I have been looking like crazy for alternative employment in the past couple of months. All I wanted was an administrative job making decent money. I have plenty of education, knowledge, & experience for such a position. In the past, I have applied for jobs that were below my pay grade & I still wasn't hired. I've been seeing all of these office positions in the paper for doctor's offices & have applied to most of them, even though some required insurance & medical experience. I've also applied for positions with companies who complain about needing help. I get nothing... It's not my resume... I've had that scrubbed time & time again by various professionals.

I could get work easily down the road, but that's just it... I don't want to get work down the road. I want to work here. It's a never ending cycle. I can never work where I live. I would love to know why I never meet these people that are obviously more qualified than I am for these positions.

It is so sad to see... such a beautiful town w/ empty buildings & offices everywhere. Where on earth is everyone working?

I believe, There's alot of people that work down the road. There's sure isn't enough jobs around here. At least I don't think so.

I've been here for 3 years trying to find something up here. I've had a ton of offers but all at about %50 of what I'm making in Mont. Co. The cost of living might be cheaper here((at least thats what everyone says)
but I refuse to work for the peanuts they pay here.

Our firm just had an opening for an office mgr/admin assistant type position and we got FLOODED with resumes. There was just no way to follow up with everyone so we just started skimming through resumes and calling up people for interviews in blocks.

With the trouble that you're having, imagine what its like for someone else that works in a more specialized field. If I lost my job here, I'd definitely be driving down the road.. either that, or looking for a career change. I'd probably just end up moving.

It sucks.

Only thing I see cheaper up here, are the cost of houses. I don't see where the cost of living here is much cheaper then Frederick County, Not much cheaper then Mont. county.

Mont. County house taxes are cheaper then what it is in Washington County. Our water & electric bills aren't trailing far behind Frederick County. Food cost is about the same too. At least I think so.

Washington is just a small county, not enough jobs to go around. If you have a job here, most people tend to keep them. For a long time.

Yep! And the pay of most of them is lower even after considering the cost of a commute.

But, gee, lotsa warehouse and truck driving jobs...

And what was the reason for moving here?
Cheap housing?= Long drives to work.
You should have knowen that this area was in no way like down the road.
All you had to do is look around the area and see that there were no large companys with tec jobs.
This area is set up for interstate tranactions. Manily trucking and warehousing.
I`m not trying to be smart. But doing a study of the area would have given PEOPLE a good idea of what was here. This is not a beltway job area.

Many local companies get flooded with resumes or applications. There are many more educated and highly trained people up here. Yet there has been minimal success or effort to establish a high tech corridor or specialty firms, or national headquarters for corporate campuses.

I made 40,000 down the road and found I was only going to be offered 19,000 up here. It was heartbreaking. There are still many up here who see nothing financially risky about expecting people to take dead end jobs at minimum wage, despite their education and training. Unless one is a lawyer, doctor, or teacher do not expect to transfer into a professional position up here right away. The range of career slots is not here.

Do not take it personally. It is hard for college educated, well trained professionals to re-establish here. Also, new graduates are really frustrated. Unless one lives with parents indefinitely, or there is a spouse who can pick up the slack, the career outlook is limited for professional tracks. Working two or three jobs defeats the purpose of living in such a wonderful area.

Hense we commute.

Have you tried looking for a job in Martinsburg or even Frederick?

People in housing/construction/development are getting hit really hard right now, too.

If you're looking for admin work, what about a temp agency? A lot of those lead to long-term employment. They pay more than minimum wage. And, as far as I know, they almost always have work for good, skilled workers. I worked for just about every temp agency in the area during my college/grad school days, mostly receptionist/secretary type work. I rarely had a week when I didn't have work, and I got offered at least 3 full-time jobs through it, too.

Ditto on PF's advice, and mstubble's.

Temp agencies are a great way to get in the door of large companies & even government.

Companies in the Frederick area pay much better than Wash Co. and Martinsburg.

In Falling Waters/Martinsburg you've got big orginizations; the IRS, Coast Guard, ATF and the VA hospital. I believe they all pay using the DC area pay scale (i.e. higher pay than other places).

Yes, but the wheels of the govt grind slowly.

DH applied for a VA job in Dec 2005.

He just got word he was up for a position a few weeks ago.

That gives me hope then...I've applied for several jobs at the Coast Guard, IRS and Homeland Security. No word yet and it's been almose a year

I just heard thru a government source that ATF is going to be ramping up it's hiring for administrative civilian personnel at it's Martinsburg office. You might want to keep an eye on that.

Was is a government position? There are plenty of contractor jobs.



Government or contractor positions? Did you just apply or did you have an interview? When we need a position on the contractor side, it doesn't take long at all.

DH's was an actual govt position. I thought it would be easier for him, being ex-military, but seems like it took just as long as a civilian.

Yeah... I'd guess contractor positions would definitely move faster.

I guess it depends on the agency as well. I applied and was offered a goverment position with FEMA and it didn't take long at all.

FEMA? you might not want to spread that around. everyone will be calling you next time the antietam creek overflows

I've applied to almost every entry to mid-level job at those places since I stopped working in DC. I'm a temp now (grrrr), but I'm hoping to hear back from one of those gov't agencies or contractors in the next few weeks/months.

I applied for most of them in Jan-March.

I didn't say I accepted the job





What kind of job are you looking for?

[quote name='mstubble' post='66463' date='Sep 14 2006, 04:07 PM'][quote]What kind of job are you looking for?[/quote]
I know it sounds bad, but really anything. I've applied for everything from document analysis, program management, language programs, office automation, and many more job descriptions I cannot recall at the moment. I heard back from a couple contractor positions, but I'm really looking to be a federal employee again. I know it takes awhile, so hopefully I'll hear from one of the federal positions soon.

I have a Bachelor's degree and less than one year of entry level fed. experience.

Seems like a lot of people with a College Degree, still have a hard time getting their foot in the door. Who's the one that said a good education is the key to a good job?

I think it depends on your degree and the area you're trying to get a job. I didn't have any problems getting a job when I graduated, but I know people who did.

Is everyone so interested in government positions for the security? You make more money as a contractor.

For those that are interested:

http://www.usajobs.gov

If you go govt in the IT field you can get a up to 15% more pay than other GS positions provided you have certain certifications. Other than that contractors do make more money. If you can get a clearance as a contractor then that can also give you job security as the govt will hire someone with a clearance before someone w/o one.

Still not as much as a contractor; that's one of the reasons I didn't take a job with FEMA.



So far, we have still been hiring people with out clearances, but that will probably soon stop. I've heard that DHS is going to require employees to have a clearance prior to starting a job.

I belong to that site and get updates regularly, but whenever I apply I never hear anything back. And I'm just applying for plain ol' clerical/secretarial positions.

Same here, but I know I don't check that site as often as I should.

I've applied for several contractor positions, but I'm still waiting. I did get a serious offer for a position with the Treasury Dept. in Richmond, but I really didn't like the area at all after going to college there.

I'm in school now for nursing, & I just can't wait to graduate. It'll be a while since I'm doing pre-reqs now but in the end... I'll have a job. No doubt about that.

I forgot to say...

I've considered temp jobs, but I have free benefits... GOOD benefits w/ Blue Cross Blue Sheild now... & I have a hard time giving that up.

That's a good field to get into. My sister is a RN, she loves it. Been doing that for quite a few years.

Why would you have to give up your benefits if you got a temp job?

I don't know of any temp agencies that offer benefits... especially free benefits.

I guess the question is: Where/how do you have free benefits now and why would you have to give them up to work for a Temp Agency?

maybe the city of hagerstowns benifits, they are free,

Right. I guess I should have been clearer.



One other thought: If you think you're very qualified, is it possible you're over qualified for the positions you're applying to? Maybe you should look for something a little higher up on the pay/title/responsibility scale. Some companies won't hire people that seem over-qualified for fear the applicant will leave after a short period of time.

i quess if you go to work as a temp, then they kick you off welfare, and there goes the benefits.

Yeah, I understand that. I just didn't know if that was the poster's situation.

I didn't realize Blue Cross was the free health insurance offered by the city/county/state/whatever it is.

EricaMarie's original post stated she was looking for alternative employment which I read as her having a job. If that is correct than perhaps her free Blue Cross benefits are a result of her current job. If she took a temp job as alternative employment than she would be giving up her current job and the associated benefits.

You are correct.

I already have a job. I have 100% free benefits w/ my current job. That is one of the few things I enjoy about my current job. I started w/ my current employer in 2001. I left there in 2003, but came back in 2005 after being asked to come back.

Because I am going to school for nursing, I'd like to step further into the medical work force. Since I am not qualified for a medical position, I am trying to get an administrative position in a medical office. If I cannot do that, I'd settle for another administrative type of position so that I could at least have M-F daytime hours.

I went to tech school for IT. I not only know administrative work, I am also capable of building, breaking, & fixing a computer. I have a ton of customer service experience, & experience in telecommunications. I honestly don't know anyone who can type faster than I do...

It just irritates me to know that someone w/ my GPA, my IQ, my knowledge, & my experience can't even get a call back from a resume sent out.



So no... I am not on welfare. I don't have a handout. I have free benefits because I work for a living.

my quess is when you send a resume they are afraid of you, everyone would love to have you but with your qualifacation , they have know idea what to offer, because they cant offer what your worth, i think you know to much for this area, my daughter and her hubby went to tx , they make 6 fiqures there.

In what field is your daughter and husand work?

i never did understand it , they keep this big oil companys cumputers working and on line ,, adding packaging to them , they are contractors, i saw hiscomputer discs he has iin a breif case, must be 500 or more ini there , i visited this summer, he tried but the money just wasnt here , its terrable family has to move away to make a living,

So he works in the computer field. You can make 6 figures around here in the computer field.

Like I said before, maybe you're over-qualified. You might be better off looking for a higher-up position than admin work.

Also, just as a note, free benefits are hard to find in general. You might get discounted health insurance, of course. But totally free? That's the exception, not the norm. (Though it can happen, of course. I have free benefits through my job.)

DH works in the health field as a mid-level practitioner. Since he's been out of school, he's been offered about 6 jobs. Not a single one included free health insurance.

I don't even have a degree... I would find it hard to believe that I would be considered "over-qualified."

I'm not looking for completely FREE health insurance. I don't make a lot right now... so I'm glad it's free. If I were making more, then I wouldn't mind paying some for health insurance.

Since I've been looking for jobs, I've only been called in for one interview. The job made more, but was in Frederick & it didn't pay for health insurance... & it seemed like the woman who interviewed me, who had happened to be laid off from my current employer not long ago, was talking me out of taking the job. It worked.

well he had his resume on line and all the job offers came from texas, and he had a lot of offers from down there, just maybe there were other reasons, after 2 months there they bought a house and large lot next door, a 150,000 dollar house there wought sell for 300,000 here , i got a few books when i was there, but ill never move there to hot for me ,

Well, the only other advice I can say is "keep trying."

When I went looking for my first "real" job out of college, I sent out about 10-20 resumes a week. I was open to working in almost any city in the tri-state area--Baltimore, DC, Winchester... almost anywhere. It still took me 10 months to find a job. I remember being frustrated as heck during that time.

Persistence will pay off eventually.

EM -- This is purely a guess on my part. MAYBE no one hires you for an admin position because they know that in a year or so you'll be leaving to be a nurse and they'll have to go thru the training of a new person all over again. Try convincing an employer who needs lotsa nurses to hire you for something.

Have you tried the hospital & Robinwood?

I applied on the website for the hospital, & to every Robinwood employment ad I could find.




Snoopy, you might be right. :/