Human Resources or keep trying as a drug and alcohol counselor? (employees, interviewed)
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So my whole reason to go get my bachelor's degree was to become a drug and alcohol counselor for our county government. Well, I applied to intern there for the Friday Night Live Drug and Alcohol Intervention program and they did not select me. I feel if they don't select me for this intern (probably because 2 females interviewed me and acted like they wanted a female for job), then they probably won't select me for the job. I do know the head of drug and alcohol services because I took a class with her. They took a lot of time with me at the internship interview, but I left with them saying they will let me know if they want me in a week or not. I took that they didn't want me.
I feel it's kind of pointless now to intern for a non-profit drug and alcohol organization since I can't get the job at the county. The county is the only worth while place to work to get a decent wage for the work you do, so I can't work anywhere else.
My back up plan is go into human resources. However, my concentration is in Criminal Justice and not Organizations Management. I don't even have an internship set up in human resources (yet). Ugh what should I do?
Many counties don't have the staffing budget to add many jobs, since the state level funding has dried up. The jobs are going to be very localized depending on the tax and budgeting situation. With the sequester, federal dollars going to the state will dry up also.
Many counties don't have the staffing budget to add many jobs, since the state level funding has dried up. The jobs are going to be very localized depending on the tax and budgeting situation. With the sequester, federal dollars going to the state will dry up also.
So should I not look towards county and state jobs, but look to federal jobs?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Many social service programs are in need of female employees, not that they are sexist, but they want to keep a balance of female/male in relation to the people getting the service. Some kinds of help are more effective when the provider is the same gender. This is not a good time to look for a federal job, if you follow the news. For HR work the most secure jobs are those not dependent on tax dollars. That would be utility districts, port authorities, and airports. The problem is that they will require many years of experience. With so many qualified, experienced people laid off in HR with layoffs and hiring freezes since 2008, it would be hard to compete right out of school. I would consider the greatest future need in HR to be the area of benefits administration, as healthcare costs and regulation continue to go out of control. Also, continuous process improvement, to provide efficiency to accomplish more work with the same or less people. Look at programs like Six Sigma and the promising LEAN program that we have implemented, I expect there to be great demand in the next few years.
Many social service programs are in need of female employees, not that they are sexist, but they want to keep a balance of female/male in relation to the people getting the service. Some kinds of help are more effective when the provider is the same gender. This is not a good time to look for a federal job, if you follow the news. For HR work the most secure jobs are those not dependent on tax dollars. That would be utility districts, port authorities, and airports. The problem is that they will require many years of experience. With so many qualified, experienced people laid off in HR with layoffs and hiring freezes since 2008, it would be hard to compete right out of school. I would consider the greatest future need in HR to be the area of benefits administration, as healthcare costs and regulation continue to go out of control. Also, continuous process improvement, to provide efficiency to accomplish more work with the same or less people. Look at programs like Six Sigma and the promising LEAN program that we have implemented, I expect there to be great demand in the next few years.
LOL well that confirms it. The fact that the 2 local counties hiring only have 1 position open and the fact there are more HR jobs out there is a sign I need to put more energy into getting a human resource job.
I'm in the mental health field (recently transitioned to substance abuse) and what I've learned over the years is: Substance abuse pays more than mental health & for profit substance abuse companies pays more than non for profit. It might be hard to do (with little experience) but see if you could intern for a for profit company rather than only focusing on gov't or non profit. You'll find that people who are in private practice are more connected than those who work for the gov't. Just a suggestion.
I'm in the mental health field (recently transitioned to substance abuse) and what I've learned over the years is: Substance abuse pays more than mental health & for profit substance abuse companies pays more than non for profit. It might be hard to do (with little experience) but see if you could intern for a for profit company rather than only focusing on gov't or non profit. You'll find that people who are in private practice are more connected than those who work for the gov't. Just a suggestion.
Here in CA though, the for profit and non profit substance abuse rehab programs pay the same-about $30k start and $40k finish. The Gov pays $40k start to $52 finish with a union and benefits.
A quick search too shows that there r a lot more HR jobs in my local market.
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