jr67

How great to see your thread upon arising, freedomfries.

I was just thinking, as this laptop was booting up, Maybe I'll ask freedomfries how that job-applying class went yesterday. And then, I log on, and whattaya know, there's ff asking about a job-application issue.

I have a few ideas and suggestions but I won't know exactly what they are until I think about them a little and write them down. So here we go:

Several questions occur to me. The answers in some cases would divulge your private information that you might not want to share on the net. You can decide what to publish here, and what not.

So, did the issue of resume writing come up at the class you took yesterday? Like a couple of the other responders suggested, there are ways to draft a resume so as to gloss over the thin parts and amplify the stronger ones. But how to do that in an individual case depends on the your particular circumstances. But I don't think you want to post your resume here on SR and ask specific questions, so I'll just give one example and see where that goes.

You said you've been unemployed since January 2019. Do you mean the entire year? January 1 through December 31?

The reason I ask is because if your last job ended January 2, 2019, you could still put on your resume something like:

2017-2019 Widget Company / administrative assistant / provided administrative and organization support to senior management team

So on the resume, your last job lasted until 2019. Even though you've been unemployed over a year, your resume doesn't show that. You don't want to lie, and you haven't lied or misrepresented any facts (which is, truth be told, lying).

If your job ended before January 1, 2019 a different strategy might be required. It all depends on your individual circumstances that you might not want to publish here. For example you could reorganize your resume so that it is organized around skill sets rather than focus on a chronological recitation of your job history.

How you might do that, again, depends on the specifics of your situation, skill sets, and job history.

Is it possible, without divulging specific facts about yourself, for you to post a specific question or two about the weak spots in your resume?

You ask for tips about how to return to the work force.

1. This is slightly longer term, but once you've done what you can, without lying, to spiff up your resume, how about this? Could you do some volunteer work? Say you start next week volunteering some sort of services (depending on your skill set and what volunteer opportunities are available where you live). Then you could write something like:

January 2020 to present / Soberland Homeless Shelter / provides administrative and organization support to executive director (volunteer position)

Now there is something on your resume showing you are currently showing up somewhere on a regular basis and performing actual work. Another advantage of volunteering is that it could, possibly, lead to a paid job. Like everything else, it depends on your individual circumstances. If you love animals, you could volunteer at an animal shelter and put that on your resume next week. Maybe an opening for a paid position would happen at the shelter. Let it be known that you are looking for paid work, and if you are dependable and show good judgment as a volunteer, if an opening occurs you might be in just the right spot to be considered for the job.

2. Job fairs. Are there any in your area? Go to them. Dress appropriately, talk to people, ask a lot of questions.

I hope this is a little helpful, ff, to you and maybe someone else reading this. Let me (us) know.

Main focus: Sobriety. Keep doing what you are doing to maintain your sobriety, and sooner or later something will open up.