Status of my Application: A SAHM’s Journey to a Job

It’s been almost two weeks since I submitted my application online. Read my previous post of the job fair and how I met these people from the hospital. She told me to apply and to email her if I didn’t hear back from anyone. I was unsure of how long I should wait. My husband didn’t even have a clue either. He’s been in the military for so long, we both didn’t know how this works. I figure a week and a half is more than enough. Enough time to show them that I’m not nagging and enough time to show them that I’m still super interested.

So I emailed one of the ladies that I had met at the job fair and thankfully she responded.

So now I wait. My heart is thumping hard, my tummy has butterflies, and my emotions are all over the place. I’m excited to finally do something for myself and help contribute to our family. On the other hand, I’m worried to put my youngest in day care. She has a late birthday so she didn’t make the cut to attend preschool here. I’m just leaving all of this in God’s hand and pray for the best.

How the Job Fair Went: SAHM Seeking a Job

Yesterday, I attended the employment fair that was held at our base community center. I had already seen the list of employers that would be there, so I had an idea of who I wanted to talk to.

The day of, I went to the mall to buy a nice work top. I had more than work tops from when I used to volunteer at the clinic. However, I now have a half-sleeve tattoo. I didn’t want to give a bad first impression, so I got a long sleeve top. Thank goodness my old dress pants still fit

My printer broke so I was scrambling around trying to print out copies of my resume. For some reason, things was not going my way: the library’s printing services were down, husband couldn’t access his email at work because the network was down, and the librarian on base left for the day. I was beginning to just give up and not go.

Husband suggested I still go without my resumes. At the last minute, I asked a friend if she could print it out for me. Thank goodness I caught her before she left her house and she printed out more than enough copies.

My husband, thankfully, got off early and watched my little one. When I walked in, I walked straight to the first hospital. We chatted, and one of them even gave me tips for when I apply for a position there.

I visited another employer that involved caring for disabled patients. I was not interested much for this job, but the man was nice and easy to talk to. He also gave me the link to find other healthcare administration jobs in Abilene. I appreciated his extra help.

The next employer I went to was another hospital that is actually very close to my house. This is where I received the most helpful information and is the reason why I left extremely happy. They asked for my resume. I was so happy that I had copies. They said my volunteer work, plus the fact that I’m currently pursuing my masters degree makes me qualified for a number of positions. They gave me their email, told me which position to apply for and to email them if I don’t hear anything. I’m eternally grateful to have met these two women.

***Here is the point that I been trying to make this whole time: A lot of employers will not look past your resume and just see you. You see, I applied for a position at that second hospital before online and never heard from anyone. I was discouraged. My goal for the job fair was to have recruiters MEET ME before even looking at my resume.

I left there with a huge smile on my face. I was so glad I chose to go instead of giving up because of my obstacles in the way.

I will continue to document my struggles and journey to finding a job. This job fair was a step in the right direction.

Anxious for Job Fair

I follow this manager on Linked In and she posted the below entry on her feed. If only all hiring managers were like her. Empathy should be required when being a manager.

The job fair I been posting about is this week, and I’m pretty excited about. If what they say is true about Abilene, “It’a who you know,” then it’s time to meet some people and show them who I am.

I’m currently taking two classes during this fall semester, and majority of my classmates are already working in the healthcare admin field. Some of which have already been in this field for 15+ years. It can be intimidating, but every time I complete a week, I know I have what it takes.

Can’t wait to post about how the job fair went.

Back in Session: A SAHM Pursuing a Master’s Degree

Despite my setback on trying to find a job, I’m still pursuing my master’s degree in Management in Healthcare Administration. Before my fall classes started, I kept reading the stranger’s comment on the Abilene Help Wanted page: “It’s who you know,” and “Bachelor’s is the new Associates, and Master’s is the new Bachelors.” It just kills me, that my having a Bachelor’s degree doesn’t mean anything since I have a huge gap in between employment. By the way, I do not regret for one second choosing to stay home and raise my daughters. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

So, here I am, still pursuing my master’s degree despite what people have told me. A higher education may seem like a waste of money to some, but honestly, it’s the only thing helping me identify myself more than just a wife and mom. For most of my adult life, I have been a stay-at-home mom, and I always felt like I was not taken seriously. I know in my heart, that my job as a mom is some serious business and my kids wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me, but I just wish my experience as a mom looked just as good on paper.

I voiced my struggles in my introduction in class and my teacher suggested volunteering. When my youngest starts school, then I can look into volunteering. For now, I cannot afford to pay for day care. The struggle is real.

The job fair on base is on the 28th, and I’m pretty excited about it. Will post on here after. I started teaching my Tahitian dance classes last week. So far, the community center has penciled me in for every Wednesday this month, and every Monday next month. I don’t get paid enough to stop the job hunt, but I’m happy and I love dancing.

Praying I have a less stressful semester.

A SAHM Trying to Find Herself

I haven’t been actively looking for a job for a while now. I been focusing on the last weeks of summer with my oldest. Now, she’s back in school, and I been home trying to keep the house afloat while entertaining my 3 year old.

Someone recently told me to just wait until my youngest is in school to find a job. My thoughts have been going back and forth. There’s a job fair at the end of next month at the base community center. I’m going to go and just see what happens.

Next week, I start teaching Tahitian dance at the base community center. I’m only a contracted instructor and get paid 75% of the class fees. Which means it all depends on how much people sign up. It’s not even definite if I’ll be able to teach after this month so I’m not relying on this for income.

My classes start in 2 weeks. I keep replying in my mind something a stranger told me, “bachelors degree is the new associates, and a masters degree is the new bachelors.” I feel like I’m going to school for nothing. I have a bachelors degree, but because I have no work experience, it means nothing.

Will I ever find myself? Will I ever identify myself more than just a wife and mother?

No Luck: SAHM Trying to Find a Job

No luck yet. I actually stopped looking for now, because all the disappointment takes a toll on my mind. It’s a constant fight in my head. I want to stay actively looking, but yet the let down sometimes doesn’t feel worth it. I love being home with my babies, I love being able to be there for them whenever they need me. If they get sick, or if they have a school event happening, I can be there. Then our bills start flowing in, and I remember why I was looking for a job.

I keep getting notifications from LinkedIn if someone viewed my profile or if my profile appeared in a search.

But nobody contacts me. I also have my resume active on UsaJobs and Career Builder. I should put it up on Indeed. Anyone got jobs from there? My friend recently got contacted for a medical scribe, work from home job, because they saw her resume on Indeed.

My heart was set on a position at the base clinic. However, someone told me that if my resume doesn’t contain key words, my resume wouldn’t even make it to the hiring managers.

I just enrolled in my fall classes. I’m looking at the tuition rates thinking, is it even worth paying if nobody cares unless you have actual, physical work experience.

I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the rest of my summer with my girls. It’s all I can do anyways.

Growing Old

So I’m a 34 year old stay at home mom. When I was in high school, I never once thought I would be staying home watching my kids in my 30s.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being able to raise my children myself. I made this choice. With all these crazy people in the world, it’s hard to trust anyone to watch your kids.

The thing is, I’m 34 years old, trying to finish up my masters program, but yet I haven’t been in the workforce since 2008! I feel like a loser with barely any work experience.

My current dilemma: we can’t afford for me to finish up my masters degree, but yet I don’t wanna put my youngest in day care.

Then there’s my self-love. I been losing a lot of love myself lately. I don’t like looking at myself in the mirror. When I do, I feel like I don’t recognize myself. I literally feel disgust. I remember when I was 18, I hated wearing makeup and I loved my natural look. Now, I can’t stand my face without makeup.

Then there’s the metabolism. Like why can’t I just eat a damn pizza and still fit into my jeans?

I hate this feeling of being lost. I’m 34 and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. With a new house and new bills, I want to help out. I wish we had family to watch my baby.

Not Entirely Hating it Here

I’m still missing Okinawa terribly. I still get super sad when I look at old pictures or watch old videos. My heart drops when a memory pops in my mind of when we were in Okinawa. I still wish I could live in Okinawa forever, and I’m still missing my BFF and her family. I sometimes forget that she doesn’t live across the street from me anymore. The other day, I was thinking of scheduling a dental appointment for myself and thought, “I’ll ask Karen if she can watch the girls.” Then reality instantly hit, and I got sad. I am grateful, though, that technology allows us to still “see” each other and talk.

In my previous post, I mentioned that we got a second car. Which means I’m not stuck in the house anymore. However, today, I started getting ready after my workout so we can head out to the grocery store and get a few things. I changed, and even put on makeup. Opened the garage door, opened the car, and realized that the car seat is in the hubby’s car. Was a little frustrated and went inside, changed my clothes, and wiped off my makeup haha. Hubby asked if I wanted him to pick up what we need after work, or do I want to go with him. Umm, yes please. Anything to get out the house, even if it is to get milk haha.

We didn’t have the Disney channel in Okinawa, so my new thing now is getting into all the Disney shows. Yesterday, I was the only one laughing at a show.

Today’s tantrum: I asked my 3 year old if she wanted to come outside with me this morning to water my plants. She was so into her kindle and said “no”. I guess while I was outside she changed her mind, and I heard her screaming. When I opened the door she kept saying “I wanted to go with you!!!” She didn’t calm down until I took her outside so she could water my plants again.

SAHMs can’t make this kind of stuff up.

Pool Day with a SAHM

We finally got a second car yesterday, so now I don’t have to be stuck at home all day. First day with a car, and I decided to take the girls to the base pool. I was a bit nervous. I have lived in Okinawa for 7 years. The driver’s seat is on the right, and we drive on the left side of the road. Now, I’m back in America, so I have to get used to driving here again, let alone a new state that I have never lived in or been to. Fortunately, there is a back road that leads to the base from our house, so driving there was easy. For all of 14 years that my husband has been in the military, we have always lived on base. This is the first time we are living off base, so I don’t really know my way around base too much. Thankfully, I have seen the pool once when we were on base so I kind of had an idea where it was and what street to turn down.

We stayed for about 2 and half hours. We left because surprisingly, they girls were cold. The weather was super hot, it was in the 90s. However, the pool water was freezing. My youngest kept shivering.

We are home now, all showered, and now we’re relaxing to some Little Mermaid. Thank you God for a better day.

Typical Day of a SAHM

If you didn’t read through my previous posts, in a nutshell: I lived in Okinawa for 7 years and was depressed when the military had us move back to America. We now live in Abilene, TX. Two words can sum up our move: CULTURE SHOCK. We went from living overseas where there was many, many things to do, to the middle of nowhere.

When we first came here, we were starting from scratch. We bought a house, and a used car. I didn’t have a car so when my husband went to work, I was stuck at home, just counting down the hours until he came home, so we could do something. It was driving me crazy. If you watch my youtube videos (Kiana FromHawaii), I explain all the emotions I was going through.

Today was a better day, and a bonus was that my husband got a second car, which means I can now explore with the kids this summer.

Short video of my day: