Looking for work
April 30, 2018 2:58 AM Subscribe
New Yorkers, this college dropout needs your help. How do I search for NYC jobs with a gap on my resume?
From 2007 to 2011 I went to a large SUNY university. I had volunteered at a hospital during high school and continued volunteering at a hospital near the university. Even though my best grades had always been in english and social studies, in college I majored in Biochemistry in an attempt to be more competitive in pre-med applications. This backfired and my GPA went down to 1.0 before I dropped out. Education is my main goal in life so I'm determined to finish my bachelors (with a different major) though I don't know when that will happen. I'm not allowed to transfer my credits to CUNY until I finish paying off the four thousand dollar bill I incurred at SUNY.
I have struggled with depression for many years, feeling like I have no energy and it sucks. I feel like I spent most of 20's learning from trial and error how to cope with depression and anxiety instead of getting to do anything I could look forward to in life. I've learned to not want to kill myself but it's still a struggle for me. I'm living with my mother and she takes care of most of my expenses. I know that I'm lucky to be in a situation like that but I want to be independent.
I do my best to cope with depression, I'm on medication that works and I'm seeing a therapist. I try to sleep at the same time every night, and eat responsibly. Exercise used to help more than anything else but I developed plantar fasciitis, and can no longer run without foot pain. I know stuff like meditation, foot exercises, affirmations, and cooking your own food helps but I don't feel up to it right now. I don't have any money to meet up with friends but I try to remain in contact with them when I can do so without being depressing.
In 2012 I started a job as a receptionist in a hospital. I liked my job and it was manageable for me. In 2014 I went off my meds and fell into a deep, almost catatonic depression that took months to get out of. I stopped going to work for months without callihng in and management had no choice but to fire me. These days I spend most of time on the computer, browsing websites and reading books.
As of now I have been unemployed for four years and am at a loss at how to return to work. When I apply to jobs I rarely get responses. When I go to job fairs I don't get any callbacks. I've applied to lots of retail jobs but the retail jobs don't respond either. Volunteering would be good to start filling my gap in employment but not many people seem to be accepting volunteer applicants right now. Kings County is not accepting volunteers, New York Presbyterian did not accept me, and I didn't have enough references for Mount Sinai. New York Cares doesn't have anything I want to do right now. I even tried ACCESS-VR but that hasn't led to anything useful.
Is this how things are going to end? Am I just going to be another underemployed dude for the rest of my life? I spent my undergrad years terrified of not being successful, of not doing my best to be a productive adult. I worked so damn hard to go in a direction I thought would lead to a career with job security. For things to turn out like this... it feels like I did everything I knew how to make things work and I still ended up in dire straits. I just turned 29 and I am not where I thought I would be in life. A lot of my friends have finished law school, med school, grad school, started postdocs, and it's hard to resist comparing myself to them.
What can I do to get a job interview and get my life back on track?
From 2007 to 2011 I went to a large SUNY university. I had volunteered at a hospital during high school and continued volunteering at a hospital near the university. Even though my best grades had always been in english and social studies, in college I majored in Biochemistry in an attempt to be more competitive in pre-med applications. This backfired and my GPA went down to 1.0 before I dropped out. Education is my main goal in life so I'm determined to finish my bachelors (with a different major) though I don't know when that will happen. I'm not allowed to transfer my credits to CUNY until I finish paying off the four thousand dollar bill I incurred at SUNY.
I have struggled with depression for many years, feeling like I have no energy and it sucks. I feel like I spent most of 20's learning from trial and error how to cope with depression and anxiety instead of getting to do anything I could look forward to in life. I've learned to not want to kill myself but it's still a struggle for me. I'm living with my mother and she takes care of most of my expenses. I know that I'm lucky to be in a situation like that but I want to be independent.
I do my best to cope with depression, I'm on medication that works and I'm seeing a therapist. I try to sleep at the same time every night, and eat responsibly. Exercise used to help more than anything else but I developed plantar fasciitis, and can no longer run without foot pain. I know stuff like meditation, foot exercises, affirmations, and cooking your own food helps but I don't feel up to it right now. I don't have any money to meet up with friends but I try to remain in contact with them when I can do so without being depressing.
In 2012 I started a job as a receptionist in a hospital. I liked my job and it was manageable for me. In 2014 I went off my meds and fell into a deep, almost catatonic depression that took months to get out of. I stopped going to work for months without callihng in and management had no choice but to fire me. These days I spend most of time on the computer, browsing websites and reading books.
As of now I have been unemployed for four years and am at a loss at how to return to work. When I apply to jobs I rarely get responses. When I go to job fairs I don't get any callbacks. I've applied to lots of retail jobs but the retail jobs don't respond either. Volunteering would be good to start filling my gap in employment but not many people seem to be accepting volunteer applicants right now. Kings County is not accepting volunteers, New York Presbyterian did not accept me, and I didn't have enough references for Mount Sinai. New York Cares doesn't have anything I want to do right now. I even tried ACCESS-VR but that hasn't led to anything useful.
Is this how things are going to end? Am I just going to be another underemployed dude for the rest of my life? I spent my undergrad years terrified of not being successful, of not doing my best to be a productive adult. I worked so damn hard to go in a direction I thought would lead to a career with job security. For things to turn out like this... it feels like I did everything I knew how to make things work and I still ended up in dire straits. I just turned 29 and I am not where I thought I would be in life. A lot of my friends have finished law school, med school, grad school, started postdocs, and it's hard to resist comparing myself to them.
What can I do to get a job interview and get my life back on track?
One possibility is state or city employment. Many of these jobs are examination-based to start--you take the exam, you get on a list by score, and then you're called as needed. "Examination" makes it sound more highly-skilled than some of the jobs are, though. They do have a number of jobs that don't require a college degree. This doesn't need to be your life's work--just something to tide you over until you can return to school, if you're feeling stable enough. I think being able to complete school would really help reassure employers that you are now functional enough to hold a job.
BTW, as a fallback, you may also want to consider whether you might be eligible for disability benefits. You can get disability for depression if it renders you unable to work, though the amount for someone who hasn't paid enough into the system is sad and low. There are lawyers who do these cases on contingency. I can't say they're always the highest quality, but they shouldn't cost you anything up front.
posted by praemunire at 8:13 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
BTW, as a fallback, you may also want to consider whether you might be eligible for disability benefits. You can get disability for depression if it renders you unable to work, though the amount for someone who hasn't paid enough into the system is sad and low. There are lawyers who do these cases on contingency. I can't say they're always the highest quality, but they shouldn't cost you anything up front.
posted by praemunire at 8:13 AM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does NYC have some version of the American Job Center network? (In PA, it's called CareerLink.) They have a lot of resources for job seekers, especially those who have been out of work for awhile or who might have additional employment barriers.
Your local library, if you haven't checked them already, probably also has a lot of great resources. A lot of libraries offer job search/career workshops as part of their programming--and most libraries would love more volunteers. Some libraries even offer free access to paid online skill training tools (my local library offers Lynda classes for free with a library account) which might also help buff up your job skills in the interim if there were any classes that struck your fancy.
Also, I had a pretty good experience in the AmeriCorps program if that is something that might appeal to you. You won't make much money doing this, but they do provide health insurance (at least VISTA did), you'd have at least a year of service work experience that you could put on your resume, and at the end of the service year you get an educational stipend of $5500 (possibly more now) that you could use toward paying off your outstanding balances at SUNY and starting up at CUNY or starting a career training program or something. (I think if you were to do two years of service, the stipend is doubled, but I think two years is the cap.)
Re: exercise, is there a local rec center or YMCA where you could swim or do a stationary bike instead of running so as not to aggravate your plantar fasciitis? If there is a free or low-cost way to keep up your exercise habit in a way that wasn't painful, I'd def pursue that again, since it was so helpful to you before.
Are there some small versions of those bigger self care tasks that might be beneficial to you without feeling so daunting to perform, like meditating five minutes a day, stretching a little in the morning, etc.? (Fun fact: I NEVER made breakfast in the morning until earlier this year, and even though it is literally just grainy toast with almond butter and whatever fruit is on sale on top, it has done a lot to make my day better.)
Job stuff aside, take care of yourself! You're dealing with an uphill climb, and that sucks, but you're doing great (seriously, the sleep hygiene thing is HUGE) and you have plenty of time to achieve your goals and get to where you want to be. Good luck!
posted by helloimjennsco at 11:02 AM on April 30, 2018
Your local library, if you haven't checked them already, probably also has a lot of great resources. A lot of libraries offer job search/career workshops as part of their programming--and most libraries would love more volunteers. Some libraries even offer free access to paid online skill training tools (my local library offers Lynda classes for free with a library account) which might also help buff up your job skills in the interim if there were any classes that struck your fancy.
Also, I had a pretty good experience in the AmeriCorps program if that is something that might appeal to you. You won't make much money doing this, but they do provide health insurance (at least VISTA did), you'd have at least a year of service work experience that you could put on your resume, and at the end of the service year you get an educational stipend of $5500 (possibly more now) that you could use toward paying off your outstanding balances at SUNY and starting up at CUNY or starting a career training program or something. (I think if you were to do two years of service, the stipend is doubled, but I think two years is the cap.)
Re: exercise, is there a local rec center or YMCA where you could swim or do a stationary bike instead of running so as not to aggravate your plantar fasciitis? If there is a free or low-cost way to keep up your exercise habit in a way that wasn't painful, I'd def pursue that again, since it was so helpful to you before.
Are there some small versions of those bigger self care tasks that might be beneficial to you without feeling so daunting to perform, like meditating five minutes a day, stretching a little in the morning, etc.? (Fun fact: I NEVER made breakfast in the morning until earlier this year, and even though it is literally just grainy toast with almond butter and whatever fruit is on sale on top, it has done a lot to make my day better.)
Job stuff aside, take care of yourself! You're dealing with an uphill climb, and that sucks, but you're doing great (seriously, the sleep hygiene thing is HUGE) and you have plenty of time to achieve your goals and get to where you want to be. Good luck!
posted by helloimjennsco at 11:02 AM on April 30, 2018
Response by poster: Thank you for the responses so far. I am back on my medication and fully intend to stay on it.
Going to food service places in person (ask about being a buser, waiter, dishwasher), checking for jobs on fiverr and nextdoor, state/city examinations, library career workshops, Americorps, got it.
I already went to several temp agencies and I got no responses. The state decided that I did not qualify for disability.
posted by IShouldBeStudyingRightNow at 2:31 PM on April 30, 2018
Going to food service places in person (ask about being a buser, waiter, dishwasher), checking for jobs on fiverr and nextdoor, state/city examinations, library career workshops, Americorps, got it.
I already went to several temp agencies and I got no responses. The state decided that I did not qualify for disability.
posted by IShouldBeStudyingRightNow at 2:31 PM on April 30, 2018
How many credits do you think would transfer? Can you estimate the lower-level and upper-level breakout? Do you have an unofficial transcript, or personal records of the courses and grades from the SUNY school? Have you filed a FAFSA this year?
You've been unemployed for four years. You would check with a financial aid counselor at CUNY, but you might be in the best position right now for a full financial aid package. The maximum Pell Grant monies would go toward your old debt, releasing your transcript. You would need to be careful of the new debt you were incurring, probably not mention part of your aid package would be earmarked for the old debt (as student loans and grants are meant to go toward school and living expenses for the current school year), and make sure nothing you took in that first CUNY semester (as a full-time student, minimum course load) duplicated your old credits. (OR - as I'm realizing that by enrolling in a new 4-year program, you might be penalized for trying to submit a transcript later in the process - you might do a semester in community college, even over this summer? The main thing is having the means to free up that transcript.)
Interest rates are going up, which will impact new ed loans, too. Your mom is helping you out so much, especially with housing (which is ridic in NY). If you can swing going back to school exclusively and finishing your degree (and see how much time, and $, switching your major will cost), rather than getting another lower-level job and then trying to juggle it and schooling at some far-off point, I think you'd be better off in the long run.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:07 PM on April 30, 2018
You've been unemployed for four years. You would check with a financial aid counselor at CUNY, but you might be in the best position right now for a full financial aid package. The maximum Pell Grant monies would go toward your old debt, releasing your transcript. You would need to be careful of the new debt you were incurring, probably not mention part of your aid package would be earmarked for the old debt (as student loans and grants are meant to go toward school and living expenses for the current school year), and make sure nothing you took in that first CUNY semester (as a full-time student, minimum course load) duplicated your old credits. (OR - as I'm realizing that by enrolling in a new 4-year program, you might be penalized for trying to submit a transcript later in the process - you might do a semester in community college, even over this summer? The main thing is having the means to free up that transcript.)
Interest rates are going up, which will impact new ed loans, too. Your mom is helping you out so much, especially with housing (which is ridic in NY). If you can swing going back to school exclusively and finishing your degree (and see how much time, and $, switching your major will cost), rather than getting another lower-level job and then trying to juggle it and schooling at some far-off point, I think you'd be better off in the long run.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:07 PM on April 30, 2018
The state decided that I did not qualify for disability
Sorry, maybe dumb question, but...the state? State short-term disability and federal SSI/SSDI are two separate things. The state doesn't decide the latter, SSA does.
posted by praemunire at 4:50 PM on April 30, 2018
Sorry, maybe dumb question, but...the state? State short-term disability and federal SSI/SSDI are two separate things. The state doesn't decide the latter, SSA does.
posted by praemunire at 4:50 PM on April 30, 2018
Response by poster: Sorry, I meant federal SSI/SSDI
posted by IShouldBeStudyingRightNow at 7:46 PM on April 30, 2018
posted by IShouldBeStudyingRightNow at 7:46 PM on April 30, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Apologies if you're already tried this but have you tried walking into a restaurant or some other food service place and ask if they have any jobs like being a buser, host, waiter, dishwasher, etc?
I would also reach out to your friends and at the very least ask if they know anyone who needs any help or could hire you. You can also try and see if there are any jobs available on fiverr or nextdoor to start building a reputation. You can also reach out to temp agencies - there's no downside to it and they can look for work for you.
posted by driedmango at 8:01 AM on April 30, 2018