I worked on a brush crew doing tree thinning for two years, and my first year when we were laid off for the winter I got REALLY depressed. I'd gotten so used to having a job and going to work each day I didn't know what else to do. I was a mess. The next year wasn't quite as bad. Lay offs and unemployment happen.
Last year I got hired on to a small fire department near here, my dream job landing in my lap. When they handed me my badge and helmet, and said "Here's your ambulance, here's your engine, here's your locker", it was my happiest, proudest moment. I loved every minute of every shift in spite of everything else. Every CCT transport we did, even the 170 mile run to Lewiston with a looney on the stretcher, was great. And even better, because it was a small department in a growing area, I was almost guaranteed to make Lieutenant or Captain someday when the tax base and call volume grew.
Exactly one year later, we lost our hospital contract for patient transports to another agency. And that meant we lost the medicare and insurance billing that paid our paychecks. Guess who gets laid off? Everybody but the Chief and his subordinate.
Talk about something to make a guy cry. And you can bet your bottom dollar, I did. It wasn't much, and it wasn't glamorous with lots of history and big engine companies like New York or Boston. But it was
mine.
Life goes on though. The key is to make the best of the situation and keep trying every avenue. I've stepped up my college attendance toward my degree, and I have two part time jobs now to help financially with two more possibly coming to me...I'm almost for-sure going to work part time for the county ambulance (something I'm incredibly nervous about, but that's another thread), and a buddy of mine is proposing a new 8-hour-a-week analyst position to his company...and if he gets it approved, he wants me for the job.
Build connections and network whenever you can. Not 'Hi, I'm ____, I do ____ and need a position if you ever hear of one' networking, but genuine 'know somebody' networking. Even if it's with someone who works as a janitor, because you never know when you'll be down on your luck and need some part-time work.
And don't 'try' to impress. Professionals and supervisors see through that crap in a heartbeat to see you don't really care. Simply conduct yourself so that you
will impress. Be early. Present a good image. Speak clearly and intelligently, and have a good handshake with good eye contact. Communication skills are so vitally important to everything we do. If you can genuinely connect with a person when you meet them, or at least come across as professional and clean cut, you can basically do anything.
While we're at it, I think attire bears mentioning. The older crowd (today's bosses) for the most part look at people like this:
And instantly write them off as having no redeeming qualities.
It could be any number of things associable with that image. I think the hilight is that ******* ridiculous hat. If someone came in wearing that ****** and handed me an application, I'd throw it in the waste basket and have security remove them. Everyone I talk to in the professional community pretty much agrees. Because that hat screams 'hip hop', and hip hop screams 'I party all the time and will show up late and embarrass you on a global scale'.
Please dress well and sensibly when you go -anywhere- with any hopes of employment. Do it from step one. I see way too many people fresia this up for it to be funny.
Unless you're applying at Gap or Abercrombie, take off the Hollister shirt, put away the 'skater shoes', and ditch the jewelry. You'll get a lot more respect with cleaner attire. You will stand out against the crowd and they'll think you're different. And above all else, don't act entitled to anything. People hate that.
This isn't really advice aimed at you or anybody else, these last few paragraphs. I have no clue what you wear or about your habits. It's just advice in general for anyone who might be reading it and saying, "Hey, wait, he's talking about me"
...And if you're reading it and saying, "But I already fit all those criteria, Brian you dummy", well...goodluck and keep looking, and don't let unemployment getcha down
