The Job Hunt

*Disclaimer...I started this entry in November or December...with one line, I'm finishing it up as though I finished it when I started. Next blog post coming up will be my current thoughts on the subject.

It is FINALLY over! Oh my was that an interesting ride! I never expected it would be this difficult to find a job. I left two great jobs to move with my husband. The first of which I would be reaching my 10 year anniversary in August had I stayed. WOW! I am old enough to have worked for 10 years! Anyway...for those that are unaware, or I forgot to mention it in a previous post...we moved to Jacksonville, FL from Norfolk, VA on July 11, 2009. I had started the job search prior to moving by updating my search criteria on careerbuilder.com, and looking at what was here. About 2 months before moving I was getting weekly emails with dozens of job postings. Most of which wanted someone already living in Jacksonville and could start right away. About a month before moving down here I either stopped getting emails or there would be 1-3 job postings. YIKES!

Okay, so it is July, we move to Jacksonville and I start looking harder for jobs. I get in contact with a staffing agency specializing in accounting. I meet with a wonderful lady who starts working on finding me a job. August 18 rolls around...and WOOPS, I find out I'm pregnant! Aaron and I had discussed the possibility of having another child, but we had financial goals we wanted to accomplish before making a decision. Little did we know there was little person growing in my belly already. But...it is still early I still continue on my job search. I am sent on several interviews through the staffing agency as well as a couple I found on my own (thank you careerbuilder.com and craigslist). All coming back to "someone internal" or "someone more qualified." BLAH Then 20 weeks gestation rolls around and I get a call from my recruiter "are you still looking for work?" My response..."um, well, kind of." And explain to her that I am pregnant and when I'm due. She seems genuinely happy for me (and as it turns out she had recently found out she was pregnant too :D). She tells me about a job, I tell her I'm interested. She says I'm already ahead of the game because every female they've placed with this company has gotten pregnant within a few months of being placed. Ha! So this was the one and only interview I went on where they knew ahead of time that I was pregnant. It was really nice not having to dress to "hide" my pregnant belly...but I still think it was a hindrance even if they don't say they won't hire me because I'm pregnant. ANYWAY...after that interview I didn't try as hard...knowing that I would have a baby in just a few short months I knew it would be unlikely to get a job while I was pregnant...especially if I couldn't find one otherwise. So while I still looked and applied for jobs that may be perfect (Hello Dr. Pepper!! I seriously applied for a job working for Dr. Pepper...how sweet would that have been!). I may have had one or two more interviews, but that was it.

Now April is here...and my sweet, beautiful Abigail is born! She is awesome! But of course she grows...like a weed...and is soon 5 weeks old! Knowing it takes time to find a job, interview and get a job I started hitting the ground running at 5 weeks postpartum looking for a job. I applied anywhere and everywhere. I hooked up with a few more staffing agencies...none of which actually helped in getting interviews. We were coming to a braking point...we had no more "extra" money coming in and we were struggling to pay bills...so I started applying for "retail" jobs (shudder). I saw that a new Panera was opening near where we live, so I applied for the job. The next morning I had call for an interview, had an interview the next day that lasted all of 5 minutes. I had the job. Woot (I think LOL). I started working for Panera and it was miserable...I was making half as much as I could be making working in an accounting position...an entry level accounting position at that! That only lasted a couple of months. And I was still looking for a "real" job. So finally one day in November I quit. My boss mumbled something about burning bridges...but I hope to never have to even put that job on my resume. I will casually mention it when a prospective employer asks me about my gap in employment...but the type of job I am looking for? I don't think they really care that I worked at Panera right?

About a week or two later I get called in for an interview for a staffing agency...only it is a direct hire position to their company! So the interview goes well and a couple days later I get called in for a 2nd interview...always a good sign! Except, well that interview didn't go as well as the first interview. The plus side was the manager I was interviewing with wouldn't be my manger as the manager for the position was out.

Well, I am pretty certain it was less than a week later that the first lady I interviewed with called me back to offer me the position! I had another interview in the meantime, however that one went horribly, horribly wrong! (I was late, couldn't call because I didn't have a number...and I'm sure she just did the interview as a courtesy since I was already there) So of course I accepted the position!! I am finally employed!

Swagbucks

I know many of my internet friends who use Swagbucks and have since convinced me to try :D. I signed up for Swagbucks in May 2010 and by July 2010 I had racked up enough "swag bucks" to earn a $10 gift card to Starbucks. I know what you may be thinking, that seems like a lot of work for $10, but it really isn't. Think about how many times you "Google" something, if you use Google at least once a day then you could benefit from Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a search engine, it functions the same way as Google or any other search engine. If I would normally run to Google for something, now I run to Swagbucks instead. You won't receive codes every time you search, but if you search the web as much as I do, you will benefit. Many (if not all) of my friends use their swag bucks to get and stock up on $5 Amazon gift cards. This seems to be the best deal as it takes very little time to earn the swag bucks needed and people tend to accumulate enough to get big(er) ticket items (like $45 - $50). I have my personal reasons as to why I won't redeem Amazon cards, so I set my sights on a $10 Starbucks gift card.

I do have to admit that when I first signed up I was a little be more aggressive trying to obtain swag bucks, my goal was that $10 Starbucks card. Since I earned that gift card I have slowed down on trying to earn those bucks. However now that we are in November I need just over 200 swag bucks to earn another $10 Starbucks card...or I could get a $10 Barnes & Noble card which would come in handy as I plan on getting a Nook after Christmas.

There are many other ways to earn Swagbucks, but I'll leave that up to you to discover based on your comfort level. However...I DO ask that if you are interested you sign up using my referral, as that is one of the ways you can earn Swag Bucks (from the looks of it, and I would have to verify this - when you earn Swag Bucks, I earn Swag Bucks).

I have posted a "Widget" to the right and there is a button to sign up, or you can use my referral link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/MickiJ100878.