It's Just A Piece of Paper!

A friend of mine got a phone call this morning. Not just any phone call. This phone call was one that she had been waiting for. It was from a potential employer. One that she had been hoping to work for. However, when she picked up the phone, the woman at the other end put a damper on her day. The woman thanked her for her application but she regretted to say that she did not get the job.

When asked to elaborate as to why my friend did not get the job, the woman stated that although it seemed that my friend has a strong work ethic, and her abilities are excellent, there was someone else who was more qualified - they had a bachelors degree in the field in which she has applied and they had more experience in the workplace.

This story has been played out time and time again over the past few weeks. It seems that the words "work at home" are equivalent to "has no experience" or "not good enough".

Employers really need to realize that "work at home" is often times MORE of a "job" than actually going out and working for some company somewhere. We have to manage our time wisely between household chores, kids, and our home work. We have to be delegators in order to keep things from piling up. We are often "police", keeping the peace in the household. We quite often end up "burning the midnight oil", so to speak, so we can try to bring in that all important CASH.

As work at home moms (or dads), our days end up being 18-20 hours long. Our personal needs get put on the back burner just so we can make sure the rest of the household gets what they need. The term 'self-employed' takes on a whole new meaning for us. It means that maybe we won't have time to dedicate to our livelyhood that day. But that doesn't matter... what matters most to us is the fact that we get to spend time at home, with our families. It's what we do, it's what we love.

When the lack of money gets to be too much, however, many times work at home parents unfortunately need to go and look for outside employment. The government has determined that working from your home does not qualify you as being 'needy' any longer. You are bringing in an income. It doesn't matter if that income varies from month to month, it doesn't matter that you make less than minimum wage in some months. Heck, according to them, if you did make minimum wage, you WOULD qualify! Go figure! Sounds ass backwards to me. So, you can forget about any help from them. Not that you really wanted it, anyway.

Eventually, your kids begin to suffer. Food is running out. Bills begin piling up. You are in danger of losing everything you have worked so hard for. It seems that just when you thought you were getting ahead, the rug got pulled out from under you again.

Does this sound familiar? It's a scenario that's being played out everywhere.

So, you decide to go back to school... you figure that if you get that danged 'piece of paper' that everyone seems to want, things will get better. You will be able to get a good paying career (not just a job at McDonalds that doesn't even pay the rent) and everything will work out.

So now your day is spent doing household chores, working on your business (you still haven't given up on that), AND now you will be going to school too. Plus... you still have to find that job that's going to bring you the income that you need to pay the rent, bills, food, etc.

Pounding the pavement, you put in applications at stores and restaurants all over town. One of them has to call you back... it's a law of probability!

Days go by with no calls. Then, when one finally does come in, it's just to tell you that they have looked over your application and "we're sorry... you do not have the work experience or the qualifications that we look for in candidates for employment".

What are you going to do? Every potential employer that you have spoken with recognizes your problem - to get work, you need experience... and you don't have that experience. But to get that experience, you need work. You feel caught in a Catch-22!

The question is... how do you get the experience if no one will hire you BECAUSE you don't have experience?

There is a solution... it's not a quick fix, it is going to take at least 2 years of your life. Go back to school and get that dang piece of paper stating that you are qualified! That you don't need experience.

In the meantime, keep at searching for that job. Don't give up. Someone out there will recognize that you DO have skills that can be useful in the workplace. Even if it is a menial burger flipping job at McDonalds. It WILL happen!

It's just until you get that dang piece of paper!

Michelle Hoffmann is the owner, editor and publisher of The 24KaratMarketer Ezine at http://free24karatmarketer.com, an online publication that is dedicated to helping marketers, new and experienced, succeed in their online businesses. She is also a mother, writer, photographer, cashier and chandler. Yes, she does it all!