Alright, guys, this is urgent.
As a lot of you know, Valkysas, The Webmaster of the RPG Maker Pavilion, and good friend of the RPGMM has fallen on some troubled times.
http://www.pavilionboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8957


When the Pavilion has needed money in the past for server bills and other issues, Valkysas has denied donations. That is why I was hesitant about this at first, but I have come to a revelation...

Paul is a human being, and one who I have upmost respect for. I will be DAMNED if if just roll over and let this happen. I have set up a donation box with paypal--and all collections will be sent to Valkysas.

Thank you for any contribution, no matter the ammount.
http://www.rpgmmag.com/donations.php

I just donated! I wish I could do more, but I'm strapped, too.

ill give, just as soon as i get my paypal account finalised something i never did....

Valk's always seemed to be a nice guy. ^_^

I really don't know how successful this can be. From what it seems like, Valk will need money for rent/food as well as other necessary costs. And I don't see this community coming up with anywhere near enough.

What Valk really needs is a job. My gut feeling tells me he's had more than one or two months to find a job, but maybe he didn't give it his full effort. And whatever his current living situation is, maybe they got tired of it and finally gave him an ultimatum on that. I can't imagine family being cruel enough to suddenly tell him to take a hike if they've been decent enough to him thus far.

Which leads me to believe that the one thing that would help most is a change in Valk's attitude (you reading this Valk?). Instead of complaining about how bad your situation is, and how McDonald's turned you down, try looking at maybe why they turned you away. Or how you could improve on that for another place. The impression I get is that you have the attitude of "I'm not going to find a job, so what's the point of even trying".

One thing I'm certain of, is that there are jobs out there to those who have the dedication/attitude to find them. People quit and/or are fired, so spots do open up. Do you spend a full working day (40 hours/week) giving your full effort looking for jobs, with an optimistic attitude? If not, then you have room for improvement. Also, is there some kind of welfare (government assistance) that you can apply for? For that, you'd typically have to prove that your looking for work full-time, but as long as that's the case...

I've offered Valk help, and sent him a PM specifically offering resume help. Maybe he doesn't know me well enough, or trust me enough, to accept this help. But if his situation is as dire as he makes it seem, then I don't see how he can afford to turn away any help he can get. What's worse is that he didn't even respond to my PM, making it seem like my offer to help is unappreciated.

Anyway, I think it's more important to continue to push/motivate/help him to find a job right now than it is to send him money. Sending him money will only cause him to not to give as much effort in his job search.

Oh wow, I can't believe you did this.

Kire is sending me money for my rabbit to go to the vet. as long as it's not too expensive, I should now have enough and everything should be okay.

That being said, people sending money to this donation box isnt neccesary. My rabbit is the only thing I need money for, and that is hopefully not an issue anymore. I'd appreciate it if you refunded the donations recieved so far. I appreciate that you guys would do something like this though. its great to see that so many people genuinely care.

as for by job hunt...

I search every day, almost all day for jobs. I haven't given up. I'm getting pretty damn annoyed being turned away time and time again, but I havent given up and I'm still giving it my all.

I'm having no success because Michigan has the worst ranked economy in the nation now. there's far more people looking for jobs than there are people looking to hire. Almost all my work experience comes from working at a daycare facility for the past few years. I have very little experience with anything else, except my little stint at krogers a while ago, and they give me bad references, as I was fired from there just because the store owner didnt like me. I've called pretending to be other stores checking references, and they give me different stuff all the time. most of the time its just "not for re-hire", but they also say that I've stolen (which I never did) or damaged company property (which I also never did). No daycare places are hiring right now, So what experience I have doesnt really count for anything (and I have been told that). Employers are almost always going to go with someone with some relatable experience over someone with none.

I just got back from bugging best buy, pet supplies plus, target, and k-mart about applications I turned in a while ago, trying to get an interview. I'm going to keep politely bothering these people until I get at least an interview. tomorrow I have a different set of places I'm going to go bother (local newspaper, burger king, toys r us, gamestop, software etc, circuit city, and yet another best buy).

Why are my parents going to kick me out? Because they suck. This is not bizarre behavior for them. My dad punched me in 7th grade because I got a C in math. I used to come home to find things of mine sold so they can buy random crap (dad wanted a new monitor, or a printer for instance) until I got into a physical confrontation about it and threatened to call the police. My mother attempts to treat me like a 9 year old, demanding to know who everyone is who calls me, and referring to them as whores if they're female. Both of them are cool most of the time, but they both have these moments where I wish I had a tazer or something to shove into their necks.

My parents aren't making money off me in my current situation, so they dont want me here. Thats all it is.

I want a job desperately, so I can get the hell out of here. even if the job doesnt pay that much, I could still get a place with a friend or something.

I'm sorry to hear that if that's the case. But still, you don't need experience. All you need is to be given a chance. I had zero experience, aside from delivering the local newspaper. Although, I was also in school, so I guess that helped a little. But the point is, there are other things that employers look for besides experience.

If they're just looking through applications/resumes, then your lack of experience might cause a few managers to look past you. However, you can help things by writing a well-written cover letter, somehow turning your lack of experience as a positive thing (or even just not a negative thing). Maybe mention how you're enthusiastic or eager to start working with them. Or list other qualities you have as a person that would cause them to look past that lack of experience. Are you a part of any groups/teams?

And if you get an interview, that pretty much means that the employer has already looked past your lack of experience. They might (probably will) still ask about it, but as long as you're prepared and have a good response to that, and carry yourself well, then you should be fine. Remember that you can get turned down for other reasons. You could also get hired despite not having experience. The key is to be enthusiastic, and focus on what you can bring them (why they should hire you), rather than worrying about why they won't hire you.

Also, remember that no matter what job you had (even working at a daycare facility), you CAN find qualities from that job that employers are looking for. Especially for these types of jobs. If you need help finding these qualities, feel free to ask.

EDIT: Mostly, with these kinds of jobs you're looking for, full training is provided, and experience can easily be obtained on the job. If you're a quick learner, make sure you mention that. Many employers are more worried about whether you have the capabilities to be a productive employee with them. Sometimes that means having worked in a similar environment in the past. If you don't have that experience, then you need to convince them that you can still be successful at the job.

And if you mention that you're a quick learner, or hard worker, or something similar to that, make sure to support them with recent examples from your life.

EDIT 2: If you know any references are giving out information that may be hurting you (whether it's true or not), DO NOT use them as references!!! Choose someone else as a reference (such as another manager or assistant manager, the owner, or even a co-worker). A co-worker can give more information on what it's like working with you, and how well you fit into the "team". Or else, don't list any reference from there at all. Both of those options are better than listing a bad reference. And if you're asked why you don't have a reference from there (which I doubt you will be), you can then proceed to take control of things yourself, rather than letting the bad reference do so for you.

Oh, and as I think I mentioned earlier, sometimes availability can be much more important than experience. Remember this if you're feeling down about that. If you're applying to smaller places with mostly "youthful" employees, chances are many of them are in school. So someone who's not in school (that's assuming you're not) has an advantage over other applicants who are, in some situations. Even if they have more related experience.

I hope everything goes well for you, Valk. I truly mean that. I don't have any cash on me now, nor a paypal account, but I still hope your luck turns upward.

~Bonanza.

Valk, I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'd be willing to lend you some money if you need it.

My luck may finally be turning around.

I recieved TWO phone calls within the past 2 hours about job interviews. One is at Best Buy, the other is K-mart. Best Buy interview is tomorrow, K-mart is friday.

Wish me luck, guys.

Greatness!

If Best Buy asks you about references within the company, mention Justin Stephens in store 799-Destin Florida.

You should have two interviews in person. They basically ask the same questions on both, just asking about generally what kind of person you are...what you liked/didnt like about your last job blahblahblah.

If they schedule you for the interview with the GM after your first interview, the job is pretty much yours.

GOOD LUCK!

Until you get that first paycheck, you should still take what we are giving you. It will help with food and rent.
I gave some. Valk, never be ashamed of taking charity, we don't expect you to pay us back. You and Kire created the reason we are all here and freinds. You've paid us back once for each time someone has made a post on the pavilion and/or the mag combined.

That's great news Valkysas about the two possible jobs. Cool. Personally, I hope you get the Best Buy one, but whatever you get will be a great change, I know.

Valk really needs our help for his bunny. That rabbit is like his child, and he really does care for it deeply.

He's currently $60 dollars short. Come on, people! Give a buck or two if you can!

More here:

http://www.pavilionboards.com/forum/sho ... php?t=8990