My Husband

Is waiting to hear back on a job....

Can you keep us in your thoughts and prayers?

I will owe you big time.

from Krystle.

What's that? It looks like Corey has something to say now;

For those of you lucky enough to have a job....cherish it and do not take it for granted. We are experiencing the toughest economy and worst job market in 70 years. When this global economic situation does improve, economists and analysts make look back on this time period as being worse than The Great Depression. Be thankful for what you have and supportive of those in need.

I just want to talk a little bit about how intense the process can be to find a job and provide a little encouragement and advice for those of you that are in this position. Before you start the job search process, save yourself some heartache and exhaust all of the resources that you have because it's not always the best person for the job anymore but rather who you know. I think everyone has taken advantage of this at some point in their life. With the exception of my first teaching job, all of my previous jobs including my first job working at McDonald's were because of who I knew. However, it's a very gratifying experience to be chosen by complete strangers because they thought you were the best candidate.

First of all, do not waste your time applying for jobs you are not qualified for. Employers get to pick from the "Cream of the Crop" and will not waste their time entertaining unqualified candidates.

Do not waste your time applying for a position if you have no intention of contacting the HR person or someone that is in a position to hire. CareerBuilder and Monster receive hundreds and sometimes thousands of resumes for single positions. School districts in Minnesota are receiving up to 500 - 1,000 applicants for 1 position. How do you suppose they sift through all of these applications?? It took me 4 hours to apply to this position online....the application was about 20 pages long...I included a letter of interest...resume...and letters of recommendation. It would have taken someone 1 hour to thoroughly read through my application and everything that I needed to include. HR people are dealing with so many other issues, they don't have time to get to all of these applications. Once you hit submit on your online application and receive the generic email about "Your application is currently under review and the Human Resources will contact you shortly if matched to the qualifications," do not stop there!! Everyone receives the courtesy email, do not feel special even if you are qualified, trust me, they won't call!! You have to be proactive, call and beg for an interview. It's a lot easier for someone to delete your application in a database if they can't physically put a voice or a person to the application. Let them know the day and time you submitted, and ask if they are in a position to pull up your application and go over real quick.

After I begged for my interview (when I say begged.....I mean tell them why I was the best person for the job), they agreed to set up a 30 minute phone interview......then I had an hour long in person interview....and then I had a 2 hour long panel interview with the building principal and another district representative. I cannot recall a more stressful or intense situation that I have been involved with. 2 hours!!!......that's how long a movie is....try and talk about yourself for 2 hours.....it's not easy!! Be ready and prepared for behavioral type interviews....."Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with your supervisor and what the result was?" "Tell me about a time when you didn't agree with company policy and what you did to resolve the situation?" Are you kidding me with questions like this, if you are having conflicts with supervisors and disagreeing with company policy....chances are you probably got fired and that's why you are interviewing in the first place!! We all have disagreements with supervisors.... and we all have problems with company policies.....what hiring managers want to hear is how we positively and proactively addressed and mediated the problem with an authoritative figure. As much as you may have disliked policy, supervisors, or employees, do not ever talk negatively about it.

Like so many other job seekers and even though I felt like all the interviews went well, I still have not been offered a position. My odds are more favorable now because they wouldn't spend 2 hours interviewing 10 different people, they probably have it narrowed down to 3-5 candidates. Do not give up when you get to this point in the process!! After you make the final interview, you still need to be proactive....I have emailed and called the HR department and persons that are in a position to hire reiterating the fact that I am the best person for the job. So......when Krystle says pray......she means it....it's in God's hands now....

As much as I like fishing.....I would prefer to have a job and avoid living a life of subsistence fishing in order to survive. You can see from the picture that I need to improve my skills and we would probably starve.....