Day Seven: Phone will not stop ringing!!!! MTV show about college grads and job outlook?

Today was a very exciting day, I actually got a couple of calls that was not expected. I receive a call from a cell phone company, that I applied for a Retail Management trainee program. The district manager wanted me to have a second telephone interview on Thursday which is a great sign. I also received a call from another management position that wanted an interview tomorrow morning. I also applied with a previous employer as well with a customer service position which looks really positive from the two interviews. I have a feeling that I will get something by the end of the month.

I also was on various forums mentioning my story and how I am creating this new and I actually ran into someone who have ties with MTV and will look into my blog further and mentioned that this would be a good show for the True Life Series. I am very excited that within my short time of making this blog that it is growing by leap and bounds.

I am also thinking about creating a website which will feature forums for college graduates who are in the same position as me. I am looking for recent college grads that are going to the same struggles and are looking for a job. I am hoping to post additional stories on my blog very soon.

Day Six: Using government agencies to work for you.

On Monday, I was in Fernandina Beach, taking care of a audit that was pretty easy this time. I also took a half of a day talking to worksource, which is a government job assistance company. This place is excellent if you need improvements to your resume or if you are looking for career education. When I arrived to the worksource building, I was talking to one of the assistants whom looked at my resume and added some suggestions to make my resume better. Anyone who need to assistance with your resume then you should take advantage of this free service. If you want more information check out this website www.worksourcefl.com.

I went to work at my temp position for the rest of the day as well as tomorrow, however I did recieve an email from Quick Service shift manager position which I will be looking into attending on Wednesday.

I will follow up with more information tomorrow...

Day Five: A day of rest.....A little bit more about mystery shops!

Today, I decided to take a breather from looking for a job. I had a couple of shops that I am doing for the rest of the weekend, and I got another check from my temp job today. I think with this break this weekend, I can really be rested to look for a job hardcore Mon, Tuesday and Wednesday. I also going to do some side projects to bring in some extra cash.

I receive a couple of questions about mystery shopping, and how to get started on it, so I decided to mentioned it here. Mystery shopping has been around for over 20 years. Basically you get paid for eating out, and going to various stores and writing a report about your experience. This provide great information for owners and managers to see if the employees are doing their job. I been a mystery shopper for over 6 years now and I see it as a great way to make a second income. There are some people out there and they are hard core mystery shoppers and they actually make a living off it.

The one thing to remember is you do NOT have to PAY to become a mystery shopper. Many people assume from various ads that you have to pay which it is NOT true. Out of the six years of me doing this I never pay to be a mystery shopper. I would suggest for someone who want to get started is to check out this site www.volition.com were you can see various forums about mystery shopping from other shoppers.

I will be back on Tuesday for a update :)

Day Four: Career Fair Sad day in the enterainment world.....

Yesterday, I went to a workforce building were they offer me some advice about looking for a job. I am slowly starting to feel the affects of not having a job and I think I am getting a tad depressed about it. I asked my boyfriend a couple of days ago if it is a good idea to do this blog, and he mentioned that writing your ideas down is a good way to, "let things off your chest." As I am typing this I am starting to agree with this, and I also hope that someone who is reading this is knowing that they are not alone on this. I just wish I can find a job sooner, not only because of financial reasons however for a self accomplishment as well.

In other sad news, Yesterday was a bad day in the entrainment industry.... Farrah and Michael Jackson died yesterday.

Farrah death in my opinion was not as shocking as Michael Jackson, however we should recognized her struggle with anal cancer with was perceive vividly through her documentary of Farrah's Story. I can say that I could not go through the same thing this strong women went through for three years of this cancer.

Michael Jackson was truly shocking... It funny because my boyfriend while we went to a movie a couple of hours before mentioned about him and was singing a song about him. While we were in CiCi Pizza, the news broke of Michael Jackson having a Cardiac Arrest. Then only hours later his death was appearing on all major news sources and online sites. Even though Michael Jackson had a pretty troublesome issues in the past couple years, Everyone can actually agree that he was an icon and was one of the pioneers in the world of music. I feel that Michael Jackson mentioned many issues about racism, freedom and various world struggles which really brung people from ALL cultures together.

My thoughts and prayers are with both families, and I truly believe that death come in three's.

Day Three waiting for the phone to ring.......

Ok.... Day three, I was lucky to receive a phone call from my temp job telling me to come into orientation for a new project today, it a good thing I will get a extra paycheck. The only call that I received was for the bill collectors no real calls today. I took some advice and look into applying for a couple of government jobs so I guess I might hear something from them in the near future. I am thinking of putting my culinary arts degree into good use and start doing some small catering events in the area to bring in some cash. Sigh.... tomorrow I am planning on attending a job fair that I saw in the local paper as well as go to a couple of more places. I am going to limit the job hunt for know and work out a mapped plan to go to a bunch of places at once in order to save gas.

That it for now.... See you on Day Four!

Sigh.... No work this week Tuesday!!!!

Ok so as mentioned before I am working at a temp position for the past couple of weeks now and I am making ends meet with the lack of hours there of. Today when I called (which seems that I been doing that a lot this week....) I was informed that all employees are not working due to low call volume.... Geez now where I am going to get the money to pay bills......

This week is not really a good week for me, Sallie Mae started the week with a bill for 600.00. I mean who in their right mind can afford 600.00 in student loans. I mentioned to my mother who is forking out for some of the costs that I should consider the military since there is a college repayment incentive. Well my mother not to happy with that statement.

Now.... I had a telephone interview with a major cellular company yesterday for the Retail Leadership position, as well as a Quick Service Manager position that same afternoon.

The telephone interview last about an hour and a half due to the fact that the other thirty minutes was because the speaker was choking on the phone LOL.

The Quick Service Manager(which I am more likely to get) last about an hour, which it was one of the most weirdest hour I ever had in an interview. The General Manager was weird and I think she was more interested in finding out my personal life , ( just in case anyone does not know this it is illegal for a interviewer to ask you about your age or status during the interview fyi). Meanwhile during the interwiew a homeless man came in a fill up three bottles of soda without paying of it. The interviewer/General Manager was mentioning her concerns about food cost where I wanted to mention, "Well when someone stealing almost a liter of soda from your soda fountain that can actually affect your food cost" LOL!!!!!

The only good thing is that I am finding really cool ways to find money... I am (was) a secert shopper for over five years. This money which I get weekly is now very valuable when it comes to getting my car note payment. I also have to pick up a check this week and maybe I can talk to my insurance about my payment at the end of the month....

Ok... that my rant for today..... I am going to get some lunch my boyfriend a highlight of the week....

Day one: Finding a job

Yaayyyyy!!!!! I finally graduated from college. It took me six years and some uncertainties before I can finally say I got my Bachelors Degree. At the graduation ceremony, the speaker mentioned how this wonderful degree will get us further ahead within our careers. As I reflect on this now... one month later, I am starting to worry if there is a career for me..........

I understand the uncertainty of finding a career or even a job during these tough economic times, but I am feeling even worse since I let a lot of great opportunities slip by......

One month ago.... I was feeling hopeful on how I can start towards working on my new life. Today I feel like there is much more uncertainty.

I lived with a friend in Hollywood, FL while finishing school and I recently came home to Jacksonville, FL to save money and live with my mother.

I am thankful I have no children and feel sorry for people who has been out of work due to layoffs and are facing foreclosure on their homes. I am really lucky that the only minor debt that I have are some credit card bills (which are now overdue and extremely late), some student loans (which are from in-school deferment), and a car note (which was a lease I am turning in soon).

So... Here is my situation, I am looking for a career that I can grow... I have experience in several areas including restaurants ( 2 years management) and customer service (call center, telemarketing, office assistant etc....) I currently have a temp ( I mean VERY ) job which pays my major bills however I am unable to pay my credit card bills. My mother allow me to move in with her without having to pay rent which I am more then grateful.....

I am looking for a career in Food Service Management. My ultimate goal is to run my catering business again.... However, without the money or funds how can I do that?????

I will continue to update this site to let you know how I am going with my job search as well as to vent throughout my search here in Jacksonville.....