posted
The BPL seems like such a cool place... it only requires you to be a resident of the city on your first day on the job... maybe you could apply anyhow, and if they offered you something cool, find a cheap place in the city limits?
posted
Do you have any friends in boston who would actually let you use their address and add your name to a utility bill or something. Actually the easiest thing to do would be to transfer your cell phone bill to a boston address.
posted
Have you considered working at a newspaper? You may think you are too antisocial to be a reporter, but there are other jobs.
I'm a paginator - I put news articles on pages. When I started, I had no experience with QuarkXpress and had never used a Mac, but now I could do it in my sleep. I worked as an overnight cashier at Walmart before that. Now I have better (relatively) hours and don't have to stand for 8 hours a night. I work with computers, the people I work with are interesting and since the news changes every day, the job has enough changes to be interesting.
Qualifications for my job (at my specific newspaper): experience with (or ability to learn) Quark Xpress and Adobe Photoshop, attention to detail, ability to learn and use AP style, getting along with others.
I have taken personality tests and come out as an introvert. Considering that I was a cashier for so long (at several different places), that's kind of surprising. The simple explanation I read somewhere was that extroverts get their energy from being with others, introverts get their energy from being by themselves. I would always describe myself as an introvert, but still got energy from others when I was being a cashier. I think the important things to know about personality tests are that: a) they aren't written in stone (or 100% accurate) and b) they can give you insight into yourself so that you can make changes or work around something that may be holding you back.
If you can't find satisfaction in your job, and can't find a job that gives you satisfaction, perhaps you should look for satisfaction elsewhere. Take up a new hobby, write for a specific market and submit your work, learn a language, something that shakes up your routine and gives you something to strive for. I know I have problems with getting into a rut, so don't feel like I'm picking on you. I should take my own advice.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I knew there had to be other jobs at a newspaper other than sales.
Take a look at publishing houses and tv stations - proof-readers, copy editors and similar jobs would make excellent use of your degree and give you the credentials to explore other areas later.
Cay - do you think you could nose around your newspaper and see what entry level jobs they have and their classifications/names?
I think Syn just needs some reference points so she knows what to target her job searches for.
posted
well, remember I live in Iowa - and the newspaper I work for isn't that big ... it has about 19,000 circulation, I think. My salary is similar to Syn's salary, but we (newsroom people) all agree that my particular paper is paying less than it should.
Anyway, the jobs in the newsroom include paginator, copy editor, reporter, receptionist (who types obituaries and other items as requested), and librarian (who works way in the back all by herself). There are also photographers and editors in management - city editor, news editor, editor.
At the newspaper I work for, the copy editor doesn't necessarily need a lot of experience, but has to be good with grammer and so on, and be able to read and make changes to articles. We use AP style, and the copy editor has to check things that he or she isn't sure of. Attention to detail is very important. My mom sometimes calls me to tell me of an error in the paper and I don't recall any that I had anything to do with, so it's irritating to have her call and tell me about something like that.
We also have a creative services department that creates the ads. They have to work with multiad creator, photoshop, quark xpress. They are a small group that just deals with each other, not the general public.
Another possibility that occurred to me from when I worked at Walmart. There are people in the cash office. It's a small room, and they rarely come out. I assume they count the cash and process checks and so on. When they come out, they all come out at the same time (at least the night crew, for breaks and so on). So, they don't deal with the general public, and it's possible that they can listen to music. Of course, it could just be Walmart radio, which I tended to tune out.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
In my case, I would never have thought of applying at the newspaper. It didn't occur to me that I was qualified. I took the first year of multimedia marketing program at Iowa Central Community College. I was working full-time as an overnight cashier at Walmart and going to school. When the first semester was over, I asked one of the teachers if there were any internship-type jobs available. She referred me to the college's webmaster, Jeff Anderson. I worked on updating the college's information, but it wasn't a paying job.
I wanted desperately to quit Walmart because I was having a difficult time with some of the people I worked with, and was in pain from an old injury in my foot - standing 8 hours a night was about 5 hours of misery. Jeff suggested that I apply for the paginator job at the newspaper. I put it off, but then did go apply. I didn't get hired immediately - the then-editor apparentlydidn't like me, but he got fired very soon after that and I started about a week later.
Anyway, I would suggest looking into how various business work - find about the behind-the-scenes stuff if you don't want to work with the general public. I've worked at a temp agency - they will be good for sending you to places you wouldn't have even thought of to do things you hadn't known about. One of my jobs was at the same community college in the community education department. The only reason I left that position was because I started that multimedia program and couldn't work and be in class at the same time.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I should take my own advice.
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