Reading regarding Career please

[Lady Di]

I have been on Unemployment since Feb 2009.  I have had about 3 job interviews since then.  Also I have been working during this time but it has been comission only and the income has not been regular or steady.

I also Foster children and after fostering a sibling group for 9 months, they have ruturned home to their family.  It was 5 days after they left that I got a call for this interview.  I feel this is a blessings as I got to complete their time with us and give it 100% as a stay at home mom.  Plus we have 2 4 yr old that we have adopted and have been our children since the day they were place with us.  We do plan to continue foster but we have decided to only forter 0-4 year olds because we have had difficulty with the older children.  We have been waiting to hear about a baby being place with us.

I would love to beable to regain the income that I once earned and the salary range is $50-$60K.  I had asked for $62K and I think this is a possibility plus they pay production bonus like I once had before loosing my job.

My concern is the actual interview.  I also think it is best to just be myself and talk candidly.  However it is so hard to tell in an interview exactly what they are looking for.  It could just be the resume on paper, a persons personality or appearance.  I actually ask during the interview "exactly what are you looking for?" I was told they are hiring 6 people. Could you please give me your insight to prepare for this interview?

Thanks so much!

[eye_of_tiger]

Dear Lady Di,

I am constantly amazed by the sheer depth of thought and the care and attention to detail which you put into formulating your questions on which I am to base a reading. I wanted to ask you if I may as to exactly who is the reader here? Your powers of self analysis are so formidable, that I often feel like someone offering homespun advice on how to become a successful psychiatrist to Sigmund Freud.

Unfortunately I feel that what or whom most employers these days are looking for is an 18 to 25 year old male (females tend to get pregnant at the worst of times, and there are often strong government financial incentives to take on young workers who are willing to work for the minimum wage level allowable under the current industry awards) who does not have a mortgage or any other ongoing financial responsibilities, has no dependants and accordingly is able to function relatively well with a negative income for extended periods of time, and can cheerfully work at any hour of the day or night that it is in the company's best interests, especially with regards to their bottom line which can be summed up by the two words - maximum profit. Which with due respect could be a big part of the reason why you have only been granted about three interviews over the space of approximately 16 months.

Now the above picture of the most sought after employee of recent times probably at first sounds to you as being overly pessimistic and even as though I am being more than a little bitter about the whole process by which job applicants are currently screened. It also may sound terribly insensitive to someone like yourself who is female, well past 25 yo and therefore does not attract government youth employment financial incentives, is looking for a pay level of over $60 K, who has both dependants as well as many ongoing financial and family responsibilities, has young children under her care and can consequently only work for limited periods during the daylight hours, definitely could not absorb a negative income, and needs a regular adequate one instead. But I am wanting to be realistic and upfront concerning the significant challenges Which I feel you still may have in front of you in trying to successfully penetrate the current mindset which is commonly used for selecting the successful applicants.

So purely logically it appears that everything is working together against you getting the job for which you have been given this most recent interview, and yet your reading is obviously not going to allow you to become defeated and to give up prematurely before the interview has even begun. Yes there are such matters as your age, gender, number of dependants, financial responsibilities, need for a regular and adequate income and limited working hours going against you getting the job, but that which is often seen by prospective bosses to be an employee's weaknesses and liabilities, can be turned around to become potential strengths and assets to the company when presenting your individual case to your interviewer.

For example statistics clearly demonstrate that companies who wish to stay ahead of the competition need a mixture of both youth and experience amongst their workers. Do you posses any previous relevant work skills that could add to the experience level of their mixture? On average older workers tend to be more reliable, and because they often have so much more to lose than young single people many of whom may still be living with their parents, they are more motivated to work even harder than their young counterparts. And they have financial responsibilities and dependants to protect.

As you are already a foster parent and therefore your character has been carefully vetted by the authorities to determine if you are a fit and proper person to be able to take care of young and vulnerable children and are providing a valuable and altruistic service to your community, your standing or reputation as a responsible and hard working citizen of your community can make an employer much more willing to take the risks which are always involved when wanting to increase his or her workforce. And although you may indeed only be able to work within a restricted time period on most days, it may be possible to work the time rosters to maximise the value of your experience to the younger workers, as well as you being able to oversee some of their fresh new ideas and add your own more mature and balanced opinions and ideas, as a steadying or guiding hand to the final policy.  

All those qualities which may have otherwise only been seen up until now as your weaknesses and liabilities can given adequate preparation for this interview be transformed into your strengths and assets. Because of this, the employer may be far more likely to pay you a substantial regular salary, and leave his or her under 25s on commission and continue to maximise the company's profits by all the time continuing to get the government financial incentives. Of course while this is legal, is it ethical, and what would the unions think about such a discriminatory policy against young people? But it seems to be these days with the employment market being as fiercely competitive and almost cut-throat as it is, that the crime is not in the doing, but in being caught doing it. Pardon me but I am thinking out loud again and probably getting off the subject as usual.

I would interpret this reading to mean that with enough preparation in presenting what could be otherwise seen as your liabilities instead as your assets including but not restricted to the areas which I have mentioned above, that all other things being equal with the other applicants (qualifications, able to start by a certain date, past experience in this type of job etc), your chance of getting the opportunity to prove yourself on the job is felt to be well above the average level expected by chance (50% you will, 50% you will not). In direct proportion to how successfully you can change your weaknesses into strengths in the mind of your interviewer, this probability will rapidly and inevitably increase (but never quite reach a 100% guarantee).

I wish you all the luck in the world with your upcoming interview, but with enough preparation as I have described, luck should only play a relatively minor role in the final decision.

From your devoted fan and Aussie friend eye_of_tiger

[Lady Di]

You are so spot on...I do analyze everything and many do come to me for advice.  I have on occasion had psychic thoughts but it has only been occasional and I cannot call upon it,  it has just happens.

Well, I think I did everything possible to prepare for my interview....I bought a new dress, had my nails done, brought all the required paper work, showed up on time and even had 3 copies of my resume...who would have know there would be 3 people interviewing me at the same time???  Whit all that said I did not get the job.  Yesterday I received the email notification.

I really try to be so resourceful to bring money into our home or anything to save money.  All I can do is keep doing what I am doing....Although that does bring to thought that old saying "If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting the same results"   Humm!  Well all I am trying to say is that I was laid off April 2007 and February 2009.  I have been trying to work from home on a commission basis and it has not really paid off yet, just a few checks here and there.  With all my efforts and applying for 5-6 jobs a week it's just not happening. I am really trying hard to listen to the Universe and I pray daily for my plan and purpose to be releaved and for all the doors to be opened for my Life purpose/Plan.

Thank you so much for your wisdom and support!

Lady Di

[eye_of_tiger]

Well, I think I did everything possible to prepare for my interview....I bought a new dress, had my nails done, brought all the required paper work, showed up on time and even had 3 copies of my resume...who would have know there would be 3 people interviewing me at the same time???  Whit all that said I did not get the job.  Yesterday I received the email notification.

Dear Lady Di,

You are of course very welcome for the reading, but I was saddened to hear that you did not get the job. It is certainly not due to any lack of motivation or effort on your part, but it is evident that as is often the case other unknown factors were added at the last moment to the equation, which could not have been easily foreseen and made allowances for.

At the very least you were shown the common decency of receiving an official notification that your application had been turned down on this occasion, as many people who I read for who are also looking for a way off the unemployment queue never receive even that.

I seriously doubt that the fact that there were three interviewers at the same time made any real difference to the outcome as I sense that the decision had been made long before you walked in the door, although it must have been terribly intimidating for you to be suddenly confronted by the trio on your arrival.

All I can do is keep doing what I am doing....Although that does bring to thought that old saying "If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting the same results"

Don't you hate these time hackneyed quotes which are constantly wheeled out in what appears to be an ongoing attempt to destroy any sense of hope you may still feel for the future?

All you can do is to keep doing what you are already doing so well suggests to me that at no stage should you ever think more deeply about what way you are going about it and try to come up with some improved ideas which could significantly increase your chances of success. In other words I do tend to agree with the concept which on the surface sounds entirely negative that if you stubbornly resist the need to change your strategy when the current one is not giving you a positive result, then all other factors being equal (which they are clearly not or I believe that you would have got the job) you could reasonably expect this state of affairs to continue indefinitely. If you are unwilling to change your direction and take stock of how things have gone up until then, then by making that conscious choice you are effectively sealing your fate of being long term jobless.

I have been trying to work from home on a commission basis and it has not really paid off yet, just a few checks here and there.

Not knowing how much you will get paid or indeed whether you will get paid anything that month is part and parcel of being paid via commission. Truly such a job is better suited for single young people who do not have any major financial commitments or dependents, and can therefore afford to absorb the possibility of several consecutive weeks to months of zero or negative income. But whatever commission you do receive is more money to help pay your bills and at least it reduces your dependency on welfare handouts and is preferable to doing something illegal or having to sacrifice your own self respect to have to go begging hat in hand to your relatives.

Cold comfort I know, but sometimes we just need to accept that this is the way that it is, and take a deep breath and do the best that we can at the time. So while commission is not the ideal way for a person of your maturity (I am being politically correct here by not referring to your vintage - we are both like a bottle of fine wine that only gets better as it ages and ripens), it sure beats not having two coins to rub together.
 

I am really trying hard to listen to the Universe and I pray daily for my plan and purpose to be revealed and for all the doors to be opened for my Life purpose/Plan.

Anyone who has taken the time to get to know you better as I have through my readings would already recognise that you are giving it your best effort, but some closed doors placed in our paths need to be more gradually and quietly opened, instead of being as we would like flung wide open in a dramatic gesture, to the accompaniment of the sound of blaring trumpets. To gently but constantly pick away at the door's lock without attracting any unwanted attention to ourselves, instead of kicking the pardon my language door down as we are tempted to do, but must resist with the intention to preserve any feelings of self respect which still remain in spite of of our self confidence continuing to take a battering.

Soldier on,

EoT