I am laughing at myself... why? Because I just realized that job hunting/interviewing has become a challenge for me... I'm sort of *cough* enjoying it.
Well, not really... but at least the sting of rejection has worn off. The first couple of interviews were killers, "Hi, I'm me... please accept me?" Yeah, pathetic but true... I think that initially going into a job interview is like a popularity contest amongst your peers "Elect me to be President, I will solve all of your problems!"
*Ouch*
Especially when you get turned down over and over and over
(Warning) read on if you feel like it... but I'm rambling....
Ironically my resume was at first too "simplistic" and straightforward. It was glaringly obvious that I didn't have a clue about how to make a resume... kind of pointed out my lack of experience. Well, experience smerieance... I have an odd type of experience... (yeah I intended for that to come out all sing songy... uh, hu...).
This is how it is, I get a Bachelors degree in Accounting then go to work temporarily for a large company in their Accounts Receivable department. Their accounting records are an absolute mess, who knows why, so they put me to work sorting and filing everything. Papers were literally everywhere so it was no small task. I sit down, work my butt off and get it all sorted in proper alphabetical order sorted by state even... then they don't know what to do with me. They expected that it would take forever for me to get through all of those papers. So they put me to work doing the menial tasks that make their lives difficult like running reports and sending out statements. I get to know the system... I get along with everybody even the boss who is going through a rough time because she's getting a divorce. I'm patient and understanding with her... well she was really, really having a rough time, what else can I say.
Ah yes, other experience...
I start up a little LLC for my husband who is doing a small amount of side work. No bonding, no headaches... I started out tracking things on Quicken which has a simple Home and Business software package. Everything is on a cash basis so I don't have to worry about Accounts receivable or payable, there are no employees so I don't have to worry about payroll. All is well.
Then Jan. 2008 the economy tanks, can't get homeowners to spend on little concrete projects, and he is laid off. So for some enigmatic reason he decides that getting a big project would be a good thing. Problems... don't have the software to track what he's doing, he's not bonded, he has no capital, and he's terrible at keeping track of anything... so he gets a few big projects, takes out credit to finance things and doesn't give me much of a clue about the contracts (how much he's going to get from these jobs), or what he's doing with the small amount of money that's coming in from his uncle (from which he got the first big job). He has me create "payroll" ledgers every week because they needed it for the government job. But then pay's his "guys" some random amount and I haven't a clue...
Near the end of the year, Nov. I finally get Quickbooks, software that I am vaguely familiar with from my classes but not firmly schooled in... and there is a lot you should know about Quickbooks before using it seriously. I do my best, set things up, enter transactions, set up payroll (for the remaining time that was left of the year... ha! even then he randomly paid his "guys" and I had to figure out how to account for that using the payroll feature... I could have printed checks but that never happend)... then a lifetime later, when I can't think I can take the stress anymore he comes and say's that they blew it, they had already received everything they were going to get from the project and we were left holding a big bag of bills. It took me the next 6 months to enter transactions into Quickbooks... trying to sort out what went where, tax day came and went... then finally I got it as sorted as could be... but I was unsure of myself, the mess that was created had caused a real blow to my self confidence (and sanity) so I decided to take it to a real Accountant to make sure it was all done correctly. Actually that was a good thing, he told me that I had done a good job, drew up a tax return and we got a refund (based on the fluke of accounting that we were on a cash basis instead of an accrual basis... otherwise we would have had an enormous loss... thus no refund)...
Yeah so if you can't follow the preceding paragraph, basically what happened was that my ego/brain turned to mush and at the beginning of 2009 I am left scratching my head about what to put on a resume...
I sort of felt like I was lying if I told them that I had a lot of experience with Quickbooks, "Why?" because I had only just survived by hen pecking everything out... yes everything balanced but I still couldn't honestly say that I knew the program, or that I had been doing anything with my time for the past several years.
I tried and tried to make a resume but just couldn't do it... finally my friend Christine took pity on me and made a stellar resume (Which included the $50,000 dollars of unrecorded revenue that I found at the large company because the lady who I was filling in for had a habit of sticking checks in the drawer if they sent it to the A/R department instead of the lock box....)
Anyhow... the resume looks really good, but I don't feel comfortable with it because my brain had turned to mush, I had (seemingly) forgotten everything that I had learned in my accounting courses, and even claiming that I had found that unrecorded revenue seemed ostentatious because I am fairly sure my manager just took the credit for finding the revenue... well she took the checks to the head guy herself anyway... so I decided to take the claim that I had found $50,000 in unrecorded revenue off (even though it was true).
Plus my previous two bosses, my husband (and I am getting a divorce), and mid-life crises boss whom I haven't a clue of what she thinks of me because she was in her own world...
Yeah....
You all deserve an award if you've read this far... ;)
Well... after applying and interviewing (over and over) I've finally got this applying thing down... I'm tailoring my cover letter and resume, I've almost got interviewing down (borrowed a book from the library). So now it's like I'm doing one two punches... AH bring it on, I can take it....
So I had an interview today, eh, it went alright... the interviewer didn't know what she was doing. I should have taken over and just started talking about myself, but I have been used to psychological quiz questions from my last few interviews so I probably came across as stiff. Amazingly she was very impressed with my resume and thought I was overqualified. It is a nice starting out kind of job doing light accounting work and answering the phones... maybe she's right but I would sure like the job.
Ironically her reaction points out to me why I probably didn't get the last few jobs that I interviewed for... I'm "overqualified." How do you say "I desperately need a job," without sounding desperate?
Well, heck, maybe I should go back to my first resume... maybe I will get a chance then...
Grrrr....
Yeah, I've finally run out of stuff to write.... Ya'all have a good night! :)
SG
Well, not really... but at least the sting of rejection has worn off. The first couple of interviews were killers, "Hi, I'm me... please accept me?" Yeah, pathetic but true... I think that initially going into a job interview is like a popularity contest amongst your peers "Elect me to be President, I will solve all of your problems!"
*Ouch*
Especially when you get turned down over and over and over
(Warning) read on if you feel like it... but I'm rambling....
Ironically my resume was at first too "simplistic" and straightforward. It was glaringly obvious that I didn't have a clue about how to make a resume... kind of pointed out my lack of experience. Well, experience smerieance... I have an odd type of experience... (yeah I intended for that to come out all sing songy... uh, hu...).
This is how it is, I get a Bachelors degree in Accounting then go to work temporarily for a large company in their Accounts Receivable department. Their accounting records are an absolute mess, who knows why, so they put me to work sorting and filing everything. Papers were literally everywhere so it was no small task. I sit down, work my butt off and get it all sorted in proper alphabetical order sorted by state even... then they don't know what to do with me. They expected that it would take forever for me to get through all of those papers. So they put me to work doing the menial tasks that make their lives difficult like running reports and sending out statements. I get to know the system... I get along with everybody even the boss who is going through a rough time because she's getting a divorce. I'm patient and understanding with her... well she was really, really having a rough time, what else can I say.
Ah yes, other experience...
I start up a little LLC for my husband who is doing a small amount of side work. No bonding, no headaches... I started out tracking things on Quicken which has a simple Home and Business software package. Everything is on a cash basis so I don't have to worry about Accounts receivable or payable, there are no employees so I don't have to worry about payroll. All is well.
Then Jan. 2008 the economy tanks, can't get homeowners to spend on little concrete projects, and he is laid off. So for some enigmatic reason he decides that getting a big project would be a good thing. Problems... don't have the software to track what he's doing, he's not bonded, he has no capital, and he's terrible at keeping track of anything... so he gets a few big projects, takes out credit to finance things and doesn't give me much of a clue about the contracts (how much he's going to get from these jobs), or what he's doing with the small amount of money that's coming in from his uncle (from which he got the first big job). He has me create "payroll" ledgers every week because they needed it for the government job. But then pay's his "guys" some random amount and I haven't a clue...
Near the end of the year, Nov. I finally get Quickbooks, software that I am vaguely familiar with from my classes but not firmly schooled in... and there is a lot you should know about Quickbooks before using it seriously. I do my best, set things up, enter transactions, set up payroll (for the remaining time that was left of the year... ha! even then he randomly paid his "guys" and I had to figure out how to account for that using the payroll feature... I could have printed checks but that never happend)... then a lifetime later, when I can't think I can take the stress anymore he comes and say's that they blew it, they had already received everything they were going to get from the project and we were left holding a big bag of bills. It took me the next 6 months to enter transactions into Quickbooks... trying to sort out what went where, tax day came and went... then finally I got it as sorted as could be... but I was unsure of myself, the mess that was created had caused a real blow to my self confidence (and sanity) so I decided to take it to a real Accountant to make sure it was all done correctly. Actually that was a good thing, he told me that I had done a good job, drew up a tax return and we got a refund (based on the fluke of accounting that we were on a cash basis instead of an accrual basis... otherwise we would have had an enormous loss... thus no refund)...
Yeah so if you can't follow the preceding paragraph, basically what happened was that my ego/brain turned to mush and at the beginning of 2009 I am left scratching my head about what to put on a resume...
I sort of felt like I was lying if I told them that I had a lot of experience with Quickbooks, "Why?" because I had only just survived by hen pecking everything out... yes everything balanced but I still couldn't honestly say that I knew the program, or that I had been doing anything with my time for the past several years.
I tried and tried to make a resume but just couldn't do it... finally my friend Christine took pity on me and made a stellar resume (Which included the $50,000 dollars of unrecorded revenue that I found at the large company because the lady who I was filling in for had a habit of sticking checks in the drawer if they sent it to the A/R department instead of the lock box....)
Anyhow... the resume looks really good, but I don't feel comfortable with it because my brain had turned to mush, I had (seemingly) forgotten everything that I had learned in my accounting courses, and even claiming that I had found that unrecorded revenue seemed ostentatious because I am fairly sure my manager just took the credit for finding the revenue... well she took the checks to the head guy herself anyway... so I decided to take the claim that I had found $50,000 in unrecorded revenue off (even though it was true).
Plus my previous two bosses, my husband (and I am getting a divorce), and mid-life crises boss whom I haven't a clue of what she thinks of me because she was in her own world...
Yeah....
You all deserve an award if you've read this far... ;)
Well... after applying and interviewing (over and over) I've finally got this applying thing down... I'm tailoring my cover letter and resume, I've almost got interviewing down (borrowed a book from the library). So now it's like I'm doing one two punches... AH bring it on, I can take it....
So I had an interview today, eh, it went alright... the interviewer didn't know what she was doing. I should have taken over and just started talking about myself, but I have been used to psychological quiz questions from my last few interviews so I probably came across as stiff. Amazingly she was very impressed with my resume and thought I was overqualified. It is a nice starting out kind of job doing light accounting work and answering the phones... maybe she's right but I would sure like the job.
Ironically her reaction points out to me why I probably didn't get the last few jobs that I interviewed for... I'm "overqualified." How do you say "I desperately need a job," without sounding desperate?
Well, heck, maybe I should go back to my first resume... maybe I will get a chance then...
Grrrr....
Yeah, I've finally run out of stuff to write.... Ya'all have a good night! :)
SG
2 comments:
Hehe, you positioned the "ouch" properly SG, hehe!
Well, I understand the irony here and there. The job circle is a paradox in itself. And, I reckon you should not sound desperate while looking for a job. The employer put up the advertisement that indicated that they are looking for people. You are helping them, so they are in need, and you are lending a helping hand. So, no, there is no room for desperation when it comes to the interviewing process.
I understand the over qualifying phrase. I was denied a job in fast food center because I was over qualified. So, there you go!
Well, as you mentioned, this is all "weird", but I am sure you will find a right spot to start again. I am very sure.
Good luck SG!!!
I hate looking for jobs and totally understand your frustration, I hope you find something soon.
If you need help with anything let me know (I'm a good listener if you just need to vent and am always willing to tell you how amazing you are if you need it).
Good luck and hang in there.
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