Struggling with finances... Don't know what to do anymore

[Anonymous]

*languages

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP that wrote about the State Department. Well, they'd certainly look at a resume from an attorney from a 1st Tier law school who was fluent in 2 languages that very few people can speak. Just sayin.

[Anonymous]

High School Educated
Mid 20's
Some College
Making 50k a year

OP - I feel sorry for you, but I can't believe that you are unable to find ANYTHING. You're looking wrong, being to picky, or you interview really bad.

[Anonymous]

Rather than consider going to nursing school or some other school, you should look into improving your language skills and getting on with the State Department or international law.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is what I write on my cover letters:

I have two years of experience in financial aid counseling. In addition, I've worked part-time for a small higher education publishing company. I possess strong technology skills, and I can type accurately at a rate of 80+ WPM. I can speak fluently in Chinese and Japanese, and I took three years of Spanish in college.

This has never, ever helped me get a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, obviously I'm having problems because I'm NOT good at what I set out to do... I stated several times that I received terrible grades in school. I was *expecting* to be able to "cope with the requirements of practicing law" because I score well on tests, but I great overestimated my skills and performed terribly in law school.

I stated that I *speak* Chinese and Japanese. I can sort of read in Chinese if there's pinyin (my weekend Chinese school wasn't the greatest about teaching us how to read/write). Unless these international law jobs only require someone SPEAKING in those languages, I doubt I could get hired.

first of all, grades mean nothing regarding being "good" at it. You were bad at law school, doesn't mean you are going to be a bad lawyer. I had horrible grades but worked in Big Law for over ten years. Didn't really like it, but made a lot of money and now I am a partner at a regional firm. That is not unusual. Don't worry so much about the grades.

[Anonymous]

OP again. I DO interview badly, but that's because I'm desperate/nervous and I get really upset when interviewers ask me what I've been doing the last few years.

Like, I can either

1) Pretend I never went to law school

2) Admit I went to law school, but then I'd have to explain why I had bad grades/need a new career

3) Pretend I am still working at my last job (I am on good terms w/ my former supervisors though, so I don't want any potential company to call and ask if I'm still working there and for my former bosses to know I've been lying all over town)

4) Admit I was laid-off (which apparently is the kiss of death for employment prospects, per CNN Money)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I write on my cover letters:

I have two years of experience in financial aid counseling. In addition, I've worked part-time for a small higher education publishing company. I possess strong technology skills, and I can type accurately at a rate of 80+ WPM. I can speak fluently in Chinese and Japanese, and I took three years of Spanish in college.

This has never, ever helped me get a job.

Because it's not a very strong cover letter. This is so puzzling to me.

[Anonymous]

Also, my former employers don't even know that I'm still unemployed. I cried when they told me they couldn't afford to keep me around anymore, and they were so nice and kept reassuring me that with my qualifications, I'd get hired in no time. It's been nearly six months and I'm still unemployed. I honestly don't even know how to explain my resume to employers anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, my former employers don't even know that I'm still unemployed. I cried when they told me they couldn't afford to keep me around anymore, and they were so nice and kept reassuring me that with my qualifications, I'd get hired in no time. It's been nearly six months and I'm still unemployed. I honestly don't even know how to explain my resume to employers anymore.

Good grief. Do you think you are the only one out there in this predicament? I've been laidoff since October 2009 and it sucks. I've been cobbling together work as best I can.

[Anonymous]

that is a horrible, horrible paragraph for a legal cover letter. you need to fix that ASAP. most of that is not relevant. i am a recent law grad as well and have a "shitty" GS - 11 job right now that isnt directly law related. however i am extremely thankful for this and am taking the time to get barred in multiple jurisdictions to make myself more marketable. that may be something you consider. what is your husband doing now for 65k per year? does he have any connections through that? are you looking on BYU jobbank? before i landed my govt job(through usajobs.gov no connections) i scoured that resource at least once every 2 weeks. you law school should have a username password for that website.

[Anonymous]

OP here. It may not be a strong cover letter, but it's gotten me several interviews. It's the interview stage where I lose the prospect -- they start questioning my background, I get nervous, they ask what I want to do in 10 years, why I went to law school if I want to work in education/marketing/insert random field, etc.

[Anonymous]

He works at a non-profit organization in the energy sector. I've been trying to be vague because I'm pretty sure we're the only people from our school in the DC area.

I understand that other people are going through the same predicament. I suppose I'm paranoid about people we know finding out how badly my family is doing. Like I said in my other post, my former supervisors (who I'm Facebook friends with) don't even know that I'm still unemployed.

[Anonymous]

Good grief is right. You need serious career counseling/job searching skills, not just polishing. Please get off this website. Please call the career services at your law school and ask for help with

1) cover letters
2) interviews (they should be able to "fake" interview you and give you feedback.

[Anonymous]

And no, I submitted my resume to his employer twice for some research analyst positions and they rejected me both times. His supervisor said they were looking for someone with "stronger quantitative skills."