I lost another friend

I hope you've said this to your therapist and not limited the remark solely to here.

 

I have.

 

At the risk of asking a stupid question (mostly because I don't feel like reading through the previous 18 pages again), what kind of job have you been seeking?

And, at the risk of making what you, and many others, may consider a dumb suggestion, I'm going to do it anyway: Walmart. We're hiring. I'd suggest asking about the Personal Shopper/Ecommerce jobs (my department) and about the Tire & Lube Express center, or, if you don't mind working a (very) early shift, try what's called CAP 1.

E-commerce is the future, everywhere. In TLE, it's always busy, help is always needed, and they give training, so you don't necessarily have to have experience with cars. And it's a skill that I've seen many guys (and a couple women) take to other places, and on to better, higher-paying jobs. And CAP 1 (Customer Availability (of merchandise) Program is basically a stocking job, but there's a lot more to it, including some more cerebral stuff, and I consider it the best non-supervisory job in the stores. You can learn a lot about store operations and processes in CAP 1, so it's a great place to start if you think you might like to advance upward. You also, pretty much, get left alone to work once you know what you're doing. The only downside is that the start time is 4 a.m. It's great being out at 1 p.m. every day, though, too. (If you do apply, and want to go for CAP 1, make sure you don't get put on CAP 2. That's an entirely different job and shift, and is much more demanding, physically speaking, than almost anything else you could do in the stores.

 

Mostly, I've been applying for copywriting and content marketing jobs. I thought I had skills that could transfer to those positions, but perhaps I don't.

When I applied at the temp agency, it was for data entry and clerical positions.

 

Maybe it’s Massachusetts. (If I have that right.)

Why not move out of that depressing state, and try something like Florida?

 

What's the pace like with CAP1 or 2? I see the night stock crew in a grocery store like Stop & Shop and those guys work very hard. Sometimes, when I've asked them where I could find a certain product, they seem annoyed. I think that may be because it slows them down and makes it harder for them to meet whatever productivity numbers they need to hit.

While the stories about working in a warehouse for Amazon may be exaggerated, I doubt I'd last long in a place like that. I'd give it my best shot, but I'm not particularly young, fit or fast-moving and I know if you don't meet your numbers, which are very high, you're gone.

Mostly for health insurance reasons. I get it through the state. I'm not sure if that's possible elsewhere and it's something I'd need until I can get insurance through an employer.

Also, both of my brothers live nearby. While I can sometimes go weeks without seeing or talking with them, I think, especially with this issues I have now, having that support system helps.

If I were to move to another state, it would most likely be Ohio because I have cousins who live there.

 

There is a lot of work on both shifts, but it is more varied, interesting and not quite as physical on CAP 1. There's plenty of work, but CAP 1 also is a little more low-key than CAP 2, probably because much of the shift is early in the morning/day, when the stores are quieter, and for at least part of that time, nearly customer-free, even. I highly recommend CAP 1. I did it for about a year and actually really liked it. Maybe it was just what I needed at the time, but I found that I learned a lot. In fact, it was almost like a collective ah-hah moment for me. It was like I GOT it, and it was when Walmart became a real business to me, and I became much more of a business person, rather than just someone who works at Walmart, if you know what I mean. I gained a lot of recognition and built up a lot of trust with store management with the work I did during my time with CAP 1, and it led directly to me getting the job I have now. It's a position in which you can feel useful, productive and helpful once you understand what you're doing, and why, because it gives you kind of an overview-type vision of what's going on, operationally speaking.

That is not the case with CAP 2, which is often referred to as the heart of the store. It is, indeed, an important role -- but, unfortunately, you might not feel like it in the same way that you can with CAP 1, just because it's very physical, and you are relied upon to do most of the heavy lifting, all the time. It's a second-shift job, first unloading the trucks, then pulling everything (on pallets, with pallet jacks) to the sales floor, and then stocking it. We have a couple older men, and four women, too, on our CAP 2 team, with the rest of the group being young guys. I think my store is somewhat unusual, though, in that we have a great CAP 2 crew -- this is not always the case -- and a terrific (younger middle-aged) CAP 2 supervisor who makes it all go, and work. Again, this is not always the case, and your experience in CAP 2 is highly dependent on the leader and the rest of crew. They can be a really cohesive unit, and seem to enjoy each other and help each other; they could save a table for the group and, by choice, all sit together at meal and break times, and clearly like and respect the supervisor (like my store's CAP 2 crew does). Or, the situation could be the opposite. And yes, they might get annoyed at constant interruptions and requests for help from customers, just because there's so much work to do. But that's not the customers' fault. The problem/issue became exacerbated in recent years with a change away from working overnights on stocking, to doing much of it during the daytime and early night hours instead. To be honest, and blunt, too, it makes it so that, physically speaking, customers are the workers' way, and the workers and all their pallets/merchandise are in the customers' way. I really respect the people who work on CAP 2, but my advice would be to avoid it.

 

Maybe my cover letter is the problem

 

After reading a little about it, I don't think I'll try to kill myself.

Looks like most attempts are not successful, which means if I try it probably won't be successful, leaving me with serious, permanent physical damage and huge medical bills.

Guess I'll just have to endure whatever life throws at me the best I can.

 

One day at a time. Hang in there.

 

he just told you that would leave him with serious permanent damage and huge medical bills