Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Nobody Wants Me - A Cautionary Tale of Part-Time Employment Seeking in a Crap Economy

Alack. As the homebuying process turns out to be more and more expensive, I realize that it would probably be best if I could pull down some extra income prior to starting grad school. Grad school, after all, is not free, and even though I will be applying for Financial Aid (a fun, exciting, and easy-as-pie process, Folks) we will still have to pay that money back someday.

Added to the fact that we are now in a 30-year mortgage that we will ALSO have to pay back, provided we want to keep a roof over our heads.

So I've been scouring the interwebs. Searching for that perfect part-time thing that will also provide benefits. That perfect part-time thing with the flexible hours and the work-from-home option that pays around $30 per hour. Easy, right? Not so much.

I thought I would just establish myself as a freelance writer and collect all this crazy income, buy my own independent insurance, and be Free From Corporate Servitude. Sure, I'd still work my corporate job - because I like it, but I wouldn't feel beholden to The Man, nor would I feel like the world was going to end when my job did.

Turns out it's a little more difficult to establish oneself as a freelance writer than one might think. Thank God for Shell at TopTenz - he lets me write for him and keep my research skills sharp (plus I get paid), but practically every other thing has turned out to be either a scam or someone who thought they wanted a writer and decided they were wrong.

So then I thought, "Hey." "Why not get a job someplace where I can get a discount?" I'd heard the Blockbuster gave part-time benefits, so I filled out an online application there. I had also heard that Target and Ukrops had part-time benefit options, so I applied online both of those places.

Nothing. Nada. I have heard zero from any of the places. Tomorrow I'm making it my mission to call each HR manager and be charming. Oh, and I'm going to apply to Lowes and The Home Depot, because a discount there would be sweet...

4 comments:

  1. If there is one thing I've found out since my job search began, even part-time jobs at Target and the like are extremely hard to come by. Because there are a lot of people like you and me who just need a li' somethin'-somethin' to help them get by. Until the lottery numbers come up. And they're all applying at Target and Blockbuster and Home Depot and Lowe's and Tropical Smoothie Cafe (where I would totally work and slurp down all the profits).
    And I agree with you on the writing jobs. I've had both scenarios you mentioned happen to me. More scams that legitimate job offers, though.
    Good luck, hope you find a decent PT job soon. And congrats on the house.

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  2. You will always have an assignment with me as long as I own toptenz.net. If you like I have a wedding site I need some writing for. call me or email me for details. The site is http://www.myweddingideas.net

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  3. Try connectnetwork.org/richmond. They have non-profit postings, so the money would be about the same but the experience may be richer. Who knows.

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  4. BTW, the security thing that checks to see if I am a spammer came up with "retar". The next one was "nobra". What's it trying to say, exactly?

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