Successful people with lowly beginnings

[JanusthePhoenix]

Now that my degree is finished and I am thrust into this crappy job market having never looked for a civilian job in my entire life, I find myself reluctantly eying the sign that says "Now Hiring All Positions" at Jack in the Box. :willynilly: I'm not that desperate yet, but in six months, who knows? I may have to do some rather lowly work to get by while I wait for next year's fall session whereupon I can suckle the sweet milk of Post 9/11 GI Bill.

So...anyone have any inspirational examples of people who started out as fry cooks or call center monkeys and ended up a rich CEO or senator or something? I'm feeling kind of low thinking about the possibility of going from combat veteran to business school grad to paper hats and nametags.

[bricabrac]

Now that my degree is finished and I am thrust into this crappy job market having never looked for a civilian job in my entire life, I find myself reluctantly eying the sign that says "Now Hiring All Positions" at Jack in the Box. :willynilly: I'm not that desperate yet, but in six months, who knows? I may have to do some rather lowly work to get by while I wait for next year's fall session whereupon I can suckle the sweet milk of Post 9/11 GI Bill.

So...anyone have any inspirational examples of people who started out as fry cooks or call center monkeys and ended up a rich CEO or senator or something? I'm feeling kind of low thinking about the possibility of going from combat veteran to business school grad to paper hats and nametags.

Let me be the first to place a smile back on your face...1st you have a college degree and 2nd you are a vet ...in my best politically correct lingo -- these two items make for a great HR motivator. Get yourself in the game but remember it’s a bad time right now. And don’t take anything personally. You have experienced well seasoned folk who can’t get a gig right now due to the flooded market. Patience is a virtue.

[Basket Weaver]

Get yourself in the game but remember it’s a bad time right now. And don’t take anything personally. You have experienced well seasoned folk who can’t get a gig right now due to the flooded market. Patience is a virtue.

Great points.

Having been laid off since last April, trust me, I know what you're talking about. The job market is in very bad shape and there doesn't seem to be too much hope on the horizon as far as economic recovery goes. (insert "hope and change" insult here:puke: ).

What I'm finding is that employers could give a "hoot" whether one is a vet or not and education doesn't seem to carry a lot of weight either. The market is glutted with degree holding job seekers, almost to the point where a bachelor's degree is expected...even for jobs NOT requiring one. As far as a graduate degree goes, a Master's makes you either overqualified or expecting too much money in the employer's eyes, execpt for the few jobs that require one.

Before I retired from the Air Force, people would always tell me how employers would hire vets in a heartbeat....not so in my opinion...most don't even ask whether you were in the military during the initial interview/application. I too have my full compliment of Post 9-11 GI Bill having finished my degrees while active duty, but I am hesitant to put so much work into another degree that won't pay off.

What that leaves me with is having faith that things will get better and that something WILL come along in God's time. Meanwhile, I network as much as possible, have all but remodeled my entire house inside and out, and am definitely enjoying the time with my family and new baby boy. Still, I am blessed beyond belief.

[marianne202]

I would focus on government positions, as they are always hiring, even in bad times. County, city, state and federal positions will all give you credit or extra hiring points for being ex-military. Make sure you re-vamp your resume to reflect military training and skills translated into real world job experience and skills. Don't use military jargon on your resume, use more common language for the same skills and training. Make sure you use the terms reflected in the job ads and redo each resume and cover letter tailored for each job. I would also encourage you to seek out companies that are set up by ex-military as they tend to prefer to hire ex-military and know the value of your training. I would encourage you to speak with some temp agencies and get on their roles as a lot of temp jobs will go permanent after they test drive you to make sure you are good fit for the employer. Don't despair, their are a lot of jobs out there still, but you have to be more creative in your presentation and more outgoing in your interview. Apply for job even if you don't think you have the all the skills they are asking for, as you may be the best that applies. Remember all job ads will reflect their absolute dream applicant, but most never see an application from that dream employee and they have to settle for the reality of what applies. Kinda like my prince charming that never materialized! I love my husband, but he is lacking a lot of items off my dream list! Good Luck! Remember you can do this and you will find a job!

[alissaroot]

I took the test to be a 2010 Census worker last week. It's only a temporary gig, about 10 weeks, but the pay isn't bad and it will look better on my resume than nothing.

How to Apply - 2010 Census Jobs

[Ruddigore]

Patience is a virtue.

Patience is an opera. But I digress...

Remember you can do this and you will find a job!

Hear, hear! I admit that I'm optimistic by nature, but Marianne is right: Be creative and persistent. And tell us when you get the job; then you'll be the inspiration.

[taylor]

I tend to agree with Basket Weaver a bachelors degree doesn't have the "wow" factor it once had. For every industry that I read is recession proof I know people in that industry that have been laid off. Over the summer I was playing in a church softball game and as our team was sitting on the bench awaiting to bat I was stuck in a conversation with a pediatrician and 2 attorneys. I was thinking, oh great, these guys are going to talk about how great their lives are and I'm going to have to share how I've been struggling the last year. On the contrary, I found out the pediatrician was about to close his practice because he was losing money and the 2 attorneys were laid off and struggling to find jobs themselves. Also, a couple of years ago some police depts. were offering $5,000-$10,000 signing bonuses for police recruits. Now a lot of people who want to be cops are spending way more than $10,000 (approximately $5,000 for the academy, no income for 6 months while attending) to sponsor themselves through a police academy with no guarantee of a job just to make themselves a better candidate than the other thousands of applicants seeking a position in law enforcement. My point is right now, there's no profession out there that hasn't been affected by the economy in some way or another. So right now like others have posted in the past, it is the perfect time for people to catch up on their education or advance their education before things pick up so we'll be prepared to open the door and tackle when opportunity knocks.cheersmate

[JanusthePhoenix]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice everyone. Although I really was hoping to hear a story about a Subway Sandwich Artist who went on to own a Fortune 500 company or something. :toetap: :p

I'm mostly just struggling with fear of the unknown and losing momentum. I will definitely look into the Census gig, thank you Alissa! If nothing else, that could stymie the financial bleeding and buy me time.

[taylor]

[quote=JanusthePhoenix]Thanks for the thoughts and advice everyone. Although I really was hoping to hear a story about a Subway Sandwich Artist who went on to own a Fortune 500 company or something. :toetap: :p

Ok my bad, what about the story of Do Won Chang ,the founder and CEO of Forever 21. He started off pumping gas and cleaning office buildings and now he's worth over a billion dollars. Although, it's tough to top a Subway Sandwich Artist story but I think Jared, the spokesperson for Subways, made some pretty good gas money for his part in commercials.

[P00057870]

Here you go -- the story of Colonel Sanders

Colonel Sanders - Story of Perseverance & Entrepreneurship