Learn me changing careers

So, my job is killing me.  I hate it, and am completely burned out. 

Right now i do housing and crisis intervention for mental health.  Overthe years, ive tought vocational rehab, run 4 facilities while managing 60+ employees, done one on one skill building with spmi adults, etc. I know how to fix cars, work in mental health, make furniture, and work with people. 

Ive had jobs in landscaping, sales, customer service, construction, auto parts, run my own buisness illegally, did prep work and autobody for cash, etc. 

My career has been in mental healthcare. 17 years of it. I want out.

I cant seem to get my resume to reflect ANYTHING but healthcare or social work. Cant get it past whatever automated screening system that employers are using now. 

But i need something different. Can't be a desk jockey or office dweller, as i am not suited to that. Being out and about, managing things via cell phone and car, moving and hustling are how im happiest. 

Im near Charlotte nc, and making 52k a year with piss poor insurance. Bit a bs in psychology, minor in English, and 17 years of hustling/working multiple jobs at once/dealing with the human wreckage and dwelling in the dark corners that most people only see on tv. A career where a bad day at work means somebody died, became homeless, got put away for a while, etc. A career where theres never aby long term payoff, no thanks, no rest, no clocking out for the day/night/weekend/holiday. Im at the highest my education will take me, and i hate it....

If youve read this far, learn me how to get a different career. Industry. Insurance adjuster. Field tech. Something completely different from human services. How do i get a good resume from what i have? How do i get an interview? Is there a guy i can call?

pm'd

Watching.  Have a friend who was very good emt in Fl. and just gives you that look when you ask him why he doesn't do it anymore. 

I did see something for a local county recently on CL where you surveyed gas lines or some thing like that.  Not the greatest pay but maybe an off-ramp?

Kevin Coyne wrote a song about his short time in a mental health hospital called 'House on the Hill'.

you can watch/listen here.

Maybe a brief period or sabbatical from work before anything new as I saw recently such advice.

You get past the bots and into an interview scenario by taking their job description and changing "the ideal candidate will have experience in..." to "I have experience in..."

seriously, you have to learn how to take your specific experiences and describe them from a much bigger picture perspective.

What else can you do?  What do you want to do?  What are you good at?  What can you tolerate for money?  As I have said before, they don't pay you for the work, they pay you to put up with the bullE36 M3.

I suggest a cover letter that says "I'm good at xxx, which is what you are looking for, and I want out of the social work industry..."

In reply to Bent-Valve :

You have a reply!!!!

AngryCorvair said:

You get past the bots and into an interview scenario by taking their job description and changing "the ideal candidate will have experience in..." to "I have experience in..."

seriously, you have to learn how to take your specific experiences and describe them from a much bigger picture perspective.

The bigger picture perspective is where i really struggle. My brain seems to shut down when trying to generalize my experience/skills outside of mental health. Is there a service/guy/SOMETHING that helps do that? Like i ramble on about my work history and such from open ended questions and they generalize?

In reply to Dr. Hess :

I want to make something/fix something/do something where at the end of the day i can look at it and go "it was a good day. I busted ass, and scomplished xxx." Where when i go on a day off for medical stuff, i dont get questions about why i didn't respond to voicemails on the same day when my message said i was off. Where when i have vacation time at Disney, i dont break out the laptop and cell phone and work 18 hours to avert a crisis that my backup didn't even attempt to fix.

I can tolerate a LOT for money. Been doing it for years. But the sheer soul crushingness of what ive been doing has finally got to me.

Do i add the cover letter to the word document so their program scabs it too?

Unless you work on an assembly line, all paid work is basically problem solving of some kind. So rather than think of this as a "Career Change" think of how you might use your existing skills to solve someone's problems and get paid. Ideally the job has room to grow so you can learn new skills that you can then sell to the next bidder. 

I think the notion of "career" is dead, at best you are looking for a long-term consulting gig.

Pete

In reply to nutherjrfan :

Id love to do the sabbatical. However, financially that can't happen. Same with too big a pay cut. 

How soft are your hands?

J/K

Try to think of other skill sets outside of the jobs you’ve had in the past, don’t get tunnel vision. I was in a similar situation 3 years ago when I left my job of 11 years. Turns out my years of playing with cars helped me land a job building industrial gearboxes. 

I offer only understanding and support. I burned out on managing/maintaining a metal roofing factory two years ago. I am now a maintenance man at a community college making 1/3 of what I made before, and not challenged/fulfilled at all. Then again, the health care is really good, and I'm zeroing in on 50, so maybe I'm what needs to change.

Peace and love, brother.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Haven't you done plumbing work with your buddy, Dallas?

Is full time there a viable option? 

Ever consider commercial construction project supervision?

You could do it. Easily (although it’s gonna sound crazy at first). I recently walked a friend from being a temp worker into a solid good paying career with a great future. 

It wont be YOUR hands that build stuff, but you WILL have the satisfaction at the end of the day. 

There are stresses. But managing sane though eccentric people to build stuff according to a plan in keeping with a budget and schedule is a lot different kind of stress than the mental stresses and bureaucratic stresses you’ve been dealing with. 

It also involves travel, and long days. That is a deal breaker for a lot of people, but easier to manage than it sounds. 

Requires (and offers) nearly complete autonomy. 

You've got my number. Call me if you’d like to talk. 

wheelsmithy brings up a good point, stress.

I just finished a degree in programming, which I am good at, but it was stressful. After not getting hired for 4 months, I went back to driving a truck, for me its a no stress job. I still look for a programming job but I will consider the stress level.

Having reread the thread you should consider stress level also.

Your automotive skills could transfer to manufacturing, packaging, warehousing layout (fitting an engine where it was never designed to fit) North Carolina, any racing industry near you? Your organizational skills could be applied to other industries.

Hang in there man.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

What about medical transport like John W. and Aussie Steve?

I can help advise you if you are interested in being an insurance adjuster.  PM me of you would like.   

I am a field adjuster for home owners insurance and it's certainly not low stress but it's manageable.  Tge flexibility and freedom really depend on the company and managers you work for.   Your construction background would be very helpful after that it's a matter of getting a license if needed and learning the estimating software. 

John Welsh said:

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Haven't you done plumbing work with your buddy, Dallas?

Is full time there a viable option? 

unfortunately, no. at least not any time soon. just isnt enough work to justify putting me in my pwn truck at this time. 

SVreX said:

Ever consider commercial construction project supervision?

You could do it. Easily (although it’s gonna sound crazy at first). I recently walked a friend from being a temp worker into a solid good paying career with a great future. 

It wont be YOUR hands that build stuff, but you WILL have the satisfaction at the end of the day. 

There are stresses. But managing sane though eccentric people to build stuff according to a plan in keeping with a budget and schedule is a lot different kind of stress than the mental stresses and bureaucratic stresses you’ve been dealing with. 

It also involves travel, and long days. That is a deal breaker for a lot of people, but easier to manage than it sounds. 

Requires (and offers) nearly complete autonomy. 

You've got my number. Call me if you’d like to talk. 

ll be giving you a call tomorrow. this sounds like i may bo OK at it. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

north carolina has their own county run, medicaid funded transportation. so private wouldnt really fly here. 

In reply to Greg Voth :

you have mail

The cover letter is probably more important than the resume.  The problem is most HR departments are run by people that really don't have a clue.  The goal is to do an end run on HR.  So, scan the job listings, find the local office, walk in dressed nicely and hand the resume and cover letter to the receptionist.  Better yet, have your homework done and find out who runs that office.  Put your resume/letter in an envelope addressed to them and hand it to the receptionist.  Smaller companies, say "medium size" in the current definitions, like with 2-300 employees, don't tend to bother much with the job boards.  They still have HR people to run around, but it should be easier to find out who runs the place and hand in a resume.  We get them like that all the time.  The cover letter specifying what you can do and what you are looking for speaks a lot at that point, after which the resume will be read.  In our business, we frequently look for people that are smart and trainable, not necessarily having the exact skill set of the job. 

For an unconventional resume, google up Leonardo de Vinci's resume.  Linky.  Try re-writing it with your skills.  I mean besides sending people to the best homeless shelter the city can afford.  Other skills that relate to whatever job you're looking for.

Also note that I suck at this.  And hate it.  When I got pissed off at the last job when they cut my pay by 3%, also announcing in the same letter that it was now OK to wear blue jeans on any day of the week instead of just Fridays, as long as you weren't meeting with a customer, (Isn't That GREAT??!!11!!!)  I sent a resume to 2 recruiters.  I had a job offer in my hand 3 weeks later.

So, how do i find listings and recruiters these days? Ive always been hired from the job i had via the work i do. I answered a want ad a few times, and walked into places with help wanted signs. This seems like those tactics dont apply, and my attemptswith indeed, charlottehelpwanted.com, etc just waste my time as i can't get by the computers. 

Additionally, is there a few good examples of the cover letter so i know what im writing? I mean, i can erite a wicked craigslist ad or short story, but those ain't cover letters. 

Greg Voth said:

I can help advise you if you are interested in being an insurance adjuster.  PM me of you would like.   

 

I am a field adjuster for home owners insurance and it's certainly not low stress but it's manageable.  Tge flexibility and freedom really depend on the company and managers you work for.   Your construction background would be very helpful after that it's a matter of getting a license if needed and learning the estimating software. 

I was going to suggest this. Your background in everything, but especially sketchy people, would make you valuable dealing with people in the field. Not sure how you get in, but it sound like Greg can answer those questions.

Insurance adjuster is actually one of the short list jobs that appeals to me. Weather it is auto or homeowners, it actually sounds like fun. 

I sent greg a pm. Hopefully it went through.