Job Hunting Chronicles

#MerryMonday  💚 I'm back home 🏡 after my second extended-overnight 👝 cat 🐈‍⬛ sitting job. I decided I was going to stay off LinkedIn while I was away and I'm glad I did. The terrible advice, the guarantees of getting you an interview if you buy someone's resume services, the fake recruiters looking for prey - all of this (and more) greeted me as I opened the LinkedIn app on my phone📱this morning. I probably had to scroll past 20 posts before I saw anything worth reading. And if you're a job seeker, that's a problem. Of course, not everyone on LinkedIn is looking for a job but a lot are, and if they're being scammed, lured or otherwise negatively engaged, they're unlikely to trust anything they see here. Job seekers, I know it's hard right now. As someone who is looking for both freelance and full-time jobs, I feel your pain. Try to stay above the LI noise. I love today's calendar suggestion and hope recruiters and hiring managers follow it: ...

Happy Tuesday 📰 I'm going out of town tomorrow ✈️ for a cat 🐈‍⬛ sitting job and this is the extent of my packing 👝 so far - my walking shoes 👟. I guess I should add some clothes 👕👖🧦 I get comments and messages from people asking me why I post about cat sitting, some have even said that it makes me look unprofessional and that boggles my mind 😵‍💫 Here's the thing: this job market sucks for a lot of people right now - especially a Gen X-er like me, so I'm doing what I can to hold onto to my home 🏡. If you see that as unprofessional, I'm guessing you have a full-time job 🤔 I don't hold on to comments like that but I know some job seekers do, so I post about cat sitting to let others know there's nothing wrong with doing something unconventional (especially if you love it) to help make ends meet. No one is in your shoes 🥿 So job seekers, find something you can do while you're looking 👀 for your next job and just do it: ° Like driving 🚗? Sign up wit...

#MerryMonday  📰 Against my better judgment, last week I accepted an interview for 9:00 this morning 🕘 I say against my better judgment because on Wednesday, I'm going out of town ✈️ for basically the rest of the month, and while it is for a freelance job (cat 🐈‍⬛ sitting), I'm not planning on doing much networking 📲 while I'm away. Yes, I will be checking my emails 📧 but I'm not going to be in full job search mode. I'm not going to be on LinkedIn much and I'm not going to be applying to jobs during this time. I'm using this out of town job as a bit of a break from the job search. So I was hesitant to take an interview 📅 this morning knowing that I wasn't going to be available much for the rest of the month. Of course, I was going to mention this in the interview so the recruiter didn't think I was ghosting 👻 her afterwards, and of course, if the interview went so well I was fast-tracked ⏱️ to another one, I would be more incline...

Happy Friday 🚧 We're on day 5 of the repaving of the streets in my complex 🏢 and it looks like they are right on schedule 🗓 I mentioned I was going to use this week to go through messages and emails 📧 as well as follow up ☎️ with some people who had reached out to me. The good news is I am caught up on messages and emails, the bad news is it's clear I've been ghosted 👻 by several recruiters. My list 📜 of these so-called professionals has surpassed the 50 name mark. These are all recruiters who reached out to me about a position - I didn't initiate contact with any of them. I've spoken 📱 multiple times with some of them, had back and forth emails 📧 with others, interviewed 🖥 with a few of them, and am waiting on job descriptions 📄 from others. The inability to close the loop by these people is frustrating 🤦🏼‍♀️, and having some of them reach 📲 back out to me about a different position (while ignoring the fact that they've previously gho...

Happy Thursday🌴  I took this picture on my walk 🚶‍♀️ this morning. These trees surround the fountain ⛲️ at the government center and I love walking the grounds, it's so peaceful 🕊 More than 2 years ago I applied for a job through the government website but didn't have the experience they were looking for (hint: it wasn't an accounting 🧮 job), so I never even got to the interview stage. Once I get home from my out of state cat 🐈 sitting job (is it weird that I love saying that 🤔), I may look at their open jobs 📝 again. As a Gen X-er, it's become pretty depressing to be written off because of my age 🚫 but I have to keep looking because freelancing just isn't bringing in enough money 💰 right now. I absolutely love the freedom 🙃 that freelancing has given me, but I also have to be able to pay my bills 📬  I know a lot of job seekers can relate... #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #JobHuntingC...

#MerryMonday  🚛 Last week I posted that I had finished 3 jobs 💰 This week is considerably more quiet, which is good because the streets in our complex 🏢 are being repaved 🚧 and I don't have a way out, at least not in my car 🚘 Unfortunately, the noise level is pretty high 🔊 so I'll probably spend this week going through messages and emails 📧 We do what we need to to adapt, right 😉 Have a great week! #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #JobHuntingChronicles

#MerryMonday  💚 I had a busy weekend with cat sitting but I absolutely loved it 😻 I'm still in the middle of one of the jobs so I'm going to work on that bill 💻 today. The other jobs were booked through one of the two apps📱 I'm background checked on so I don't have to bill those. I already received one payment (plus a tip 💵) and am expecting the other payment soon. Job seekers, it's not only a new day, it's a new week and a new month 🗓 - anything can happen. Do one thing that will help you get closer to landing the job you're looking for:  ° send that message ° update your resume (ONLY if it needs it) ° apply to that job  ° like that LinkedIn post that resonated with you ° post what you're looking for Just do something. And in the meantime, figure out what you're good at (bonus points if you love it) and do that as a freelancer. Cat sitting doesn't pay all my bills but I never know who I'll meet who may need my accounting...

Happy Friday💲 This week, I finished three freelance jobs and by this morning, the money was in my account from all three clients - one paid me within an hour of receiving my bill 🎉 As a freelancer (and a career accountant/department head), you have no idea how nice it is to not have to chase money that's owed to you 🏃🏼‍♀️ Thank you clients for your prompt payments! I appreciate it more than you know 🤩 Have a great weekend 💚 #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #JobHuntingChronicles

Happy Thursday 💚 Success is rarely overnight, but you still should plant the seeds today. Job seekers, do one thing today that may open a door for you tomorrow. #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #JobHuntingChronicles

Happy Wednesday 💛 If you're looking for a job right now, you no doubt know how hard it is: ° You apply to jobs you're fully qualified for only to be ignored (or worse, auto rejected within minutes after applying - "After careful consideration..." is my favorite auto kiss off  😂) ° You land an interview (or two) only to have recruiters and/or hiring managers ghost you ("Hello? Are you still there ☎️) ° You have fake 🚫 recruiters trying to scam you ("I can get you an interview but you need to redo 💲 your resume so it's ATS compliant") ° Ghost 👻 jobs keep appearing on job boards The list is pretty extensive and can make anyone wonder how they're supposed to get their next job 🤔 Maybe it's time you figure out what your passion is. I know not everyone can be an entrepreneur but you can make some money from doing something you truly enjoy in the meantime. Right now, cat sitting 🐈 is bringing in some money for me. Is it en...

Happy Tuesday 🌳 Freelancing has its upsides and downsides. One of the downsides is the unsteady workload - which translates into unsteady income 💲. But one of the upsides is setting my own schedule 📅 and not being ruled by a clock ⏰️ I took this picture during one of my cat sitting jobs today. The client lives within walking distance to a park, so after I tended to the cats 🐈 (the job does come first 😻), I took a walk 👣 in the park and took in some Nature 🐦‍⬛ Did you take a break from work today (I'm including anyone whose current job is looking for a job)? #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #JobHuntingChronicles