My Weekly Job Hunt

Once again, there were no new jobs to apply for this week, which I suspect might be a trend for the summer. I am working on another scoring project, however, once again for Pearson Education.It is certainly nice to feel useful, not to mention that it is nice to earn money as well. Today was Mother's Day, and I got an early morning phone call from my college student. My high school student went to work, and I cleaned, mowed the yard, and planted flowers! I plant flowers every year, because here in Illinois this is the date when it is safe to put out annuals. I also called my mother. A nice Mother's day was had by all.

No More Pencils, No More Books??

One of the recommended strategies for the stay- at- home mom is to update her skills, prior to seeking a job. In today's working world, computer skills are essential. I took my first computer class in 1998 ( Windows) and then took a class in keyboarding and one in Microsoft Word. I learned to download music with Napster
( thanks to my kids), and also learned how to sell on eBay. For a short time ( when I was really unloading excess possessions) I was a Powerseller on eBay.
In 2002 I took a detour and took three classes in Real Estate Appraisal. On the first day of class, our instructor announced, "there are no jobs in this field". We all laughed appreciatively, thinking he was joking. He was not. In the state of Illinois, a newly licensed appraiser must apprentice with a licensed appraiser for several hundred hours, and therein lies the catch, as it is virtually impossible to find anyone to take you on. An exception to this would be the several licensed realtors in our class, who had established connections. Nevertheless, I went on to get my license, and found the training personally useful, and hopefully relevant for the day that I buy my next house.
In 2004 I began coursework in Medical Billing, and took nine classes in areas such as coding and insurance. I have been unable to find a job in this field since everyone is seeking Experience. I have been volunteering at my local hospital for over a year now, and remain hopeful that eventually I will be able to land a billing job.
In the past year, I took an online course( a money-saving way to take classes!) in Microsoft Excel.I am also starting an at home class in medical billing advocacy, and may take an online course in Quick Books.

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.