Snoskred had a great post today about an internet friend who was this close to getting sucked in by a scammer. Although she didn’t lose any money, she lost her kids’ spots at the daycare she works at, which, as anyone who has ever dealt with daycare knows, daycare wait lists are a mile long, so if you lose your spot the kids might be in high school by the time it comes back up.

Since this particular scam involved the job boards (online job postings), and I have some experience in that arena, I wanted to talk about that. Not only have I searched for a job using the major job boards (Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.) but I have also worked in the recruiting industry and it was a daily task to search the boards not only for resumes but also what other jobs were available that were in our specialty.

Having been on both ends of it, I know that there are 2 likely scenarios when you post your resume online. The first one is that you apply for jobs, and a hiring authority from that company either will or won’t call you back to schedule an interview. The second thing that can happen is that you will start getting random emails from people saying that they saw your resume on (insert internet job board here) and they would like you to call to set up an interview.

How Can I Protect Myself?

When you’re looking for a job, the internet is an excellent resource, and that includes the job boards. Many legitimate employers post jobs online, so it’s worth the time to check them out. But be sure of who you’re contacting. When you read the job posting (not just the title in the results), make sure you can identify which company it’s for. The legitimate jobs will usually tell you who they are, so you can do your own research. And if you’ve never heard of them, do a search. This is useful because not only do you want to know who you are applying to, you also want to be armed with information about the company should you be called for an interview.

Also, don’t discount using a recruiter. Never pay a fee to a recruiter, but if they like you and they’re sure they can place you somewhere, they are usually specialists in their field or the industry they recruit for – even the temp agencies, who recruit for clerical, administrative, light industrial and manufacturing. If they’re advertising online, chances are they have plenty of positions, even if the particular job they listed isn’t available. (A side note about Appleone – my personal experience, and word on the street, is that they are “resume farmers.” I don’t know anyone who has had a decent experience with them.) No matter who you apply with, be sure to keep records so you can keep it all straight. If you’re hunting on the boards, chances are you’ve been putting in a lot of resumes. Being organized is a definite advantage here.

Now, since Monster and CareerBuilder, and to some extent HotJobs, are the most popular job boards out there, be aware that there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there paying the fees to be able post jobs and search resumes. There are lots and lots of work at home “opportunities” listed. These are the scams. One website I subscribe to, I’ve Tried That, makes a point of listing scams of this sort. Their viewpoint is that there are basically no legitimate work at home jobs being advertised online. If you want to work at home, there’s no easy way to do it. You must either be in a position to telecommute, or be enough of an entrepreneur to build something yourself. The rest of us are working for the man.

A special note about Craigslist: While here, too, are many legitimate job postings, there are just as many that are not. Craigslist makes it even easier for the scammers because it’s free, which is always a bonus, and it offers even greater anonymity than traditional job boards. Here’s a few ways you can find the legit jobs on Craigslist:

• The posting will list the approximate location within your metro area along the posting title. Example: Administrative Assistant (Downtown)
• The pay scale will be DOE (dependent on experience), competitive, or will give an actual dollar amount that is low to reasonable for the job.
• The job ad will list duties involved and experience needed. It might be very detailed, like you see on the big boards, or very light, like in the newspaper. Either way, the job description is not vague.

Like I said before, don’t discount the recruiters. Most of them are specialists in their fields, so they can be a valuable resource – just don’t ever pay a recruiter. Their pay should come from filling the job, not taking your resume. And if you’re still shy about the big job boards, do a search for smaller, more focused boards. If you’re in the technical/engineering field, Dice.com is the leader there. There are job boards for medical, government, banks, even temps! Do a search and see what you can come up with. I’ve also searched on the specialized job boards and found a lot less spammy job postings than the big guys.

A good job can be found through the job boards. I found my current job through CareerBuilder. I applied to a job posted by a recruiting firm (Accountants, Inc.) and was called for an interview. It’s interesting to note that I do not have an accounting background, but I found out during the interview that they will take “outside the box” job orders from established clients. I wasn’t considered for the original job posted, but a week later I was on an interview for another job, which I am still in. I’m still there on a contract basis, but the requisition was filed with HR to make me permanent, so I’m hoping for a long career here.

In Summary:

• Know who you’re applying to
• Keep track of who you’ve applied to, and through what resource
• Vague job descriptions are not worth applying to. Know what job you’re applying for.
• Job salaries should be reasonable, possibly on the low side. “DOE” and “competitive” are also found in legitimate job postings.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

An extremely inebriated me, courtesy of Boyfriend’s birthday present of Grey Goose Vodka. Boyfriend keeps laughing at me for some odd reason. Anyway…

I went into work feeling pretty good today. First of all, it’s Friday, so that in itself is a good thing. Plus, I was still high from the success of Boyfriend’s birthday celebration last night. Yes, his birthday was yesterday, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. I still managed to pull it off. I’ll detail that in another post, though – hopefully tomorrow.

Anyway, I’m at work, doing the menial shit that I do, and something happens to burst my bubble. On the one hand, I like my job because I do mindless busy work all day. I’m very good at mindless busy work, and it’s very low stress. On the other hand, I have to deal with my superiors who I feel don’t really know my full value. I am constantly questioned about how much work I have to do and how I’m keeping up with it. Here’s a hint – my inbox is empty. I always have things that people ask for – if I couldn’t produce these things, I wouldn’t be doing my job. It’s that simple. My desk is not a mess. So what’s the problem? Apparently, because I am in a clerical position, I am not supposed to have an IQ of over 80. Now, I’ve not been professionally evaluated, but various online quizzes, both simple and in-depth, put my IQ at around 125. So it’s not that I’m overqualified for my job. Well, maybe just a little bit. But I’m way over intelligent for my job. This is where the problem lies.

I have never really been in a job that I haven’t done extremely well at. But I also haven’t really been in a job that I’ve been really passionate about. Talking with most people, Boyfriend included, I get the idea that it doesn’t matter so much about what the job is or how much I like it, as long as the paycheck has lots of zeros on it I should be happy. Well, that’s not me. I want enough to pay the bills, sure, and enough to do a few things outside of work that I want to do, like eat and maybe buy a CD once in awhile, but the paycheck is not what I live for. Think about it. If I’m going to spend most of my waking time working, shouldn’t I enjoy that work? Shouldn’t I get some sort of satisfaction from that job beyond my bank deposits? I think so. So why is it that despite the fact that I am good at nearly everything I have tried thus far, I do not like most of it?

Take retail, for example. Retail jobs vary wildly in what is being sold and the clientele that the product or service is being sold to. I know that I do not care at all for commission positions. No matter how much I like the product, knowing that there are quotas that I need to meet kind of kill the passion for me. But knowing my product, knowing it well and enjoying it to some degree are all things I like, as are making the customer happy with that knowledge. But everyone knows that retail hours suck, as does the pay. Unless you are in management, in which case you get much better money and way more regular hours, but you don’t get to work with the customers as much unless you are the last ditch effort to placate them. So that kills retail for the most part.

I got burned out on retail, so I decided to get into office work. I started with a temp agency and kinda floated my way around the admin assistant world, where I still wander aimlessly. I like admin work to a certain degree. I like being the indespensible person who is the “glue that holds the office together.” (I think one of my old bosses said that once, when I worked for a graphic design firm.) I like being the one, a la Jennifer on WKRP in Cincinnati, who doesn’t seem to do much of anything but has the office totally fall apart when not there.

I also noticed that I like being in a somewhat creative environment, which allows me to be my regular wacky (though somewhat closeted wacky) self. I wrote about more creative desires a few months back. My feelings haven’t changed much. I still have very creative inspirations, however pent-up they may be. I have creative desires, though I don’t know much what I want to do with them. I like fabrics, because it’s a very tactile thing. I would love to sew my own clothes and have everyone ask who the designer is – not be that person who looks so obvious that they only know one pattern when they sew their own stuff. I like paper crafts – not scrapbookking so much, because those who know me know how I feel about jumping on the popularity bandwagon. I feel more drawn to cardmaking and collage stuff. I like little bits and bobs, and scraps of stuff and imagining how they will all go together – and this is where I get stuck. I can’t quite seem to turn the ideas that are in my head into a tangible object that someone might actually want, and maybe, just maybe, even want to pay money for.

Right now I am working in the finance department of a big company, whose name and industry shall remain nameless for the sake of my job security. I am a clerk. Myself and one other clerk that I work closely with are the lowest common denominators in the entire finance department, as far as I can tell. Everyone else does actual finance stuff. I am still there on a temp-to-perm basis, and going perm would be nice. The company has good benefits of which I would like to take advantage. They have educational reimbursement, and ever since the hell of setting up a company in Quickbooks, like I did in my previous job despite the lack of any accounting education or real experience, I found that accounting would be a safe and practical vocation to get into. So the plan is to stay where I’m at, get shit on daily, and eventually get hired so I can actually take advantage of their benefits. I’ll get my accounting degree on their dime, already have my foot in the door and be friends with everyone in the department so I can learn as much as possible, and then, um, do something with the degree. Not sure yet. Accounting bored me silly in college, but that was all classroom and no practical experience. Now I find I am good at it when I can put it into practice, and like it ok, but there are so many facets to accounting. Cost? A/P? A/R? Corporate taxes? Personal taxes? Audit? Revenue? General Ledger? Which one do I choose and why? Do I fall into one because the job is offered or will one of those actually hit me in the head and say, “Hey, shithead, THIS is the facet of the accounting world that you will excel at, be deliriously happy at, and make lots of money at!” I just don’t see that happening. So how do I get myself psyched up for that kind of career?

I read at Aurelius’s New Direction today a post entitled What’s Your Specialty? I swear, someone out there is reading my mind, or at least living a parallel life to mine. I have not specialized in anything. I started working retail because that’s what most kids in high school and college do to earn some cash. It was ok, and I stayed at it even after I graduated college. College, by the way, was a study in existence rather that goal-achieving. I started out as a candidate for an assiociate’s degree in interior design, based on my monthly spending on interior decorating magazines and books and lack of spending on fashion magazines. I drank too much first semsester and stumbled around a bit. Second semester, I decided to major in the only class I passed – business. Small business management, to be exact. Good skills to have, if you know what kind of business you want to run. But along with business came balance sheet and accounting stuff that I couldn’t grasp as long as it was conceptual and not practical. So after bullshitting my way through an English Lit final, I convinced myself along with the professor that I wanted to be an English teacher. I finished up my last two semester of the two-year college as a Liberal Arts major, transferred to a four-year school as a double English/education major, and all of a sudden – I felt like I was in the wrong life. So very wrong, it was overwhelming and my life had taken on this echo-like outside looking in feeling, like I had been reincarnated in the wrong life. So I quit school and continued on with my supermarket retail life.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah. How the hell do you people do it, day in and day out? Are you passionate about your jobs, or more passionate about the paychecks? I have a theory that people who bring home the bacon in a big way do actually really like what they do. Either that or they like being a miserable, backstabbing ass just so they can get ahead in whatever their mind determines to be ahead, but that’s not me. I want to be happy. I just haven’t figured out how to do that, at least career-wise, without losing what I already have. I can’t afford to take a step backwards. I still have bills to pay. I want to really enjoy my time at work as much as I enjoy my time off work, and I don’t want to do that with any mind-numbing, zen like exercises that my Dad taught me, the same ones he uses to deal with my stepmother and other idiots in his life. No, I want organic on the job happiness, enough of a paycheck to live off of and be able to adequately enjoy my off time, and perhaps another drink.

If you are a list freak, check out 1001 Lists You Must Read Before You Die.

Today I learned that a good set of claws will make life easier.

My first day of work went well. The company that the agency placed me at seems decent, and the position is temp to perm for the right person (meaning me). Right now I have to get a whole bunch of documents ready to scan, so I spent the day removing staples from packets so they’ll go through the scanner. It was mindless busy work, but it was busy, and the day went by pretty fast.

Tomorrow I have a bunch more stuff to un-staple, then I get to learn how to scan it all in. It all seems really easy, and I was told it’s pretty hard to screw up royally, but even so, there were 3 temps before me who couldn’t cut it. But having worked in the staffing industry, I know that those kinds of people are exactly why temping has a bad name.