Tag Archives: job search

02/9/12

{365.40} I Make an Arduous Journey From the Mountains

This morning I got up bright and early for my interview with the school district’s Substitute Services recruiters. The process for becoming a substitute teacher in Clark County, NV is so much more complicated than what I’m used to — in the (very small) district I moved here from, they didn’t even interview you before you got your orientation invite. Here, there are a lot more steps involved.

Not to mention the fact that we happen to live right in the extreme northwest of Las Vegas, which means anytime we have to go anywhere, it takes FOR E VER. I am so totally not joking about this. The reason why we live on the outskirts of town is because David’s job is out in the middle of the desert, at the other, less known Air Force Base out here. Even from where we live, it’s still a 45 minute commute or longer, depending on traffic. We considered 45 minutes to be better than the hour+ he would have to deal with if we lived anywhere else. But, the travel issue aside, we actually love living out here. It’s a great neighborhood and really, most stores and such are nearby. It’s just when things need to be done in offices that are “downtown” that it gets crazy. I looked it up, and even the North Las Vegas police department HQ is stil 35 minutes away from where we are… and we actually do live in North Las Vegas. My interview was at 8:40am; I left at 7:40am, a full hour before I was supposed to be there, and I still only arrived 10 minutes early! This isn’t because of traffic, dear friends. The traffic actually wasn’t all that bad, not anywhere near bumper to bumper. The real issue is that we just live in the freaking mountains. LOL.

So, I made this crazy sojourn to the district’s office waaaay way far away from here, and was welcomed by a very extremely nice receptionist (all her writing utensils had been transformed via arts and crafts into amazing flowers and I was told that my name would be on “a very special list” that I needed to initial on to sign in), whereupon I sat primly in a waiting room chair for ten minutes.

I spent a year working in HR, doing interviews and recruitment and all that fun stuff, so now that I’m on the other end of the job hunting spectrum, it’s been very interesting. I tend to not only fill out applications, but evaluate them. As I filter through the recruitment process, I examine how this particular HR department handles things. And, as a great side effect of sitting through upwards of 10 interviews a day, I am now immune to interview jitters. I remember when I was about to interview someone for the first time and how nervous I was — I think I was even more nervous than the person I was interviewing! So now I see interviewers as human beings instead of being terrified of them. I always remember what it was like to be in their shoes.

Today the person I met with wasn’t actually a member of the HR team there, he was a retired junior high principal who had come in to help out. He was very, very fun to talk to and actually it ended up that 75% of the interview was him talking about his son, who is serving in the Navy and stationed in Japan right now. Somehow this always happens when people ask me how I ended up in Las Vegas and I tell them my husband is in the Air Force — everyone has some kind of story or connection. So, we got along well and the actual questions were super easy. I just have to wait now for their office to go through my file and approve me for the next steps, like fingerprinting and etc. Fingers crossed for all of this to happen in a timely manner… I’ve heard it can take months for substitute teaching paperwork to go through. Ugh!

01/5/12

{Project 365.5} I Receive An Unwelcome Gift

“What’s mine is yours,” is an incredibly generous phrase, and when applied to something like marriage, is an even more generous idea. However, I wish it hadn’t applied to the achy-sore-throat-congestion-cold-flu ailment that David’s been dealing with for the past week or so, because it has now passed to me. Call me crazy, but I prefer to be given things like books, Toblerone, and coupons for free Shutterfly photo books. The sore throat stage began in the wee hours of the morning, progressing throughout the entire day except for the brief intervals when I was drinking hot cocoa (heat always makes my throat feel better) and when I had mac and cheese for dinner. Since David’s bout of sickness began with a persistent sore throat, I can expect to be achy and miserable for the next few days as it runs its course. Blah. I am seldom sick. Perpetually cold, afflicted with constant allergies, but not flat out ill. (The funny thing is that I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday.)

Anyway, despite beginning to feel like a train wreck, I spent the majority of today finishing up the Novel Insights website and forums. I think they turned out pretty legit, if you ask me. Being done a day early had me excited enough to take a picture of my monitor to show off my handiwork. I also finally bought The Dovekeepers today, which I am thoroughly looking forward to, and it will be fun to discuss the book with the others. This book was one of my own nominations to the list so I’m thrilled that we’re reading it, naturally, but I would’ve ended up reading it anyway even if it hadn’t been chosen. I downloaded the sample chapter on iBooks a while ago and fell in love with it. Except, I had just ordered Chris Bohjalian’s The Night Strangers and I felt bad about buying another book for about $18, since it’s still in hardcover. I have a Nook now so it took all of 2 seconds to download it, which is just about the most awesome thing about an e-reader. That and how portable it is. And my adorable pink leather case.

Best thing about today: I got an e-mail inviting me to take the exam for a job with the State of Nevada, presumably working at the College of Southern Nevada. It’s an admin assist position, which is yet again deviating from my career field, and not even in HR (my second, random career field that I ended up in somehow), but I need to be gainfully employed so I’m really hoping to get it. The exam is super early in the morning next week on the 18th. I actually have stuff to do between this week and the next; doctor on Monday, Clark County Reads orientation on Thursday, “Teaching As A Second Career” at the AFRC on Tuesday, and then this exam on Wednesday. Weird… I haven’t had much reason to be out of the house on my own since we got here, haha. Do I still remember how to drive…??? (You’d think I would hop into my car and go wandering over to the plethora of shopping centers nearby, but I always talk myself out of it because not going out means not spending any money… presumably…)

Well, I’m sure about this: I need my hair trimmed SOOOOOO BAD.  It’s getting to be horrible. It’s in the “blah” stage when it’s grown out beyond the length it should have, essentially running amok, and now it’s super long and also useless. That’s right — useless. I am the laziest person when it comes to my hair, which means my hair-related activities last about 10 minutes max and involve no more than two products. Three if I decide I need to use my flatiron that day. I need hair that just magically happens. Unfortunately, I am not a Disney princess. So I think I’ll have to go get it cut soon, maybe when I’m not feeling so yucky anymore. Hopefully being sick doesn’t last long. Ugh.

P.S. Beauty and the Beast in 3D starting January 12!!! And it’s even better because they’re playing Rapunzel and Flynn’s wedding (Tangled) before the movie starts!!!!!! I would go just to see that part. This is how much of a Tangled devotee I have become. LOL.

12/27/11

S.A.H.W. Syndrome

It takes a ridiculous amount of paperwork just to be told that my Texas teaching credentials won’t be accepted in Nevada. Don’t accuse me of being negative, because I’m not — I’m trying to accept this. Hahaha.

So, I am currently a Stay At Home Wife. This is a label that I struggle with daily because I never really envisioned myself being in this situation. We’ve been here in Nevada for a little over a month now, and I’ve put in on average about 3 applications a week, with no results so far. Sure, a month is really not a very long time in Job-Hunting Land, but technically I’ve been out of a job since October. It’s a bit painful for me to be here every day, feeling shiftless and guilty about not having anything better to do than read books and eat Instant Ramen. I want to go shopping, but end up talking myself out of it because I feel like this money isn’t mine — it’s my husband’s, because he’s the only one earning anything right now. When I had a paycheck of my own, I guess I felt a little more entitled to purchase something here and there. And then there’s the scary fact that the outside world begins to look more and more daunting to me the longer I’m here, refreshing job search engines and wondering when my transcripts will come in so I can continue the most likely fruitless process of getting my teaching license transferred from Texas to Nevada.

In the beginning, when I first quit my toxic job in Texas to get ready for our first PCS (corporate HR is not a pretty place to be from 8am-5pm daily), the novelty of getting to be at home all day, every day was really nice. Relaxing, refreshing, and a major relief after the stress and drama that was my full time job. But then, the rejuvenating feeling faded into one of decreasing self worth. I coach myself throughout the day, tell myself I haven’t been looking for too long, that the paperwork (miles of it) will eventually go through and maybe then — MAYBE THEN! I can substitute teach.

Call me ungrateful, or a perpetual malcontent, or even a whiner, but this is definitely unfair to me. I’ve talked about it before, but you’ll discover that one of my major issues in life is that because I became a military spouse, I had to trade my chance at a career. This has been affecting me since even before David actually enlisted; straight out of college, I applied for a job that I eventually got, but because I was probably going to move away in a year or so, I wasn’t ever considered for a promotion despite the mind-boggling amount of work I put in every day. I was told repeatedly by my boss that I was her top choice for so and so salaried position, but that unfortunately they weren’t willing to invest in someone they would only lose next year. Embittered by this, I kept working hard nonetheless, not that it got me anywhere. My paycheck remained a pittance and my Bachelor’s degree continued to rot into paper pulp in a file box under my desk. For one thing, this wasn’t even a teaching job, because I had the good fortune to graduate during a major hiring freeze in the education field. So, if you think about it, here I am being passed over for promotions, stuck doing entry level work in a field that I never even trained for. This, I fear, is what I will have to resort to for a good chunk of my life.

What’s more, as I go through all this paperwork just to get my license transferred, I face the reality that even transferring my license could mean nothing at all. The teaching profession is suffering incredibly right now, with more hiring freezes and lay-offs continuing across the country. The local school district is “taking applications” but I have little to no chance, considering elementary teachers are not in demand. I’ve considered taking tests and shelling out more cash to get certified in something like secondary teaching or even middle school, but I’ve so far stayed away from it because I’ve always been more passionate about teaching 3rd through 5th grade. The truth is, I will be here jumping through hoops to get re-certified for Nevada, paying $161 just to apply, more money to get finger printed, more money to probably have to take tests all over again, all for the disappointing outcome of getting to substitute instead of having my own classroom. Sure — something is better than nothing. But what about the career I’ve always wanted? What about the little girl who stood on the stage in Kindergarten and proudly announced that when she grew up, she was going to be a teacher? It seems so drastically unfair that I have to give this up.

A lot of things have been in the works for military spouses like me — partnerships with companies who have agreed “not to discriminate against military spouses” during the hiring process, job search boards aimed at employing us, hiring preference for support jobs on base. But what it all boils down to is that my husband enlisted in the Air Force, and I signed my life away jointly. If I had little chance of getting a teaching job due to the economy and unemployment rates and the current depressing state of education, those chances were completely shot when David swore in last June. Who wants to hire a teacher who will move away in 3-4 years? You’d probably spend up to two of those years having to substitute teach just to prove you’re worthy of their attention. Never mind that you’re an intelligent, dedicated, hard working girl who would give everything just to have her own classroom. Who would gladly do the job for FREE, if someone would give her a chance.

In the end, why isn’t there more support for military spouses? Just because we don’t wear the uniform, doesn’t mean we don’t make sacrifices of our own.

 

photo source