Turning down an interview while on Unemployment

I'm on the last 12 weeks of EB, I got an en email today asking if I would like to come in for an interview for a sales job for a Solar installation company that I applied for. I applied for it because it was just posted and figured why not. I had told them yes that I could next thursday the 21st and at 1pm. They emailed me back and said they only have 5pm Wednesday available. Wednesday is a tough day for me to do since it requires me driving about 60 miles for the interview. So I told them I could not do that day and let them know that I have no sales experience anyway.

I know turning down jobs while on unemployment can cause benefit stops but what about turning down an interview? These sales jobs are a dime a dozen, i need something stable, i am 32 years old and have been a union electrician for 13 years

Hi Chubz. My husband is a Union Electrician as well and has been for 20 yrs. He has applied for sales positions and was turned down for them because of lack of experience.

I don't know if they will stop benefits for turning down an interview. 60 miles is a long drive and would cost an arm and a leg for gas!!!

I didn't turn the interview down, i told them I could do 5pm on Wednesday if nothing else but noted to them that I have 0 sales experience. I haven'tt heard anything since

They won't stop your benefits because of that. They won't even know about it. That sounds like a commission job that you probably don't want anyway. I am sure you have thought of this but have you tried starting your own electrician business? I am sure you had to have a liscence to get in the union so you should be able to.
That's a great skill to have. I am afraid to work on my guitar amp without getting electrocuted.

If it was on Craigslist North Jersey I went on it. These solar sales jobs are not jobs. You have to go through 1 week of unpaid training then you try to get BIG accounts like hospitals and supermarkets. If solar panels were to save a ton of money they would have it by now. These "companies" just want you to go around and provide free advertising. Any sales job that is commission only are for two types of people.

1. The real sales professional who WILL make sales.

2. The naive 99er who will only be free advertising for them.

Don't forget a $100,000 salary is always possible. If you don't do it it is because you are not a good salesman. Don't drive 60 miles for a bull brow stuff job. Any sales job that worth anything will give you a $500 to $600 salary plus commission. Even then watch out, they are usually rip off companies or sales are so unobtainable your peeing in the wind. If you have 12 weeks left keep em.

im definitely not taking a sales job. I know how it works with these fly by night salesman jobs

lendmeflight2 wrote:They won't stop your benefits because of that. They won't even know about it. That sounds like a commission job that you probably don't want anyway. I am sure you have thought of this but have you tried starting your own electrician business? I am sure you had to have a liscence to get in the union so you should be able to.
That's a great skill to have. I am afraid to work on my guitar amp without getting electrocuted.

aside from a few small side jobs, most people wont hire you unless you are insured. the insurance is extremely costly.

It depends on the state. For instance I am registered at the Illinois unemployment job site and recently got a call for a sales job selling cell phones. I told them I wasn't interested and they told the site about me. I talked to unemployment and she told me that if I was still getting unemployment I would be required to go for the interview! I know someone who got rejected from unemployment because she turned down a minimum wage job an hour away.

Sales jobs are really non-jobs a good deal of the time-yes, there are legitimate sales jobs-but most of the time you work your butt off for nothing. People have NO money to buy things they don't absolutely need- and while you're driving the tires off your car and burning up a hundred dollars worth a gas a week-you may get nothing in terms of pay.

Unless you're being reimbursed for expenses, sales can be a hard row to hoe. Besides, consumer spending is down, regardless of what the media wants us to believe as the focus moves to financial conservation.

the gentleman emailed me back and told me they looked over my resume and due to no sales experience, they will look somewhere else. I asked them if they were looking for an electrician for their solar installs and they said they would get back to me

I'm sure at some point in your career, you've had sales experience of some type even if you don't recognize it as such. If you'd like, I'd be happy to review your resume since one's presentation starts there. May I also suggest craigslist.com and Twitter as Web sites to incorporate in your search if you've not done so already? Are you on Linkedin, a social media site? My email address is writewright7@gmail.com if you're interested in the resume review.

I generally don't like sales jobs, and I agree they're non-jobs. You have to travel, pay for gas, buy some equipment to show people, and only a few who have a knack at sales do well and the rest just end up losing money. Worst are the ones that have you hit up your family for the sales =/

In early January I applied to one of the one of the tax preparation chains. Of course I got a response from them and they wanted me to take their week long class. The catch was, although the classes were free, the books were $75 and it was mandatory that you purchase them. Of course after the one week training, there was no guarantee that you would be offered an $8.00/hr temporary job. Thankfully, I didn't have the $75 dollars to purchase the books. I've been a 99er for over a year, so I have no money to spare on these schemes.

DesperateInRI wrote:In early January I applied to one of the one of the tax preparation chains. Of course I got a response from them and they wanted me to take their week long class. The catch was, although the classes were free, the books were $75 and it was mandatory that you purchase them. Of course after the one week training, there was no guarantee that you would be offered an $8.00/hr temporary job. Thankfully, I didn't have the $75 dollars to purchase the books. I've been a 99er for over a year, so I have no money to spare on these schemes.

I applied for one of those jobs too. It was listed as a marketing job and since marketing is what I worked in I figured why not? Then they told me it was a class. No thanks.

How right you are that job seekers must be beware of schemes as they are plentiful, especially in today's climate. However, when possible, it's good practice to thoroughly research a company before submitting a resume. If something smells fishy (like having to invest money before your candidacy will be considered), stay away.