good luck Shmookitty,
wishing you great success 
Thank you everyone! 
I was having butterflies in my tummy this morning, since it’s been so long since I worked. I was afraid I was going to have a hard time remembering things. The office manager I worked with has only been in her job since October, and the volunteer coordinator has only been there since March. Then there’s a social worker who’s only been there since February and a chaplain that’s only been there since March. That made me feel more comfortable.
None of them had any notes or job manuals about how to do their jobs, they are just figuring it out as they go and leaning on each other for support. Sometimes the only thing you can do is pull the most recent example of something out of the file and then figure out how to recreate it. I’ve done that plenty of times in past jobs.
On Friday it will just be figuring out things like exactly how their copier works. They’re not going to give me major work to do, just simple back office stuff. I think I made a good decision to go to that office.
I’m glad your experience is so positive so far 
@anon39736208
I do office work as a volunteer
I work two mornings at two different organizations
The work is easy and I’m good at it and the people working there don’t push me to answer phones or any
Only drawback is there isn’t a heap of work to do
I am hoping to eventually get part time paid work
I have an interview coming up for yet another admin volunteer job
@shellys12 That’s so great that you are volunteering! It’s a very good way to transition to regular employment. As someone said earlier in this thread, people generally treat volunteers really well since they don’t “have” to be there, so it’s a supportive work environment.
Good luck with your interview! I hope you get it and you like it!
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Thanks @anon39736208
Good luck to you also
And I hope you embark on a successful exciting career
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I volunteer on Wednesday and Friday this week. I just hope they save enough work for me to stay for about four hours. Last Friday, they only had 1 1/2 hours of work for me, so I didn’t get to stay as long as I wanted. I was pretty disappointed because I was ready to stay.
I’ve applied for two different billing jobs with the parent company to the hospice where I volunteer. The parent company owns the office where I work - they are on the second floor of the building. They do all the administrative work for hospices in eight states. I applied for a payroll job already but got turned down because I didn’t have experience with their system. I do have the experience they are asking for with the two billing jobs, so I am hoping to get to interview for them.
I said in my billing cover letters that I will be downstairs on Wednesday and Friday this week, so they could come down and talk if they wanted. I was trying to make myself accessible. Maybe the work I do as a volunteer will be helpful in finding a full-time job. I would love to work with the parent company.
The fire department job closed ten days ago and I haven’t heard anything yet. I also applied for an accounts payable job with my mental health community services board. I would LOVE to work with them. I spent two weeks in their inpatient crisis program five years ago and it was really helpful. I would love to contribute to an organization like that.
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I volunteered for 8 1/2 hours this week. I was happy they had enough work for me to do! I go back next Wednesday and Friday. Week 2 is done now and I feel really good about my decision to volunteer in that office. Everyone is super nice and they are giving me some challenging things to do so I’m not bored.
Today two people were complaining that payroll had messed up their mileage reimbursements. In some cases people were underpaid and some were overpaid. Apparently that position I applied for at the parent company is a new one because one man is doing payroll for 800+ people and lots of mistakes are made because he’s trying to keep up with everyone. Payroll is a mess. The people who were talking about it today told me to be grateful I didn’t get the job.
I don’t really feel that way though, it would have been a challenge to get it all cleaned up, and after that, we could split the work between us and have a normal workload. I still see that payroll job being posted on Indeed, I just tell myself that I would have been trained by now and helping out if they just took a chance on me. Oh well.
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Baby steps. While you’re volunteering, concentrate on doing a great job there so you can get s great referral when you need one for a paid job.
I hope you have some fun since volunteer isn’t all business, you could get a lot of different things out of it. Sounds like only a matter of time till you get back to work. I plan to start teaching and peer coaching soon. I do not need money but just want do something useful for myself. Sometimes after an episode we can’t function like we used to. Maybe you can only do part time now or only volunteer or need a easier job. How is your volunteer job going? Are you handling it well and enjoying it?
My volunteer job is going really well! They only came up with enough work for 6 hours last week, but I did 8 1/2 this week. I am handling it great and I really enjoy it.
I am definitely ready to go back full-time. I have been making notes here as I apply for paid jobs too. I put in today for an administrative specialist role for the nursing administration area of one of our local hospitals. I won’t hear back from that for at least eight weeks, but I do have a resume in.
I would love to do peer coaching, but you need a special certification to do that at my area’s mental health community services board, and I don’t want to go back to school. I applied for that payables job there, I will have to settle for something like that if I want to work there. I am not qualified to do anything clinical.
I am looking forward to working full-time again, I can earn significantly more working than I get on disability. I just hit the savings account for $7,700 to get my car, so I want to pretend like I have a $250 car payment each month to put that money back. I will miss my volunteer job when I do find something permanent though, I have managed to fit in very well there and the people are very good to me, after only two weeks. They know it’s only until I get a regular job, and they’re fine with that. They have another office volunteer who comes in on Tuesdays, so they’re used to having someone around to help out.
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I just finished my third week of volunteering twice a week. I was a little bit disappointed this week because they only had an hour of work for me on Wednesday and only two hours on Friday. I want to work 8-10 hours a week.
Because it’s a hospice office, most people are in and out since they work heavily in peoples’ homes and in assisted living centers. They work with patients most of the time as opposed to being at their desks. I’ve had several people tell me they will give me projects but so far only one thing has happened.
Next week, the office manager is on vacation. She’s the one who gives me my work. I’ve e-mailed the volunteer coordinator to see if she can come up with enough work for me to come next Wednesday. With Friday being the day after the July 4th holiday, I am guessing the office will be a ghost town so I am not planning on going that day.
Paid job wise, I found a posting for a Cash Management Technician for the city’s Treasurer’s Office. I applied for that, I am fully qualified. It doesn’t close until July 12 though, so it will be awhile before I hear anything about that job. I still have the admin job with the fire department and the nursing administrative assistant job out there, plus I am still hoping that the hospice’s parent company contacts me about the two jobs I applied for up there. It’s been two weeks. The volunteer coordinator has offered to put in a good word for me, but I don’t think she has yet. She is going to be my third reference I needed for most jobs, so that’s a good thing.
I’m really glad I started volunteering. It gives me a lot of confidence that I can go back to work full-time. I know I am working only a small fraction of full-time, but the important thing is that I am driving independently, running with projects with only minimal supervision, and interacting with a variety of personality types. I am doing really well so far. I am looking forward to finding a regular job now and I’m no longer afraid of what it will be like. I have the Zyprexa to thank for that! I haven’t had any paranoia in this office, which is a big difference from my last two jobs. That was my most disabling problem, and the Zyprexa all but eliminates it. I am ready to work again.
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Wow! You’re doing so great! I’m so happy for you! I hope you get that cash management job
I did four hours of volunteering today, so I am happy. I don’t like going in for only an hour or two, I want to build up the endurance to stay close to a full day, to train me for when I’m going in for 8 hours at a paid job.
I have an interview with the mental health community services board on July 22. They are only interviewing three of us, so I have to be on the ball! It’s for an Accounts Payable Manager position. I’m excited, I would love to work for them. The Director called me himself, he didn’t delegate to a secretary. Now I just have to wait for the 22nd, I’m sure it will seem like forever!
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Good luck @anon39736208!!! I hope you get it!
Thanks Pianogal! I think I would feel a sense of security working there, since their crisis program helped me before. It’s like the security I have when volunteering, knowing my pdoc is right across the street. Perhaps the mental health community services board is where I’m supposed to be. We’ll see!
It is always heartening to see someone successfully fighting against this disease. Good for you!
Thanks @crimby! It’s all the Zyprexa. I have been on disability for over 4 1/2 years, but things changed dramatically once I started Zyprexa. It has controlled my positive symptoms and allowed me to get my life back.
True, I am doing the work of getting a regular life again. I am now driving myself, running errands myself, volunteering, losing weight, looking for a full-time job…if you told me in January I’d be like this, I’d have said it was impossible. It would be easy to just stay at home and on disability, but now I am able to do more and I want more. I want my life back and I am fighting for it!
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