Job Suggestions Wanted

sophiec

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Hi all,

This past June, the company I work for decided to close down our branch office before selling the rest of the company. I lost my job July 31st and have not been successful at finding work, even though I started looking immediately after we got the news. I've been sending resumes out every week since my lay off, but no luck. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I may have to go outside my industry to find work until my industry picks back up.

I am collecting unemployment benefits (something I hoped I'd never have to do). Unfortunately, my monthly bills total more than I receive monthly on unemployment.

I need some job suggestions from people. I'm looking for something that pays more than minimum wage because even minimum wage won't pay my monthly bills. All I've ever done has been drafting & design work for the oil & gas industry. I don't even know where to start looking for other jobs that would pay more than minimum wage. Anyone have any suggestions for me?
 
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sophiec

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I have a 2 year degree in drafting & design technology. That's all I've ever done since graduating in 1993.
 

calico2222

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If you don't mind with dealing with the public, call center work really isn't bad. I complain about it alot, but it really is easy work and the money is usually pretty good. I think it does take a certain type of personality to handle that though. DH couldn't do it. He would probably be fired after he talked to the first stupid caller (and you get a lot of those). He just speaks his mind instead of biting his tongue. But, if you think you can deal with it, it may be something to help pay the bills until your industry picks up again.

My contract pays about $3.00 over minimum (not great) but does have an excellent health care plan and 401K. I live in the boondocks though. If you are in a city the pay will probably be higher.
 

krazy kat2

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I was going to suggest call center work as well. It pays decently, it is not hard work, and many of them have decent benefits.
I would not recommend anything to do with a certain well known cable company, though. They are a terrible company to work for and will find an excuse to fire more than half of their employees in less than a year to keep from having to pay out too much in merit raises and benefits. PM me if you would like to know the name of the company.
 
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sophiec

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Well, I thought there would have been more suggestions than the few I got.......

If a call center is the same thing as a telemarketer, I don't think I could do that...

Welding? Not that I mind getting dirty or anything, but that sounds like something I'd need to go to school to learn. I'm not looking for a career change....just something to hold me over until drafting needs pick up again.

Thanks to those of you who did respond.
 

crittermom

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have you tried putting your resume in on monster.com?
My hubby had a few calls after he did that.
Other than that, I'm not sure.I'm a stay at home Mom,and don't know much about the work force
 

dragulescugirl

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Drafting & Design? You could look into architectural firms that deal with more industrial complexes or master planning through build phases. They are more likely to need people who can design infrastructure than just buildings.
 

cdubbie

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you can checked out hospital job listings. Many many kinds of jobs and they usually pay ok with good benefits. Hospitals are 24 hr institutions of course so if you aren't picky about hours you might have a better chance.
 

c1atsite

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this would be a step down for you but ....an ex-neighbor of mine said his company catered to corporations who were often "restructuring" or "reorganizing"

the quoted words above are commonplace in the mega financial firms of nyc. (the latter often shortened to "reorg")

right at this moment, somewhere in a large firm, i guarantee you some department is either expanding, or merging, or moving to a new floor/new address, etc.

so from what he told me, he was some sort of master of logistics i guess? sort of like a facilities consultant to corporations i assume. he said it was sometimes hard, but never a shortage being nyc.

maybe you can work in a company like this. but i don't know what they're called
 

allfurlove

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When they said call centre, I think they meant customer service, not telemarketing.
For example, I once had an interview for Manulife Individual Insurance in their call centre. It's basically dealing with customer inquiries for policyholders. So you are taking calls, not making them, and helping established customers. It could range from something simple like changing their address in the computer system, to dealing with a disgruntled customer's complaints and trying to solve the issue. This was a salary position and paid very well.
Many different companies have call centres, the most common are phone companies. Some require previous customer service experience, but most will train the right person.
 

calico2222

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Originally Posted by allfurlove

When they said call centre, I think they meant customer service, not telemarketing.
For example, I once had an interview for Manulife Individual Insurance in their call centre. It's basically dealing with customer inquiries for policyholders. So you are taking calls, not making them, and helping established customers. It could range from something simple like changing their address in the computer system, to dealing with a disgruntled customer's complaints and trying to solve the issue. This was a salary position and paid very well.
Many different companies have call centres, the most common are phone companies. Some require previous customer service experience, but most will train the right person.
Yes, ours is an incoming call center which means people call you for help and info. We don't call them to try to sell them something (I DEFINITELY couldn't do that!).
 

c1atsite

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How about something in a SEO (search engine optimization company)? The thing is, I don't know how much they pay. Companies pay SEO's to help their homepage "be the first" or "near the top" when someone types something into Google.
 
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