I'll agree about protecting your identity but keep in mind if they ask for something and you don't provide it, some places automatically disqualify the application. One county here (perhaps more but I know this one) has the policy that if you put something like "will provide upon hiring" you won't get the job. If you don't fill out everything asked for, you should make an indication if for instance it doesn't apply. So be aware. Lots of good advice. Check the local unemployment office. They have a lot of listings there. Possibly it won't be exactly what you're looking for but sometimes it's better to take "a job" and have that going for you in terms of networking, practicing interviewing skills and the like. Are you willing to take a job that's not your dream job? Are you only looking for full time and not willing to accept part time? Part time often can lead to full time. Are you willing to start more at the bottom and try to work up to a manager? Different areas interview differently. Go ahead and apply at places you don't necessarily want to work and go through the interview process. I'd record it too and you can listen to yourself and see how you're coming across to them. There's an old cliche about it's easier to find a job when you have a job and there's some truth to it I believe. Sometimes frustration comes across during an interview and we don't realize it. Also when you're working you get other leads too. There's different philosophies on follow-up. My uncle went to the place he wanted to work and sat in the employment office (there wasn't "Human Resources" in those days!) and kept asking them if they had a job for him. Well, it did work for him but I'll caution that when I was hiring and people kept calling me every day or two, that lost points with me. That told me that if they want something, yes they're persistent but if it's something like "I want a raise" and you tell them they don't qualify for one for 6 mo or a year or whatever, they may just keep bugging you every day for one. So I'd advise caution in that regard. Yes, most places handle the hiring process electronically these days so be ready for it. Have your resume in several different forms. Include one that can easily be copy/pasted into an electronic app. Have a resume for a generic job if you're willing to accept something different. Have the one of course for your dream job. Lastly, I've never been fond of asking them to keep an app/resume on file. Many places have laws that require it anyway but it can easily come across as trying to tell them how to hire people. Better to ask their policy. If they trash them after a position is filled, then send another about a month later. Around here it's required to keep the applications if someone should sue. Also they keep the notes from the interviews and often they're recorded as a protection. Learn about a company you want to employ you. It's a bit impressive to the interview if you can drop in a comment that shows you did some research instead of flooding the market with applications. Lastly, as hard as it is, and I know this from experience, try to not let yourself get frustrated. Keep in mind that every "no thanks" is one step closer to the job. Maybe you'll find it quickly or maybe it'll take a while. One thing that many job search people recommend is putting yourself "to work" finding a job. That is, schedule yourself "x" number of hours a day dedicated to job hunting. They even recommend you dress for an interview during that time. It has happened I got a couple chances to interview immediately and was able to walk out the door. No surfing, other than job related. No phone chat other than job related. It helps put you in the mindset and helps keep your mind focused. Good luck. Keep your chin up!

I think you have to sit down and work out what she is spending the money on. Maybe that isn't enough. When my daughter was that age, I gave her enough for movie and food for once a week. I said I would pay for clothes, the ones she needed, not wanted ! My son 14, gets $25 a week, this pays for all he needs. I buy all clothes, which is difficult for him to even agree to getting new clothes ! He doesn't use his phone much, preferring skpe and msn to chat after school. I might add, with that generous $25, there is a agreement that he will do what he is asked to do (help around the house, clean his room, iron his school clothes, chop wood, mowing, always do his best at school). When does she use all this phone credit, perhaps you could direct that onto skype. Be firm, instill your rules and stick to them. I am sure you are a wonderful mother ! Popi

You never need to chip all of the way down to the gunite. Just chip down to hard solid material. $1000 for a complete strip of a pool is a bargain. The dump fees alone are 10-20% of that. After a good pressure wash and acid etch you should be ready for plaster (or diamond brite.).

(I posted this on another forum as well. So many have this issue!) Daddies instinctively protect daughters. Never make them choose between you and the daughters. The only way to, IMHO, to solve this is to convince the dad that forcing the daughter to be self-sufficient is BEST FOR HER, and this is easy to do if you read up on enabling behavior, teaching self-sufficiency, etc. Summary is that he is HARMING her by NOT teaching her budgeting, self-sufficiency, and the joy of building a comfortable life step by step. Children are raised in a family such that by the time they are 18 it is typically more safe and comfortable than if they go out on their own. They have to "step down" in living standards when they start out on their own, and build their own life in order to be comfortable. This natural way to build a life is stripped away by enabling parents who have seen to their children's needs and feel their children should continue at that lifestyle level instead of starting out on their own at a lower level. Remind Dad of his own struggle to become successfully/financially independent, and that he is robbing daughter of this same life journey and the character it builds. The daughter doesn't know anything different, this is what she has been made to expect, so this is, sadly, really ALL the Dad's fault. If the Dad isn't convinced this is the way things should evolve for daughter FOR HER OWN GOOD, then separate your finances, budget for your future including retirement, and require Dad pay his half of your joint expenses. If he can't pay it due to support for daughter, then he is bumming off of you, and you have some hard choices of your own enabling behaviour. Finally, I suggest strongly that the daughter is not just dumped. A timeline needs to be created, maybe 3 years, with firm milestones on becoming self-sufficient, including training for a career. The milestones need to be met every 6 months such as attending training classes, filling out job applications (if needed) x times PER DAY, with consequences spelled out in writing and carried through. Buy Quicken or similar product for daughter to learn about budgeting. I advise NOT being the career adviser, but pointing daughter to state/federal resources and career counselling to teach her how to get help on her own, although funding career counselling may be wise. Read up on tough love and remember that young people's expectations are set by the parent. They don't know any better than what they've been led to believe. Good luck. You only live once.