Finding a job with few references?

June 19, 2012 9:53 PM

I quit my job today. I don't have another job lined up. I don't have a college degree or much work history. How bad is this?

Some background information first because I know these questions will come up I've live in Chicago and just turned 31. I did two years of community college after high school but did not get my Associates Degree due to money/family issues and depression. I worked two jobs during that time, one at a Chuck E Cheese like place that lasted a year and the other a temp job with OSHA that lasted 3 months. I did not keep in touch with anyone from either place, I doubt the people at the first job remember me and for the OSHA job, I've been told to give potential employers my SSN and have them contact theworknumber.com.

My father died when I was 19 and my mother, who suffers from schizophrenia and dementia, needed around the clock care. After several years of taking care of her myself, I was able to find someplace decent where she would get the amount of care that she needed. At 29, I re-entered the workforce, had a brief job with the census and then. through my brother, found a job with a major freight forwarder as an Export Agent.

And today, after nearly two years, I had to call it quits. I had too much work - I was regularly doing 12, 14, 16 hour days (this past Friday I was at work for 21 hours straight, from 5:50 am to 3:30am and I still didn't get caught up with all the work I had to do) and despite my request/complaints/pleas it has not changed. Our department is completely dysfunctional and everyone - even the supervisor and manager - admits it but nothing is done to change it. I know from my experience and from what others who have worked there longer have told me that I can't have my hours changed or reduced, I won't get help because "everyone is buried" and no one actually does anything to take work off my desk, and with my luck, if they do hire new people, I'll be stuck training them and expected to do my work (and the work of one of my teammates who is on maternity leave and another who calls in sick at least once a week). And once people get in my department, they either quit or die there. I've only known of one person who was able to move and it took her several years, so that's not an option either.

So I gave my one month's notice. I am going back to school for Accounting but, while I will try, I don't think I apply for financial aid/work study. Like I said, before this, I worked in the 2010 census and then there's an eight year gap - no work, no school, no volunteer work.

I'm looking into Americorps as I will be going to school, I'm going to try my hand at self-publishing some romance novellas I have sitting on hardrive just to get some extra cash, and, of course, I will be applying for as many jobs as I can, especially for something vaguely Accounting-related. What tips can you offer to someone with such a spotty work history? Should I even bother mentioning some of my earlier jobs - the 3 month stint at OSHA, and, dare I ask, the Chuck-e-Cheese place? Or should I just leave it at my current job and my Census job just before it? Even the Census job, I don't have references for as we're told to have them contact a regional Census office. I had a couple of good interviews before I gave notice but I feel like it was my lack of references/any proof I existed before 2010 that tripped me up and I don't know how to approach this in the future.

posted by GadgetryOwl to Work & Money (16 answers total)

It's not bad at all. Your story is your story, just tell it like it is. You were caring for a family member full-time, that's not nothing. Skip the Chuck E Cheese, though. Don't forget to mention that you're a writer! That's huge. You're downplaying & minimizing a lot here, which you shouldn't be doing, because you have a very interesting life story.
posted by facetious at 10:07 PM on June 19, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, relax. If you have school lined up, that is your main job. If you just need a jobby job while you do that, well, based on your story, you are a hard worker and versatile and young enough that you'll get hired. Keep an open mind, apply everywhere, be yourself, kick ass.
posted by vrakatar at 10:16 PM on June 19, 2012

Edit: Tell potential employers you are heading back to school, they love that, and might even have a support program- a hotel chain I worked for had that, or maybe it was Hess.
posted by vrakatar at 10:18 PM on June 19, 2012

You have your latest job, your census job, you're going to school, and before all that you were a full-time carer.

You have experience, future goals, and would probably be seen as someone who is dependable, consistent, mature, and patient - you just keep building on it all now.
posted by mleigh at 10:29 PM on June 19, 2012

Actually, I think that you are in good shape for where you will be (i.e. university student). Here are a couple things that may help you get around this and an idea or two as you search for new employment:

• Do list your census job and last job. To get around the references, do you have any coworkers who you respected and can address your work ethic? Use these people as references and be honest and list their titles. (I had to do this for a job because just like your census job, some places of employment will not state anything beyond "X worked here" as a matter of policy).

• As mentioned by facetious, just tell your story and hold your head high. (As an older college student, you are not atypical. Plus, many older students know why they are in college, are a bit more motivated, have a work ethic, etc.).

• Be very assertive and look for jobs on campus. As an example, several years ago I had funding to hire a student for a part time job. Faculty are usually very busy at the start of the semester and I hired a student who came to my office door asking if I would be hiring anyone that semester (it just worked out well in front of timing - I needed to hire someone, a few students showed up on their own, and I picked from that group vs. posting signs and interviewing a billion pple). So I'm going to recommend that you go to your department office and inquire there and also go door to door and check in with faculty. It may or may not equal a job, but I think your odds would be good if someone is hiring. These jobs are likely to be related to your area of study and/or offer the flexibility that you may need while you are in college.

• What about looking into a temp agency? You have job skills and often, college students are qualified for those positions.

Good luck.
posted by Wolfster at 10:53 PM on June 19, 2012

You should only sweat as much as the economy is kind of blah, but I work in the accounting industry and entry-level clerk jobs, if you aren't completely stupid and can use a computer, are out there. Your spelling looks fantastic, you can communicate well in writing, and you have logistics experience (put that word/phrase on your resume!). Look for warehouse/purchasing/accounting clerk positions - they want people who can grow with the job, they tend to love accounting students, and if you're capable of speaking freight forwarder language, even better.

As far as your gap, you need to own it and not apologize for it. If you're asked, just say you were a caretaker for a family member for that period, no details, no apologies. People respect that, if they are at all human, because all of us either already have or know we probably will have to take on that job at some point. Everybody was raised by somebody.

My primary advice is to beef up your Excel, if it's not already awesome. And you can do that for free as long as your Google works.

Some people will disagree with me, but I think there's value in going into an interview and saying, look, it was 20 hour days with no rescue in sight. Emphasize that you're willing to work hard, but are also smart enough to know that after 12 hours or so, the brain just can't operate at an appropriate level.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:56 PM on June 19, 2012

Twenty hour days? Were you being paid time-and-a-half for everything over 40 hours? For the time being, we still have laws in this country that offer some protection to workers. Illinois has a Department of Labor. Contact them. Your employer is probably breaking the law.
posted by cyndigo at 11:08 PM on June 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Walked out of a job in Chicago, gave ten minutes notice. Had no degree and no job lined up beyond having called a friend who was temping somewhere and finding out they had a temp gig open that I was overqualified (via work experience) for, and paid a third of the lousy salary I had just given up.

I spent three weeks kicking ass in that temp assignment and actively looking for work. Landed a job with a theater company doing something (sort of) like I had done before, for less money. Went to resign from the temp gig, and they offered me more money, to stay and learn a new career path...which I've now been doing for fifteen years, happily.

The point here being that, if you are good at what you do and you take what you can get temporarily while you stay active looking for your next long-term position, you will probably be fine, and there's no reason to assume you won't be fine until/unless that actually comes to pass. Stay positive, stay eager, stay active.
posted by davejay at 11:47 PM on June 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

So I gave my one month's notice

You have plenty of time, so please try to relax and not put so much pressure on yourself.

First and foremost, start doing way less work than you're currently doing. Since it's all pointless anyway -- you'll never finish these projects, you'll never get un-buried -- there's no point in trying. Work fewer hours, spend more time focusing on what comes next. They may gripe, but then they also have to expect this a bit. As long as you're doing more than just the bare minimum, you should be able to leave with your head held high. Hell, they might not even notice.

Begin the part of your life in which you take care of yourself, not them. Then you'll feel a little less like you're running off of a cliff.
posted by hermitosis at 12:17 AM on June 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

Go to a temp agency. You can type, construct a coherent sentence, and you have a pulse. That's two better than a lot of people.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:41 AM on June 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

My father died when I was 19 and my mother, who suffers from schizophrenia and dementia, needed around the clock care. After several years of taking care of her myself...

Please don't treat the years you spent as your mother's primary caregiver as a black hole. Those years aren't a void in your employment history because that was your job for those years.

Sit down with a legal pad and draft an inventory of what was required from you each day. Everything, no matter how insignificant. Because this is the foundation of your resume. You will now list the period you spent as your mother's primary caregiver as a job. Your efforts, caring for your mother, are the equivalent of owning a small business and keeping it solvent. Which is exactly what you accomplished.

That you were barely an adult yourself, and were willing and able to assume such a responsibility is a testimonial to your resourcefulness, fortitude and excellent character.

You were smart to quit that job. Ensure you received your overtime pay.
Find a therapist. You spent a lot of time dedicated to others, now it's time to concentrate on your own happiness.
posted by Pudhoho at 6:08 AM on June 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you were taking care of your mom, you would be qualified to be a personal care worker for home health care. A CNA requires at least 6 weeks of Tech college, at least in my state. The hours are flexible, (you can pick your own) which would allow you to attend school at the same time. I don't know if this would be an interest to you, but it may be something you would want to consider.
posted by sybarite09 at 6:19 AM on June 20, 2012

Unless you want to keep working at entry-level jobs in different fields you should start to focus on a single career path ASAP. Accounting is a good direction but even that is broad and you may want to decide what specialization will work for you. Try to make some contacts in the field. Without contacts and your lack of experience you are at a huge disadvantage and your resume will most likely be passed by in 99% of the cases.

Ask your contacts what will help to land you a job without inundating Monster every single day. The immerse yourself in every single aspect of accounting that is needed not only to bring you up to speed but to make you a preferable candidate. Once you get more than a basic knowledge, start volunteering for some non-profits or help as a volunteer during tax time. These volunteer opportunities should be something you cold-call non profits about. Don't wait for them to put an ad somewhere or it will be too late. If you play it right, this work will be worth gold.
posted by JJ86 at 6:24 AM on June 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm thinking that those years you spent with your Mom could easily be described as Home Health Aide. This could be an awesome job for you to pursue while in school. You can spend over-nights, with someone who needs a warm body in the house, study and attend classes during the day.

Or as someone else said, become a CNA, they're all over hospitals, and you can work PRN, around your school schedule.

Once you're in the Hospital system, there are accounting jobs aplenty and as you are there anyway, you can make connections and network your way into one of those jobs.

That is if you're not completely burned out from working with your Mom.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:32 AM on June 20, 2012

Nthing the temp route to get you through the gap time till college if you can't find something that will work with college (and temping might do it).

Lots of good advice here, but I'll add, have someone look at your resume. I was laid off a few years ago and was sent to a three month training course (it was drop in for classes or facilities for a three month period) with a job finding service (they didn't find me a job but I'm in a weird industry that's feast or famine). Resumes have changed a bit - leave off home address, just need name, phone, and email address (linkedin addy if you have one).

From what I've seen over the past decade as a hiring employer, leave off the labels from the resume like "objective" "personal statement" "experience. Start at the top with name and contact info, then a "headline" paragraph of one or two sentences in the third person, then a labeled section, Strengths and Skills with your biggest strengths and one line for applicable software if needed, then roll into the most recent jobs.
posted by tilde at 7:39 AM on June 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can find help here, too - they have experts who can help with your resume and everything else.
posted by batmonkey at 9:53 AM on June 20, 2012