Employers dont seem to be quick off the mark....

[aidan80 9]

Big companies, with a formal hiring process, will usually send a "thank you, but..." letter. Most other companies... nope. It's like sending resumes to a black hole - until someone calls back. As someona said, looking for a job IS a job in itself.

The company where I work now called a few hours after I sent a resume.

Thing about when I was applying was.. I aimed at government type jobs due mainly to the benefits and pay on offer and only 1 bothered to even say thanks but no thanks? I did learn that sending CV's out into the wild is like sending them to a black hole, don't wait on anything. I send a $hit load of applications out as well and got little or nothing back..

I have recently started applying for jobs again and same thing happened to me... I applied (online) and the next day I had a phone interview. I applied for an IT Technician job (thats what it was posted as and what it described) and got interviewed for a administrator/programmer job The interview didn't go well... part of the reason was I had a very aggressive interviewer and he wanted an IT Technician and wanted to pay as such but they really wanted an admin/programmer You don't put out an advert for a handy man and expect to get a professional builder/carpenter/electrician/mechanic.

[truffles 2]

Thanks everyone ,,appreciate all the remarks ...

Aidan i hear you - i too am begining to think i need to start all over again,,,whilst i dont have what i would class as a profession....i have spent many years in a customer service role - dealing with very very irate telecoms customer ( maybe you know the company i worked for ..lol)

I participated intially as a advisor - then spent time coaching newer colleagues - and substitute manager ( usually holidays cover) but it seems with no assosciate degree or other such qualification it means relatively little. Effectively i have been applying with a completed standard UK education so i have resorted to explaining the equivalent is GED or equivalent to graduating from school.

Can anyone tell me what exactly is an assosciates degree?

Good luck to those hunting and well done to those who are bringing home the bacon!

[T_and_A 3]

Associate Degrees are 2 year college degrees. You can go to http://www.rodp.org/home.htm and see what a 2 year degree is like compared to 4 year (Bachelor Degree). These are online courses but it gives you an idea of each.

Make use of the internet with your job hunting...there are several job posting sites ( http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ , http://www.monster.com/ , http://computerjobs.com/homepage.aspx , http://www.careerbuilder.com/ ). You can post your resume and search for jobs as well. If you are willing to do temp work, check out some of the placement companies ( google search Robert Half, TEKsystems).

I hope this helps a little...

Good luck with your job search.

[aidan80 9]

Thanks everyone ,,appreciate all the remarks ...

Aidan i hear you - i too am begining to think i need to start all over again,,,whilst i dont have what i would class as a profession....i have spent many years in a customer service role - dealing with very very irate telecoms customer ( maybe you know the company i worked for ..lol)

I participated intially as a advisor - then spent time coaching newer colleagues - and substitute manager ( usually holidays cover) but it seems with no assosciate degree or other such qualification it means relatively little. Effectively i have been applying with a completed standard UK education so i have resorted to explaining the equivalent is GED or equivalent to graduating from school.

Can anyone tell me what exactly is an assosciates degree?

Good luck to those hunting and well done to those who are bringing home the bacon!

It really is in a lot of ways starting over again from scratch, someone might as well just booted you out of high school and gave you a blank credit report.

Degree's are all good and dandy, I've heard of people on here with degrees still finding it hard to find a decent job. All the stuff I did back home, all that training and all those nice shiny certificates mean 0 to a lot of employers. That is why I'm getting some qualifications they will recognise and maybe lead them to look at the other stuff I have from back home. Luckily I can sit a number of exams and get "certified" over here which will help move things along. Is there any classes or exams you could take over here and get a certification in what you did back home?

If you where in the telecoms business and had dealt with those lovely customers then that alone to me is a profession. Customer service is a big thing I've found to a lot of Americans! Well it isl at least those that pay taxes and call me from time to time to complain .. The other poster nailed the associates degree on the head for you.

Good Luck!

[britty 1]

Truffles,

I feel your pain !!

When I first started the job search back in March 2007, I thought I would have something easily within four weeks. I applied online, Monster, Career Builder etc but never received any acknowledgements let alone any offers of interview.

I accidentally stumbled upon a job (friend of a friend of a friend type of thing), and that was a part time role. Anyway, I stepped up the search for full time employment in December 2007, and the first few weeks, after tens of applications, I heard nothing. Then at the end of January I started getting calls, and invitations to interview. Last week alone, I had 2 offers of employment for really good jobs in my preferred industry doing what I love, and then today I got a further offer !!!

It absolutely will happen for you, and one of the ways I found helpful was to contact a recruitment agency or consultant. You will find loads in your area online. Basically, a lot of these agencies have a large number of jobs on their books and because each agent gets a large commission for placing you, they really do work hard to get you placed somewhere. Im not sure what industry you are in? I do international Event Management and those jobs aren't always that common. All your hard work searching will pay off in the end. I did get very demotivated by the whole thing but do keep going and something will come along soon !!

Good luck !

Hi all,

Ok here is my part of the story

I started applying for jobs on mid Jan. 08, started by applying for 4 jobs a day and today I reached 13 jobs, and to tell the truth I only got 5 call backs so far out of 50, I was so disappointed till I read this post, I thought I would get response for all the applications or at least "a no thank you", now I feel better. I applied so much that I think all the people who work for Aerotech know me already.

Being a mechanical engineer thought a job hunt here in the US for me will be a piece of cake, but guess what I was so so so wrong, I have worked for a well know company back in my home country and this company has couple of openings here in the US but in different state, I did apply for couple of those positions, only an e-mail asking about my status, reason for leaving my post back home, and I will get a call from them. that was 10 days ago and till now never got that call.

since, we started get short on money and no light at the end of the tunnel I started to apply for all kind of jobs even for technician position or general labor till know no feed back.

On Monday I should have a call interview for an entry level job, go apply for a warehouse personal that I asked 3 times if they require experience thank god the answer was no and for a pool tech. job that will train?.

wish me luck guys

a mech. engineer who is looking for a job

I wish you all the luck in the world !! I'm so glad that you are pushing forward and feeling confident. There are companies out there who will recognize your skills and experience, and I think the reason we don't have success at first is because the right job just hasn't come along yet. I took the mindset that my perfect job was being "created" and that is why it took a while to find it.

[KarenCee 3]

. You might want to try picking up applications directly from companies. You can also try staffing agencies like Kelly Services, Manpower and Express Personel. The website I found most helpful was actually craigslist.org.

I wish you all the best and good luck!!

Wise words, I personally think this is the best way - specially if you are already experienced in your area. Employment agencies, unless they specialize in what you do are not my number 1 choice.

I have to say I agree with this most of all. Putting your face out there, going in person, tends to make more of an impression (IMHO) than anything else. Prospective employers might tend to remember you if you go in person.

It doesn't hurt to call the company and say that you are following up on your resume/application submitted on xxx. This shows the company that you are interested and uts your name in their head as well as putting a voice to a name (your voice should always be polite and professional of course and you should show interest by stating a fact about why you want to work for the company).

This is good advice too. It could be that company xyz has your app and resumé, but actually hearing from you could make or break it in terms of employment. I do know that some sort of contact makes a difference. My husband applied for literally hundreds of jobs online...he has a 2 yr degree in IT/Network Admin...nothing, nada, zip. I also suggest that if you're submitting your education (i.e. proof of degree) that you make sure the prospective employers know what it equates to here in the States...this from our experiences. All those online job sites mentioned aren't any good here where we live. It really does depend on if you are (a) willing to commute or (B) live really close to a big city. We live in a high tourist area...jobs are here, but they're low paying and in the hospitality industry for the most part. If my husband ever finds a job in IT it would have to be with local government, state, or school system...there just isn't anything else here. My husband has a job now, but it's not in his area. Oh well, as he says it *is* a job.

Anywho, that's just my 2 cents worth.

[brtlmj 0]

Can anyone tell me what exactly is an assosciates degree?

From Wikipedia:

An associate degree is an academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, business colleges and some bachelors degree-granting colleges/universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years.

[....]

In the United States and, more rarely, Canada, an associate degree is equivalent to the first two years of a four-year college or university degree. It is the lowest in the hierarchy of postsecondary academic degrees offered in these countries. It is also equivalent to the UK's foundation degree and France's diplôme d'études universitaires générales or DEUG.

[kd4uvc 0]

A simple rule which my Dad taught me and it held true. In America, to get a job, you need to be currently working a job. It shows responsiblilty. Take any job if offered then upgrade to the job you want. You show that you are willing to work, you are eligible to work, and you are not lazy if you are working. It also shows intelligence to improve on your employment. When I was discharged from the military, it took 17 weeks to find the first job, and I upgraded 3 times in one day. Within 6 weeks, I had a good paying job from one of the best employers in the community. Find any job, work hard and be dependable, the good jobs will come.