sigh

[oyceter]

Just went with the boy to see his new dorm and the business school at Stanford, and am now quite depressed. I don't feel like I'm going anywhere.. here is the boy off to do shiny new things in his new environment, while I am sitting at home doing what? working on my silly webpage or playing with LJ. Or really nothing substantial at all. And I think the career services people at the b-school said they don't help SOs of their students. Ugh. I feel like quite a loser -- here I am, having gone to a good university with honors in my degree, and I am looking for work in bookstores. And even the bookstores aren't calling me back. I just don't know what to do with myself...

Sigh, sorry, indulging in ... er, self-indulgence. Yes...

Comments

Re: (((HUG))) Now, enough with that mushy stuff...

[oyceter]

Thanks! Um... completely ignorant here, but what exactly is an agency? How would I find one?

Re: (((HUG))) Now, enough with that mushy stuff...

[knullabulla.livejournal.com]

Where do you live? I'll post you some links for temporary employment placement agencies in your area.

Hiring people is expensive, companies have to pay all kinds of additional fees and taxes... so when the position is only going to be short term, why bother? The agencies take care of all the taxes and paperwork and stuff--all the fees and who-is-getting-paid-what details are kept quiet, but basically the company you work for might be charged $20/hr... $15/hr will go to you... and the remaining $5/hr will go to the agency to pay things like worker's comp insurance, overhead, and of course, a commission to the person who found you the job. I haven't found much difference in how much I make at these jobs verses people doing the same thing but in permanent positions... but the companies that hire temps end up saving money cause they don't have to spend on things like benefits or pay unemployment taxes or workers comp insurance fees. No benefits is the big draw back, but there are "just in case I get hit by a truck" insurance plans out there.

Re: (((HUG))) Now, enough with that mushy stuff...

[oyceter]

Ahhhh, I see. Okay.. I'm in Mountain View, CA right now..

Thanks again for the info!

Found some links

[knullabulla.livejournal.com]

This site listsemployment agencies throughout the greater San Jose area (http://www.allsanjosejobs.com/employment.htm).

Here's the Yahoo directory listing (http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/California/Metropolitan_Areas/San_Francisco_Bay_Area/Business_and_Shopping/Business_to_Business/Corporate_Services/Human_Resources/Recruiting_and_Placement/) of temporary employment agencies in the bay area.

Not every agency listed will be right for you, but this should give you enough places to try.

Oh, one last tip... before you even fill out the online applications, call them up and ask to schedule a meeting. Just say, "I'm interested in doing temporary work through your agency. When can I meet with a recruiter?" A lot of agencies have open door policies: you just show up and the first available recruiter will sit you down for an interview.

oh, and one more tip! Start gathering references. Don't worry if you don't have past work experience, you can put down old professors or your land lord/apartment manager or anybody else who can say what a terrific little worker you'd make. Just be sure to warn your references in advance. No need to be shy about it, just tell them you're hunting for jobs right now and would appreciate it if they put in a good word for you if somebody calls them.

Good luck!

Re: Found some links

[oyceter]

Thanks so much for the tips!