Resources for the Unemployed
Like so many others, I find myself in this position:
- Unemployed
- Facing recession
- Job hunting in a limited employers job market
- Getting no response from resumes`
- Fighting depression
- Trying to overcome the frustrations of not working
- Living on unemployment compensation
We now find ourselves in the worst "Recession" since the Great Depression. The unemployment numbers are growing daily and newly created jobs are slow in coming. It is more important than ever to have a strong resume and the ability to create a great cover letter to go with it. There are many resources on the internet for learning how or honing your current skills. Some may decide a career change is due, this may require learning new skills. Here are a just a few links to get started with.
- U.S. Department of Labor
- Opportunity.gov
- New Educational Opportunities for Unemployed Workers
- Job.com
Unemployment
These links deal primarily with the subject of being unemployed. The exception being the first link to Florida Jobs. Links to the usual job boards most people alredy know about are listed below this section.
- Florida Jobs
- Agency for Workforce Innovation
- Workforce Innovations Directory
- Find the location of the nearest office and phone numbers.
- Fluid Now
- Unemployment compensation information.
- Florida Unemployment Information
- More information on unemployment. The same page can be found at Fluid Now.
- Employ Florida Marketplace
- Employ Florida links all of Florida's state and local workforce services and resources.
- Coping With Unemployment
- An article worth reading on the NPR web site. You can read and post comments.
- Stress-Taking Charge: Coping with Unemployment
- No response from resumes`, financial problems, and boredom can put you in a depressed mood. Find out how to recognize and deal with this.
- Unemployed Meetup Groups
- If I had more time I would start a local group. Anyone up for the task? It would be something to do and might make you feel better about yourself. Let me know if one gets started and I will post a link to it.
- Unemployedworkers.org
- News, articles, information, and a forum to discuss being unemployed. A good place to start networking.
- Unemployedagain.com
- Articles, links, jobs.
- U.S. Dept of Labor
- A lot of information here about your rights, careers, insurance, and more.
- interviewstuff.com
- This site's main page states the site is closing soon. I've requested permission to republish some of the articles here.
- Employment Law - Florida
- Forum discussion on Lawyers.Com about employment laws. Select Topics from the Menu. Then scroll down to Employment, Florida.
Job Boards
These are a few, but not all the places to search for jobs. If you know of a good one please send it to me to post. Some sites offer help with resumes` and cover letters. Beware some of these want you to join or pay for some of their services. The ones that are free to join will most likely add you to a mailing list resulting in SPAM.
- Workforce Innovations
- A direct link to the job search page.
- Career Builder
- Monster
- Computer Work
- PartnerUp
- Find the Perfect Executive Job By Networking for Free on PartnerUp.
- Job.com
- Search From 1000s Of Job Listings! Register for Free.
- USAJOBS
- The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site
- Vault
- Dice
- Placement USA
- All Star Jobs
- A directory of job boards, just about every board in the country listed. You can post a resume, and find advice on resumes`.
- Orlando Jobs
- Job listings in central Florida.
- Craig's List
- Join
- A networking site with jobs, profile, skills list, and more.
Resume Help
Resources for writing a better resume and cover letters. I have only listed the ones offering free help. There are plenty of professional writers if you want to or can pay the fee.
- Resume Help
- How to write a resume
- E Resumes
- Resume Template
- Downloadable template for a resume. In MS word format. If you have MS word there should be plenty of templates there already.
- Damn Good
- There are some more template links and tips for free here but they are selling their own books.
- Blue Sky Resumes
Watch out for those so called "Free Resume Critiques", most likely they will pick yours apart to the point you will wonder if you can even spell your name correctly. Then they will offer to rewrite your resume, for a fee of course. I'm not saying don't use them you might get some good input, just keep in mind they are usually trying to sell you something.
Resources
Input from a visitor sparked me to add this secton. If you know of any resources for help please use the form below to send them to me so they can be added.
- Open Arms 4 Brevard
- Open Arms 4 Brevard is a group of volunteers dedicated to collecting food and donations for those individuals that are currently receiving unemployment compensation and do not qualify for additional assistance from the state. They are constantly looking for more volunteers and have a wealth of resources available to assist the unemployed with food, rent and utilities. At this time their website is still under construction but there are some links and contact information on the site now. They also have a group on Yahoo Open Arms 4 Brevard Group
- South Brevard Sharing Center
- LIHEAP
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
- 211 Brevard
- An online directory of resources and information for Brevard.
Alternative Thinking
Being single with limited resources to fall back on I thought about forming a commune for unemployed people. There is not going to be any quick fix for the economic crisis our country is in. The unemployment rate in Florida for November 2008 is 7.3%. With companies like DHL shutting down operations in the U.S. it is only going to get worse. The concept of communal living may be the only way to survive and possibly thrive. Here are a few links to check out if this is of any interest to you.
- Intentional Community
- Fellowship for Intentional Community
- The Advantages of Communal Living
- Communal Living in the Late 60s and Early 70s
- Why Does Communal Living Make Sense?
- Is Commune Living for You?
- Gaia Grove Eco-Camp and Learning Center
- Co-Op Village Foundation
- Construction of 230 homes for 500 residents on 600 acres in NW Florida, near Pensacola, is being planned.
- WWOOF-USA
- World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms