Beyond frustrated
4 years, 6 months and 16 days ago I made a horrible decision. I decided to leave a position at a company that I had held for almost 11 years ( I had been ready to leave that company as it was going through a painful acquisition) to help out a friend in a new to her job as her assistant. It has been a nightmare. My physical and mental health have suffered. The environment is toxic and unproductive. In January 2019 I started to actively look for a new job. I applied to hundreds of positions and got two calls in return. I continued to job search while my working environment got worse. My friend that I took the job with left the company (ironically to take a position at the company that I had previously worked for). In January of this year I hired a resume writer to see if that would help my odds. I had what I thought was a successful interview earlier this year and then COVID happened. I have since had one phone interview (which I totally blew) and after still applying for everything that I can And not getting any response to anything, I don’t know how to move forward.
I‘m just not sure what to do to find a new position. I don’t have a large network of people, the few that I do have are all former coworkers at my former company. I don’t have friends that I can ask for help or referrals. I don’t have a degree but I have 20 years of experience. I can’t quit the hellish position because I know that it will be even harder (if that’s possible) to find a job while not currently employed. I’m just so frustrated on what I need to do next to get me into a better position where I enjoy going to work again.
It's really important to network into roles, so that a resume isn't someone's first introduction to you.
In response to your comment about not knowing people who can help you in your search, I want to encourage you that your network isn't fixed.
Find ways to meet people -- in your local community and online and ask them to share their stories with you as a way to understand opportunities that are possible for you. Here's a post about why this is valuable for you AND them:
https://arcvida.com/Blog/Post/why-would-someone-share-their-career-story
Always happy to connect with a jobseeker - reach out if you'd like to chat strategy.
That is unfortunate what happened, life is crazy that way that you do not know what to expect. I can totally relate that COVID hit at an unfortunate time but we are going through it together. Definitely keep your head up because we can't loose ourselves in these tough times. Perhaps you can post on the general career search forum regarding what you are looking for next/your experiences, we all should network to help one another get these jobs.
I’m sorry this happened it really sucks.
Don’t stop applying especially now it’s going to be hard but keep trying .
Try doing some networking meet ups is a good place to meet people . I would try to network on linked in and try different things , do things a little differently . What about your friend who left? Has she kept in tough with you ? Can you reach out to her or others at your old job? Maybe you could network with them , you never know that could lead to something .
Even though you’ve current job is so bad try to help yourself feel better stress and unhappiness can make you sick , find things to be grateful for I know that sounds cliche but I am in the same boat I do not like my current atmosphere and have been trying for over a year to move on but it was making me sick , now I’m better no way will I let where I work make me ill again ! Not worth it!
Good luck ?