Employment Help

[ashenflowers 5]

Hi. Lots of people (me included) are looking for new jobs in our new homes after finally receiving EAD. It's not fun. It's bled into the Vent thread (obviously!), so as suggested, here's its own topic. I figured I might as well start it since as some of you know, for the first 5 and a 1/2 months after I moved here, both my husband AND myself were unemployed because he lost his job the day after I got here. Yeah, that was fun. Not.

Anyway, I digress... Please share anything you want about the fun trials and tribulations of job hunting. Interview tips/stories, who's hiring where, did you get a job (let us congratulate you), how are you conducting your job search (online? door to door? etc), and so on... Please be kind, and realize that this is often one of the most difficult things about moving to a new place. We're all in different financial positions (some are more desperate for a job than others!), so keep that in mind too.

Aaaannnnnd go (and good luck!).

(p.s... this is NOT an 'Employment Insurance' help thread. We already have one of those!)

Edited September 2, 2010 by ashenflowers

[Krikit 1,163]

Ugh. I am stepping back into the job market, myself, and it's sure not easy. Sounds like I need to go and catch up on the vent thread. LOL

Looking forward to hearing what others have to say. I'm finding that having to constantly key in my information online for job applications is very tiresome. It seems that's all some employers accept, though. Once I have a minute I am going to find some head hunters and/or arrange for an interview with a temp agency. To my mind, that's probably the most direct approach for someone in our situation. Good luck with your job search!

[The_Dude 1,142]

[beans 7]

All my job searching was online. The first place I hit (and was most successful) was my state's career bank. I applied for at least 50 jobs only got 1 call back and that was the job I got. Since then I have had a job interview(s) with a regional health office here. They just called me back today asking to call back so hopefully I got that one. Because, although I'm extremely grateful to have a job, full-time with full benefits would be a million times better since I don't have any insurance at all currently.

So yeah, main thing is looking at your states job bank. Maine's was really useful you would upload your resume, select job skills that you have, and it will e-mail opportunities they think you would be good for. You would accept the referral, and send your resume to the employer. But any service offered through your state seems ten times more trustworthy to me.

[John+Lourdelie 28]

Ha, that's too funny

John

Edited September 2, 2010 by John+Lourdelie

[Hugglebuggles 60]

When I was searching I started out using a lot of online sites like Monster and Simply Hired but it didn't get me anywhere. The best I would get from them is an e-mail saying I've been put in the mix or I have been "recommended" which really didn't amount to anything useful.

I subscribed to our local newspaper and I would look through the job listings in there. That was moderately successfully- I had a couple call backs and an interview. Unfortunately with the paper, it didn't seem like there were a lot of postings that interested me. There were always a lot of general labor jobs that I would die if I ever attempted. I'm not really the landscaper, painter type. If you live in a bigger town, you might have more luck.

I actually ended up finding my job on Craigslist. Craigslist moves fast. You need to check it multiple times a day, because often a company will put an ad up, get several applicants and the just remove it. I know the company I work for always does this. They put the ad up on Craigslist and then they take it down after they get more applications than they would like to bother sorting through. If you don't respond in the first 12 hours or so, you usually miss out.

[CBM 14]

When we get to that point (I won't be there for at least 8 more months..), I'll be looking on CraigsList, and the schoolboard websites. I hope that it works out!

[ashenflowers 5]

Is that supposed to be a stripper pole Rob?

I'd agree about Craiglist, it's fast, but you know it's current... and it's constantly updating new jobs so that's nice. I haven't checked out our state's job website yet, but might do that soon. Technically I have a part time job, but I don't know what sort of hours I'll be getting (only 2 hrs this week so far, for example... lol). So it's ok for some extra spending cash, but not for reliable income.

My husband ending up finding his job through the temp agency, and he's trying to push me to go through them. lol But I'm hesitant because I can't see them actually having any good, interesting jobs that don't involve sitting in an office/cubicle all day.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

My cubicle is lined with orange carpet. They're permanent walls built into cubes and it looks like nobody has updated them since the 70's... It's not a pretty site to look at 40 hours a week It's a good opportunity and a good job, but I really don't see myself doing this for the next 25 years.

When I decided I actually wanted to work and dedicated myself to finding a job, I made looking for a job my full time job. I was pretty obsessive about it for a few weeks, I would spend the majority of the day looking for jobs, applying for jobs, inquiring about jobs, and things really fell into place after that. But, I also think I had some luck on my side. I really think that no matter how hard you work at it, you really need some luck to find a good opportunity.

[Darnell 8,478]

Some suggestions:

1. get to the local 'Chamber of Commerce' and volunteer at all of the Chamber events for the next 2 months. You'll meet, face to face, the business owners in yer area, you can inquire with them, face to face, if they have any openings, in a 'less stressful' environment (Chamber of Commerce Meetings are FUN!) . If you are a 'good volunteer' then the Chamber President will talk to you often, you can pick his/her brain about jobs in yer area - he/she is wired in for everything.

2. find yer local toastmasters guild (see http://www.toastmasters.org ) and join a local guild, pay the fees, attend all the meetings. You'll be able to socialize with the members, many of whom are currently working and later, at some point, you can inquire about any new job postings, again in an informal setting.

3. got a hobby? find out where any meetups with your hobby, at www.meetup.com and craigslist. get out, go, talk with people.

USUALLY, the 'better jobs' are 'not listed' anywhere, and 'personal referrals' in the USA go MUCH FARTHER into a company than just the 'resume submittal process'. Your main goal, these next months, should be to get 'personal referrals' ...

Good Luck !

Edited September 3, 2010 by Darnell

[TimandJoyce 1]

I like those suggestions Darnell!

I have had 3 interviews since January.....*sigh*, and it seemed like they all gave me the run around. The one I was really hoping for was at Bath and Body...30% discount...oh yeah!! lol. But they were going through a manager change, and I never got my second interview, even though I went back continually to inquire about it.

The last interview was for a retail store called Cato. The interview with the person went super, I thought. We got along, we laughed, we even had things in common. Then she said, "I need you to fill out this little quiz" Something like 94 questions, with several of them asked different ways. And whether or not if I agreed with the statement or not. I also had to have a criminal and credit check done! Needless to say....I'm not working for them...lol. I have a real hard time with that quiz thing!

We're leaving for Canada in a month, for my son's wedding. I can't wait. First time back since I moved here last August. So the job search is "on hold" right now. I plan to look aggressively when we return in the middle of Oct. I'll have to apply online, as it seems that's what I've been told by several people. There is also a place here that is like a job placement program, and I'll check them out too. I really DO NOT want to do retail, if I can help it. I'm too old for that I'd really like to get into something where I may have a chance for advancement.

The other thing I'm seriously thinking is going back to school. I'll probably go talk with an adviser at the college here to see what my options are and such. There is a course I'm interested in taking; wouldn't be able to start until next fall, but I could start with the prerequisites.

I do have to say though...I've kinda enjoyed not working for a while.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I posted my resume on a few job sites like Monster but I found I got a lot of random inquiries from recruiters at companies who hadn't read my resume too closely - they'd done a search for some key word in my resume and sent me an inquiry - or they'd be from California or somewhere far away (I'm in VA)

It worked better for me to enter my resume into a company's own career site if I wanted to work for them and saw a job that I liked- a lot of themwill import your resume and you just have a small amount of adjusting to do - sometimes it will put your education into the orevious job slot - or whatever.

Most times companies that have a more robust job site will review the resumes that have been input to see if it matches anything they're looking for as well.

I googled common interview questions for my field (it's been a while since I had an interview...) and got answers to those down pat so I didn't feel nervous going to an interview.

I applied for between 5-10 actual jobs (other then posting on websites) and had 1 interview and got the job - all within a month. Funny thing was...as soon as I got a job, of course that was when other folks started calling - go figure

[The_Dude 1,142]

If you are just passively posting your resume on monster and careerbuilder and just waiting for them to send you interviews, you're going to be waiting a loooooooooong time. If you are looking for clerical work, in the 40-50K range, cities will be your best bet. If you are looking for something more than that, you are most likely going to need a headhunter, or one of the specialized websites that only focus on certain fields. Craigslist is ok, but especially in large metropolitan areas, you need to watch out for the scams. The scams on there vary and are very intricate and well thought out, but a good rule of thumb is, if they require you to put out any money, whatsoever, it's a scam. I've seen some very very smart people fall for various incarnations of the classic boiler room scam.

All in all, you're best bet is to get out there and pound the pavement. Not cold calls per se, but more directed approach. Look to see what companies are hiring on craigslist, or careerbuilder or monster, and rather than apply through those websites, either apply directly from their corporate website, or go down to their local office. You can also just scan through major corporate websites, they always have "careers with us" or some variation of that on their website.

And yes Ashen, that was a stripper pole. I wouldn't knock it though. I had a friend from high school who not only paid for undergraduate, graduate and PH.D studies, but also a 5 bedroom house in Brentwood.

ETA: Another career worth looking into is bartending. If you live in a fairly large city, you can make 50K+ very easily and not even working full time. I know someone who makes 85K per year working 3 nights per week. The funny part is that she has a degree from princeton that was earning her 50K per year, yet a 3 month night class in bartending is yielding so much more.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Rob & Mel

[Krikit 1,163]

Some good information in this thread. Thanks, guys.

Have a great time at your son's wedding, Joyce! I was at my daughter's wedding two weeks ago.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Network, network, network. Whether it is in person with friends, relatives, volunteers. Make sure you tell the whole world you are job searching. Linked In is a GREAT place to start with networking. I am linked to friends, old schoolmates from high school, university and college, old colleagues, old clients and contractors that i've worked with. You can also link with recruiters on there. At least once a month, i get contacted on Linked In about a job opportunity and this is with a very basic/minimal profile! Human Resource professionals are using Linked In agressively to find candidates for jobs. Ask you spouses colleagues about their past employers etc. (Example: my husband's colleague used to work in HR at a company that is in my field. She found out I was searching and offered to set me up to meet the HR person at her old company. I got an interview shortly after).

Personalize each and every resume and cover letter you send out. Look at the job posting and use words from the posting to describe yourself. Any online form submissions are scanning for key words in your resume using special software (a company I used to represent). This is very time consuming, but it really does pay off. It immediately draws attention to yourself because you are speaking in their language.

Research companies and places in your area where you would like to work. Look at their sites directly for job postings every single day. Find ways to connect with people at those companies... set up an informational interview, call the HR person to get more information. It shows true dedication and courage. They will remember you.

Apply for jobs that are even slightly above what your experience is for. Years of experience is always an ideal number but not necessarily exactly what they are looking for.

Look at the industry association websites for job postings. For example, in PR there are a few different places that I can look that always post amazing jobs like the Public Relations Society of America or Media Bistro. Research your industry, find out what the trends in your industry are so you can optimize your resume. What are the trends in customer service right now? Technology is now a huge factor, listening to customer via Twitter and people oomplaining on Facebook etc. If you're twitter/facebook/technology savvy and want a job in customer service - make sure this is represented in your resume.

For me, my resume was my golden ticket and then my interview sealed the deal for my first job in the US. I got my first job in the US on Monster.com. I spent a lot of time personalizing my resume to match the job description and just being really strategic about how i worded things - didn't just write about what i did at my last job, but included results and what i accomplished there. I notice that not a lot of people do that with their resume (i get to interview candidates at my current job). I also wrote a very personalized cover letter, relating back to my experience, linking it to trends etc. while using some of their language. I made them believe that I was perfect for the job, even though I know I wasn't.

My second and much better job was through my continued networking. I was recommended for this job by someone in Canada that I used to work with that knew I was in NY and looking for opportunities.

Don't give up. I probably sent out about 20 personalized and custom resumes/cover letters before I heard back...but I didn't give up. I spent 9-5 p.m. every day searching, researching, updating my resume, etc. Once I got a job, I continued to get requests for interviews months after I had applied. Some companies move fast, some companies move slow, so don't give up.

Good luck everyone.