Find a job I'll love

At the start of this year the job I had been waiting for in my company was advertised, I applied and was successful in my application. I thought that people management was exactly what I wanted to do, however as the year goes on the more I realise it does not suit my personality a lot.
Problem is what do I do now? I have aimed towards management since finishing my degree – how do I now find out what I should be doing?

I called in sick to work yesterday to work on that business communications project; arrived today only to find out that my replacement had already come in. So that’s it, then. I’m unemployed again.

Or isi it? My rep at the temp company is saying a similar position is open at a similar office near to where I’ll be moving. Before I could really stop to think about it, I said I could be there tomorrow. Now I’m wondering if I made the right choice. If I work another temp gig, how much energy will I have for furthering my actual career search? Because I really want to take that step.

The final project for my Business Communications class this summer was (I say “was” because I just turned it in… technically it’s not due til next week) to do a thorough self-analysis from a career perspective, find an ad for a job you want, create a targeted resume and cover letter for that job, then turn in the analysis, ad, resume, and cover letter.

I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone and just submit the resume and cover letter for the job?

So I found a good job. One that I both would really enjoy, and am also super-qualified for – and those are REALLY hard to find with my skill set and interests… most jobs that I’m qualified for I would loathe, and most jobs that intrigue me require tons more experience and/or a different kind of experience than what I’ve got. But I managed to find one. I took the day off work to work on the project. I got it all done. I sent off the resume and cover letter via E-mail. A few hours later, I went to the local OfficeMax because my home printer has no ink, and besides I needed some nice resume paper anyway, and printed off said resume and cover letter.

THEN I FOUND THE TYPO. Under one of my qualifications, the first sentence in the paragraph started with an integral sign! Like, from calculus! I have no idea how it got there, and what’s more, I don’t even know how to TYPE an integral sign! How could I type it… let it get past my proofreading… I don’t even think spellcheck caught it. And this on the same resume as a claim that I am excellent at document review and proofreading. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I did something so STUPID! There is NO WAY I’m even going to get an INTERVIEW for that job now, let alone actually GET it.

Oh God, I want to cry.

I’ll be officially back on the market for a new job as of next Friday (I’m separating from my husband, hopefully temporarily, and moving back in with my father, who lives outside of a reasonable commute range to my current job); it’s not like I ever really stopped looking, but I’m going to have to get even more serious about it. Yet another short stint on my record. I wonder if any employer is going to take me seriously after they realize how splotchy my job history really is. Guess it’s time to create what my Business Communications book calls a “Functional Resume” as opposed to a chronological one. The whole situation just makes me want to puke right now.

I am seriously freaking out today. I can’t stand the lack of job security involved in temp work. Really. Can’t. Stand. It. What on God’s green earth am I going to do??? I’m underqualified for any paralegal or social work jobs, but I’m overqualified for run-of-the-mill clerical work. There’s NOTHING for me in the local classifieds, and any work I would get farther away would have to pay a hell of a lot better than what I’ve been making, in order to justify the commute expenses (there’s the fact that my car is a good car, but she’s not going to last forever, if I’m putting wear and tear on her I can expect her to give out before too long, and then what am I going to do???). My husband is saying that we can’t reasonably expect to be moving north until he graduates next February. That seems like a lifetime away. I need help, and I need it badly.

So I’m currently doing receptionist temp work for DCFS. The wage is low, but I’m allowed a lot of freedom-related perks. My main concern is a lack of job security. I was told by a co-worker yesterday that some of my predecessors were given no more warning than being told on a Friday not to come in on Monday. I understand that in today’s economy, true job security doesn’t exist, but I can definitely do better than temp work on that score.

The question is, what do I do now?

Last week I went to take a couple civil service exams. Got good grades… but can I really afford to wait around with my thumb up my arse, hoping they’ll call? I don’t think so. How am I going to find something that uses my skills?

Got a call today from a temp agency recruiter who found my resume on careerbuilder. There’s an ongoing temp clerical position at the local DCFS office. If I get it, and they like me, eventually I’ll probably be prodded to take the state exam & become a more permanent addition. Mmm… state benefits… So I filled out the application, which was very forgiving – didn’t even ask for references! I wrote some on the back anyway, just to be thorough. Later, I called the recruiter back with a question, and she said they were “holding the position” for me – i.e., no competition. She had said before that DCFS had only given her a 24 hour turnaround to fill the position, so it kind of makes sense that she wouldn’t want to deal with comparison interviews and whatnot. She said it takes 2 days for the criminal background check to go through and to hear back from DCFS, so she’s supposed to contact me on Friday; she said that if she didn’t call me, that I should call her, which is unusual I think. She also said that if it goes well, I’ll be starting on Monday.

I just found out that I’m not going to be given any summer hours at my tutoring job. I think it’s a question of seniority and who turned their hour requests in earliest, not that I’m being fired or anything, but still. I NEED CASH.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am officially panicking.

I feel very trapped. I don’t want to work at the library anymore, not for the measly wage I’m getting. I’m sending out resumes but not a word in return. I thought I would at least get an interview for that executive assistant position at my husband’s work place, but so far the phone has remained silent. What more am I supposed to be doing? There’s a piece to this puzzle that I’m missing and I don’t know what it is.

I was supposed to go to the Step It Up protest this afternoon, but NOOOO, I have to WORK. Phooey on it all. I want a 9 to 5 Mon-Fri job NOW. Well, maybe 8 to 4:30 like my husband has. Something like that.