What would you say, you do here? Pt. 1

So here's the thing, I'm confronted by my mistakes, the consequences of them, the regret... everyday. Every day I convince myself that I'm worth it and that I need to keep going because I know that I am one of the lucky ones who have had the support to learn and grow. 

All that being said, rejection is hard and getting a job as a registered sex offender is crazy difficult. I have had to disclose my offense so much, that now I bring it up as early as possible. It's just too exhausting to get to the third interview and then they are like, "Oh... Yeah, no." 

In May of 2021, I got a call about a résumé that I had posted on ZipRecruiter. He asked some of the usual pre-screening questions and then asked me to come in for an in-person interview. I told him that I didn't want to waste anyone's time, told him a brief version of the situation, told him I have to register for life, and then asked if that would make me ineligible for this position? As it turned out, he was the owner and said no, it wouldn't be an issue.

That job lasted from May-December 2021 and there were a lot of things about it that I really enjoyed. Something I didn't enjoy was the overall callousness toward people looking for work. It does not take long for it to become a numbers game when you're doing recruiting for a staffing agency and have a toxic boss. This man was racist, ageist, sexist, somehow homophobic, transphobic, but also a decades long member of professional HR organizations. I mean, just... Ok, on more than two occasions he walked up to me or sat on my desk while I was working, and asked if he could touch my hair. During smoke breaks or just, conference room meetings, he excitedly told me what teenage boys did with the teachers at his school when he was a teenager... expecting me to, I don't know, swap stories? He touched pregnant women's bellies without permission, screamed at applicants, there may be a pending class action suit against him, I have lost track. He was/is definitely a lead candidate for the bad place, in the eyes of many people.

I don't even know how many negative reviews he's had pulled down, how he's still in business, or anything else, but I do know he gave me a job at a time that I really needed it. He let me take my probation meetings without making me clock out. He told me about past deals he'd had with other partners, other managers, who did him wrong...and then the managers would tell me their version of it, and it became clear that this staffing agency was a cover for a three ring circus of chaos.

Recruiting is essentially sales, and I liked talking to people, getting to know them/their story, and helping them find a good match. I got to do that three times, out of the dozens of job placements I turned in each month. Most of it was repeat clients, dealing with no shows, helping people arrange transportation, verifying details on paperwork (actual paper!), and just plugging people into jobs they applied to and/or asked for. 

A couple of times, I got to go on site to see the positions we were staffing for, noting the vicinity to the bus stop, the working conditions/temperature/smells, break room amenities, and then actually seeing the work performed. That was eye opening and really helped to be able to describe the work to the applicants, which leads me to believe that at some point, he had a plan for actually helping people find a job they would enjoy or stick with.

Thrice, I had to turn applicants away because they were registered sex offenders, and part of the employment requirements were that you not be a registered sex offender. Make that make sense. "Oh, I see you're a registered sex offender. Same. Yeah, no." My attempt to advocate for them was shut down because they were applying to be cleared to work multiple places, and that was a restriction that employers expected to be in place.

Just for fun, I'm going to try to list all of the jobs I've had/can remember.... (not completely in chronological order)

• Most of my life, my mom ran a graphic design/sign shop as a part time business, so I learned about vinyl, Adobe suite, and design work at a young age, but I didn't really care about it, so I only kinda paid attention back then.

• Marc's- Cashier

• Eat n' Park- 3rd shift server... (Oh, that's where you remember me from... Yeah, I remember you too. Remember when you were drunk and spilled syrup all over the table, and then left $5 in coins stuck into it? Pepperidge Farm remembers...)

• Self Storage/Landscaper in Kent- Office Manager

• FastSigns, Arizona- production

• A telemarketing job calling people to set chiropractor appts. (I think I stayed one shift)

• A telemarketing job calling people to sell magazine subscriptions (this was in high school)

• Diebold- customer support (quit because they wanted me to work NYE and my ex- husband was like, just quit, I have the night off...)

• Applebee's (2 locations), O'Charley's, Red Lobster (2 locations), Hyde Park, The Original Rockne's, Jubilee Donuts

• Digital marketing assistant for a start up selling metal decor/signs- set up their Shopify & Etsy accounts and took photos of products.

• A Medispa receptionist- Westlake

• River Valley Paper Company- This was a temp job at one location, that turned into a secretary job at a different location. I was their "Pam" for about 2 weeks. Ask me why I quit, it's kinda funny, but also kinda stupid.

• Administrative assistant- a church in Wooster

• Rev.com- Closed caption writer/processor

• TopResume.com- Resume writer

• National Interstate Insurance- Workers' Comp Claims Adjuster

• Office manager for three offices run out of one- CarWash/Laundromat, Property Maintenance/Rentals, and automotive repair shop.

• Family and Consumer Sciences educator- Ravenna, Akron, Strongsville, Twinsburg

• Commissary worker, kitchen worker, third shift cleaning (mopping and buffing floors)- Marysville ORW and NERC

• Uber driver, Thirty One bag sales (bagladybucy@gmail.com is what I used to create my Starbucks account all those years ago and I'm trapped with it now lol!)

• Blue Skies Recruiting- Online recruiting support for service industry franchises (maids, home repair, etc.)

• Current- Bookkeeper, payroll processor, direct mail design work, administrative support
  

My point is, I have a hard time finding a job and I didn't used to, but I also have a variety of marketable skills that are in various stages of development. I've decided to shift from finding a job with another whack-a-doodle boss (no offense to previous bosses that weren't whack-a-doodles), and am going to be marketing my time, effort, and energy toward things I enjoy. Things that maybe aren't going to pay for a vacation, but that help me bond with my family, friends, or community, and that's really the end goal- using my abilities for positive actions.

So, this social media marketing/contract marketing adventure I'm about to embark on is a means to (hopefully) create the life we want. A life where we have time to spend together and one that will allow us to build a business for our family. That doesn't mean we are planning to get rich from adding affiliate marketing to my blog, but we might get an extra $100 towards a date night, and that's great! I'll be adding a section for "services" that will detail what contract work I'm available to discuss, adding posts sporadically of art or crafts we make and maybe sometimes it'll be for sale, that kind of stuff. It's not a "please buy this, or we won't be able to afford groceries situation", so please don't feel pressured when you see things like this popping up. I still intend on maintaining employment of some variety.

I guess I just want to front load this and say, I'm the kind of person who talks about and tries to lift up others' businesses, or offers constructive feedback, and that's just me being me. Even the worst boss, worst jobs, worst customer interactions had valuable lessons to share and their good points. I've always liked talking about brands I like, I've always found the power of brand loyalty interesting, thought the psychology behind eye tracking while looking at ads is SO cool, and been fascinated by how the impact of colors can completely change your mood... I just geek out on all of it. Some of you may have noticed little test ad videos I've made, posts I've tried out- that was me trying to learn and catch up from 3 years without social media access. (PV bracelets). That ended up being a joke because to use the code, you have to spend under the free shipping amount. So, I took it down- Live and learn.