Pseudo-inspiration for the job seeker

After my discouraging search for jobs on Craigslist yesterday, I decided to seek out some much needed inspiration. Instead all I found was lame quotes and a Twitter feed full of depressing economy and debt ceiling news.

Although the quotes were lame, I decided to share some of them here with you so maybe we can laugh at the stupidity of it all together! Feel free to add any quotes that you have found in the comments section!

1. “The future ain’t what it used to be”
Yogi Berra

2. “When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.”
Anna Quindlen

3.”The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”
Robert Frost 

4. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Unknown Author 

5.”If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”
Dale Carnegie 

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I am definitely ready to take on the world now!

Craigslist…The job search continues

So I decided to look on Craigslist as part of my job search (desperate, I know!). This is a sample of what a simple search for jobs in Washington D.C. returned.

-Chess Teachers WANTED!!!! (really? People want that?)
-Looking for Asian women for anonymous egg donation (I mean I totally would, except I would want those eggs to know who they came from)
-Hookah Guy Needed (sexist.)
-Looking for Moms Who Love to Shop and Make Money!!! (I love to shop and make money! Now all I need is a kid…)

The outlook for potential jobs got even worse when I looked at “Gigs” in D.C.

-Punching Bag (this one speaks for itself.)
-Actress for a Youtube film (LIKE OMG IM GOING TO BE FAMOUS)
-Clean Up my Hair (Really?)
-Film: Casting the Virgin Mary (I hear the Virgin Mary hangs out on free classified websites a lot)
-Models: Classy lingerie (Well as long as it’s classy…)
-Casting Call for Spoiled Girls (So many spoiled girls peruse Craigslist, so I am sure they will find someone)

But my absolute favorite has to be this guy: “GREAT SINGER SEEKIN MANAGEMENT”

Check him out!

Turning Generation Y into Generation U

My friend Ashley Withers wrote this piece on the Middle Eastern revolutions this spring and why it matters to our generation. You can follow her on Twitter (@ashleywithers) or send her feedback in the comments below!

We are Generation Y.

All of us 80s and 90s kids are part of the Millennial generation and though we have been raised in a world with greater resources, our employment opportunities are few and far between. Youth unemployment in the US has reached it’s highest level since 1948. It currently sits at 18.5 percent. But this isn’t a problem just facing our generation in America, it is happening all over the world. Youth unemployment is high in Europe, reaching 40% in Spain and just short of 20% in Britain. In Canada, our neighbor to the North, it is 15.9%, the highest level in 11 years.

Recently I’ve been  learning about the conditions in the Middle East that caused the revolutions this spring and the unrest and unemployment of the youth across the region is a major factor. In the Arab world roughly 100 million people are between the ages of 15 and 29- about 1/3 of the entire population of the region.

The youth across the Middle East have been dubbed “Generation U” by author Robin Wright and I think that this is a better name for all of us. “Generation U” stands for the Muslim young under the age of 30 who are “unfulfilled, underemployed or underutilized, and underestimated” and all I think that all of those words describe most of the 20-somethings in America. The real question now is what are we going to do about it?

Though the revolutions across the Middle East would not have happened without the decades of oppression, it is Generation U that finally instigated real changes in the region. The first generation with access to the Internet and they used it to their full advantage.

Morrocan rapper Soultana released a song that went viral online. It loudly proclaimed her frustration for the state of her world. She sang:

“They said they’d bring a new system for our country,
But reforms are no more than hallucinations.
They said “Vote” because we have transparency and credibility,
But when they won, they closed their doors and nothing happened.”

Sound familiar?

Soultana has become one of the voices of change in the Middle East. We are still searching for our voice here.

If we can turn Generation Y into our own form of Generation U, we can make real change- a change for our situations and a change for our society and its record-setting youth unemployment.

I don’t want to be unemployed, unfulfilled or underestimated any longer. What about you?

What do Furbies and LinkedIn have in Common?

So it seems to me that LinkedIn gets mixed reviews from my 20-something peers. We all are told to make these profiles by our professors, yet we rarely hear any success stories from the business-focused social network. Sometimes I think one of my friends tweeted it best, “LinkedIn profiles are like Furbies. Society pressures you into getting one, you never use it, and it annoys you everyday.”

However, the site announced Monday that they are making it easier for users to actually apply for a job, launching their new “Apply with LinkedIn” button. Apparently, it is supposed to be as simple as clicking a Twitter button or “Like” on Facebook for us to apply for jobs now.

According to LinkedIn executives, this button is supposed to update the job search into the realm of new media.

What do you guys think? Is the paper resume dead?

Check out my LinkedIn profile and see if it is ready to simply click a button and apply for a job! Send me a link to your profile and I’ll give you feedback as well!
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rebekah-meinecke/13/942/939

Which Video Resume was Successful?

I recently came across an article on Mashable that talked about how you can spruce up a boring resume. One section included tips for creating a video resume.

1. Keep the video short
2. Describe the value you bring to the position
3. Explain why you are best for the job
4. Use a storytelling format
5. Take your time to do it right before uploading to YouTube

I have played around with the idea of a video resume but I am wary because of the disaster that befell Aleksey Vayner back in 2006. Although I wouldn’t have to worry about lies that were in my resume,  I would be more worried about the public humiliation aspect if the video wasn’t successful.

So here I have three video resumes for your review. One video is pretty lame, one is very creative and the other landed the creator a job.

Which do you think is the most successful? Would you ever do a video resume?

There Are More…

Happy Friday! I am going to share another story with all of you today. Dari sent me her an account of her experiences with unemployment/underemployment and she also blogs about this issue over at Still Confused After 25 Years.

Dari does a better job at staying positive than I do so I figured this post wasn’t too depressing for a Friday.

“A little over a year ago I walked away from a safe but unfulfilling position with a local nonprofit.  Even though I loved the idea of the work that I was doing in my community, I knew that there was no room for advancement and the stress of the disharmony in the office was weighing me down. I decided to leave my comfortable position for respect and the career I really wanted – public relations and advertising.  It was all very romantic.  I was ready to take the world by storm, armed with only my pride and a small savings.

Although everyone tried to ensure me that I would find a job quickly, I knew that the odds were stacked against me.  I vowed to do whatever it took to gain experience and to not accept a full time position with any responsibility.  I have a job that barely pays the bills, but I go, make money and go home.   There’s no extra energy exerted, which allows me to throw my energy into the career search while remaining a mostly independent adult.  Thank God for giving and understanding parents who can sometimes handle a few of my responsibilities should a surprise occur or who can send me home with a bag of frozen chicken because they know I have cut meat out of my budget.

Unfortunately, in Mobile, Alabama, there aren’t a lot of public relation jobs.  I’ve been on dozens of interviews, some of which went really well.  There was just someone who fit the position better.  Some of my experiences have been really terrible.  I’ve interviewed with a woman wearing house shoes and half a head of weave (she continued to take it out during the interview).  I even had a woman hire me and then steal a bunch of work from me.   I’ve learned a lot!

The best thing about my unemployment experience is that I have learned more than I ever could from my old job.  I have been blessed to do the work that excites me, even if it’s for little or no pay or barter.  I have worked with a brilliant local business owner from whom I’ve learned an immeasurable amount of knowledge.   My waistline has benefited from working with a friend who is opening a yoga studio.  I’m also lucky to get to dabble in interesting things like art and sports.

I will never regret betting on myself and taking the chance to see what else is out there.  Each rejection letter is heartbreaking, and I tend to grieve like most do a lost lover.   My career has become like a boyfriend to whom I am very loyal.  It’s hard walking by my degree as I leave for my J-O-B where I have been supervised by people who aren’t old enough to buy a beer.  However, I am unable to accept defeat because I know that with hard work, the position that I eventually get will be the position that is meant for me.  I’m excited to see the domino effect of my choice.”

Funemployment: Videos and Ideas for the Unemployed

I think we can all agree that one upside to being unemployed is that we have a lot of free time. These videos should provide you some laughs in your free time but if you’re at work, be careful because you won’t be able to resist laughing!

Here are some brilliant things done by people who obviously have a lot of free time like us.

If these inspire you to make your own videos let me know and I’ll post them here! If you want to see more of these you can go to wimp.com

Are You Paying Attention?

I have noticed that I’ve been following politics closely since I graduated and have been without full time employment. I find myself actually caring about potential GOP candidates, specifically their background in the economic arena. I have also been watching the Obama administration closely to understand what is being done to solve the unemployment problem.

I guess this is the first time I really felt passionately about any kind of political or economic issues. I spoke in a previous post about how in the ’08 election youth were extremely excited, but I don’t remember ever really discussing political issues. This time I want to be 100 percent informed, especially on the unemployment issue.

Although the situation is pretty bad, I still have the hope that my vote could make a difference. I haven’t given up on our democracy yet and I think that many of us 20-somethings feel that way. I believe that’s why we haven’t had any mass riots like Greece is seeing.

The poll last time was a great success so I wanted to know: what do you think? If you have more to say please let me know in the comment section!

Nick’s Story

You might have seen my post asking for all of you to submit your stories of unemployment woes. Well, my friend Nick Vricella wanted to share his beautifully written story with all of you!

“Ever since I was in my early teens, I have tried to keep up with the news. That being said, I was well-aware of the challenges I would face after graduation. I did the typical college thing, though… did an internship at an ad agency the summer going into senior year, found a new internship the summer going into “super-senior” year, and now that I have finally graduated, I’m back for my second tour of underpaid duty as a twenty-three-year-old intern. In all fairness, I count my lucky stars that it is a paid internship, as opposed to many that friends and acquaintances have had.

On May 14^th, 2011, I received my bachelor’s degree in Marketing, with Advertising as my minor. My goal had been to work at an advertising agency, but after too many rejected applications, I realized that I would need to expand my horizons. I applied for numerous sales and marketing positions, and heard one of two things: (1) “We aren’t looking to hire right now,” or (2) “We’re looking for someone with more experience.” Disappointment aside, I can understand that companies are looking for the most bang for their buck. Hiring a kid such as myself would cost the same as hiring someone with more experience.

By late April/early May, things were looking more and more grim. I decided at this point, going back to my last internship where I had a great experience and learned a lot the previous summer was looking like my best option. Today more than ever, I feel as though internships are a person’s best foot in the door. Even though I don’t have a lot of experience in the marketing world as a twenty-three-year-old, I have more experience with the company than a forty-year-old first-time applicant. So these days, I’m working as a marketing intern, bartending on the weekends, and basically playing the waiting game until a position opens up.

When my father was my age, he was entering his second year as a salesman at a surgical supply company, without so much as an associate’s degree. It seems that as time goes by, the price of college tuition increases while the value of the degree goes down. It’s kind of depressing, but it really makes me shudder to think of what the next generation will have to pay for a college degree that is the equivalent of a 2001 high school diploma. In the mean time, come visit Famous Dave’s of Annapolis this weekend so you can drown your financial and employment-related sorrows with one of my infamous Strong Island Iced Teas!”

Is Teenage Unemployment a Big Deal?

Recently, a lot of readers have been sending me links to articles that deal with unemployment, youth unemployment, underemployment etc. I love the wealth of information and I always review every article and look forward to sharing it with you! So please keep them coming rebekah.meinecke@yahoo.com!

From US Bureau of Labor Statistics data

Today, I wanted to talk about an article in the New York Post that was sent to me. The article discusses the 24.5% teenage unemployment rate. At first you might think, as I did, that the teenage unemployment rate is not a huge deal. Teenagers don’t have families to take care of and they are (usually) supported by their parents. So, what is the big deal if there aren’t a lot of teens employed? Then, this paragraph caught my eye:

The economic malaise since 2008 has perhaps created a lost generation of sons and daughters missing out on career growth and development because of their inability to get a first job.

I started thinking about my first part-time job. At 16 my parents informed me that they could no longer afford my social life (gas, movies, going out to eat with friends etc.) and, if I wanted to keep my social life I would have to find a part-time job.

I remember that I was a nervous wreck for my first job interview with Dairy Queen and I had no idea what to wear or say. I was thrilled when I got the job and I learned a lot from the experience. I learned how to work with people of many personality types and who were from very different backgrounds. I learned the value of money and about sharing my paycheck with Uncle Sam.

This job was an extremely productive way to use my time and energy and I made a lot of new friends. Sure, it was no fun to clean the bathrooms or mop the dinning area but these tasks pushed me to work hard at school so I wouldn’t have to do this type of work my whole life. This realization relates to another part of the article.

“…job-holding in the senior year is associated with substantially elevated future economic attainment, whether the latter is measured by earnings, wages, occupational status or the receipt of fringe benefits,” said economist Christopher Ruhm.

I definitely agree with this statement based on my personal experience. I’m glad that I got my chance to work part-time jobs and learn and grow. Although, with the way the economy is looking, I may be back at Dairy Queen mopping floors anyway!

Youth Unemployment Cartoon

What do you think about teenage unemployment? Did you have a part-time job that you feel helped you grow and mature?