The Economic Downturn..

[RVR II]

After months of applying for a couple dozen different jobs, I have received only a few automated rejection emails or just no responses what so ever from the rest.
I have only applied for jobs I felt I was qualified for based on my education (Bachelors degree) and experience (Quality Assurance and running a small business) but none of the prospective employers will contact me for an interview.
The one position I applied for that I thought I might have a shot at was an environmental inspector and it required some knowledge in Geology which I have as a minor from college and I received an email saying I met their minimum requirements and that my resume would be forwarded on to the hiring manager.. A month later with no response I decide to follow up on the position with the HR rep by email and the next day I received that same automated response that I was not selected for the position.

Then I stumbled across several flight attendant positions on American Airlines including a bilingual English/Spanish flight attendant position so I applied for it. It requires 6 1/2 weeks of Unpaid training in Dallas, TX. That will put a major strain on me financially as my business will be completely shut down but I'm willing to make that sacrifice in order to get hired on because the pay for flight attendants starts at $26-$30 dollars per hour (and they pay a little more if you're bilingual) and that kind of pay will get my finances not only stabilized but also rebuild my savings and retirement in a hurry which is what I need to get done ASAP. I'm going on 48 years old and I don't have much time left to re-save for retirement which was decimated over the years and completely wiped out dealing with my wife's cancer..
I no longer have any commitments holding me back from perusing this kind of job; Our business had been struggling the last several years anyway and now with the loss of my wife, I can no longer continue running it full time. I will still keep the business license active if nothing else to write off expenses on taxes as well as for those few customers for taxes if they show up but I really enjoy traveling and this line of work will help me start a new chapter in my life. Go see the world and get paid well for it in the process.
Had to take an assessment survey of about 100 questions yesterday. Some were tricky but I felt good about my answers so maybe I'll hear something back this week for a phone interview..
I really hope this pans out for me.

[k1]

Fingers crossed for ya.

[RVR II]

Fingers crossed for ya.

Thank you kindly

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Hope you get it and it's something you like doing.

6 weeks unpaid training?  Do they at least pay for your hotel room and meals?  If you have to pay for your own room and board for 6 weeks that could get real expensive.

[RVR II]

Hope you get it and it's something you like doing.

6 weeks unpaid training?  Do they at least pay for your hotel room and meals?  If you have to pay for your own room and board for 6 weeks that could get real expensive.

Me too!

Yeah Not liking that long period of no pay but I think they do cover room and board while there.. Meals I think are paid for as well but I honestly don't know for sure..

[RVR II]

Well this is very disappointing..
I applied for the bilingual position on American Airlines and within 48 hours, my application was ‘disqualified’.. No explanation given. I figured it was because I listed my Spanish as Intermediate so I immediately applied for the regular flight attendant position and today (48 hours later) my application was disqualified again with no explanation given..
I have no idea why this happened other than maybe my age is becoming a factor (I’ll be 48 on June 17) yet I read on a forum that there were 3 attendants in a recent class that were over 50 years old so I am at a complete loss about this.
There's still Delta and United that I will apply for when they post any flight attendant positions..
At least there is still a steady flow of customers coming into my Spanish services business needing various services and most are just now finding out about the loss of my wife so it makes it that much more difficult on me to maintain my composure..
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason but I would really like to have some answers as I continue to fight off being in a very depressed state

[SJP]

I am glad that you were able to look out and find something beyond those low paying jobs and, even if it didn't work out yet, is at least an interesting possibility.  So many of these employment places look squarely at your degrees, and forget that a piece of paper only can get a foot in the door.  They're not looking at life experience, or talents beyond what a university provided.  They don't measure a person's passion for something, or don't usually offer a position completely out of left field that nobody even considered.

I firmly believe there is something out there that fits you perfectly.  I don't know what it is or where it will be, but I am hoping and praying it comes your way very soon, and that it is exactly what you need.

[Pak-Man]

Yeah, if businesses were smart, they'd only use degrees to judge people who are right out of college. My college degree and GPA are a snapshot of who I was in my early 20s. There's like- a whole career that took place after that. The career is old enough to vote. It should count for more than it does.

[RVR II]

I really hope so because this is a very uneasy feeling not having any focus in my life..
I remember some of the arguments with my late wife and I had dealt with me finding a job..
She would always say "You're an American! There are plenty of jobs out there but you won't apply to them!" Because they were mostly low paying/labor intensive jobs!
I was self-employed but money was becoming very tight and the arguments would quickly shift to where was the little money coming in going (south of the boarder to her family) and I believe she was trying to force me to find a job back then.. I did look around some but not as intensely as I am now, and before these email rejections weren't bothering me much but now it has become a sense of urgency..
I am banking every single dollar I make through our business to hold me over for the long haul if need be but I really just want to find focus in my life again instead of waking up every morning wondering WTF I'm going to do to achieve my goals of rebuilding my savings and my retirement before I get too old and become even less employable..
I just can't figure out how long I could be in this state of uncertainty..

[RVR II]

Welp, I finally have a job interview lined up for tomorrow morning and I'm not too thrilled about it..
It's a hot warehouse job responsible for the accurate receipt, shipment, storage, and production process of materials. I was told the pay is around $16/hour but that's not confirmed..
All the jobs I applied for online the last several months (and couple of years) requiring college degrees have not been fruitful, not to mention disheartening thinking my experience running my own small business for 16 years would mean something to prospective employers just doesn't mean jack shit to companies these days 
I'm going in tomorrow with a positive attitude despite my feelings about this job. Maybe there's room for advancement but I've been down this road before where they tell you what you want to hear but the reality is they're just looking for another laborer
We'll see how it goes..

[wihogfan]

I wish you the best of luck in your interview and job search. Changing careers is one of the toughest things to do. I don't want to discourage you and I'm not a recruiter by trade, but I have been in HR for 25 years and as such have worked with recruiters and written guidelines for recruiters to follow. If you are applying for jobs that are receiving 100s or even 1,000s of applicants, the reality is that your resume/application is probably never even being looked at (I can elaborate on why if you'd like).
My experience from friends I've known who have done it has been that the key to switching careers has involved either knowing someone personally who is willing to give you a chance, finding a job that for whatever reason isn't receiving a lot of applicants, or finding an opportunity that really does allow room to move up the ladder (which as you stated gets promised a lot without any guarantees or follow through...but I'll also tell you that thanks to the number of boomers that are retiring and will be retiring in the near future, a lot companies really are looking to promote from within more so than in the past).

[RVR II]

I wish you the best of luck in your interview and job search. Changing careers is one of the toughest things to do. I don't want to discourage you and I'm not a recruiter by trade, but I have been in HR for 25 years and as such have worked with recruiters and written guidelines for recruiters to follow. If you are applying for jobs that are receiving 100s or even 1,000s of applicants, the reality is that your resume/application is probably never even being looked at (I can elaborate on why if you'd like).
My experience from friends I've known who have done it has been that the key to switching careers has involved either knowing someone personally who is willing to give you a chance, finding a job that for whatever reason isn't receiving a lot of applicants, or finding an opportunity that really does allow room to move up the ladder (which as you stated gets promised a lot without any guarantees or follow through...but I'll also tell you that thanks to the number of boomers that are retiring and will be retiring in the near future, a lot companies really are looking to promote from within more so than in the past).

Thanks Wihogfan. This whole life-changing event has been the most difficult thing I have had to deal with (with the loss of my wife and the after effects..). Oh I'm sure there's a process that HR follows and I've seen the results first hand. It's unfortunate but it is what it is and luckily I've had this business and monthly YouTube revenue to fall back on but many don't have a fall back plan and that can only go so far..
I'd like to think there's room for advancement with this job if I get it, or that I can save/resurrect my Spanish services business in the future but for now I just need something to stabilize my finances and save what ever money I can to rebuild my lost savings.
Thanks again for the guidance

[wihogfan]

HR wasn't a profession I chose- just kind of ended up in it (degree was in Economics and I wanted to teach, but got married, the factory where I was working to pay for school shut down, and I needed to make a living so I had to drop out of grad school). First job I found was in HR and I got it because I had used computers (back when computers were just becoming common in the workplace- didn't even have email) and they had an immediate need for someone who wasn't completely computer illiterate.
Can't say I've lost a wife (and I'm deeply sorry for your loss- I can't imagine what that's like), but I lost my job right after 9/11 due to a "downsizing" and didn't get so much as an interview for 6 months. Longest 6 months of my life. Was at the point where I had to put the house up for sale when I finally got an interview and a job offer as an airport screener for the TSA. I did that for 6 months and absolutely hated it. Was promoted to lead there the same week I got offered a job back in HR. Had to move for the HR job, but I really hated working for the government.   

[RVR II]

HR wasn't a profession I chose- just kind of ended up in it (degree was in Economics and I wanted to teach, but got married, the factory where I was working to pay for school shut down, and I needed to make a living so I had to drop out of grad school). First job I found was in HR and I got it because I had used computers (back when computers were just becoming common in the workplace- didn't even have email) and they had an immediate need for someone who wasn't completely computer illiterate.
Can't say I've lost a wife (and I'm deeply sorry for your loss- I can't imagine what that's like), but I lost my job right after 9/11 due to a "downsizing" and didn't get so much as an interview for 6 months. Longest 6 months of my life. Was at the point where I had to put the house up for sale when I finally got an interview and a job offer as an airport screener for the TSA. I did that for 6 months and absolutely hated it. Was promoted to lead there the same week I got offered a job back in HR. Had to move for the HR job, but I really hated working for the government.

It's the worst feeling ever and I really wasn't ready to search for a job but I've had to force myself to get myself 'stable' again. I was looking into the HR field but despite a BA in History and with little HR experience, I wasn't called for any interviews.
Dealing with the local Veterans Affairs employment rep has been the biggest waste of time.. She finds all these leads and not one ever panned out. Of course she still got a paycheck from the government whether or not she finds jobs for veterans and I've also been looking at government jobs but again, no responses to any of those either.
I probably should take this job if offered (and the pay is right) otherwise I'll be dealing with falling behind on my monthly bills in the next couple months

[wihogfan]

Ironically, computers are how I got my first HR job and why today I probably wouldn't be given that same opportunity again. Computers make it much easier for people to apply for jobs and the economic downturn made companies cut recruiting staffs to a minimum. So to take my company as an example, at any given time we have at least 50 job openings spread out over 10 or more locations, and maybe 20,000 candidates who apply for those 50 jobs. There isn't a chance in hell that the 2 recruiters we have could go look at 20,000 resumes. So they use a computer system to pick the top XX candidates. Using a forklift operator position at my location as an example, we have a lot of those jobs in our area and get 500 to 1,000 people who apply per forklift opening. The computer system will narrow it down to say 50 people who live within 20 miles of the location, have 5 or more years of forklift experience within the last 10 years, and work or have worked for 1 of 4 companies that we know who have the same inventory system as us. Those 50 resumes will be the only ones that get looked at. Forklift positions at other locations may not get anywhere near that number of applicants, so applicants for those locations may have other criteria that gets used to narrow the field. 
HR, Accounting, Finance, and Engineering positions wherever they are almost always get 100s of applicants or more, so part of the computer narrowing almost always cuts anyone who doesn't have a specific degree.