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I was in a similar situation from the mid 90s to 1999. While looking for
"anything" I ended up taking my advanced degree off the resume and
working through temp agencies. Hurts but when you need anything...
Now I'm back on the market, unsure how things will go this time. There
isn't a lot advertised in my area of So CA, which is supposedly doing
the best economically, and I've seeing TW ads for people without a
BA/BS(!!????). I'm assuming you've done all the networking possible?
Have you tried positions like training and instructional design? My
daughter tells me that the TW "field" is morphing into something else,
suggested Business Analyst. Perhaps that wouldn't be the best fit for
your background, but you get the idea. There are lots of Web-related
ads, though, so maybe you can get experience there?
Wish I had more suggestions, good luck to us all. If you haven't already
checked them out, look at http://www.stcsig.org/cic/pages/links.htm for
some new resources and links. Some of the experienced writers in our
resource base are incredibly talented.
As one of our posters said recently, "a lot of people would be out of
work if there weren't so many people out of work (referring to joblists
and agencies/recruiters/hr)."
Kathleen
-----Original Message-----
Dave wrote:
I'm coming into this discussion late, but I thought
I'd throw in my 2 cents worth. I'm in a similar
situation. I've been off-contract since November. In
my area lately there's been pretty much a complete
lack of TW opportunities. Admittedly, my situation is complicated by the
fact that since my divorce I'm a single parent and now unable to travel
for work. I do receive calls from recruiters a couple times a month
about out-of-town jobs, usually about 4 hours away, that I simply can't
accept right now. I've tried looking for lesser jobs, pretty much
anything, without luck. Anytime I walk into a retail store or some other
place that offers sub-$10 hr wages (yes, I've gotten that desperate),
etc. looking for jobs they see my education (almost done with my TW
masters) and prior wages and they hire someone they feel will be more
stable in the simple job they have to offer. The market in Missouri, at
least aside from St. Louis, seems pretty much dead. I realixe I may well
have to move, but I need to let my kids at least finish the school year.
I just need to figure how to hold on at least that long. I'd really like
to be able to stay in this area several more months so I can get in my
last couple classes to finish my M.A.
>I've been unemployed since December, and although
>I've diligently looked
>for a job, nothing has come up. I don't even hear
>back from employers when
>I send them my resume. And if I do, their rates are ridiculously low.
>Is anyone else experiencing the same thing? I'm
>wondering if this is just my
>experience or the state of the market in general.
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