They turned my school volunteer work into a job. Something that I used to look forward to doing has now become a chore. Don't get me wrong, I love helping at the school, I just don't like that fact that I'm supposed to be there on a schedule every week rather than being able to go when it's convenient for me. On top of that I have to do a required amount of job searching every week and I have to log every job I apply to and turn in the job search logs every Friday. Between the two - volunteering and job searching - I have to get in 30 hours a week, that's 120 hours a month of 'work' for the State so they can pay me $342 a month in assistance. Do the math. I'm working for the State for a whopping $2.85 an hour!!!! That's a great living wage, don't you think?
What's really pissing me off is that the only places that want to hire me are retail outlets who only have part-time, minimum-wage openings working nights and weekends. Do the math on that. Working 25 hours a week after taxes I'm not left with much more than the State is giving me now. Not to mention that I'd have to pay someone to watch my kids so I'd end up with even less. Ty is old enough to stay by himself during the day but Zach and Dolly need someone around to keep a handle on everything, and none of them can stay alone at night.
Nobody wants to hire me for day jobs because I'm considered over qualified. I've been working in an administrative capacity for over 20 years and nobody wants to pay more than $10 an hour. The last job I held, before Ty was born, I was making $13 and hour and that was almost 13 years ago. I'm still applying for jobs, though, and not getting any responses. My only reasoning is that employers don't think I'll accept the low wage they're offering but I'm not even being given a chance to discuss it. I've actually received emails telling me that my qualifications don't meet the company's needs when the jobs I applied to are for the same work I've always done.
What's more difficult is that even if I did get a full-time day job there isn't one employer out there that gives a rat's ass that I'm the only one here for my kids. If one, or all of them, gets sick I'd lose money having to stay home, and since my kids don't all get sick on the same day I'd risk losing the job having to take numerous days off to tend to my kids.
I've got a Bachelor of Science degree in Paralegal Studies but can't get a job as a paralegal because I don't have the requisite two - 10 years of experience that most attorneys and companies are seeking. We've all said it before. "How do I get the experience if I can't get the job first?" It doesn't make any sense to me. I've even offered to freelance paralegal work to no avail. It would save the attorneys a bundle in overhead if I just picked up the work, brought it home, did it and returned it but nobody wants that.
I'm self-disciplined and organized enough to work from home doing whatever I can but nobody is willing to give me a chance to prove that because they won't discuss anything with me. I send in a resume and either hear nothing or hear that I'm not what they're looking for. What the fuck do employers want? I don't know because they're not telling me. All I can surmise is that they want someone who's new to the work force, willing to accept a low wage, and willing to be trained the way the employer wants him or her trained. Someone like me, someone who's got a long history of experience with numerous qualifications is being tossed aside because I do a good job, require little to no training, and want to get paid a fair wage for the work I do.
You know what? It's not my fault they don't want me, it's theirs, and it's their loss. I'm going to keep looking and someone will come through with a great job for me. Everyone who's passed on me so far will still be looking for someone months from now because they'll have to keep replacing whoever they find when that person doesn't work out just right. I, on the other hand, will find exactly what I'm looking for at a decent wage to raise my kids and pay my bills, and the company will be family friendly and will understand that my kids come before all else. You know how I know? Because I said so. Things have always worked out for me in the past and they will this time too.
Until next time... peace to all.
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