Ideas please!

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I gave up a job in university admin in England to come to Northern California to be with my American wife. I've had my work permit since April and have been looking for a job.

I have always done clerical/administrative work in the public sector. I have a bachelors degree, but that hasn't been any use at all since I left university. I seem to have just drifted into the admin line of work, not having any experience of anything else. Being visually impaired doesn't help, so things like building work, factory work are out.

I'm getting so frustrated looking for jobs, my head aches, chest pains, classic signs of stress. Everyone else seems to be after the same jobs as me, and any admin jobs I do come accross are usually tied in with reception duties, which is a big no-no (been there, bombed). My one big skill is touch-typing, over 65 words-per-minute, but all the typing jobs I see are linked in with reception work.

Can anyone suggest any other jobs I could look into other than plain administration, that meet any of these criteria:

little or no contact with the public
You get to work in small teams or on your own
You get to use your brain, not just being an automaton
pays at least $12 an hour
Is usually full time

Sorry, not much to go on. But any suggestions welcome.

Well, lets see.

Have you looked into any jobs doing billing? You generally just get a list of people who owe the company money and then you send out invoices. The finance section in general seems like your line of work. Most large companies have a finance section.

If you go to Monster.com, look under the job search section. Click the 'Occupations' selection bar and click any that apply to you. There is 'Accounts Payable/receivable' 'auditing' 'bookkeeping' 'corporate accounting' 'corporate finance' etc. I dont know which of those you would be interested, but it sounds like something you might be looking for.

It might help to know what you have a bachelors degree in.

Also, I wouldnt suggest listing 65 words per minute as a big selling point. Anybody 20 and under has grown up with computers and can type 65 wpm easily. I myself can do 80 wpm, and my mother who worked as a secretary can do over 130 wpm. Its not that 65 wpm is bad, its just that I wouldnt list it as a huge bonus because everybody else can do it too. If you promote that as the best thing you have, then you seem average at best. It is somewhat like saying you can tie your shoes under the skills section.

Also, this may sound lame, but if you use websites like Monster.com, and CareerBuilder.com, you should make a small little change and re-update your resume every week. For example, after a week, add a space after a word, and upload your resume again. Your resume will look exactly the same, but it will be recorded as a new file by the server. That way when companies look for employees, they will see that you recently updated your resume, and still think your actively looking for a job. Companies tend not to look at resumes that are over a month old because they dont want to call people who have already found a job.

Very good advice, it sounds totally lame but I've tested this and it's true. If I update my resume tonight on monster I'll start getting calls about jobs in a day or two.

Sound advice, thanks both.

I see alot of finance jobs, but I don't have any experience working in that field, unfortunately. In desperation I did apply for a couple of very junior finance assistant posts, but even these asked for at least a year's experience. In a weak moment I emailed the one company and asked them (rather rudely, I'm afraid!) how the heck you're supposed to gain experience in the first place.

I tend not to use Monster and CareerBuilder any more. I posted resume's there, but was spammed to hell by recruiting agencies. I tend to find jobs at companies' websites and apply direct, or build up a database of addresses and send speculative applications.

Either it's the economic downturn, or finding work here in the States is so much harder than in the UK!

Well, what did you do in england? 'Admin jobs' really doesnt tell us what you did. Also, what is your major for your degree?

I'm not sure where in NorCal you are (it's a big area), but here in San Francisco, getting a job is HARD. You're not alone. I used to work in a warehouse-- it was boring, but I only ever saw one other person. I think you're going to find that "little to no contact with the public" and "get to use your brain" might be a bit of a contradiction for most jobs. The first statement would suggest something like data entry, but that's as boring as can be. I recently got interviewed for a "development assistant" position at a non-profit. It's pretty much an admin, but there isn't any receptionist stuff. Also, what computer programs do you know? I've gotten 1 or 2 interviews based only on the fact that I know Filemaker-- which is a fairly simple database program. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you want to rent or vent about the job search...I'm right there with you!

isn't california one of the harder places to find employment? or do I have that backwards

Maybe try things like mail clerk or jobs in storage if you are physically strong

Thanks all! My bachelor's is in Modern Languages (Gemman and Swedish - the German is very rusty now, but the Swedish is still very good). I'm in Sacramento.

The admin work I've done has been mainly with universities and 2-year technical colleges (their British equivalents, anyway). I was a Student Records Assistant (data entry and filing) and a Timetabler (using a computerised room schedule to book room and plan the schedule - that was very interesting). I also worked answering phone queries from students about the online store at a university, which I hated because I didn't know anything about it! Worked with nice people, though, very small team.

I'm not sure how this would work--not sure if you are a citizen or what, but wouldn't hurt to at least try and find out if you can apply for state jobs or Voc. Rehab. Hopefully you qualify cause it sounds like your best bet.

You said use your brain which kind of writes out DEO, but you have experience in it. Most people find it boring, but I actually quite enjoy it.

I'm not a citizen, just a permanent resident. Do you need to be a citizen to work for the State? I hope not. What with the budget crisis they're having in California at the moment, they're not hiring anyway until someone goes down to the Capitol and bangs some heads together!

Im an engineer, college was really hard and stressfull, but no one notices you since asperger and nerd disorders are close. The nerds go off to play video games at a days end, I read my usual service manual.