Topic: Need advice, career related

[animecyberrat]

OK first some background.

I have a long history so I will sum this up as best as I can.

I moved alot with my parents when I was younger, ok so we still move alot I've moved twice this year alone. Anyways moving around all the time makes it hard to stick with a job for too long. I mostly did pizza delivery and cashier work for department stores, gas stations, useless crap like that. Then I saved up my money for several years and finally opened my own recording studio, the now defunct Mean Green Records.

Ok so I did that for about six months, things were going pretty good I published 2 cd's and was recording 2 albums 1 was a hot R&B singer the other was this rapper who was a lot better than i was and had fans locally where we were. Then the **** wad slept with my sister and so I had to kick his @$$ and lost him to another producer. Then the company goes downhill from there as I proceed to lose money and have to shut down cuz I lost my latest Pizza job due to a car wreck I got in.

I don't think it is a good idea to maybe mention owning a record studio when applying for regular jobs so that doesn't really help much. Then I made the mistake of going cheap with school and earning a worthless diploma from Stratford only to find out letter being unaccredited meant they were worthless. So I started up a little website some of you know about, which has made money in the past but isn't doing to hot right now.

Again I see no relevance in mentioning this on a resume/application so I am again back to having nothing worth mentioning. Then my friends and I started that gamerz jackpot website which shut down right after. Now the only thing I did there was create a bunch of videos nobody watched and created the ugliest and worst designed website in the history of the net. So again not something to put down on a resume. Then I get a job working as manager for another pizza place only to find out they pay their managers less money than what the drivers make delivering so I end up leaving after a week.

In the 25 short years of my life I have currently had over 30 jobs and counting. Now that looks bad on a resume/application so I usually pick and choose which jobs are the most relevant to the position I am applying for, which leaves gaps in my employment record and employers frown upon that.

During all this time I started a comic book with a couple of friends and we managed to publish one issue before finding out it wasn't a good idea to finance a comic book with tips earned at a part time job. So Again I can not put that on a resume either.

So have to write a good resume to get a job and think back on everything I have done, in school I was student council president so at first I think oh I will put that on my resume, only to find out they don't care what you did in HS so it isn't worth mentioning. Then I figure well maybe I will try something new, so I buy a couple of cameras, get some friends together who have money and faith in my crazy schemes and we set out to make a movie. Now my sister was supposed to be writing the script for the movie and her laptop (a piece of crap Windows 95 that has NOT ONE USB PORT) crashes before we can get the script transfered to my PC. Luckily we find a back up copy of the script on her other old computer that she thought was dead and gave to me to do with what I wanted. Turns out it wasn't dead just the power button was disconnected from the mother board so it just didn't turn on. I fixed it up and low and behold there is the last save she did on that computer. Sadly it is quit a few chapters from the ending so we have more work  to do on it and now the investors are pulling out.


So I sit here with nothing worth putting on a resume but lots of crazy **** I have done and am at a cross roads. I have been unemployed for months now and with my record, and having nothing worth mentioning on my resume I am stuck. So my question is if you were in my situation (please only serious responses) what would you do.



So here are my options as of right now. I could move to coeur d'alene with my sister and look for work in a new city and hope for a fresh start. I could move to pend oreille and look for work there close to where my grandma lives who might help me out (not holding my breath but I'd love to move back there anyways) or I could try and see if I can convince my parents to shell out some money to get me into a real college and try my luck at earning a degree that is worth more than wallpaper. Then my crazy old dad who I think is going senile suggests the army. Now I am not sure how I feel about joining the military in it's current condition but considering A) I am low on options, B) I already have friends there, and C) with the rate my friends are dieing off I got nothing to lose anyways. Should I just say **** it and join up or see if I can geta  fresh start in a new life somewhere else. the only other option I dare not speak of here.

[Dasmos]

You honestly tried to film a movie? You need to do something worthwhile, something normal. Not music, not Internet, not comics, not film, not brain surgery, not Formula 1 driving, not space travel. Just something normal and sane.

Also the comment about that guy fucking your sister made my day. Sorry.

[animecyberrat]

I have done everything there is to do. I don't wanna post the list but I have had over 30 regular jobs, all crap. With my current driving record, I am limited on delivery type jobs which is what I was good at. I tried applying for fast food places, Wendy's hired me under the table but that lasted only a week.



I honestly don't know what else to do. That is why I am for the first time ever, reluctantly, tempted to give the army a serious shot. Either that or call my sister and see if she forgave me...

[IceCold]

Hmm, well why don't you try out some evening courses to get some more training and something meaty to put in your resume? Is there anything in particular you're passionate about which you can take lessons on?

[animecyberrat]

I don't know. I decided to go talk to the recruiters tomorrow just in case. I did apply for a job at Best Buy and they said to call them tomorrow, if that doesn't go anywhere it's off to the army I guess...

[RABicle]

DO not join the army. Seriously. It's war time.

See if you can join the peace corps!

Also seriously, regardless of the job, list everything. You're righ that employment gaps can look bad to put in say the last 5 jobs you did on there. If you have a chance to talk to the manager, tell him it's because you're moving around, or tell them you were unable to continue because you wrecked your car. Car accidents happens and people understand. If you don't include a cover letter tell them.

Also I think the record company really is worth mentioning. If anything, all these crazy projecs and ideas you've tried show that you are extremeley creative, bold and a true entrepreneur, employers love that ****.


You talk a bout fresh starts, you could apply for a visa and passport and move to Western Australia, Americans dudes get bulk chicks here and you could work on the mines, getting paid obscene wages to do not much. Allegedly the guys who hold the traffic signs with stop and slow on it were getting $80,000 a year to control traffic.

[Ceric]

Ok let me put this out there for ya.  You convinced people who knew how bad your last ventures were to invest in you.  That means you, my friend, should go into sales or another big business related position.

[vudu]

Have you tried selling **** on eBay?  That seems to work for a lot of people.

[Nick DiMola]

Alright, here is my best advice minus any possible sarcasm and assholery.

I'm not sure what you did at Straton, but it might be worth pursuing that same career path at a local community college. Usually they offer 2 year programs that can be done entirely at night or online. You could probably finish fairly quick and be on your way to a career rather than just temporary type jobs.

I would also suggest not working pizza delivery or fast food anymore. Not that anything is wrong with those jobs (I was a McDonalds Manager in HS and part of college), but they don't earn very much money. Try something in the interim that makes a bit more and has retirement plans/benefits of some sort and go with that. Working at a Bank is usually a good place to start. They pay better on average than fast food, they have more advancement opportunities and they are generally viewed as a professional job (resume worthy). So go buy a nice pair of dress pants, a button down shirt and a tie(all of which you may already own) and apply for a job. You can let them know all of the things you have done in the past (specifically mention how your other ventures make you capable of dealing with people and handling money), don't mention them as failures, make them out as learning opportunities. If you take your past experience and explain how it has shaped you as a person, they will look at that more admirably than saying you failed; no one wants to hire a failure, or someone who thinks that of themself.

Another idea, clearly you know who to make websites. Obviously you are not strong with design, but some of the world's best programmers are not either. Perhaps you can pursue that interest with a company somewhere and list the knowledge that you have (html, css, javascript, multimedia, flash?). Especially with a small upstart, they may give you a shot. I would suggest trying to learn as much as possible about web development if you plan to take that route and prep yourself for interviews. Same rules with the bank apply, get some nice clothes and speak of your past ventures as learning experiences.

It seems to me that you need to look at yourself and try and figure out of the things you have done what will a) make you money, b) you have some talent with and c) like to do. If you can find something that at least does a and b, with enough drive you can definitely make a career for yourself. As for the army bit, I wouldn't suggest it right now. You will be dumped on the front line and I don't think your that bad off that you have no other options. It might be helpful to live with someone else right now and not have the weight of bills on your back while you are trying to get yourself on your feet. Instruct whoever you are staying with that you will pay them for rent once you get yourself into a career.

Let me know if that helps, and if you are still seeking guidance, I will do my best to help you out.

Edit: Oh and 1 other thing, don't start spending money on **** for your rats collectibles site. Being that you are trying to get yourself on your feet it is best to sell what you have got and then worry about picking it back up when you are established.

[animecyberrat]

Well thanks guys you've all been helpful. I recently had to move back in with my parents now for the fifth time, that is depressing in and of itself.My mom is a manager for a casino so she took my resume and fixed it up for me, my dad is deacon of our church so he has some nice clothes I can borrow.

I never tried to get bank or other professional jobs because I never had the confidence to interview for those things. I just needed someone to convince me I can do it and believe in myself more. It's not like I think of myself as  a failure, just been hit with some hard times and it gets more depressing as time goes by.



TO Rab:

Tempting offer man really, out of all the countries in the world Australia is the only one I ever wanted to go see, but that takes loads more money than I can get right now and I don't know if I could be away from my sisters kids for too long. The only reason I considered the army was cuz my dad keeps pressuring me cuz he was in the navy and cuz I already got friends in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany so I know people already over. Plus I faced enough death recently I don't think a war setting will disturb me at all. I watched a friend blow his head off and watched another guy get shot five times in the casino parking lot, so...

[Darkheart]

Get a stable 40 hour a week job, go to night classes and get a job in the tech field, one that inst flooded.  This will allow you to pay off the school classes and get some good income while you start on the SIDE one of your dream goals that don't make stable careers.  You need to have a stable life to do things, pure and simple.

[animecyberrat]

If it was just as easy as gettinga regular job I would have done that, like I said the problem lies with my background history. But I did finally get bold enough to goto the local CBS station and a couple of radio stations and they were all hiring so I left some resumes and now only can wait and see. If you knew the whole story though you'd understand why it isn't so easy.


Vudu: I'm suspended from ebay at the moment and can't afford to pay my fees, otherwise I would just do that like I did all last year, sold enough to never be broke and stayed unemployed all but three months out of the year. Not that I am trying to be unemployed just then I was living in Jackpot and the only places to work are the casinos, and due a series of unfortunate events that I will not go into details, I can not work for the casinos anymore.

[vudu]

Okay, joke response time:  Maybe you should just let guys sleep with your sister.  If you had, you wouldn't be in this mess.

[Nick DiMola]

Okay, joke response time:  Maybe you should just let guys sleep with your sister.  If you had, you wouldn't be in this mess.

Well I don't have a sister so I really can't pass judgment, however I will anyway. Who cares? She is in control of her own actions. If he forced himself upon her, it would be one thing, but if she willingly participated, why the anger?

Also, pics or it didn't happen.

[animecyberrat]

Cuz she is married now and at the time So was this guy and he used her.


Like you said you don't have a sister then you don't get it. I love all three of them to death and would die for them/kill for them if I had to.

[IceCold]

Wow Mr Jack, bravo.

[animecyberrat]

Ok so heres the latest. I decided to go ahead and goto the local radio station and they weren't hiring for anything except sales. At first I was reluctant to even apply because I have never done sales before, then I thought give it a shot I mean all you're selling is ad space and I did that for Gamerz Jackpot for a while. So I turned in my application along with a resume. I will be setting up the interview tomorrow so hopefully they like me and I can get this job. So now all I have to do is find the right stuff to say and survive the interview and hope and pray for the best.

[vudu]

Did you submit a demo tape along with your application?  Just for fun.

[animecyberrat]

No this particular radio station already played my songs when I was still promoting them. The only reason I even bothered applying is cuz I knew the station's program manager and thought that might help in getting me the job. Then I found out he doesn't work there anymore so I don't think I will mention him.

[RABicle]

MIght be worth it for reference sakes.

Still lolling over the sleeping with your sister thing.

[wandering]

I've been thinking about joining the Army. I hesitate because I'm scared. Not of dying (I don't have much to live for), but of killing.

Anyway, good luck Rat!

[animecyberrat]

Wandering, I have no beef with either of those, I've seen more than my fair share of death so dieing is not scary to me, I'm more than prepared. Killing.... I'll save that for the confess your sins thread.

[animecyberrat]

Well ok so first off I haven't heard anything concrete from the radio station yet, but I did get a part time job in the mean time. This is after almost a full year now of solid unemployment so it is better than nothing at this time. I will be working as the day shift assistant manager at the local Little Caesars.

It isn't exactly what I was hoping for but it is a start anyways. Of course if the radio station does turn out to hire me I am going to have to find a way to work both because I really need some solid stuff to add to my resume incase something happens.