Job fairs are off-limits

[blas]

I smoke in my car constantly, and I've had to give my non smoking mom rides every once in a while. She still doesn't know that I smoke.

Yes, it's that fresh. I always have the windows down, Febreeze, and always am wiping the interior down for ashes.

[ShadowBall]

The thing is BF doesn't even smoke - both his parents smoke maybe a pack or two each a day and they've done so for years. They smoke in their house, they smoke in their cars (BF's car used to be his mom's old car) and they never try to air either of them out, so every single thing in the house and car reeks of smoke and the odor is really set thick from all those years of them perpetually puffing away. Febreze doesn't even touch this stench - BF has tried.

And I think it still might be a bit far to ride a bike from BF's house to the hotel. By the time I'd get there, I'd be sweaty and gross, and I haven't ridden a bike in years, so no clue how well I'd do on one again.

My undergrad degree is in graphic design, but it came from a diploma mill school (basically you get unrealistic, easy projects and pay loads more in tuition so you can buy a degree while passing everything without trying), and I have actually heard that some employers will specifically not hire grads from the school I attended (it's a chain of schools and mine was the first in that chain) because these grads are said to be under-educated and improperly educated in their fields.

The funny thing about grad school is my mother bitched at me that I needed to take out a loan since she has no more stock to sell (that how I've been getting the money to go - she wants me to go there so bad, she can pay for it). But then when I said about a month later that I applied for a loan, she bitched at me that I haven't even put a dent in what I owe to my first college and then I'm going to add more debt on top of that. I wish she'd make up her mind...I mean either way, I won't have $4000 by November, but still. And most places don't want to hire me when they learn I'm in grad school anyway.

I was at the scammy call center for about two months before I was fired. I was told to GTFO for several reasons, but could I just say I left on my own? The branch of the company I worked at closed, so it's not like they could contact them and clarify.

I think I'm just going to try and get the car Wednesday and say I'll have a look around. I really doubt there will be anything useful there, but hell, it can't hurt to look.

[blas]

It's up to you what you want to say about your old job.

I understand that smokers are a nasty breed of people to certain people, but if you really need the job and need to go behind your mother's back to do it, surely it won't hurt to put up with the smell of smoke for 20 miles there and back just to see if you can get a job? I don't think anyone has been disqualified for a job because there was a hint of cigarette smoke smell on them. Others suggested bringing a change of clothes, otherwise a travel size bottle of Febreeze will get that smell right off you.

[Seshat]

Go early. Whether by bike or by car.

Carry your good clothes, carefully rolled (not folded) in a plastic bag.

Carry handiwipes, or some of those microfibre cleanng cloths.

Go into the handicapped stall. Strip. Wipe yourself down thoroughly, removing all trace of sweat and/or smoke from everything except your hair.

Do a test run of this with your hair a few days before: brush carb soda into your hair, then brush it out again. If it works, do that with your hair as well. That'll get rid of sweat/smoke in your hair, or at least take it down to a dull roar.

Spray a light perfume into the air in front of you, then step into the sprayed area.

Dress in your clean clothes.

Put your sweaty/smokey clothes into your travel bag. Go to the hotel front desk, ask politely and nicely if you may store your travel bag with them while you attend the job fair.

Do the whole Job Fair thing, confident in your grooming.

[tropicsgoddess]

Shadow Ball, if you worked for a short period of time at the scammy call center after they 86'd you, it's not worth mentioning at all. Highlight your attributes and achievements, anything that's good about you. So long as you're not embellishing anything, you're good to go!

[ShadowBall]

I guess Mom was intending to let me go anyway, but then started saying she didn't want me to because the paper called for heavy rain. Apparently I'm too dumb to drive in the rain.

But I'm not going to the job fair anyway because I found out recently it's strictly for people looking to work in oil drilling. I don't know the first thing about such work and I definitely don't think it's the right kind of work for me anyhow. Oh well.

[Geek King]

But I'm not going to the job fair anyway because I found out recently it's strictly for people looking to work in oil drilling. I don't know the first thing about such work and I definitely don't think it's the right kind of work for me anyhow. Oh well.

I don't know about that. It's difficult, heavy work, but it also pays well, an you're usually out on the rig for months at a time--away from your mother. With nothing much to spend it on out there, the money will add up. If you're careful, you may be able to make enough to put some distance between you an her.

It might be worth checking into starting positions.

[Seshat]

it also pays well, an you're usually out on the rig for months at a time--away from your mother.

Geek King has a very good point.

[Ree]

it also pays well, an you're usually out on the rig for months at a time--away from your mother.

Geek King has a very good point.

I'm going to third that one!!!

I think it's a great idea.

[Rapscallion]

An uncle of mine did that for a while. He said it was damned arduous work, but he was handsomely recompensed.

Rapscallion

[ShadowBall]

I don't think I can do damned arduous work...I was exhausted, angry, and depressed every day after coming home from that call center job. All I did there was sit on my ass and make calls. Besides, I don't think putting up the biggest fight in the world would prevent my mother from interfering if I did happen to get hired for such work anyway.

Anyway, I didn't go because there's flooding here and I didn't feel like getting stranded anywhere. I'll be on the lookout for job fairs in the future that aren't just for people looking to go into the oil industry.

[Andara Bledin]

I don't think I can do damned arduous work...I was exhausted, angry, and depressed every day after coming home from that call center job. All I did there was sit on my ass and make calls.

As a note for the future, there is a massive difference between things that are physically draining and mentally draining.

The first is actually good for you, and the second will make you sick.

^-.-^

[ShadowBall]

Physical work sucks when you're out of shape, though. I fainted last winter shoveling snow, and up until that happened, my heart was pounding like I just ran a marathon and I was sweating and dizzy. I don't know if I'd want to be passing out operating a great big machine. Doesn't help I'm tired every single second of every single day either - I'm in zombie mode from the start anyway and I imagine that can't be good if I have to do stuff that requires my full attention.

I don't know...I don't think either hard labor or a sit-down job would be good for me since both would wear me out in different ways, but I need a job. I guess it depends on which one would be less of a pain in the ass. The job at the call center itself was not bad...it was just enormously boring. The issue was my whore of a boss who forbid me from doing anything but sitting still and staring at my screen. Could not draw, read, write, sew, do puzzles...basically I had to let my mind stagnate all day long. This made me a little nuts. Pair that with my boss constantly bitching at me over some stupid little thing (which put me in a tremendous rage), and I was about a hop, skip and jump away from doing things that would have landed me in jail.

[Andara Bledin]

Physical stress, so long as it's not doing damage, will get easier over time, and offer you some serious health benefits.

Mental stress over time, no matter the cause, will make you physically ill and brings a whole host of other problems.

Considering how you say you already feel, I'd strongly suggest getting to a doctor to get a diagnosis for why you feel that way. I bit of physical exercise should not make one feel dizzy.

^-.-^

[Ree]

I don't know...I don't think either hard labor or a sit-down job would be good for me since both would wear me out in different ways

Well, now that limits your options, doesn't it?
When you find that perfect balance job, let me know, because I just dragged my sorry butt home from work, as I do every day, and have done for the past 33 years, and I could quite easily sell my soul to have that kind of job where I don't end up physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.