Adventures in Employment and Training Services

One of the stipulations of collecting unemployment is that you attend a workshop at a Career Training Center.  I did this several weeks ago and it turned out not to be a great day.  But I did learn about all of the information and training resources the Career Service Agency provided.  This month I have taken advantage of the resume and cover letter writing workshops and I've met some characters along the way.

It should come as no surprise that many people who are unemployed are angry, bitter, and generally discouraged.  At the beginning of each seminar, everyone is given the opportunity to introduce themselves in an AA fashion..."My name is X and I'm unemployed.  I've been unemployed for X months and...."  These introductions quickly turn into sob stories about how the X industry has been hit the hardest.  While some of these people are so negative and obnoxious, I am attempting to refrain from judging them because I have no idea what it is like to be unemployed and supporting a family.

I have met some people women that I thought were worthy of a place on this blog.  First, is an older woman (maybe 65+) who is looking for work as a registered nurse.  She shared her struggles of finding a nursing job in a profession that is hiring "young gals with no experience."  However, as she is lamenting the nursing field's age discrimination, her sun-spotted hands are doing that continuous Parkinson-like shaking thing.  And running through my head is, "I feel bad that she can't find a job...but holy hell if I ever needed blood drawn and she was my nurse I would run away from those hands as fast as I could!"

Next, we meet a woman who is adamant about listing her hobby of collecting antiques on her resume while simultaneously refusing to join LinkedIn.  She insists that being an antique collector demonstrates a skill set of using the Internet and networking at collector shows.  The instructor politely reminds the woman that only things relevant to the job you are applying for should be included on a resume...and if she thinks that collecting antiques is a relevant skill for environmental work then she should go ahead and include it.

Finally, we meet my favorite lady of them all.  She told the class that her name was Dora and the instructor asked her what she did.  At this point I had to put my hand over my mouth to contain a giggle because I immediately wondered if she was an explorer.  Dora was tall and blond and in fact, not an explorer, but even a week later this still makes me laugh out loud.