Tag Archives: job search

Job Hunting: The First 5 Months

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June 17, 2025 – I was informed of my layoff on Jan. 16, 2025. Since then, I have navigated the waters of unemployment benefits and job hunting. In Oregon, you are required to meet with an “employment specialist” from WorkSource, a nationwide company that helps people find jobs. I went in after uploading my writing resume. When I got there and talked with the employment specialist, he asked some questions, said my resume looked good, and mentioned I could take classes on how to write a resume or do an interview.

AI and Job Hunting

One thing the employment specialist mentioned was that every time I applied for a job, I needed to change my resume to match the keywords in the job announcement. Companies are using “AI” to weed out resumes that don’t meet the job’s specifications. However, if the programmer put in “must have event planning” and my resume states that I have organized and executed a donation benefit gala for the American Red Cross of Alaska, AI won’t read that as “event planning.” It will just kick my resume out of the queue never to be seen by a real person who could make the connection to “event planning.” Resumes were supposed to be mass produced. Now, they need to be tailored to the machine.

Companies Banking Candidates

The other thing that the employment specialist mentioned was that companies will post jobs that aren’t available in an effort to build a pool of possible candidates if the person currently in the position decides to leave or gets fired. So, some of the jobs listed on job boards may not be real or available, even if the company is having people apply for the position as if it were.

Stats and the Job Search

I got on Indeed and started looking and applying for jobs that would allow me to use my writing and/or banking skills. As of yesterday, five months after I was informed of my layoff, I have applied for 56 jobs on Indeed and have made a total of 101 contacts. I have had two phone interviews, one essay question request, a couple of multiple-choice tests (that shouldn’t take longer than an hour) and one in-person interview.

A head hunter contacted me from LinkedIn. She was in charge of a job search for a company that had the same position open for a long time. She wanted to see what they were willing to give up in order to get a candidate into the position. She thought I had the skills to get the job. I looked at the application and was missing the requisite manufacturing skills; I’ve never worked in a factory. I could supervise people and have experience with OSHA regulations and hazardous chemicals. It took four emails and an application to find out I wasn’t the person the company was willing to compromise for.

Additionally, I was contacted twice by scammers. They were going to pay me $45 an hour for editing. That would be amazing, but other red flags popped up. I wrote about it here and about the second contact here.

Last night, I got an email that said I would not be considered for the Bank Teller position at a local credit union. That should’ve been a slam dunk. I have a year of experience as a teller and five months as an instructor in the banking industry.

Goodwill Job Connections

I went to Goodwill Job Connections because it’s a couple of blocks from my home. At our second meeting, she looked at my resume and said it looked good, I should just remove the dates, so it’s more difficult to guess how old I am. She was surprised that I’d be willing to take an entry level position. She was also surprised that I had applied to about 50 jobs when I had talked to her. I’m supposed to go back if I want to practice my interview skills… when I get an interview scheduled.

No End in Sight

And that’s where I am with trying to find a job. I have two remote, contract jobs (Asgard Alaska and Bearly Entertaining), unemployment benefits, and help from my sister to make ends meet. We also have our Patreon supporters, book income from Amazon, Jenya’s creative arts on Etsy, and InboxDollars. If you know anyone who needs a blog written, send them my flyer. Thanks.

Job Scam at Indeed

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When I saw the job ad for a Proofreader/Copy editor for “Landscape Services,” I applied. I proofread and copy edit books, and I’ve got a ton of experience in SEO writing for landscaping companies. It would be a great fit. More importantly, the job was listed at $41.33 an hour, was remote, and could be part- or full-time. I also at that point in my savings where if I don’t find some work beyond what I have in the next six weeks, I’m going to be begging on a street corner. I’m feeling the pressure, especially because I’ve only had three interviews for two jobs.

The application took about 90 minutes.

Then I got a text from Kristen. I don’t know Kristen, but it’s about a PROOFREADER job. “Please confirm your interest and email with peter@ehrinpractices.com.” Because I have a dumb phone, I go to my laptop and type in the web address first. Nothing comes up. I don’t think anything of it. I’ve been having problems with my computer, and I figure that it must be that or maybe it’s the browser. Who knows? So, I go to InboxDollars and use their search engine: ehrinpractices.com.

The phrase is so generic that nothing tangible comes up. So, I highlight my search and go to Google. (Yes, I know, but Google is still the best search engine available.) Google shows me ehrinpractice.com. Not “practices?” I need a job, and this one seems like a great fit that would allow me the opportunity to be anywhere I want to be. Maybe, it’s how their email is set up, I rationalize. I look at the website. They produce software and guides, so they could likely use a copy editor. I go to my gmail account and email Peter.

Peter Fasolo gets back to me about 3:30pm and says can we do an interview tonight or tomorrow at 10am? Otherwise, I have availability all next week, Monday to Saturday from 10 to 6pm EST. Here’s the Teams link. Please checkout the job description and the company culture before we talk.

The pdf pulls up in my browser. I click on the link to the teams meeting and get Peter’s name. I send him a message that 10am EST would be fine tomorrow (Saturday). I shouldn’t have done either of those things. I could’ve ended up with a virus or ransomware or worse. At the time, I still didn’t think I was getting scammed. The company seemed legit. I had applied for a proofreader job with about the same pay rate: $45 in the job description. Why did I start feeling queasy?

I’ve had and I’ve given a lot of fraud and scam training. It’s easy to spot fraud when it’s not your emotions and your personal situation. A lady once told me that someone she never met offered her $50,000 for every script she wrote. The woman was in her 80s and had never written a script in her life. She was adamant that the job was not fake and she just needed to cash the check to get the equipment. I’m a writer; there’s no way anyone would offer her that kind of deal. She didn’t want to hear it because she needed the money, it made her feel like she was doing something to help herself, and it gave her a sense of identity and belonging.

That didn’t click in my brain until much later. I just felt like something was off. I told Jenya I thought I was getting scammed, and I asked her to look at it. We spent 40 minutes researching the job, the company, Peter Fasolo. These are the discrepancies we found:

  • Why was the original job posting listed as “Landscape Services” and the email from and EHR company?
  • Why was the offer for more than $40? Don’t get me wrong, a good editor can do wonders for your site, and I am completely worth that kind of money, but it seemed a little excessive, especially when they bumped it up to $45. My thought process said they wanted to keep the people they hired, and the company was in the UK.
  • Why was the website “ehrinpractice.com,” but the email was “ehrinpractices.com?”
  • Why didn’t Peter have his picture in teams?
  • Why weren’t there any people listed on the website?
  • Peter Fasolo was an HR person for Johnson and Johnson until 2024; Kristen (Mullholland) replaced him.
  • Why were they scheduling an interview on a Saturday for a job that’s Monday to Friday?
  • The text came from an 833 number, which have a high propensity for use in scams.

Any one of these on its own isn’t necessarily fraud. Add them up, however, and the probability is distinctly higher. Jenya and I decided that this was a scam. I blocked Peter on teams. I blocked the phone number. I reported the job listing to Indeed. I blocked the email account.

There’s still that doubt in the back of my mind. I spent three hours on dealing with this “job.” It could be real. It was definitely what I was looking for. What if I’m paranoid? What if I’m wrong, and I just gave up the opportunity of a lifetime? I won’t likely ever know.

And I still need a job. With every passing day, that pressure grows, and I become more susceptible to taking a job that isn’t legitimate.

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