Unemployed in Camden County?

Live in South Jersey and looking for a job? The Haddonfield Patch published the answer! The Camden County Board of Freeholders is hosting a Camden County Job Fair on April 11, 2012 from 10 am to 2 pm.  The fair will be held in the Collingswood Ballroom.  Previous job fairs held by the Board of Freeholders have been very successful, resulting in job placements. 

The job fair will also have experts on hand to help constituents  with resume writing and interview skills.                                                                          

The job fair is being held in cooperation with the Camden County One-Stop Resource Center, therefore along with a wide variety of employers, representatives are available to offer advice on resume writing and the job search. The center also provides access to training and education programs.

The One Stop is collaborating with Camden County College to present two Resume Workshops at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 2 and Tuesday, April 3 and the College’s Executive Campus at Route 70 and Springdale Road in Cherry Hill.  Job hunters are encouraged to take advantage of the resume workshop.

Prior job fairs have attracted about 100 area employers. Go to camdencounty.com to find out more or to register as an employer who would like to attend. The Collingswood Grand Ballroom is located at 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood NJ.

Follow Your Dreams

By the time you get to my age (a dreaded 58) you've probably had a lot of jobs or had one or two and wished you could change yours, just to try out something new. Since I've been the product of downsizing three times in the last ten years I've had a lot of time to think about what I'd like to do.

I thought long and hard about what my TOP 10 fun jobs would be--so if yours are different don't be surprised. But please feel free to add them to the 'Comment' section. I love hearing from my readers!

Nancy's Top Ten 'Wishful' Jobs:

1. Book Reviewer-Yeah, I know I can do it for free on Amazon etc. but the idea of reading and getting paid for it makes my day. I don't care what it is, I don't care if it's short, long or in between. I don't care if it's a book, magazine or online, I read it all!
2. Continuity Editor-I don't even know if they have these for books but I HATE when I'm reading a book and all of a sudden the continuity is off! If someone was wearing a red tie at the beginning of the chapter one would think by the end he'd still be wearing the same color!
3. Antique Hunter-I don't want sell them you understand, I want to find what people are looking for so THEY can buy it. I am a huge fan of spending OPM (other people's money), just ask my mom at Christmas time when she's looking for the best price for a present or a neat gift for someone, who does she call? That would be me! Or my art collector friends whose collections are full of the results of my hunting.
4. Antiquarian bookseller-I do love HUNTING for valuable, one of a kind or rare items, coupled with my love of books this job lures me like a siren! Hunting for first editions or other rare books -- pure joy.
5. Venture Capitalist-I love the excitement of taking something small and making it grow and thrive! Or taking an already existing and taking it to the next level. I want to be a SHARK!
6. Fashion Designer-This one I admit is total pie in the sky. I have NO talent in that direction but I do love vintage clothes or historical costumes. So maybe what I really need is to be someone who does costume designs for historical re-enactments or movies. Face it, how many people took one look at Bella's dress in Twilight and recognized it as a knock off of an old Yves St. Laurent? Yeah, I know, I'm a nerd! An OLD nerd!
7. Leather Collector-sounds kinky huh? but no, it's really kind of boring. At least as leather collecting goes. This one is mild, but an obsession! I could do it in my sleep! My pinterest board is filled with shoes, handbags,gloves, coats, anything made from good leather. Why do I want to travel? To go to countries where they have fabulous leather shoes and gloves etc. Shoes I fall in love with. Shoes I can't afford. Shoes that don't fit my lifestyle but oh how I love them all. High heels, flats, medium heels or even sandals or sneakers. I love shoes. I'm a mini-Imelda Marcos. And don't get me started on handbags.or gloves, or coats, or vests, yes if it's leather I want it. And a job that revolved around leather...please....
8. I want to decide what to sell on QVC. OK. Yeah. I know. I can hear you going... QVC? Is she nuts? I admit, I do not shop on QVC. But I love seeing what you can sell on QVC. Or with a good infomercial! Talking someone into buying something they don't really need or want... fun!
9. I want to be Ellen DeGeneris' personal assistant. Fact is, I LIKE Ellen. I don't just like her show. She's one fun lady! Anyone who starts her tv show off by dancing--you can't help but like her. I think it would be a kick to work for her. (yeah, I know, I live in Philadelphia, I guess Ellen will just have to move here huh?)
10. Last but not least? I want to be Dr. Seuss! OK, I know, hard to do. He was a one of a kind act. But I want to be an adult who maintains their sense of whimsy, their childlike wonder and outlook on the world. Dr. Seuss did that in spades.

All right, I bared my soul, how about you? What would you do if you could just chuck your 9-5 job for one that is fun? Are you a creative soul? Or maybe you'd prefer to be a math wizard? Failing that maybe you'd like to be a REAL wizard a la Harry Potter? Whatever it is, it's never too late to follow your dreams.  So go for it! Unemployment can be like changing schools when you were a kid, you get a chance to reinvent who everyone thinks you are to who you want to be.

Odd Jobs and Unemployment

Looking for a job when you're over 50 is not an easy task! Ads say 'youthful assistant wanted' or 'energetic youthful go getter' or any one of a dozen other descriptions that they (the employer) don't consider anyone over 50 to be. It doesn't matter that I don't think I'm REALLY old or at least lacking in the characteristics of youth, it's that the employers do! They use these catch phrases to screen out my less than youthful and older self (although I still maintain I am energetic and a go-getter.) 

What jobs are left for me to apply for? The ones that describe the job as 'must be willing to work for a difficult boss and hard taskmaster' (one wonders just how difficult and hard to work for this person must be that they advertise the job this way) or that have such bizarre descriptions that you wouldn't touch them seem to be what is left. So I continue the search, applying for jobs that even semi-fit my capabilities on the off-chance that someone will give me a break! Will I be reduced to applying for jobs that are at best bizarre? So as I was searching a variety of web sites for a new job and lamenting the lack of employment opportunities that fit my qualifications, I came across this ad:

Have you undergone extreme body modification to dramatically alter your appearance?
• Do you want to look like an elf, a mythical creature or a science fiction character?
• Do you have pointed ears? Forehead ridges? Eyeball tattoos?
• Are you more comfortable looking like a non-human?

A non-fiction program is currently casting individuals who've created alternate worlds/identities for themselves. We are interested in featuring people who are going to extremes to change their appearance, including looking more like science fiction or mythical characters.

This series will allow individuals that engage in body modification to educate viewers on their motivation and dedication to this form of self-expression. We'd like to know the challenges and rewards of looking different, and how this transformation has changed your life. We also hope the program will become a non-exploitive outlet to showcase lifestyles and sub cultures that people would otherwise never know about.

OK, I'm not so old I don't keep up with what's happening with my daughters' friends, and some of them sport what can politely be called 'unique looks.'  And I've seen women who are so addicted to having plastic surgery they look like a wax mannequin an Madame Tussauds. But I have to admit I have never run across people who want to get surgery TO LOOK LIKE AN ELF! Or to put metal spikes in their head, or any of a variety of forms of extreme body modification. I must not be hanging out in the city enough.

And the idea that they're going to do a television show about people who have created alternate world identities? I thought Jersey Shore was over the top!

Photo courtesy of Instructables

Getting plastic surgery to look like an elf, Mr. Spock, or E.T. just boggles my mind. Maybe I really AM getting old. Maybe when I cancelled my cable TV I missed out on all this 'fun and hip' stuff. So while I've applied to a lot of jobs I'm not a perfect fit for, I haven't lowered my standards so low that I'm willing to have NO STANDARDS! Even an over 50 woman has to have some standards in her job search.

How desperate are people getting in this economy where each  available job has hundreds, if not thousands of applicants? How low would you go? Would you get plastic surgery to look like an ELF just to score a job on a television show?

Oh you might get...famous, no infamous maybe, maybe you'd get your 15 minutes of fame...but....please no! So while Congress cut unemployment benefits, stop and think...is this what a lot of Americans have been reduced to in order to work? ELFDOM?

Our government needs to stop just handing out benefits without requiring job re-training or increasing the number of jobs you have to apply for. Pennsylvania's exteneded benefits only required me to apply for two jobs A WEEK! No wonder so many people ride out their unemployment! Finding a job if you only apply to two a week isn't going to net you a new job, not unless you are extremely lucky. We need to set up job internships where people are required to go to work (most of us would be glad to do it WE MISS WORKING!) This would give people a chance to get their foot in the door. And even if that job didn't pan out the company might have another position that would be a good fit. I'm convinced this is the only way we're going to dig our way out of the extreme unemployment.  So write to your senators and congressmen/women, tell them what you think! Consider it another job application for the week. 

Oh, and good luck to the elves. Sorry I'm not applying for that one, the good news is, that frees up my spot for someone who wants it!


(BTW, this ad appeared on Craigslist, I have no idea how credible the poster is, so if you apply and get hacked up by an ax murderer, ...well you can't say you weren't warned it was a bizarre post! I take no responsibility for anyone who chooses to take part in it! You are on your own!)