Begin your job search:
One of the most important aspects of a job hunt is to be persistent with it. If you don't have a job at this time, you should set a weekly and daily goal for how many new jobs you want to apply to and how much time you want to spend working on the job hunt each day. Even though you don't technically have a job, you can clock your time spent working just like an employer would or just like you could if self-employed and trying to effectively manage your time. If you are submitting applications, working on your resume, researching best practices on getting jobs, and knocking on doors for jobs 40 hours a week, it should not take you long to get interviews and be hired. If you are jobless, 60 hrs a week is sometimes preferred to expedite the process. One of the biggest problems with a lot of people who don't have a consistent job is that they don't treat their job search like a job, and don't put 40 hours or more per week into it. When doing a job search, I suggest 9-5 with a 1 hour lunch break at a minimum, or as much as 9 AM- 11 PM if you are in desperate need of funds.
One of the most important aspects of acheiving 40 hrs per week or 60 hrs per week is tracking how much time you spend on the job hunt/applications. To help with that, a timer (whether a separate timer like I have, one on a computer, or one on a phone) is helpful. In addition, there are apps you can install on your phone to track your website and app usage as well as browser extensions that you can install to track what websites you've spent time on. It's also important to set daily goals including set break times & use a calendar.
The best way to look for a job is to reach out to friends and family in the area who might be able to help you into a job, whether they themselves could offer you a job or whether they might know someone who could. Linkedin is a good resource for that.
If you have exhausted that, there are plenty of other options that you can find online.
If you're 16-24, looking for free education/vocational skills training that includes a home, check out Job Corps.
If you're 18+ with a disability looking for education/vocational skills training including housing, check Wilson Workforce & Rehabilitation Center.
Local websites in Hampton Roads, VA:
Peninsula Council for Workforce Development
Check out a map of options by searching on Abba List.
National websites:
If you can't find any jobs locally or nationally, and are open to working for food/housing or going international for higher paying jobs, click here. For additional overseas job resources, click here.
Just because you believe that you are overqualified for a job doesn't mean that you shouldn't apply for it if jobs that you think you are qualified for aren't hiring you. Minimum wage 40 hours a week is still over $1260 a month, and minimum wage 60 hours a week is over $1890 a month.
For additional sources of income, there are a number of online options. Here is one in particular that's rather lucrative (between $25-$30/hr) if you can make the cut. It's best if you can be online all day as jobs come and go very quickly. It's important to do the math to determine what your hourly wage would be when considering any online option if no hourly wage is given. Here's another website with some full and part time ideas that you can do from home or a place with wifi.
Also I suggest considering commission based jobs if you have put 160+ hours into your job search for minimum wage jobs and have not been hired yet. You can start a commission based job (which are much easier to get hired for) from 9-5 and then do applications for a salaried or hourly rate job from 5-9 M-F & 9-9 on Sat.
Retaining a job:
On the job -
1. With whatever you do, whether digging a ditch or managing a hedge fund, always do the best that you can do, seeking to far surpass any peers you have and begging for a promotion and a raise constantly not by your requests but by your performance. See the parable of the talents in the Bible. Find a balance of speed, thoroughness, & good customer service if there are clients or customers present. When finding a balance, do all very well. Work very hard whenever working.
2. Show up a few mins early every time to work. If an emergency is
going to make you late, call in as soon as you know about the
emergency.
3. Avoid taking breaks. Make it clear by your actions that you want to work longer & harder than anyone else.
4. Show up well-groomed, w clean clothes, a shower that morning,
shaved as applicable, deodorant, but not too much cologne or perfume. If you are homeless, you can usually get a free YMCA membership where you can take a shower daily etc. as I describe in the "other services" section.
5. Remind yourself of what's possible with stories of others overcoming obstacles and acheiving more than what anyone ever said they could, like the videos below & on the main page.
6. If your job requires you to use your phone or a computer unsupervised, install browser extensions & apps where you can track what websites and apps you use and track any distractions.
Outside of the job:
1. Be sure to budget well, spending only on necessities after initially getting a job, in order to have a savings cushion. Once you have a solid cushion of savings, you can have more freedom to spend on things that aren't necessary, but it's still very important to budget with necessities first in mind like housing, transportation, food, medicine, etc.
2. Never drink alcohol in excess the day of or the day before a job.
Even better is to avoid alcohol all together due to the expense,
addictive nature, & possible negative side effects including someone's
perception of it as negative if you have alcohol on your breath even
if you aren't tipsy. Problems are better dealt w in a holistic way
rather than a temporary numbing of the pain. Counseling is often
available if you are on some form of insurance. Also, a good church
can be a resource as well as Scripture. Keep in mind that there are
plenty of churches w no life where the sermon could put you to sleep,
so feel free to go to a few dozen before deciding on one. I personally
attend an old-school style church w a bunch of Koreans & those of
diverse other races. We have lunch after church every Sunday. If you
come, know that they usually serve a Korean lunch. You are welcome at
Holy Cross International United Methodist Church on Richneck Rd near the corner of Denbigh Blvd
& Jefferson Ave.
3. Avoid cigarettes altogether. They negatively affect your
clothes, are addictive, and are expensive. See above for some holistic
solutions.
4. Avoid non-prescription drugs at all costs, as they are expensive,
addictive, & negative. Something that dulls the pain but doesn't solve
the problem is not a solution.
5. If you are on prescription drugs, be sure to take them as directed. Also, keep in mind that sleep and diet including alcohol and sugar play a big role. Too little sleep can cause unusual side effects and can reduce any positive benefit of a medication.
6. Set up one or a few banks or credit unions.
7. Begin paying down debts and potentially begin investing. As long as you are not paying an exorbitant amount of interest on other debts, the tax savers credit can mean a phenomenal investment opportunity even if you don't have a company match. I receive a 50% company match at my company. You can receive a 50% GOVERNMENT match on an IRA or 401k (or similar long term gov. protect investment - I suggest a Roth IRA or Roth 401k if your work doesn't already offer a match that is not one of those) from ANY work if you make relatively low income, with various savings according to income described here .