Cover Letters are Depressing

I wrote 10 cover letters today and shuttled them off via email in reply to numerous ads I found on Craigslist. I expect no replies and if someone does reply I fully expect them to be non-legit. I have set the bar very low here in order to not be disappointed because writing a dozen letters to people who have little interest in a college-degree-d specialist is a drag.

Waiting in Uncertainty

The interview went well so I treated myself to a smoothie afterward. It was the nicest staffing agency I've been to in terms of services offered, professionalism, cleanliness, and perceived legitimacy.

I was rather impressed that I actually got to talk face to face with the employer rather than the staffing firm people. Also I was happy to find out that the customer service job was more like a "Girl Friday" administrative assistant for a press shop. The staffing firm does the payroll though which was sort of interesting.

The job is only part time so that means that I'd need to find two to three jobs elsewhere as it would only be three days a week. I'm really not sure what I'll do now. Being that it's Sunday night now I feel sort of depressed that another week has gone by and I haven't had a real job in 6 months (as of my birthday). It seems to me that seeing others I'm close to getting promotions, starting businesses, receiving transfers and going to work on Monday mornings just seems to depress me because I know that I'm not doing those things. It is Sunday night and I'm not going to work in the morning. How dull. I can only clean the house so many times.

Another Headhunter

Like making appearances on different game shows I seem to be checking out the local circuit of headhunters previously unknown to me. Within walking distance, there is another agency which wants to see me at 2pm for a part time job that pays $11 an hour. See the table below to figure how how much that helps.

Lukewarm Calls

While I've come to the conclusion that web design in this geographic region is almost out of the question, I'm not doomed to be a receptionist but a dispatcher. I have not applied to the county 911 for dispatching or my first employer since they're full. I did make calls today though regarding two different dispatching jobs with HVAC service companies in Maryland. We'll see if they ever pan out or return my calls. We won't hold our breath though. You know how these things can be.

How Much $$ You Make

Hourly=Weekly=Yearly
7 dollars an hour = 280 per week =14560 for the year

7.5=300=15600

8=320=16640 *This is roughly what you make on unemployment. $8/hr or $333/week

8.5=340=17680

9=360=18720

9.5=380=19760

10=400=20800

10.5=420=21840

11=440=22880

11.5=460=23920

12=480=24960

12.5=500=26000

13=520=27040

13.5=540=28080

14=560=29120

14.5=580=30160

15=600=31200

15.5=620=32240

16=640=33280

16.5=660=34320

17=680=35360

17.5=700=36400

18=720=37440

18.5=740=38480

19=760=39520

19.5=780=40560

20=800=41600

The Letter of the Day is A

Wrote a bunch of cover letters and formatted a new resume this afternoon for:

• Town of Bridgeville
• Fry Mfg. LLC
• Service Today
• ClearComm Technologies, LLC

Also lately:

• Vantage Point Solutions Group
  
• 
  

Unemployment Hell was fun

I got a letter in the mail that basically said that due to lack of work my federal employment has been terminated and I must take this paper to my nearest (UI) Unemployment Insurance Office to file a claim for benefits. I dreaded going to our county office again because the first time I was layed off and went it was like Hell. I was there for over 5 hours, pratically all day sitting between a midget and a woman on a cell phone with a broken leg.  At our county UI office, they don't answer the phone, there is no place to do this online, oh and they lock the door at 4pm so if you dont get in there early you're screwed out of a week's worth of compensation!

Now that you know a little about my previous experience a few months ago in said UI location, you would know I desperatly did not want to go for a variety of reasons. In our great state, it is not a plesant experience to sit in a waiting room with the rest of the poor sots and dregs of society for 6+ hours while you wait for your number to be called like you're at the deli counter in Hell. Once you're finally called up, you must have the proper papers or you have to come back and do it again. 

This is not to mention the lack of proper direction as to where to go or what to do or sign. There's just a bunch of paper signs that read "Please DO NOT STAND here." Which of course is just so (cough, cough) helpful in telling me where I need to report, sign-in, or take a number... It is indimidating, embarassing and overall generally demeaning (not to mention, they of course think I'm making my job title up).

I even had a night mare last night about going there! When I got there, I almost panicked because I thought that I was too late and they were out of numbers but the deli-style number ticket dispenser was just malfunctioning luckily. I think it secretly provided entertainment to those who didn't want to watch CNN.

But honestly, God bless the Pittsburgh Steelers fan that gave me his ticket. It was like winning the lottery, I'm the luckiest girl in the world! He was in another line where you give a signature instead of recieving a number and for whatever reason he decided to befriend me (instead of the older gentleman in line behind me?). He traded me tickets which is like gold to the masses in the UI office. I mean there we are like cattle, there's 30 t0 70 head sitting there numb and waiting and he picks me to trade numbers with, ha! He said he'd already been helped out and wanted to trade numbers, os I said sure and traded my number 64 ticket for his number 48 ticket just as they were calling 41 up! Happy-happy Joy-joy! It was like someone giving me the winning lottery ticket, I felt just so lucky.

Now, I estimate that it takes about 15 minutes per number so I figured I only had about a hour and a half wait with #48 as compared to the all day 6 hour wait with the #64 ticket. I settled in and started on my sudoku puzzle when all of a sudden they called out 42 and 43. Then we waited for about a half hour and they called 44...nobody stood up for 44, 45, 46, or 47 and I was ready to jump up and yell BINGO at 48. OF course I didn't jump up like I was a game-show contestant, I just closed my puzzle book and bounced up to the cubicle.

I explained to the clerk that I recieved the letter and gave her all my papers, she took a quick look and began data entry. I thought it intimidating and awkward how few questions she asked me but like a innoculation in the arm it was over in a pinch! Again, God Bless the Church of the Steelers. I was in there around 9 something and out by 9:45 which could be the county record! Woo hoo!

Now to my surprise, my luck continued as I pulled in the driveway at home, the neighbors gave me a tip and I promptly left to go to another place to fill out a job application nearby. Now that I'm back on the dole, I know I'll need to record a list of all the places I'm filling out applications so that if I'm audited, there will be a record that proves I've been filling out applications and not just sitting around getting payed a couple hundred a week from the state.