Can anyone help a BOTL?

jsnake

I am not sure if this is the appropriate area to post this but here it goes. I have only been a member here for a short time and have jumped right into the fun. I know no one here knows me all that well so this is a little difficult for me to ask.

I am about to be laid off and if I do get laid off I will lose everything I have. I have 2 very small children at home and 2 older boys that live with me part time. My unemployment will pay my child support and that is about it. I am not happy at my job and in the last 2 years I have applied for over 300 jobs and have not received 1 interview from those applications. I have worked for my current employer 4 1/2 years and during that time I have spent over 3 years away from home just trying to hang on to work. I have traveled all over the country chasing work and it is taking a heavy toll on my health and family.

The point of this is to ask if any of you might have any job openings with the companies you work for. I spend hours a day searching the internet and let me tell you applying for jobs takes a ton of time and energy. That is after you weed through all the scams out there. I have a resume in hand. I just wonder if anyone has any job leads. I live in Kansas City and we are willing to relocate if we need to.

I am a big boy and I can take care of myself. What worries me the most is the impact this has on my family. It is hard to swallow your pride and ask a bunch of strangers for help but I do not know what else to do.

If you need more info from me or if you can help please PM me.

Hays

Hey bro,

I just want to say - don't be nervous at all to ask this, I would think. It's the least any of us could do to tell you of any job postings we know of.

On another note, I feel your pain brother. I've been unemployed for 10 months (after being laid off from a 5 year corporate career). Sent out at least 300 applications myself, and had maybe 2 interviews - one of which was at a fast food chain. Now I just took a job as a part-time bouncer... Have to feed the family. In other words, as much as I can't really help ya, I want you to know that I, at least, support your efforts.

tankbonnies

sorry to hear that....what line of work are you currently in or have experience in?

jsnake

I spent 4 years in the US Army, 2 years as a bank security/surveillance supervisor, 11 years in law enforcement, and 4 1/2 at a railroad working as a conductor/job foreman. Without getting into tons of detail I have supervisory experience in every career I have had. Of course if anyone has a lead or needs more detail I can provide that.

I know tons of people out there are in worse shape then I am. I know I am still blessed in many ways. If it was just me I could find a way to survive. Since I have a wife and kids I feel like I will be failing them. They are depending on me and I do not want to let them down.

Luko

I work at a hospital here in Pittsburgh, so I can't really be of much help in the search...but I can offer good luck...with your background and experience you sound like you'll land on your feet quickly.

jeffjackson

jsnake:

I spent 4 years in the US Army, 2 years as a bank security/surveillance supervisor, 11 years in law enforcement, and 4 1/2 at a railroad working as a conductor/job foreman. Without getting into tons of detail I have supervisory experience in every career I have had. Of course if anyone has a lead or needs more detail I can provide that.

I know tons of people out there are in worse shape then I am. I know I am still blessed in many ways. If it was just me I could find a way to survive. Since I have a wife and kids I feel like I will be failing them. They are depending on me and I do not want to let them down.

Would you be interested in getting back into Law Enforcement?

jsnake

I have tossed the idea around but I am out of shape and would take about an 80% pay cut. Despite that it is better then nothing. The process to get hired though is lengthy and won't happen over night. Also, many departments here are facing layoffs and cutbacks. I have been offered my old job back at the last place I worked in law enforcement but after child support and with my wife home with small children I would take home $100 a week which won't cut it. We just can't survive off that either. I would actually make more money being laid off from the railroad then I would as a cop there.

That being said there is one place locally hiring that pays better then most. I am getting ready to call their recruiter and look into it.

MarkH

Jake, PM sent.

Goldy

PM sent

jsnake

Replied

rwheelwright

jsnake:

I spent 4 years in the US Army, 2 years as a bank security/surveillance supervisor, 11 years in law enforcement, and 4 1/2 at a railroad working as a conductor/job foreman. Without getting into tons of detail I have supervisory experience in every career I have had. Of course if anyone has a lead or needs more detail I can provide that.

I know tons of people out there are in worse shape then I am. I know I am still blessed in many ways. If it was just me I could find a way to survive. Since I have a wife and kids I feel like I will be failing them. They are depending on me and I do not want to let them down.

Since you have Army experience have you looked at usajobs.gov? Might be worth a shot. I'm not sure what is in your area.

PuroFreak

I know it isn't in your area, but I know Dallas Police Dept. is constantly hiring people. With law enforcement experience you would have an advantage over many other applicants. Good luck to you brother!

jsnake

Since you have Army experience have you looked at usajobs.gov? Might be worth a shot. I'm not sure what is in your area.

Most of the jobs I have applied for are from there. These government jobs are the biggest pain in the *** to apply for! Seriously it can take 2 to 3 hours to apply for just one job. If you can nominate off the Resumix system it is no problem but anything law enforcement related takes forever.

Lasabar

I don't know what the market in your area is but I know that my Best Buy store that I am the Sales Manager of is hiring and so are all Best Buys... Don't know that payscale you are looking for, but a full timer can pull in at least $8 with no experience and with your security experience you could work at Asset Protection and get more money with your skills...

If a Supervisor position is open you can get anywhere from $12-20 an hour depending on experience. I would say to maybe try calling a store to see if leadership positions are available (when you apply online first it just goes to one or two stores)

I know this may not be what your are looking for but anything that will help pay the bills...

jsnake

Lasabar:

I don't know what the market in your area is but I know that my Best Buy store that I am the Sales Manager of is hiring and so are all Best Buys... Don't know that payscale you are looking for, but a full timer can pull in at least $8 with no experience and with your security experience you could work at Asset Protection and get more money with your skills...

If a Supervisor position is open you can get anywhere from $12-20 an hour depending on experience. I would say to maybe try calling a store to see if leadership positions are available (when you apply online first it just goes to one or two stores)

I know this may not be what your are looking for but anything that will help pay the bills...

I would like to work in retail again but in an entry level management position. I just do not like these online easy applications that do not give you the ability to give a true representation of your experience and abilities. The hard thing is I make very very very good money (when the economy is good) and my benefits are incredible. I have the best medical insurance you can get and very cheap. I also do not pay social security taxes. Anything is better if you are looking at nothing. I have to make more then $680 every 2 weeks or the loss of my unemployment won't be worth it. I am even tossing around the idea of working multiple jobs if I have to. I am not against flipping burgers if that is all I can find.

Thanks for all the input guys. Keep shooting info my way if you have any. I applied for 4 jobs today and it took all day.

phobicsquirrel

jsnake:

Since you have Army experience have you looked at usajobs.gov? Might be worth a shot. I'm not sure what is in your area.

Most of the jobs I have applied for are from there. These government jobs are the biggest pain in the *** to apply for! Seriously it can take 2 to 3 hours to apply for just one job. If you can nominate off the Resumix system it is no problem but anything law enforcement related takes forever.

yup! I know if you can land a job on a base or reserve base it's a godsend. Though they seem to be tough to get. I really don't know of any leads in my area either. I know there are cut backs on police in my area too. Actually the state is making employees take like 3 or so weeks unpaid leave. sucks but even they are feeling this recession. I started my computer business last month and seem to be doing good with it, though it's all word of mouth at this point. My website is still under construction as I can't seem to find enough time to finish it between my full time job and my business work. I have a friend of mine who started his own yard business for his off days just in case he gets laid off. Maybe you could start your own business? I'm to the point now that I am getting so many calls for my biz that I could leave my job and make much more but I need my job until my wife and I get a house. I live in Oregon so I don't know if that will be worth much to you to relocate all the way out here. I really haven't heard of anything opening up for new employees, other than fast food or something. Even department stores have cut people's hours drastically. My company has been cutting too, though my job is pretty safe. A good friend of mine went back into the Army since he lost his job 7 weeks ago. I'll keep an eye out though.

alienmisprint

I doubt you would want to relocate your family here, but with prioor military experience getting a job on the civilian side of JRTC here is a pretty good bet. If you are interested in something like that, I can look into what's open for you.

jsnake

alienmisprint:

I doubt you would want to relocate your family here, but with prior military experience getting a job on the civilian side of JRTC here is a pretty good bet. If you are interested in something like that, I can look into what's open for you.

I was stationed in Ft. Puke, Lousyana and I can honestly say I think Jurassic Park was filmed there. I don't think they post those jobs on USAjobs so if you find out any info let me know. Thanks.