I am struggling financially. I have two children, I am a single mother, and I live in New York City. I am not lazy, I am motivated, I am strong, I am hard-working, I am a human. But, try as I might, I cannot figure out the conundrum – how do single moms make it? I suppose they have the support of family and friends. It takes a village, right?
I need a full time job that still allows me to be able to bring my kids to school in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day. I do not want my kids to be in after school five days a week. A few days would be fine. I don’t know what to do. I’ve applied for many jobs and I haven’t gotten any of them. I am trying…hard. I am failing and falling on my face over and over again.
My family is disappointed in me. They do not understand. I try to explain.
The only thing I can do is try.
I need a full time job. And I need one now.
I applied for a job with Yahoo. It was a three month contractor position. They liked me. But, after two rounds of interviews and a test, I didn’t get it. They said my qualifications were excellent, but they went with someone with more experience. It’s a tough job market in New York City.
Every day I make it my full time job to apply for full time jobs. I apply on LinkedIN, I apply on the company websites.
Nothing.
It’s getting frustrating.
I continue to freelance write to somewhat pay the bills. It’s not enough. I am feeding my children and putting clothes on their backs but we are still struggling.
It’s simply not enough.
How can I be there for my children, put food on the table, and have a full time job? There must be an answer to this.
How?
I need to know how?
I know that people do it. I know they do. I just don’t know how. They must have a lot of help.
I need to get a job so I can afford to pay a babysitter to help me with the childcare needs. However, how am I supposed to go on interviews when I don’t have childcare? What if the interview is at 9am? I am just getting out of dropping my kids off from school.
So tell me…how do I get around this? How do I pull myself out of this hole?
I was out of employment for 4 years after becoming ill with schizophrenia. I think when applying quality is better than quantity. It is better to give one job a really good go than apply for 5 or 6 and not give them so much. Perhaps get some recommendations on linkedin if you don’t have already. Being available immediately is also a plus point, sometime companies may have a new client or project who needs work starting work right away.
Powerful. Keep putting “good” energy into you desires. You will manifest them. So proud of you!
Thanks for your candor, Sarah, in talking about the hardships of finding full-time employment that also enables you to care for your kids as a single parent. I’ve been there! Have you been doing some in-person networking as well as going online? Friends tell me that this is the best way to find good job leads, although it takes time. For example, the NYC CareerSearchers group on Meetup.com is open to anyone. They meet Tuesday evenings on West 99th Street in Manhattan. If the evening meetings are a problem because of child care, try emailing the contact person to see if they know of lunchtime meetings. I hope this helps.
I’m not sure where your interests lay, but there are good, well-paying jobs that allow you to work from home. My company is one of those. Some of the staff work from home all the time, and only have to come to the corporate office once in awhile. It’s in the mortgage field, so I’m not sure if that is something you have any interest in, but I wanted to put it out there for you. Message me on Twitter if you are interested and I can send you information.
Thanks for your honesty, Sarah. I wish I had a company, because I’d hire you! I have so much respect for you and believe that you’ll find something soon.
I grew up with a single mother, and I have NO idea how you make it. Women like you blow my mind. I could not do what you do. I wish you the best of luck. You do so much for the world and deserve to have the world do a whole lot for you.