MY WEEKLY JOB HUNT

I did not submit any new applications, and am still waiting to hear from the hospital about my pending application. I did find out that the woman who interviewed me has been laid off, as have many other hospital employees, all non-essential ones. This was a very ironic development. I have been focusing my energies on completing my first scoring project, and also looking into some further education and starting my own business. Also, I have decided not to move right now, which has simplified my current life considerably.
Whenever I feel discouraged, I think of these words from now-President Barack Obama, in The Audacity of Hope:
If there's one thing that social conservatives have been right about, it's that our modern culture sometimes fails to fully appreciate the extraordinary emotional and financial contributions-the sacrifices and just plain hard work-of the stay-at-home mom."
Quite honestly, I never thought that I would have this much trouble finding a job, as I feel I have much to offer to an employer.

Childcare Jobs? Mary Poppins or not.........

If you have raised one or more children, perhaps it has occurred to you to apply for a childcare job. It does seem logical, especially if you feel you have a knack for handling children. I started looking at local childcare "help wanted" ads several months ago, and found it rather eye opening. Many of the ads in my area specified that one would have to do laundry, cleaning, and even children's ironing! I found myself wistfully recalling the Mary Poppins books, where there was a maid and a cook, in addition to the aforementioned caretaker of children. For now, at least, I have ceased looking at childcare ads.

My Weekly Job Hunt

A truly boring week for me, in terms of no new jobs to apply for. However, I am so busy with my scoring work, that I have little time to worry. I did get called in to the hospital, where I had interviewed for a job several weeks ago. I was called in to take a math test, as well as a typing test. I have never taken a typing test in my life, but luckily I took a keyboarding class several years ago. No word yet from the hospital as to how I did. The typing test also made me recall my administrative job in the long-ago working world, where anything which I needed to have typed was given to our department secretary, and she typed it on her word processor. Very twentieth century. My scoring work has given me new found admiration for all single working mothers. I have found it very challenging to put in hours along with cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, etc. etc. I am so very appreciative to the website WAHM.com for leading me to the scoring job!

Work At Home Blogs

I have mentioned Work At Home Moms several times, but have just found a new blog that is packed with information and help for mothers who want to earn money from home. It is entertaining as well, and now appears on my Google Reader, along with the many, many other readable items vying for my time....

mommyspace

Things that Eat my Time

In my quest to find a job, I have become increasingly aware of things that eat up my time. Every day I check job listings on Craigslist, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired,and Indeed.com. I also check the websites for several local employers. I also get email from family and friends, but thankfully I get few forwards or spam -Thank You, GMail!.
I used to subscribe to the NY Times during the week, and the Chicago Tribune on Sunday. Now I read the NYT on Google Reader, along with several( ok, many) other blogs. Thanks to RSS feeds, I am in touch with news everywhere. Oh, and I check in daily with the Chicago Tribune website, CNN online, and sometimes FOX and MSNBC.
But it is my Google Reader which takes up so much time, as the NY Times has so many great articles. Many of the Opinion pieces have comments to read, as do many of the blogs.

My Weekly Job Hunt

No new activity this week, as far as new applications, responses to interviews, etc. This may be due to the holiday week, with both Passover and Easter cutting down on the work week for many. I did start my annual scoring job, with Pearson Education, and hope to put in as many hours as I humanly ( and accurately) can. I am certainly grateful to have this job, and enjoy scoring the math word problems. It is also nice to have a job that requires a college degree, as some of the jobs I have interviewed for do not, and it is nice to know that I have not wasted four years of my life!
The buying season also opened up, with rummage sales and even a few garage sales. I am seriously contemplating starting my antique business again, while I look for outside employment. I went to a really good rummage sale last week, and this weekend, I went to a block sale near Lake Michigan. There was a good deal of bad behavior by some of the notorious dealers, but luckily no pushing or shoving. If I do reactivate my business, I also intend to learn to use Quickbooks, which would be a useful employment skill

Getting Organized!

If you have lots of time on your hands ( in other words, if no one is hiring you), it is a perfect time to get organized! First, throw out all broken items that are hanging around your house. However, be very careful in doing that, as I have had several experiences in which I threw out important items ( my student's ACT score report! My class pictures from P.S. 84!). It is also a positive experience to remember that there are always those less fortunate than oneself, and to actually donate some unwanted items. For the better items, spring is the perfect time for having a garage sale. A book which I have found inspiring is



****rather than buying the books which I mention on my blog, you can always request them from your public library!*****

Another, and newer book on clutter and organizing is :

My Weekly Job Hunt

I had two good interviews during the past week, one at the hospital, where I have been volunteering, and one at a local doctor's office. I view all interviews as opportunities to learn. The doctor's office was not a typical interview, as they had me sitting in the reception area(behind the reception desk) to see first hand what the duties of the job would be. I could not get a firm commitment as to how many hours the job would have, but am due to talk to them further this week. At the hospital, I first met with a very pleasant Human Resources rep, and then with a department manager. I am very comfortable in the hospital environment, and did not feel stressed at all during the interview.
I started my at-home job this weekend, online scoring with Pearson Education! This is my third year with them, and I found the job through http://www.wahm.com/ Of course, everything happens all at once: job interviewing, at home job, and now the garage sale season has begun. I enjoy my work with Pearson, but of course I need more than two months a year of work. You must have a Bachelor's degree, and some teaching experience for this job.