Where do you go to get a good job - employment agencies, online, school?

Why can't I get a JOB?

• Before judging, please read my entire question. I just turned 30 and am currently living at my parent's house- Thank you- because I quit a job as an Entertainment Host aboard Disney Cruise Lines because it was awful, and very overwhelming. Now I'm stuck with no job. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree and I also have over 10 years of customer service experience, including 4 years working as a Corporate Facilitator Tour Guide at a world famous museum, and also was a Journalist Reporter at a very famous Newspaper company in Chicago (the Tribune, there I said it!) For some reason though, all of these criteria and qualifications just isn't impressing employment agencies. I've been rejected everywhere I go. I got a phone call from one place downtown that said they wanted me to interview to be a tour guide with their company. Great, I thought. Then they say its only $8.25 an hour!!! That's ******* minimum wage! I have a college degree and tons of experience. I told them in a nice way I was not interested. I was declined to be a flight attendant. I was declined to be a Teacher's Assistant at a University. I was even declined, get this, to be a WRITER for a company even though I have a degree from a arts school and was a WRITER for a top paper! Like what the ****? Sorry to rant, but it makes absolutely no sense to me that employers are turning their backs to me. I worked for Disney for Christ's sake! I interview so well, and the only reason I'm coming off upset is because I AM ******* upset! And what's with the lousy pay people are offering me? A college graduate needs a salary, not an hourly wage. This is not right. Any ideas or reasons why this is happening?

• Answer:

  Trying to work out how to word this..... You've been an entertainment host with Disney, a tour guide at a museum and a journalist You've recently tried to become a flight attendant - you seem to be under the impression that you have a lot of experience in this job when I can clearly see that you don't. Yes you've worked with customers in your previous jobs and you would work with customers if you were a flight attendant, but seriously all jobs involve working with customers to some sort of level so having 10 years customer service is irrelevant because employers just expect you to be able to work with customers, its not something that sets you apart from the other candidates going for the job. Its also a similar situation with the teaching assistant job you applied for. None of your previous jobs involved teaching - so you don't have any experience in this either. The writing job, at least you had some experience in. The job market is tough though and you are competing against others who have degrees and experience in writing too. You're not the only person in the world with a degree and writing experience. The fact that you wrote for a "big" newspaper is irrelevant. You could write for Hello magazine - it won't guarantee you a job with anyone else. You've maybe worked in a "world famous museum" instead of a "museum" but guess what working in a world famous museum doesn't guarantee you another job. Another belief that many graduates seem to hold is that just because they have a degree, they seem to believe that they have some automatic right to a well paid job with great perks. Employers will always value work experience over a degree. A degree shows you can study, but work experience in a field shows that you can actually do the job. Even in jobs where a degree is required, an employer is still going to take the person on who has the most knowledge and experience of the job they are applying for and subject to them having the degree thats the person they will take on. So yeah, while its great that you have a degree - no you have no right to get a job with a $10 million salary per year. Did you never give it any thought when you were offered the interview for the tour guide that you could work your way up the ladder into a higher position? With large companies, the problem can be getting in in the first place. Once you are in - they can train you, they'll see how efficient your work is and develop you into higher posts where you'll be earning more money. The other impression I get off you when I read what you said, is that you have an over inflated ego. While its good that you're confident in your own ability, if you are too cocky and overbearing, it can actually put people off you. Maybe a possible explanation to why employers don't want to employ you. They want someone easygoing not someone who thinks they are better than everyone else. I do think however you were a bit unlucky with the writer job interview that you went to. Sometimes though your hardest attempt just isn't enough. The employer must have thought that someone else come across better than yourself. But don't be disheartened just keep trying. You could even contact some local newspapers/magazines and ask for some voluntary work with them. You're probably thinking, I'm not doing that I've got a degree bla bla bla, but little things like doing a couple of weeks voluntary work can make a huge difference in an interview.