16, I started working at the grocery store that I had been applying to for 2 years (I don't remember which, but either during my interview or when I got hired, the manager was shocked that it took them so long to hire me). I worked there right up until I moved when I was 19. I worked a few jobs on the side at times (I wasn't getting the hours I needed at the grocery store, so I worked at Sears...it wasn't cashiering or anything- it was folding towels and things, and supposed to be going in the back room to find merchandise if a customer needed it, although I didn't feel adequately trained in that), and I didn't show up often enough because I didn't like it and had more fun things to do. Bad Amy. And I worked at KFC for a month when the grocery store wasn't giving me good hours...and I also worked for a week (but it was only supposed to be temp. work) helping out at Bobby's brother's then-job.
At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I applied to 2 Massachusetts state schools, and got accepted to both with scholarships. I would only get the scholarship if I was in the honor's program and kept a certain GPA at one school, so I chose the other. Depression, uncertainty, and not wanting to pigeon-hole myself into a certain career path, led me to first changing my major (before school ever started) from Marketing to General Studies (or whatever it was called) and then eventually I decided to not go straight into college.
Then I looked into a community college about 45 minutes away for their nutrition program (since I've always been interested in food and nutrition), but I was never good at math or science, and figured that it might not be for me. Eventually, in Jan. 2004 (I graduated high school in June 2003, so a semester's worth of time had passed), I started at a local community college. Then I had my chance to get out of my parents' house, since Bobby mentioned moving to Florida. He wouldn't have moved without me, though.
And then I went to a community college here, while first cashiering at a book store, then Walt Disney World (I kind of had planned to work both jobs, but due to my stomach, one assistant manager at the bookstore brought me into her office one day and basically said, "Do you want your job?" because I had gotten sick twice while she was the manager on duty, and I was really sad and I quit the next time I was in the store)(I quit WDW due to my stomach, again...and there, it was so time-consuming, not just driving to and from, but having to go into the locker room and change and take the bus and all- it added at least an hour either way), then I worked at another grocery store, but the manager basically hated most of the workers, and it wasn't pleasant, and they would call me on school mornings asking if I could come in to work- it wasn't too professional, so I quit, then I worked at an antique/coin store, and really liked my job- I was doing eBay listing and shipping for them- but the owner creeped me out, and we already were a small company and when a couple employees left, that meant that I'd be more likely to work one-on-one with the owner, and I left, getting a job at another grocery store. I was there for a few months, and I still was having my stomach issues, but it was alright in terms of the higher-ups being nice enough, I guess, but my schedule was getting in the way of schoolwork, so I quit...
Looking back, I think, what if I had just asked my manager to reduce my hours? Just over a year later, I started my internship.
I had a phone interview with one company for an internshp, and I was supposed to come in for a second, in-person, interview. The day after (or soon after, at least) the phone interview, I had an in-person interview at another company, and I got hired on the spot.
So, I was there for a few months, and when the receptionist left, I was told that, in addition to my internship duties (the internship was unpaid, btw), I'd work at the front desk and get paid.
Now, I decided to get an internship not for the school credit, but to give me something to do that had a flexible schedule (apparently I hadn't thought about volunteering at the time), and so I started mid-semester in February, and started getting school credit in May. A few months later, the company folded (and, no, they never paid me for the front desk position, but I never bothered them about it). That was the last time that I was employed. If school credit = employment.
That was in the summer of 2007. I haven't had a paid job since late 2005. Now, I do think, What if I didn't quit the grocery store, but I also think, I wouldn't have had time to do school, grocery store, and internship, so I probably would've quit the grocery store anyway. Marketing company > grocery store. I had nothing to do with the marketing company closing. So, in that sense, I can't feel too bad about quitting the grocery store when I did- I mean, I wasn't going to college to not have time to do my homework and also to rest just because I was working a $7.50 an hour job or whatever. And, I feel that I must say, when we first moved, my paychecks very much helped to pay the bills. But then I guess Bobby got the job he has now, or another good job before that, and my income wasn't as important. Not that I got Bobby's permission before quitting the grocery store.
But there are some lessons to be learned, too.
For all of you younger people:
1. In high school and college, make sure you do extra curricular activities. In high school, I worked on the newspaper all 4 years. I was an editor in my junior and senior years. My first semester of college, I was in a creative writing club, but we didn't meet often and it soon ended due to not many people signing up for it. I should have looked into the newspaper, since I had 4 years of experience under my belt. I was lazy. If I had worked on the newspaper, maybe I would've gotten an internship with a local newspaper or magazine, and would've had better chances at landing a job after college. Don't be lazy. Put the time into it.
2. Try and stick with an employer. If you're in high school or college and need a part-time job, try and stick with it. I mean, if you really can't stand the people you work with, then sure, try and find another job. If you can't stand the hours, at least talk with your manager about working a different shift or working less or more hours, whatever you need. I worked at the grocery store back home for over 3 years. I did work jobs on the side, but I still worked at the grocery store, and if I don't have to, I don't even list those other jobs on applications. Once I moved to Florida, I jumped from job to job to job. I had my reasons (but at the book store, I really should have talked with the head manager, since he was really cool, and if I had just explained that the other manager was rude to me, maybe he could've talked with her and he could've told me that my job was safe). Don't burn bridges. If you quit a job, especially without giving 2 weeks notice, you're burning your bridge. The workers at that store/restaurant/whatever (I won't say company, necessarily, if there are other branches, but maybe they wouldn't hire someone who abandoned the company so hastily in the past) won't say nice things about you. Honestly, try your best to stick with a company for as long as you need that part-time employment (meaning until at least you get an internship, and maybe even then, ask if you can just go on a leave of absence until the internship is over, or maybe just work 1 or 2 days/nights a week). You don't want a reputation for just quitting jobs, and it helps to have the support of your company when you are looking for a post-school job, aka a "real" job, the type of job that you want, that you went to school for. Not only will you have great contacts, companies that you are applying with will see that you have a solid job history. I can't help but wonder if companies that I submit my resume to aren't impressed with my spotty job history. I mean, my resume isn't awful, but it'd be a lot more impressive had I stuck at the grocery store from 2001-2009, you know? I mean, it'd show my loyalty to a company.
3. Don't get married young. Regardless of my feelings about my own marriage, if you're married and your spouse has a good job, you can't just search for jobs around the whole country and just move. I am unable to search for jobs outside of the Central Florida area. And there are not many jobs in the Central Florida area. Even receptionist and hotel front desk positions, as I think I wrote earlier, but maybe I didn't, require 2-5 years experience! I have that much cashering experience, although I haven't cashiered in almost 4 years. The Central Florida job market sucks, and I am not able to apply anywhere in the country. I'm trapped. Which sucks. So, no matter how much you think you love your significant other, I
strongly recommend not getting married until you're in a good, stable job. Allow yourself, after you're done with school, to apply around the country, if you so choose. You might not want to relocate, and that's fine, but if you are desperate for a job, then relocation can sometimes be the best option to secure employment. I mean, don't rely on the other person- if you need a job, you do what you need to do to get one...if you have to live across the country from your significant other, then so be it. At least secure employment and then you can job hunt at a later time. I need a job and can't get one due to the crappy economy and the crappy Orlando job market. Maybe the Nebraska job market is better. It's not even worth my time right now to find out, since I'm trapped in Orlando. I don't even want to live here forever. I don't even like it here. I never have. I just like WDW. I just wanted out of my parents' house, and moving here was the only way out at the time.
4. Don't burn your bridges before you should. I should have told the boss at the internship that I got hired for, when he offered me the position, that I have another interview coming up. I don't remember the name of that company, so I can't just look them up to see if they are still in existance, but that company probably would've been a better fit...they seemed more professional. And the lady I had had my phone interview with had worked as an Imagineer (I read her online profile on the company website), and maybe she could've given me some contacts at Disney. I had the mindset of, I got hired, yay, employment, screw the second interview, but I probably should've went on the other interview. In my mind, and part of me feels this way, although I've been told that it's the wrong mindset to have, that if I say no to a job offer, they'll just find someone else who will take it, that there are plenty of other people who aren't much different than I am who could easily do the job. But I guess that's not how it works, or so I've been told. If you are offered employment, they want YOU. But I don't know. But I guess always go on all the interviews you can and then try and get the best offer.
I often think what if. What if I hadn't took time off from college. What if I didn't move. I didn't make the smartest decisions, and now I'm regretful. Although I do love my dogs and never would've met them had I not moved here, nothing "good" has come out of my moving to Florida (except getting to know my family who lives down here better, and, yes, adopting my dogs). Maybe I would've had a job had I stayed in Massachusetts, maybe not. I would've graduated a semester earlier had I not taken a semester off. At the very least, I'd still have a job at the grocery store. Maybe I would've been promoted to front person (they help with any problems that happen up front), which wouldn't be a rise in pay (which everyone got a couple times a year anyway), but it'd be a rise in status.
Anyway, just think before you act. The job market is tough, and for you younger people, maybe it won't be tough when you're ready for a full-time job when you're done with school. But don't just do things unrationally. Really think before you act.
I am so sad about not having a job. I mean, I email myself jobs and often don't apply, since they're not what I want and/or I feel like I have no chance, whether I'm overqualified or underqualified, or I know that I can do the job but no one will hire me because most companies don't believe in on-the-job training.
So, just join clubs when you're in school. Volunteering supposedly looks nice on your resume (I've been doing volunteering on and off for a few years, but I've been doing it regularly since December, and I'm even a Project Coordinator for one organization, which means that I lead groups and fill out paperwork, and really am the manager for those projects, although it's not a paid position). I hear that having volunteering on your resume looks great, but I can't attest to that, since no one will hire me. Don't burn your bridges, try and stay with an employer, and do things to keep busy (clubs and volunteering).
I hope I hear from them soon!
