2023-04-17 - 3:23 p.m.

I made a mistake.
I have a stripped down resume that highlights only the years of work in the service sector; all human services jobs held.

I applied for a job in a residential healthcare environment which is a business role so left all my work history.

It would have served me better if I sent the pruned, targeted resume.

I sent the wrong one,

which is the result of when applied for fed jobs a few years back (and for work in private industry supporting fed projects). There is a unique culture in those spaces. In fact it is irritatingly reliant on AI (and has been) FOR YEARS in the HR space to some extent. Computer algorithms screen initial resumes and you need to know what each space wants to play the game.
I find it ridiculous.

Truth is who you know, your reputation, and what folks think of you as an employee are what matter most. How are you going to support management and those you directly support? What is the repoire and work style of whom you will directly report to? Is there a compatibility?
It is as much seeking a personality match in many job hunts as it is seeking the right skills.

So I get it , if someone NOT interested.

I don't take it too personally. BUT it is a bit disappointing when think there are some folks in that workplace who I thought might know me and I thought perhaps those hiring might think highly enough of me to be considered.
Feelings a little hurt... as feel like they know me, and are not choosing to interview me. (Would have heard by now).
What is most surprising of all however
It that it is crazy how some folks gossip in some workplaces. I told ONE Person, and one person ONLY who does not even work in that company anymore I was applying for an open position there and ran into someone else who does work there currently who said they heard I applied for a job!

I was like DAMN word travels fast when it comes back to me, oh and then it came back from SOMEONE ELSE I had not told...
I mean wow...

Small world and the operator game is one that catches on.

CRAZY As I told no one but one person not even there anymore.

BUT apparently word got out. Now the thing is I wish they did not all know and that has nothing to do with my ego, I won't feel badly if not even considered. It would make sense to me completely to hire someone who is full time in that company or full time in that industry more directly ( I mean I dabble in supporting a number of different companies in various ways... and in the past few years have not been dedicated in particular to any one space. My resume is also quite all over the place! Good number of years in healthcare/human services, Service industry jobs - grocery/Deli, Security and concierge, ADMIN or operations roles in TECH, then FIN TECH and then gov support , energy sector.

YUP A whole motley mosaic of job experience.

Then volunteer work on top of paid, in advocacy, and disability rights etc... and supporting churches at times. Oh yeah, a paid office manager assistant once at a church. Forgot about that. I went in from 7-9AM for 10 hrs a week back when worked at Verizon. I started at 9:30 AM at the contract manager job and it was freaking awesome at that time to have the extra 10 hrs a week that financially helped me make ends meet at the time.

The main rant today what intended to however be about how RIDICULOUS fed resumes are. I forgot just how hideous they are.
When you send a resume on any federal project it best include all the popualr jargon buzz words of recent years for the role being filled.

They change periodically-
which I am sure is by design.

Cause folks DATE THEMSELVES as OLD when using outdated language.

or it is just the evolution of language, led by youth who have to come up with their own code when teens dissing their parents, and then they grow up

and "dis" becomes part of the acceptable normal lexicon suddenly

along with ... Oh I can't even thing of any clever Dilbert like humor...

except to know that Dilbert is out.

He is not funny for sure anymore...

And sure I guess I am old.
I haven't a clue what is in anymore.

SIGH

I was so laughing at the guy who works at the pool who is so chill and smily and happy and friendly who said he loves his job as he has been "Put out to pasture"

My idea of being put out to pasture was to happily chew on some executive admin role in the human services field , or advocacy work, rather than gov contracting or private for profit sector roles suppprtin mulitmillion dollar industry.

My idea of being happy in my retirement job was not the job I had as a contact manager ( That was the retirement job for a former FBI guy, and the retirement job for one boss who was in procurment at AIR FORCE for a while negotiating planes .... but then ended at a small gov contractor.... or the flip when folks are in industry and retired to the final job WITH the feds for the stability and the benefits.)

SIGH

At the retirement community there is a family working in the industry I am currently still "DABBLING" in...

He encourages me to look at the federal postings. I went through all that effort a few years back and it just makes me tired to even THINK OF IT.

BUT Truth be told the primary reason is this

The fed operations systems have been a freaking mess. Of course that means tons of work to fix the problem. The modular design method of development has not been panning out so well...

I mean chunking one part at a time...

LOL

I laugh as if the VEC site is any indication, and the press on the VA system problems...

well I wish we had a better track record of systems. Operations systems should not be complicated and so hard to keep simple.

BUT THEY ARE

So this rant is about the constraint I hit-
THIS REAL REASON I have not applied for fed roles.
I never went on USA JOBS like in past:
1. That site does not exist,

That is right
USA JOBS is no more.
My log in is defunct. (It was really not hard in past as I had a complete profile. I had a decent fed resume).

It has been consolidated and it along with 12 others (or 11others?), 12 federal web sites replaced by one log in to simplify the big, tangled mess. GREAT IDEA and long overdue I agree; BUT...
during the transition and growing pains there are some issues.

SUCH AS
the fact I set up a SAM site for my business on my phone. I enabled multifactor authentication- meaning I have a user ID Verification, and in this case using a fingerprint
AND That multi-factor authentication set up means- they are ALSO authenticating my DEVICE.

I CAN ONLY ACCESS SAM and any fed sites formerly set up with my email address (Oh and I consolidated them when set up the latest! I REPORTED Them all as mine)-ON THE PHONE!!
First of all, this has been an exceedingly difficult PIA for managing my SAM account for my business.
Secondly, it makes it virtually impossible for me to navigate a job hunt. IT is impossible as I can no longer log in with my PERSONAL account. It is tied to the professional account.
BUT I need to job hunt with my personal being-
not the actual SEPARATE ENTITY Of the CREATED SEPARATE PERSON that a corporation is (if that makes sense)

I don't understand it.
If you start a company, it is then hard to do anything as your own PERSON before.

It's like the company subsumed my personal identity
and I just CAN"T GET IT BACK! HA

I mean as far as the trying to get my personal USA JOBS profile back. Its not possible.

Their coding of their site does not have any thing pushed to the phone itself to verify identity which is what is typically done. NO it is not like that kind of authentication everyone else uses, no numbers you can see show up in a text then input to confirm identity on the log in site.
Nope
You have to sign in on the same device as somehow it is seeing the actual device directly. So that is better security for sure IF you WANT to use the same device all the time.
But this presents a problem for me. It is super hard to be uploading a resume with a cell phone and super hard to be working on anything on a cell phone!

* FOR ME... maybe I am old! But I have hated cell phones for over a dozen years. I was a dozen years YOUNGER when hated cell phones and resisted them. HA HA

So yes younger folks can be cell phone adverse too!

I mean honestly if I don't land a full time job in the human services arena doing what I really love (which is helping people)
I can't even consider applying for full time contract acquisition support roles in a fed arena unless I start a WHOLE NEW SAM Account
MY business is registered in SAM and I do have my couple of clients. I need to remain active in SAM as the business.

So there is my catch 22.

I have to re-register the business as well as start NEW SAM account if I am to job hunt for a federal role.

It is just such a PIA

I know how finicky SAM can be to begin with. I have a good SAM account and nice listing for my company. The last thing I want to do is shut that down.

SO I am awaiting at least until it is up for renewal before I DELETE it and start over-
ON MY COMPUTER and not on the phone.

But this big rant really motivated because I sent the resume intended for fed jobs

which is HIDEOUS

I mean I paid the consultant $700 years ago to learn how to write just a hideous packed resume full of these adjectives and what I thought was colorful nonsensical "business speak" That the feds seem to love.
]I hate it.
Almost as much as I hate acronyms.
And I am sure that hideous resume (I just kinda forgot how awful it would read is in OTHER NORMAL Spaces-- like healthcare, or typical businesses, or the private sector at all -other than the weird bubble of this DC area! HA HA )- just did not leave the hiring managers reviewing at all impressed.

Its just too much....

a bit too "Fancy" (HA HA)

to meld hip young language from LA/NY into this conversation.

I mean DC wants to be fancy. So they try too damn hard.

That what it is. The resume style of trying too damn hard to impress.

It doesn't really reflect me but reflects how to play the game for a FED job or Fed support job.
where computer algorithms do the first read through and you have to hit every buzz word to get to the narrow list of being interviewed.

I made it to the short list in the spaces supporting feds but then after many interviews was not getting offers.

So I took a break and got back to the focus of trying to find some job saving the world

HA HA
just joking

but back to the idealist views of the younger me.. wanting a job to Help others more directly

I mean I like the direct care work best of all. The most fun job EVER was the one on one aide for the autistic young man, that is until I got bored...
but the thing is ... being older I have done so many other things. I don't crave new and exciting. I would be so happy and content with a zen job...
which is why I like the receptionist role

It is very chill
relaxed
and people focused.

I like the simplicity of it. Simple attentive public service of helping others in that place and space.

It is enough to do good work every day.

I also do enjoy the work I do with my company but honestly hope to find a full time job OTHER than contract management to pay my bills and work 9-5.

Its just a different kind of work.

I get really focused and obsessive and hyperfixated with the contract management work
and I feel like I then do not have the BALANCE in life I need.

I mean I can do it.

and of course I did do it for years

But I just want to do that kind of work PART TIME

I really want to find a full time job and just keep the couple of cool part time clients.

I had a call with a friend of mine who was encouraging me to ramp up my business and pick up more clients. I have not put effort into business development and have been looking for full time roles.

If I don't see another full time role I am excited about, in a couple more months I will kick it up. I just am kinda content coasting with where at for a bit longer. I make enough to pay my bills. Now that I paid off the legal debt and paid down other debt ( medical and most of the credit card debt and paid off family that helped last year) I think I have ENOUGH WORK to do OK. TRUE I NEED A COUPLE MORE CLIENTS
ABSOLUTELY TRUE if I don't have full time job.

And true I should not be afraid of that growth. Hell if I start business development, I am rather sure I can kick it up fast. I just really wanted my two youngest kids to be settled into their next steps in life FIRST to be honest.

I just know I get depleted by this kind of work and when I work more directly in service roles I get energized.

I mean there is something to be said for doing what comes EASY And not choosing the HARDER path just cause it pays more.

I truly don't give a crap about money. I just start in asking for alot as know how negotiation works as well. You get what you ask for (within reason). I have been asking for high salaries as honestly, I don't want to do work that depletes me and that I don't really look forward to do unless paid well. I do it FOR THE MONEY to support my family.
Once these kids are on their own I fully intend to be able to do work I enjoy more!
*BUT It is really hard to pivot and switch to a different industry. I really enjoyed when I was managing groups of about 25 people in service jobs. That was the space I enjoyed most. The care provider component but also enough variety of situations and room for personal growth and nurturing other's professional growth. When I worked in service jobs but also was leading a team with enthusiasm to provide quality care with energy and positive attitudes. I mean I was GOOD at it. I had fun at it.

OK enough venting.
I just had to as was feeling anxious about my one kid who is trying to make a plan to get off to college next Fall. Financially I would like to make enough to help these last two kids of mine launch into the world.
Oh yeah, health insurance would be nice too. I honestly don't worry too much about my health.

I did however spring for an appointment for a screening of full cardiovascular health as well as other concerns.

I figured since my insurance currently is crappy, I best just go private pay to have some biomarkers checked.
I do have another ob/gyn appointment so will follow up with the last one's concerns.

But it is WEIRD that the ob/gyn I saw was encouraging me to
"Call to schedule the surgury right away"

but then when I said the surgury center was provate pay and I needed a referral I heard NOTHING FROM HER

til I pushed the office manager
and then go the run around

IS it not really a concern?
Only a concern if I were to pay for the procedure?? HMMM

Somethign is off about this whole thing

Either no one really cares about poor people and does not care if they are not being paid

OR the recommendation was not really truly important to follow up on...

I mean really. Its just then weird when I called the network that is covered by my insurance that I could not find anyone to do the procedure she wanted- a simple biopsy, without going through hoops of seeing a regular doctor for physical. then basic OB/gyn...

I did not even get to see that basic ob/gyn for a typical check up yet to see what she sees. Still waiting for the scheduled upcoming appointment next month.

SO I found this and felt like for about $260 I think it was, I could get all sorts of testing done. I purchase a couple testing packages. One cardiovascular, and autoimmune- including neuropathy and then also one that checks biomarkers for ruhmetoid arthritis and kidney issues. (Arthritis runs in my family) and Osteoporosis ( runs in family).

Since I feel like I am getting crappy healthcare with Medicaid this private pay screening will give me some peace of mind. I did reading on this service. Some call it a scam. It might be. However I doubt it. I think it more likely that doctors have to triage and they don't want folks upset that they are not diagnosed. They don't like when patients come in and play doctor. I have read so many of the parents input in the forums for EDS and POTS to know that often patients DO learn much about particular illnesses and doctors can't be experts in every illness. Doctors are often generalists or a specialist in ONE or TWO areas. So it makes perfect sense to me a general MD might miss something and it makes perfect sense to me that the insurance companies are going to avoid paying for extensive testing for EVERYONE. But I figure with the history of disease that actually IS in my family, and the actual fact that women often show no signs of heart attacks or stroke until they have one- WELL screening can't hurt.
I already know my cholesterol was slightly elevated *and that was a first. AND I know there was the kidney biomarker that was unusual, and I have a history of kidney infections when younger-
SO I am going to trust the screening of this and when got a marketing email figured go for it. I did a bit of research and am just going to get it done. I personally find it more believable that there are folks walking around with health issues that they don't know of or which doctors have minimized than believable that for years some company is running tests that are inaccurate. They have been in business for years now with good reviews and positive Better Business rating!
So getting this done the first week of May. I WILL NOT tell them of any of the recent medical concerns raised by the OB/GYN. I am going to be silent on that and just see what comes back from the testing.

https://healthyrex.com/life-line-screening-review/#:~:text=Is%20Life%20Line%20Screening%20a%20Scam%3F%20Life%20Line,worth%20your%20investment%20but%20your%20time%20as%20well.

https://www.actionnews5.com/story/32238685/the-truth-behind-that-life-line-screening-letter-in-your-mailbox/

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