Wednesday, January 19, 2011

3rd Highest Projected Job Growth - Idaho

Mom sent an article from Time Magazine. (Does anyone read Time Magazine anymore, except my Mom?) It's from January 17, 2011 and titled "Where the Jobs Are." As usual there was a whole lot that I disagreed with, but on the job recovery map that shows growth in employment expected by 2012 by state, Idaho is 3rd! On the map there are three states that are brightest green, reflecting a predicted 5% job growth by 2012. (States get less green as their expected job growth goes down.) Two brightest green states are noted as highest, Utah and Texas. Idaho is the only other brightest green, but is not included as highest, leading me to believe it must be third and I guess just not worth noting.

The sector with the lowest projected job growth is arts, entertainment and recreation and the government sector is pretty low also. Years ago I read an article that stated that my generation would change careers six times in our lifetime. At the time I thought that would be because I would want a change, and that each career would segue into the next. I did not realize that I would change careers six times because I had to, that each career would come to a screeching halt with a long stretch before the next one would start, and that each time I changed I would start at the bottom again.

So, I called Mom yesterday and whined for an hour. Mom is good for that. Turns out my sister-in-law was whining, too. Her clothes dryer broke after 2 1/2 years. I had a clothes dryer only last about 5 and I thought that was bad. The computer chip broke in mine and needed to be replaced for the cost of a new dryer. I bought a new one, simplest, non-computer chip running one I could find.

I know how to work through a resentment. The ones against yourself are the hardest, but the ones against God or the universe or whatever you want to call it are pretty hard. After my temper tantrum and my whining, I took a look at my resentment about the crappy help I'm getting from the universe to get an income. Am I doing everything I can to get an income? Nope. Applying for jobs that I think are beneath me? Nope. Getting my artwork in front of everyone that will look? Nope. I'm thinking I'm not that humble and I'm thinking I am still hesitant to put my work in front of people that will reject it. I am taking the art business pretty slow, and I think that is OK, there is an investment required in it that I can't really afford right now, and mostly I just need to keep painting. The more I paint, the more I give viewers something to like.

So, that means more job applying and a call to the State of Idaho HR that I've been putting off. I started painting first thing yesterday morning and then the phone rang and it was this guy that I start working for on Monday. He said on the news last night Micron announced that they are hiring 120 new people. Micron mostly hires engineers, even their regular jobs end with engineer, but I checked out their website, completed my profile, and applied for five jobs.

Then I called the State of Idaho HR. I asked if there was someone I could talk to about a job I applied for that was put on hold and a job that was filled, but that I received a reject letter for without an opportunity to interview. I gave her the job titles. She could not find them. She asked what department they were with. I said one might be for Health and Welfare and I wasn't sure about the other one. She said some departments have their own HR. She told me I could check the announcement on the website. I explained that I wanted to talk to a person. She tried to tell me that being on a hiring list doesn't mean I will get an interview. I briefly explained civil service law to her. I asked for the number for Health and Welfare HR. She couldn't find it. She gave me two numbers that might work. I got off the phone before I ripped her a new one. Why does this person have a job and not me?!

I checked the email that I received for the job that was put on hold and it had a name and a number. I called that one and left a message asking if the job was still on hold or if she knew how long it will continue to be on hold. I still haven't heard back.

Then I started looking at CostCo. I set up my profile and applied for one job, although they have an "apply for any position" job title and I may send that in tomorrow. Everyone looks happy working at CostCo and they have a whole bit on their site about promoting from within.

Then I applied for a job with Trinity Health, which is somehow associated with the St. Al's hospital system. The job post tells you to apply via Trinity Health's site, which I go to, then I click on the link, which sends me to St Al's employment site. I go ahead and sign on and complete and send the application. Soon I get an email telling me to reapply on Trinity Health's site. I look all over for a phone number so I can talk to someone about their link being wrong and can't find one anywhere. I will tackle that issue tomorrow, too. Today I just could not deal with software issues or one more stupid person who has a job instead of me.

Yesterday I got the reject letter from the Idaho Historical Society and the acceptance letter for the Idaho Watercolor Society's Capitol Building show in March. There is no judging for the Capitol Building show, you just have to preregister your entry, so it is not a big deal, but it will be fun to see Hazel hanging among the white marble in the Capitol Building.

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