🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1177520340.303409.73630@u32g2000prd.googlegroups.com>, 
richardfangnail@excite.com says...
> I had a good job as a tech writer but got laid off in 2001.  Foolishly
> I did very little to find employment until 2005.  I basically took
> classes and lived off savings and my folks.  I went to work as a temp
> in 2005-6 but that has dried up.

"Dried up?"  The unemployment rate remains very low nationally, why has 
your temping dried up?  Are you restricting yourself to a small market, 
geographically or professionally?

If your existing temp work dried up, either offer yourself for a broader 
range of positions or find a different temp agency that does a better 
job of marketing for your skillset.

> You know the main problem?  When asked for references, I have nothing
> recent.  And on my resume, people always ask why I haven't worked for
> so long.  I should have started working as a temp right away, in 2001.
> 
> What can I do?  I don't know very many people because that's my
> nature.  My tech skills are way behind the times and I can only do so
> much to catch up.  Plus, learning the skills isn't the same as having
> a job using the skills.

You say you took classes 2001-2005.  What do you have to show for that?  
If people ask, can you tell them that dissatisfaction with your previous 
job led you to go back to school to do better?  Did you complete enough 
classes to look like you were seriously trying to better yourself?

If that doesn't work, you might want to look at entry-level positions 
where they're expecting people with little experience and lots of book 
learning.

-- 
josh@phred.org is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
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