Ok, so we’re here in Yuma checking out all possible job sources and one especially mentioned, particularly by my daughter, is Craigslist. I want you to know I applied for six jobs this past week!
About the only other source locally is the Yuma Sun, where predictably this time of year, about three new jobs a day appear, for a population suffering from a 27% unemployment rate.* On top of that is the fact that many positions require bilingual, which I am not. Yeah, I know: this is the USA but that doesn’t count south of I-10. And now schools are letting out—all the high school kids and two colleges, and that comes on top of the fairly recent news that some of Yuma’s major employers, employing hundreds, are shutting down permanently. No wait; there’s more!
You may have noticed lately that I’ve let my hair take its natural course; which is now grey! Personally I think I’m in fairly decent shape for someone my age (which I’ve never kept a secret); I walk about two miles daily and feel as though I am in good health and still fairly astute. But let me be perfectly clear here: trying to land a job in this economy at my age is not for sissies!
Back to Craigslist. Here in Yuma, it actually has an entire column of jobs as compared to the Yuma Sun—oh heaven! I was applying left and right; personalizing each resume like the current wisdom tells us to do; including a cover letter, taking hours of my time. I have a separate email set up for my job search stuff—just common sense, right? It’s included on my resume, but of course when I send off an email to a blind job ad it originates from my main email domain.
Not even the next day; as a matter of fact, just hours, and the emails started hitting my “junk file” on my main domain. I’m all excited: someone is reacting! Until I check to see I am receiving absurd letters citing my “qualifications, experience, etc etc” but I need to just click on this link because: employer will not hire without a complete credit check in advance of even interviewing me (yeah right); or “our CEO requires that all resumes be sent via the Job.com Career Network for consistency and easier tracking” or try this one on for size: “To be considered, ca n d i da te s must possess strong co mm un i ca t i o n/interpersonal sk i l l s, the ab il it y to interact w it h people at al l levels of th e firm, and excellent organizational skills. Ca n di da te s mu s t be se lf starters and be ab le to undertake responsibilities with limited supervision. They must also be able to multi-task, and have a working knowledge of MS Office.
Familiarity with other types of software is a plus.” I tried sending an entire copy of this email to a friend and my spell checker about froze up!
Who are they kidding? Not this grey-haired ol’ gal. Ah, one of the wonders with age—you gain a little wisdom! Craigslist? It’s off the list!
For those of you who may be going through something similar a great check-up site is www.flakelist.org. It’ll separate the wheat from the chaff in no time. Every single email I have checked on this site in response to my job inquiries has proven bogus. One has to truly wonder about people who have nothing better to do than add insult to injury to those of us unemployed for so long.
From today's Yuma Sun:
*"This is depressing times for several Yuma businesses and their employees.
Comings and Goings has learned that Tritium Card Services has closed its doors, leaving about 50 employees without jobs. Tritium, located at 3280 S. 4th Ave. in the Mervyn's Plaza, opened in mid-2007.
Meanwhile, Friday was the last day for NCO Customer Management at 1801 W. 32nd St.
A letter in March to the center's Yuma employees from Tim Luft, vice president of operations, announced that the office would be closing effective May 28 "due to business decisions and requirements."
At the time, the call center had a work force of 332 employees. There are reports that a few of them will remain with NCO at another Yuma-area location that hasn't been announced.
Comings and Goings also has confirmed that Hollywood Video at 1555 S. Avenue B is having a liquidation sale and is slated for closure by mid-June. The store currently has nine employees."
