Hey, everybody, I could use some input!

[flippant]

Yeah only geniuses grant write........The last time I was involved in a selection of one we picked the person we knew that may have written some grants before. I think your resume is a good idea and maybe it will stick out more than most. Just don't minimize your own abilties during the process (if the responses on the cellar are any indication). I know your background having heard it for many years, and they would be Lucky to have such a person. How many years experience have you had writing, and were you or were you not educated at a prominent university for just that? (rhetorical) And remember, if grant writing doesn't work out you could always become a used car salesman. (maximum qualification is the ability rip someone off with their knowledge of it)

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by flippant

~snip~~~ And remember, if grant writing doesn't work out you could always become a used car salesman. (maximum qualification is the ability rip someone off with their knowledge of it)

there are plenty of real life jobs she could hold. I don;t know if she could handle selling cars.....you have to think a few steps ahead to do that properly. and in sales, people need to like you. she might be a tad cloying for sales. maybe she could work the register at the grocery store, or if she needs to work at home, there are always jobs for medical transcriptioners and such in the paper.

you are a very good friend, flippant. i mean, to sacrifice yourself like you do, posting in mari's threads and always sounding even stupider than she, just to make her look smarter....it's quite ....touching. we could all use frineds like you behind us. good job

Well, LJ, aside, thanks to everyone else for your encouragement and suggestions. Clodfobble, I think that's an excellent idea to discuss my other qualifications in the first part of my cover letter and then introduce my CO expereience as the final qualifier while down playing the neurological aspect.

Even if I don't get this particular job, it has given me a more concrete goal to work toward. "I wanna do something with my writing" is pretty vague, now I have something specific. The stupid hospital FINALLY has the results of my neuropsych eval for me - it's only been since August that the tests were finished. The wait on the results has delayed me getting into the voc-rehab program, because they won't do anything for me until they see the results. So, next week I'm going to trot down there with my paperwork and see what they can do for me, as well. Who knows? Maybe they'll send me to some journalism courses up at CU so that I have some recent credentials to show future employers. Meanwhile, I'm still going to apply for the grant writing job. It doesn't hurt to try, and like Garnet said, it will help to get me back into a mind set where I'm looking for REAL work again.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by marichiko

and then introduce my CO expereience as the final qualifier

Qualifier? How does poisoning yourself qualify you for this job?
Do you mean that your sob story might trump the fact that you don't have the 3 years experience they are looking for?

Originally Posted by jinx

Qualifier? How does poisoning yourself qualify you for this job?
Do you mean that your sob story might trump the fact that you don't have the 3 years experience they are looking for?

You're right, Jinx. Think I'll just loll around on welfare at your expense. Maybe do a little creative writing, move back down to God's country in Durango, smoke a lot of weed, and find myself a sexy cowboy to hang out with. No point for someone like me to try to do anything. :p

[dar512]

I've been on both sides of job specifications and I can tell you that the qualifications listed are what they would like to get. If there a number of qualified candidates applying, you are unlikely to get the position.

On the other hand, if there aren't a number of qualified candidates applying you have a shot.

I once posted an ad for someone with three years of c++ experience. This was in a small town in the middle of illinois. The guy I hired had no experience in any field. What he had was a ph.d. in zoology and a minor in computer science. But, he was the most qualified applicant, so he got hired.

I think it all comes down to whether there will be other candidates with more experience. Give it a shot. But don't pin your hopes on it. In the mean time, submit a bunch of other resumes for other positions. Getting hired is a numbers game. You generally have to lick a lot of envelopes to get an interview -- and do a lot of interviews to get an offer.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by marichiko

You're right, Jinx. Think I'll just loll around on welfare at your expense. Maybe do a little creative writing, move back down to God's country in Durango, smoke a lot of weed, and find myself a sexy cowboy to hang out with. No point for someone like me to try to do anything. :p

Mmmyeah, that's exactly what I said.
No, obviously (as in why would you need input on this, it's a no-brainer) I think you should apply for the job and do whatever you can to get the job, qualified or not. I do however question whether your "experience" is a "qualification" and I'm wondering why you worded it that way.

Originally Posted by jinx

Mmmyeah, that's exactly what I said.
No, obviously (as in why would you need input on this, it's a no-brainer) I think you should apply for the job and do whatever you can to get the job, qualified or not. I do however question whether your "experience" is a "qualification" and I'm wondering why you worded it that way.

Here's exactly what you said: "Qualifier? How does poisoning yourself qualify you for this job?
Do you mean that your sob story might trump the fact that you don't have the 3 years experience they are looking for?"

According to you I am someone who "poisoned myself" and expect to go around telling "sob stories" about this in order to obtain jobs that I am unqualified for. You really expected me to give a serious reply to a question worded the way yours was?

The short version of the furnace incident is that my CO detector was malfunctioning and I did not know it, and my ex-step father was the one who serviced the furnace, and at the time I thought he knew what he was doing. If you want to call that "poisoning myself," that's your perogative. The long version of the furnace incident IS a sob story which I'm not interested in relating here.

The job is working for a non-profit group which seeks to help the homeless. My qualifier is not that I suffered from chronic CO poisoning, but the fact that my resulting ill health prevented me from working and I ended up homeless myself. I know what it is to experience homelessness. I feel deeply about the issue. I have done a great deal of research on the subject on my own, especially when it comes to funding programs to help the homeless find shelter. My first hand experience makes me a very dedicated advocate on behalf of the homeless. Now, do you get it?

[limey]

Originally Posted by marichiko

... [snip] It doesn't hurt to try, and like Garnet said, it will help to get me back into a mind set where I'm looking for REAL work again.

If you seem to be in the ballpark (and to me, you do, mari), then I've always said it is up the the potential employer to write you out, not you. So apply, emphasise your qualifications, both "academic" and experiential, and see what happens. Good luck, mari!

[Elspode]

I only know one thing for certain, Mari. If you don't apply, you will definitely not get it.

[ladysycamore]

Originally Posted by marichiko

Well, LJ, aside, thanks to everyone else for your encouragement and suggestions.

At least you are trying. Don't worry about any naysayers: They can eat a steaming bowl of toxic shit spinkled with maggots. Screw them.


Good luck in whatever you do.

[garnet]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

and in sales, people need to like you.

So people "LIKE" used car salesmen? That's hilarious

And Mari: a lot of the experience requirement depends on what kind of company it is. Some companies are tight-asses about requirements, others aren't. Some place more emphasis on the abilities of the candidate and how they present themselves in the interview. They might find someone with 10 years grant writing experience, but if that person is a troll who sucked at their job, they might hire YOU instead. With my last job I was totally unqualified, but the interview went great and they knew I was motivated, so it worked. Like I said before, go for it!