One of the struggles of Americans now a days is the ups and downs of unemployment. Sure this means more time for one's self but at the costs of, well not having much in the way of income. For a few months, I have had the pleasure (note sarcasm) of being laid off of my previous position. And with these few months from November to April have been in many ways frustrating, but in a few ways, given me perspective.
How things went down:
The first point of annoyance is how things went down. My company, which I won't list hear, had to renew their contract with the client we were working with. Suffice it to say, it did not end well resulting in both cut backs of staff and, as one source reported, a few raised voices. There was opportunity to apply with the client for most likely the exact same position. I decided not to apply since it was in a call center where callers were often unhappy and unpleasent. The atmosphere was frustrating in and of itself since dysfunctional was putting it nicely. I did not mean to burn bridges but I know I wanted a change in space but also a change of career, especially out of customer service.
The Hunt is on:
Frustration number 2 comes in the form of the job hunt for a new position. For one, granted I need to focus my goals a bit, but knowing I don't want another customer service role is definately a guiding point. Of course, a significant part of recruiters contacting me has a customer service position available and wonder what my interest is. It is about to the point where I am surprised I haven't saved a standard template in my email drafts folder in just such a case. Another annoyance is of course being offered info about sales positions. Granted, sales and customer service positions are not the same, however, it does take a certain someone to want to do sales. Maybe I don't have the patience to deal with people in large quantities, the idea of living off of 100% commission scares me (or at least in the beginning), or the special kind of stress that supposedly comes with whether I hit quota that month are reason(s) I don't jump on board with a sales position.
Another comes in the form of interviews. I have been fortunate to have a couple but nothing helps to dash one's optimism of employment than having, what one thought of a good interview and then find they went with another candidate. One person that has some insight as to what had happened with the interview informed me that I did fine with the interview, however the other candidate was more experienced. As an added insight, the person I would be reporting to was difficult to deal with in the first place. Sigh....
If I had a play list:
And then there is staffing firms. Granted, temporary employment can be a help in terms of short term income, possibly getting a bit of experience in a new field, or even a foot in the door. Out of fairness, I have had some luck in the way of temp work but some firms are a quick dissapoint. Again I will not name names.
Track one: "Please Stop Calling"
One firm I worked with years ago I thought would be promising. I went in, filled out the paperwork, had a good interview, and thought I would be hearing from them soon. However, when I hadn't heard from them in 6+ months, until after I had already found another position with another firm, that they contacted me to see if I am looking is a huge turn off. Granted I learned that if I am to work with one, it helps to take more initiative in keeping contact. However, this time around, the same firm decided to not only reach out to me, but be more aggressive about it, as compared with before. I had received a small handful of calls from them, somehow missing the calls. I would then receive a call later that day, and when I was able to answer, no response from the caller. At one point, I decided to call back and let them know I did not want to do business with them, and was clear about not wanting to business with them. It seemed that the person trying to reach me did not get my voicemail, called again trying to pitch me a position. I reiterated that I was not interested in dealing with them and please stop contacting me.
The best part is that clearly this did not sink in, because a representative decided to call me about a position when I was clear about not wanting to work with them. Granted, after thought suggests keeping better track of these things because I could have sworn it was the same rep I spoke with earlier. She claimed she didn't speak with me before and I had to reiterate to stop contacting me. To make sure third times' the charm, I looked up to see if I still had any contact info from the firm and apparently at some point I had made contact with a manager of some sort on Linkedin. I reached out explaining the situation and requested to, for the love of all things holy, be left alone.Granted, I could have gone the route of looking into 'do not call' legislation for recourse, but wanted to try this first. He understood and so far, my wishes have been respected.
Track two: "No, thank you"
There are times where I feel the need to type out a template that, in short would say thank you for contacting me, but not interested. I have on a couple occasions worked as a customer service rep. For long term career goals, I am working on getting away from this, but I get the most offers to apply for more customer service jobs. Yes, I do have experience in these roles and could do them again. However, it is possible to develop skills outside of the ability to feel like you are getting s***** on, without giving someone an earful. Case in point, I learned a little bit about insurance underwriting in my last job and received my Series 7 and 63 at another, both in one take. Ask anyone in the financial investment industry about the second part and will tell you that is not as easy as it sounds.
Outside of writing up a snarky template (or blog posts for that matter), I have been working on updating my resume to reflect skills outside of being a phone jockey. Granted, one could write up something that sounds like a well crafted draft of baloney but I've been working on sticking to the facts and presenting things in the best light. (revise hunt part)
Track three: "No, thank you (f*** off, scammers remix)"
With this day and age, one needs to be cautious about who one deals with. I often get suspicious when I see emails of a certain layout from some company I never heard of (like porn, I know it if I see it). This is often accompanied with a phone call from out of state from someone with a thick accent. Granted, some recruiters are nationwide, employees may reside in the US but come from elsewhere, and I do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of all companies. But there are one or two points that do help confirm my suspicions. For one, the need to know about W2 info on 1st outreach is odd to say the least. This is something I would not need to complete unless I have agreed to work for a company. Secondly, the tone seems to be of an urgent nature. Sure temp work spots get filled fast, however, there seems to be no mention of meeting with someone to go over things in person. It's one of those situations where I say listen to your gut.
Track four: "Remember that one moment?"
I know bitterness does not get me far in life but it can help repeating certain embarrassments. I received emails from one recruiter that I chose to casually ignore. Why? My previous relationship with one in particular I felt was a good one. I got an assignment that turned full time. I sent him leads for people in the market for work, as a form of thank you. Overall the one or two names I sent over went well, until my gf went.
She had set up an interview through this agency. Things seemed to be going well. She was ready to meet, even spent a few bucks on getting a new outfit. The time and date were set, that is, until the last minute cancel of the interview. With no reschedule. And not a clear reason why.
I understand that things happen and it is on the company she was interviewing with for cancellation. But, I would assume that my contact would reach out to get some sort of follow up or even see if there were other possible opportunities. But there was nothing. I could write back with a big WTF? but at this point, I doubt it's worth replying at all.
One or Two Benefits:
Although there is a certain amount of challenge in staying motivated while unemployed, the extra time does allow to catch up on certain things. For one, I did move to another city and the extra time allowed for organizing and donating, trashing or selling stuff no longer needed. Another, is thinking of and even starting one or two writing projects. For instance, I was able to finish my movie script and do some editing. I also thought about starting a new blog soon about some of what I learned in the health insurance industry. Plus, getting to see my family for lunch more often was great.
Happy Ending....?
Eventually, I did find an analyst position that, sadly, has a customer service component to it. Sell out? Or something for now....? I figure that sticking to your guns can help you get closer to something you would rather do and/or have more perks. The pay is better, the atmosphere is better and people don't scream in my ear as much. We'll see where this adventure takes me!
