Hope FLOATS! - nomoreMT

Like so many of you, I have sent out countless resumes over the past 3 years, mostly with no response.  The ones who did respond were not worth even giving up my low paying transcription work.  Then something magical happened.  I got laid off in mid June.  I filed for food stamps and unemployment and was assigned to a person in the UE office called a Career Coach.  I met with him weekly for several weeks and he helped me with my resume, coached me thru the interview process, and I attended several workshops at the UE office to learn all I could.  I re-worked my resume in a way that prospective employers didn't just see "transcription for 20+ years."  And IT WORKED!  It's been a struggle with only the UE money and food stamps for 3 months, but could have been a lot worse, and Monday the 17th, I start a great new job with fabulous benefits and very good pay rate :)  So color ME happy!  I had about decided that the only thing I would be able to get would be an $8, $9, or maybe $10 an hour job and I would just have to deal with it.  But I learned something being on UE.  The unemployment office is not there JUST TO HAND OUT CHECKS!  They have workshops and very helpful programs, and the way I found this job was in a newsletter they send out every Friday.  I got on the mailing list when it went to that resume workshop, and if I had not done that, I might not be where I am. 

Here's my point.  I got laid off from my job so I was eligible for UE.  In most states, you are also eligible if your workload has been cut.  You just file for UE and select "lack of work," and chances are good you will receive at least partial benefits.  If and when you do, go to the UE office in person and FIND OUT what programs are available for you.  The more you GET INVOLVED and the more motivated they see you are to get a new job, the more they WANT to help you.  I am going into about a 30K job (about half what I made 10 years ago), and I am thrilled to have it.  I can't think about what I made 10 years ago because we are not in the same economic picture, but I CAN make my life work and pay my own bills on that salary.  And at this company, I will be eligible for quarterly bonuses and can work OT when I want it.  It is a 7-day a week business so there will be some holidays, but I got a straight M-F daytime schedule and I HAVE NOT had that in years. 

So like I said, sending out resumes for 3 years didn't get me anywhere.  Matter of fact, when I went to the UE office for the Resume Writing Workshop, I don't think they really cared if I was unemployed or not.  No one asked.  In my state, it is called the Career Center, but it is in the same location as the UE office and I believe these classes are available to ANYONE who is trying to better themselves.  Maybe like me, I was working a low-paying transcription job and was trying to find something better, and I wish I had known about this place sooner!! 

So even if you are working, check into your UE office and see what free programs and workshops they offer.  It could be your ticket out of here.  We do not have to give our years of knowledge and experience to an industry that won't pay for what we have to offer.  We CAN go somewhere else.  I hope this helps someone :)