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[mom-from-missouri]

I always thought people were lazy when they said they could not find a job.....now I am seeing where some of them are coming from.

Took me 5 months to find one.....And, last week I quit it, without notice. The manager has anger control issues. I was not going to be sworn at, cussed at and have things thrown at me any longer. It was a truck stop, and I have scrubbed dirty words of the bathroom wall written in feces for the last time..... That job was 20 miles away, and about the only job in that town.

So, back to looking for a job again.

In the last 9 months, I have now sent out, filled out over 200 resumes and applications, and have 4 interviews.

First, understand I live in farm country. I live in the county seat, with a population of 2000. Its the largest town in the county, most are 100 to 700 people.

We have no high speed internet in our homes, that eleminates most work at home jobs that require it. The phone company does not offer it and the work at home companies do not allow wireless high speed-it has to be thru the landline.

There is no fast food restaurants or pizza places to deliver for.

I did home childcare, but those kids have now aged out and moved on, and there are no more to take their place--the few that there are won't drive the 8 miles out in the country to my place, and since we are an "improvised county", the school offers free before and after school care.

Their is one nursing home, and they have not had to hire help in over 4 years.

So, now I am looking to work in the city, which is an hour commute each way. At least I have a car. I know of some in this town who need a job and don't have a car. They can't get out of this town. So, if I do manage to find a job in the city.....they only want to pay $9-$10 an hour. Then take out my 52 miles worth of fuel each way, and wear and tear on the car.....Not to mention my kids being unattended. Yes, they are 16, old enough to be alone, but they don't drive yet. So, that means they can't stay after school for anything, or go in early, because they have no ride home....or I pay for someone else to pick them up. (so no more band, cheer leading, play practice, or going to a friends)

We discussed moving once....but, houses and farms all around us have been for sale, some for several years and no one is buying. Plus, ours is almost paid off. We farm, and our farm does provide us with our food. Its also been in my husbands family for over 140 years.

I do some writing, my points and swag bucks--it more than pays for the internet, which we keep as one daughter is taking some online college classes (free tuition due to her grades, only have to pay for the internet each month).

I'm looking at people a little different now when they say they can't find a job.....been there, doing that right now.

[Drake3287]

Here's the flip side to your predicament, my wife's a supervisor that works for a large company and most all the employees are virtual, meaning they all work out of the home on a company based computer. Even though she doesn't require a college degree, she has a hard time finding good employees that have even basic computer skills. That and the fact that many people can't discipline themselves enough to work from home without someone looking over their shoulder.

At times she'd love to let someone go but she fears not being able to find a replacement.

[mom-from-missouri]

Here's the flip side to your predicament, my wife's a supervisor that works for a large company and most all the employees are virtual, meaning they all work out of the home on a company based computer. Even though she doesn't require a college degree, she has a hard time finding good employees that have even basic computer skills. That and the fact that many people can't discipline themselves enough to work from home without someone looking over their shoulder.

At times she'd love to let someone go but she fears not being able to find a replacement.

If they take wireless internet, I'll do it! I even tried to find something that I could rent a bedroom from someone in town for--have a phone installed and high speed internet and rent the room from them, as we have a lot of elderly widows in town who would probably be willing to earn some extra money that way. But the highspeed landline internet in town, isn't fast enough to meet the work at home demands. My wireless is, but they all say wireless isn't secure enough...

[Drake3287]

I'll mention your post to her, you never know. As someone who has interviewed hundreds of people over the years, I've looked at every resume in the world (at least in my field!) and the resume's that always stand out are the 1 in a 100 that put a small professional jpg picture of themselves in the upper right corner of the front page. Everyone has a professional looking resume because of all the templates available on the internet but few people add this.

You don't need to be a good looking young blond or some hot looking guy, just a professional looking small picture that makes you stand out in the stack of resumes. Of every person I've hired who did this, I later commented about how it was a factor in standing out in the crowd. It really works and other people in my hiring panel have always agreed.

I've since told this to many younger would-be applicants but most just laugh it off.

[MonkeyMama]

I totally understand, and that is living in a big city. IT's brutal out there. It has been for a long time.

[LuckyRobin]

Have you thought about doing a CSA? You have a farm and you already grow for yourselves. With community supported agriculture, you get the money up front from the people who join, so your outlay doesn't cost to plant all the vegetables and you still make a profit. People in the city seem to be very anxious to join CSA's. It might be enough to bring you the income you need and still be able to stay home.

[BuckyBadger]

In my field, a photo on your resume will get it sent to the circular file pretty quickly.

So I'd be careful with that...

[creditcardfree]

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties. I don't doubt the jobs are few and far between in an area such as yours. I can't say I agree in our area that is the case. There are jobs in manufacturing, retail and service industries. I would even say there are white collar jobs as well. The town is over 150K people, but very likely drawing people in from other more rural areas.

Are there any that you have applied to in the past that it would be worth applying for again? If enough time has past there may be new openings. Just a thought.

[rennigade]

My wireless is, but they all say wireless isn't secure enough...

What do you mean that you can only get wireless? Typically a landline is installed then a cable modem/dsl router is hooked up. From there you plug in a wireless router to broadcast the signal, unless the modem has built in wireless.

Do you mean you can only get satellite internet?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Maybe there is a way to apply for the job of that awful manager!

Is that military base any closer than the city? Watch their listings for civilian jobs.

Does the USDA hire in your county? How about the county itself, or the state? Grain silos? Railroad? Utilities?

Are you checking any public bulletin boards where small jobs might get posted? Like at grocery, hardware, and feedstores? Putting up ads there for yourselves, too?

[snafu]

Think about every skill you have and how it could be used to earn income. Self employment can help since you would take a tax deduction for part of rent/mortgage, phone and internet. You have a truck which might lead to self employment opportunities transporting furniture, appliances or building goods. Make sure everyone you know is aware you need employment. Most jobs are accessed by referral. Someone recommends you as a potential candidate.

Spend time learning new skills. Can you paint walls? It's a skill you can learn from demos on You Tube if you take time and are careful with detailed work. People are tearing out carpet and installing hardwood or hardwood looking laminate. Tearing out carpet needs careful attention to baseboard/quarter round but manpower is the main function. Can you do small fixes?

Can you do move-out clean ups? Clean office bldgs. after hrs. in a nearby city? Are there seniors living in their homes who need help with landscaping, cutting grass, planting a garden?

just another .02 cents

[feh]

Sorry to hear of your difficulties MfM.

I can't relate directly, but I understand the situation, because I've seen it in Wisconsin (lived my entire life here). Society is becoming more urban - the small farm towns that aren't near large population centers are dying off.

[disneysteve]

Sorry to hear about this. I can totally understand it being a problem in small towns.

I must admit I struggle to understand it in metropolitan areas though. I speak to a lot of people who are out of work at the same time I see help wanted signs everywhere I go. I also speak to many employers who say they are struggling to find dependable employees and it is impairing their ability to run their businesses. There's a dichotomy there that somebody needs to figure out.

[Nika]

Good jobs are hard to find.

Minimum wage jobs around here you can get if you look speak English and don't look like you've got mental health issues. The problem is you can't live on a minimum wage.

As for OP, I think moving is the only choice here, if things are getting worse in the area as a whole, you don't want to be in the same situation 5 or 10 years from now. Look at the bright side - at least you don't have to pay tens of thousands for a for a lawyer or a coyote, learn another language, or be separated from your kids in order to move to a land of better opportunity.

[Reggie]

I cannot retain good quality employees. I have openings at all times for software engineers with at least one masters degree and current certifications (ie oracle). They are in such demand that they leave after 12 months because they were poached. There ae lots of openings for high salaried positions, there are lots of openings for min wage jobs, there are few jobs for the middle segment. .