Help Finding Daughter a Job!

She may want to look into a computer class to update her skills there so it will show she really wants to work and is willing to work on her education to get one.

Temp agencies and placement agencies. Indeed.com was a great site that sends you daily emails for jobs that may be a fit for you in your area. I second what another poster said -she needs to get ANY job right now. Spaces on resumes don't look great, and it's ALWAYS easier to get a job when you have a job! It shows prospective employers that you're a hard worker who is willing to be flexible when you have to be. Waiting tables, working at Target or the local bookstore -anything is better than nothing.

If she is not finding a job in a certain field she has to buck up and take ANY job for the time being, like working at the mall (pick a store that she shops at or likes, I have always seen help wanted signs at the mall) or restaurant (waitress, hostess, cashier). This helps build confidence (even if a crappy job) and it starts to bring in income which will also help boost her confidence. While at that "for now/temperate" job she can keep sending resumes to the field she is looking into.

It also helps to actually go the place and drop off the resume, makes much more of an impression.

Besides online look in the paper and a temp adjacency, I usually see things in there that I do not find online.

Dear P.:

This isn't exactly the type of job you were asking about and it's part-time, but I work as a crossing guard. There's opportunities once you've been hired for more hours in different positions, bus monitor, even bus driver and other positions in the school district. Many districts will train people for some of the positions, like bus driver. You have to start as a sub, but I got lots of calls by always saying yes.

I know I'd rather be working as a sub toward a full time position than waiting for a phone call, personally. And working for a school district will leave you home summers with your children.

Good luck!

L. F., mom of a 14-year-old daughter

have her sign up with temp agencies. I signed up with 3 and had a job within a month.

Is she registered with a temp agency? I know that's she's looking for a permanent position, but temp work will help to boost her confidence. It will also help her to make business contacts. Some temp jobs will turn into permanent jobs.

Does she check the local paper's classifieds?

Also, she could try visiting some places that she might want to work for. Just stop by and ask if they happen to be hiring. Take copies of her resume so she can leave one at each place.

Indeed.com is REALLY good and shows results from several different sites
LinkedIn.com
usajobs.gov - government jobs

Well I am a receptionist for a company that charters planes but I live in Georgia and can see you live in Texas so my suggestions may not help much because things might work differently there. However I will say that temp agency's have always been such a blessing to me. They have placed me with 3 different jobs throughout my working days.
I have been with my current company for two years now and I love it! They only hire through temp agencies come to find out as well so had I not signed up with the temp agency I would have never known about this job. They are a very confidential company and don't like random "visitors" in here. As a matter of fact when people just pop in here asking to speak to HR I have to refrain from laughing in their face because that is so old school that I have to wonder where their tips are coming from? I hate to sound so mean but it is highly inappropriate to walk in and ask to speak to someone in HR or whomever does the hiring there to "introduce" yourself. If you want to walk in to drop off your resume then fine but if you are really nice to the Receptionist there ask her what is the typical hiring process there. My company doesn't like paper resumes. We direct everyone to our website where they can fill out an application and submit their resumes online. That way everything is paperless for HR and they keep the information on file for up to 6 months. IF we get a paper resume I still place it into HR mailbox-but who knows where it goes from there? I don't and don't ask either.
I know that they are telling people out there to push and market themselves and for some industries that is fine but I have actually had people show up and call up here just literally bugging all sorts of people who are not even involved in the process....they got a name from a friend of a friend and those calls get plugged into voicemail-regardless and for the most part they don't get a call back either because the person is too busy with all the other parts of their job and they are not involved with the "hiring" process so they ignore it. Doesn't matter if they call a billion times-voicemail is what they are going to get each and every single time. If they are bold enough to call back and ask why they get voicemail or don't "want" voicemail is when I have to be the bad guy and tell them basically they are going about the process all wrong. I will instruct them that they need to go to our website-if they are rude to me then I just simply lie to them and tell them the person they are trying to reach is in a meeting, on the phone, travels quite a bit, etc and even if they say they will try back later guess what that person will STILL be in a "meeting"!!!... catching my drift here? I know its wrong - but its just how some of the corporate world runs. I am not a rude person but if you are rude to me-I'm not going to volunteer any information that could potentially help you out because quite honestly I have even been told by HR that if someone calls and it gets rude get their name and forward it to them because we don't want to hire rude people.
She is best IF she walks in somewhere to drop off her resume to just ask. Keep it short and simple don't be a pest and drop a little thank you note in the mail to the HR person-if she doesn't have a name then she can just mark it as generic HR department or Hiring manager or something of the like.
With medical offices those are quite different. I know here in Georgia most of everyone is part of this big corporate wheel that came in a few years back and bought everybody out so everyone is basically owned by Wellstar. You have a few that didn't join the band wagon and some have even stepped out on their own again to get away from Wellstar but you almost have to "know" someone in order to get your foot in the door so Networking would be her best bet on that one and/or finding a "medical" type temp agency-yes they exist or at least here in Georgia they do. Join the website Linked In, she needs to go to unemployment office as well because they can potentially help her find a job and help her learn how to network. They have a slew of information! Times have changed.....but not too much there are still some old school rules to follow and sometimes its hard to figuire out which tactic to use for each company because they are ALL different! She needs to create a resume that gears towards a certain industry too. Like she wouldn't want to hand in her resume to say an aviation business when her resume is geared towards a medical office. I haven't been out there looking for a job thank god during these difficult times but I can only imagine how hard it is for people and my heart truly goes out to them but my advice is based upon what I see from the front end of a business and personal experience so I hope I gave some good advice and it works for her!

I would also suggest some sort of school or further education. Often times the school will offer job fairs and help getting jobs. Education is NEVER a bad idea. She'll be investing in her future. I know that doesn't help much right now, but looking toward to bigger picture is very important in this economic climate.

Volunteering someplace might help open some doors. At the very least, she'll get some experience to put on a resume. What are her interests? Might she consider starting her own home-based business? I am hiring and the company I work with is offering some fabulous, in your pocket money now, if she's willing to work for it. I am in the wellness industry, which is predicted to see huge growth in the future. We have seen double digit growth, even in these hard times. It's all about prevention and our product is backed by numerous INDEPENDENT studies (not done by our company) that show numerous health benefits. If she is open to it, would she like to find out more? Good luck and I will say my prayers. Be well, D.

Mom. Have her look daily at Craiglists om internet under jobs and then focus in on the category of job she wants then the location. Here there are new postings daily. Does she have a resume? If not she needs to put one together asap, have a family member of friend proof it for errors. Has she registered with any temp services who do clerical placement? f not this is a goo place to start, Tell her she needs to tell them she prefers a temp-to-hire position not just temp only work unless she will do that for a while.Good luck to her.

Have her sign up to "Linked In" if she's not already on it. It is like a "professional" FaceBook. You can only link to people you know from school, friends or previous jobs. But once you link to someone, you can see their network. She might find out that a friend of a friend has a job at a company she's interested in. Then she could ask to be introduced to that friend. This is really a great tool to network with.

I also highly recommend finding a good temporary placement agency. I found two excellent companies (including the one I've been at for the last 8 years) this way. She might just end up going on a lot of temp placements, but very often they have temp to perm. If you do a good job on the temp placements, the agency will market you heavily, because they get paid if they place you long term. Receptionist work is often placed through agencies. She can register with more than one of them.

Lots of luck.

Honestly, she should talk to EVERYONE she knows and let everyone know she is looking. Word of mouth is O. of the best ways. Use your local paper's websites, Monster, etc which sounds like she is doing......

When I was looking to get my foot in the door as a paralegal, I actually called each law firm in the phone book to find out if they had any job openings or to ask if they knew of any at any of the other firms in town (receptionists at law firms usually know people at law firms and they talk!). I also went the extra step of dropping off my resume at some of the law firms in town that I thought I would like to work for, regardless of whether or not they had posted an ad in the newspaper. What I found is that by doing it this way, it may take a little bit more effort but, (1) you find out about jobs that have not yet been advertised/posted so you become an early front runner, and (2) office managers are usually impressed by applicants that take this kind of initiative.

Thought I'd share this with you in case it helps. I hope your daughter's job search goes well.

Posting on websites is a waste of time with a few exceptions. Definitely set up a profile on LinkedIn. Many recruiters use LinkedIn to search for candidates. Answering job ops on Monster & CareerBuilder is fruitless. In today's market, it's mostly who you know not what you know. Network, network, network. Meet people. Work on how you present yourself. Saying "I need a job" isn't going to get you noticed. Be proactive. Let them know how you're different than everyone else and better! Continuing education is an excellent idea! It's great for your opportunities & self-esteem. Temp agencies are great, but remember that they're swamped too. This market is tough, and you have to be tough & positive to get through it. Many have been out of work for years, not just months. It's an employers choice. Many yourself stand out as the best candidate to hire!