QuasiMondo

This is more of a rant and my need to vent more than solicitation of advice, but I'll take that too.

I hate my job. I hate it enough to want to do something about it, so I did. I started looking for another job. I dusted off the resume, polished it up, updated it to include my present job and went job hunting. Family and friends gave me great leads and excellent references. I've also been finding openings on my own as well and if it sounds like something I'd want to do, I submit a resume and a well-written cover letter. Resumes sent by email are done through a professional sounding account [LastnameFirstname@aol.com], but when no email is indicated, everything is sent out on a manila envelope through the postal system.

The problem? I've received absolutely nothing in return. Keep in mind, these weren't cold calls, these were to folks who have openings and are looking to hire folks. One position, for example was with the State Department, the other was with the City of New York. I haven't even received so much as a letter acknowledging that they even got my resume. Nobody calls me back, nobody say, "Thanks we'll keep in touch," I get nothing.

I check my mailbox every day, nothing. I check the spam filter just in-case it was picked up as spam by mistake, nothing. It's like I'm sending my stuff down a black hole. I could deal with somebody saying, "Well, you're not what we're looking for," or something like that, but the fact that I'm getting absolutely nothing back from these guys to even tell me that my application will be taken under consideration (even if they don't) frustrates me.

Is their inbox just a big metal trashcan or something?

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Push-Pull

Have you followed up with any of them? When I got my current job, it was because even though I had done their online application, I stopped into the employment office they were operating out of to check up on it. Turns out that taking that initiative was what they were looking for.

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"No laws, no matter how rigidly enforced, can protect a person from their own stupidity." -Me-

"Some people are like Slinkies..... They are not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -Unknown-

DAMMIT! -Jack Bauer-

mixedmedia

It is very important to follow-up, especially on the jobs that seem the most attractive to you. But if you're in a competitive field living in a competitive market it's really, really tough, I know from experience. When I have done some recent job searches I've applied for literally hundreds of jobs and gotten one or two calls back. And NO no thank you letters. My sister has been looking for a job here in Orlando for more than four months with no luck - and she has a Master's degree in English. She even interviewed for a Customer Service job TWICE and they gave it to someone else. That says, to me, that the marketplace is flooded with people looking for work.

That's why I decided months ago just to deal with the job that I'm fortunate enough to have. I don't like it, per se, but the pay is (comparatively) good, I have my own office and, most importantly, I ALREADY HAVE IT!

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Mister Coaster

When my father in law was out of work, he was getting on average one response for every 15 resumes he sent out. You really have to cast a wide net to catch a fish these days. With the sheer numbers of applicants (e-mail or not) employers look for the first little thing to disqualify someone from the race, and they are under no obligation to tell you that you weren't selected for the next round.

Even if you hate your job, at least its paying the bills while you are looking to improve your situation, imagine being out of work and doing the same thing.

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If you have any poo... fling it NOW!

JustJess

As a person who works in HR... I can tell you that there's simply too many people. We cannot *possibly* call or write every person who gives us a resume, even for the jobs we advertise for. It's hard enough getting the "no thanks" letters out to those we actually interview!

It's the small things, really. A nice looking resume, no shoddy copies, and for gods' sakes, SPELL CHECK! If you're going into anything other than housekeeping, there's no excuse for typos and that will immediately make most recruiters say "nah". Unless you have some particular quality that no one else has - a certification, a licensure need for the job, etc. FORMATTING - yes, it counts! Don't use thirty different fonts and sizes... clean is more professional. If your cell is better to contact you, fucking list it! What good is your home number if I can't reach you there?

Depending on your field, you can do the resume one of two ways, basically: One, list the past jobs with a brief summary of responsibilities/skills used and two, list the major skill/accomplishments separately from a basic list of actual jobs etc. held. If any were through temp agencies, SAY SO so we don't think you're a job hopper.

As far as education goes, it depends on your field. If I'm going to apply to be a secretary, the BA I got in English helps (we don't care what year, that only gives us more fodder to see how long you might have been out of a job). A degree in GENERAL helps. But if I'm going to be an Xray Tech, then it's more about my certs and all that. Make sense?

Hope that helps...

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

QuasiMondo

Part of the reason I don't like my job is because I don't like the direction (or the lack thereof) the company is headed. The folks up top seem to have their heads in the clouds, customers are walking out the door, and it's made me paranoid that it won't be long before we have another batch of job cuts. Being unemployed scares me and I've always tried my best to avoid being put in that situation.

As for the resumes, I've been following up. Unfortunately, the follow-ups get no response either, and they don't leave a direct phone so I can only send an email. Spell checking is a no-brainer. Everything is done in 12-point Times New Roman (bold where necessary). Cell phone is listed since that's the only way to contact me. Certifications, etc. are listed, military background is included in my job history, and instead of just saying "eight years, blah blah blah," I went the extra step and broke it down by which unit I served under and what I did while I was assigned there. I have separate resumes set up both ways between responsibilities/skills and skills/accomplishments, and depending on what kind of position it is, I'll send one or the other out.

Thanks for the suggestions though, I'll keep on searching and hope somebody gives me a call back.

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

JustJess

Hm. What about with customers? Anything you could do in their businesses? That ended being a good source for a friend of mine..

Other than that, I guess you'll have to be patient. It sounds like you're doing what you can. Perhaps cast a wider net? Are you tied to your location?

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

ngdawg

Hang in there...it took me two years to get the job I will now be starting that's in my field of expertise. What cinched it, though, was not just what I know, but the conversation at the interview(almost 90 minutes of talking shop, about families, etc.). I got the lead for this job from a friend who scanned the wantads better than I did.

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Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

QuasiMondo

I have no interaction with the customers in our company. I'm not tied to my location, but I'd rather stay in New York if possible.

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

seretogis

While I planned a move from Minnesota to Seattle, I pursued a job for four weeks until I was hired. I sent 3-4 "just checking in" emails, had a phone interview, in-person interview, and a couple of status update phone calls / voicemails to let the owner know where I stood and that I was still interested.

A job -- especially a good job -- you need to track and hunt down like an animal until you spear it, sotospeak. It's not a process I enjoy, but it is certainly something that takes some practice to get right.

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seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

dirtyrascal7

I would highly recommend picking up the latest version of What Color Is Your Parachute?. It's a fantastic book, not just about job searching, but about finding the right career path. It's filled with good advice and tips on nearly every aspect and stage of job searching, and it gave me a lot more confidence and inspiration to just get out there and go after what I wanted.

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"Tie yourself to your limitless potential, rather than your limiting past."

"Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him."

thingstodo

Make sure your resume is one page only. And have a simple cover letter with no more than 4 paragraphs that introduces you, quickly recaps your qualifications and says when you will follow up.

E-mail resumes are a pile of junk with every Tom Dick and Harry sending in something, even if they aren't remotely qualified. A resume package on white bond paper in a matching envelope (nothing handwritten) stands our more than e-mail.

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If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

MSD

Send in a resume with a cover letter that's directed at the company you're applying to. "I feel that I am well-qualified for this position because of [boring credentials list that's repeated on resume]" doesn't stand out like "Having seen [company]'s successful launch of [product] last year, I see a business where my skills in [relevant stuff] and experience with [impressive-sounding stuff you've done] will benefit [the company] as well as contributing to my professional advancement and growth." Your cover letter should be a few paragraphs and be between half an three-quarters of a page, and you should end with something like "Thank you for your time; I will follow up with you later this week to further discuss the position and to arrange an interview."


Call three days later to ask if they received your letter and resume and ask if they would like any more information from you, and when they would like you to come in for an interview. After the interview, go home, grab a small sheet of your personal stationery and write a note to the interviewer thanking him for his time and stating when you will call to follow up on your interview. If you have excellent handwriting, you can write it by hand, if not it can be typed (on a typewriter if you have one,) signed by hand, and with a typed or handwritten envelope.

eggman414

Man, I was just in your situation, and - I know this is easy for me to say - but shit just comes out of the blue. I just got a new job about a month ago that, until I was actually hired, I would never have thought I could get. Shit just comes out of the blue. I graduated from college last year and it took me a year to find a good job. I was working in the interim, but my job(s) at the time were seasonal and not really much of a career; or, they barely paid. Just keep on and something will come up, eventually.

One piece of advice, though - where appropriate, make yourself stand out, and don't be afraid to do so in an unusual way. For my current job, the first thing I told the interviewers was that I don't know how to tie a tie. It was a kind of funny story related to my travails in getting to the interview, and put everyone at ease. A bit before that, I landed a regular (though barely paying) freelance gig by writing an unorthodox cover letter. This stuff wouldn't work in every field, of course, but I think the right people will appreciate it if you let your guard down a little.

QuasiMondo

Still no progress.

This has me thinking: Is it worth the $$ to have a professional resume writer go over my resume?

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

thingstodo

Possibly a dumb question, but are you sure you're sending a package for the right jobs for your resume?

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If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

QuasiMondo

I'd like to think that I am, but now I'm not so sure, which is why I'm debating having my resume professionally done.

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

maleficent

Having your resume professionally done can either be a good thing or a waste of money... Have people in your field look at your resume and give them their honest opinion (Heck, I look at 100s of resumes a year - I can pick out the BS from the good pretty easily) There are lots of professionals on this forum who have opinions...

Dirtyrascals suggestion of picking up a copy of what color is your parachute is dead on -it's the bible for job hunters or job changers - any version in the ppast 5 years will give you tons of good info... I've suggested it for years to people and it does help...

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kurty[B]

Follow-up is key, or if possible, arrive at their office and check. When I applied for my current job I showed up to see if they had received my resume and request an information interview with the Dir of HR. She didn't meet with me then, but because I showed up, they put my resume at the top of the list and called me a few days later. Given, I was 180 miles away by that time, but a thumb and some friendly cross-country drivers were able to get me back to town in time for a face-to-face interview.

Current jobs I'm applying for, I call once a week to talk to someone. I've talked to recruiters, to the hiring managers, to the possible boss. I try and get a date that they will respond to me, and if I don't get a call that day, I call first thing the next day, or if they don't give me a date at all I call in a week. It's the only way to find out if they gave the job to someone else, or if it's still open. I generally try and call between 9 am - noon with HR people. Gives them time to get settled for the day, and if you call in the afternoon it's easy for them to think you are a lazy sleep-in casually searching for a job.

thingstodo

Perhaps your time would be better spent making sure you're looking for the right jobs and doing the research rather than paying someone to look at your resume, only to still send it in search of the wrong job.

The fact that you acknolwledge that you're not sure is a good thing and also may indicate that this is an area to spend more time considering.

Another good book is Now, Discover Your Strengths and another version Strengths 2.0. They both allow you to take an on-line assessment and learn about your natural talents. That way you can go after what you would naturally be good at and not try to fix weaknesses and be "well rounded" which means you're not really good at specific things.

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If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

QuasiMondo

Don't get me wrong, I"m not doing a scattershot approach to my job search of applying for anything and everything under the sun. Every job that I have applied for was because it was squarely within my area of expertise. I'm just inquring about whether I should get a professional resume writer because I'm beginning to question if I'm really getting the point across in my resume of how good I am at what I do. I'm thinking that if they're not seeing that my qualifications, education, and history is just what they're looking for, then maybe I'm not properly displaying it for them. Agreed?

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

MSD

If you want to post it in Members' Playground (because it's not a public forum,) we'll check it out for you.

QuasiMondo

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!

I just got a letter from the State Department scheduling me for an exam for my Information Management Technicial specialist position.

I am beyond giddy, I can barely type...

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Cynthetiq

Cool! Good luck on the exam!

and professional resume writers, eh, I don't see how they can justify the costs, it's only worthwhile when in upper management and you have all that extra cash to spend.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

QuasiMondo

Good thing I didn't spend the money on one. Now I have to get myself focused back on this board exam.

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

ShaniFaye

congrats!! When do you take it? Good luck

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

QuasiMondo

Exam is on Oct 19, so I'll probably spend that entire weekend down in the D.C. area.

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

World's King

Man, I feel you on that waiting thing. It's a pain in the ass. I've maybe sent out 1,000 resumes. I've had maybe 30 return phone calls.

You know what I did that seems stupidly simple but worked? I used color. I always have my name in red big at the top of the paper. That way when the person in flipping through, my stands out. They pull it out of the pile and read it. My last boss told me that was the first thing he noticed about my resume.




Good luck on the exam.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

Racnad

On paying someone to critique your resume.... waste of money.

There are tons of articles about resume writing online that you can read for free. And if you do, you'll see they conflict. Some say one page only, some say no more than two, some say as many as you need. Some say to sort the content sequencially, some say by type of skills. Everyone is different about how format dates, etc.

That's because any one person's resume writing advice reflects how that one person likes to see them. If you find a resume writing article written by a manager you want to work for, that's fantastic, but that advice from one person may not work for someone else.

My suggestion is to read a few of those articles, and note what they all agree on. Next, socialize with people in your field (especially those who work for companies you'd like to work for) and let them know you're looking. The job offer I have now is party the result of knowing and working in the past with an executive of that company. They may know of upcoming positions. Even if they don't, ask them to look at your resume. Resume writing advice from managers in your field carries more weight than online articles or so-called "career coaches."

Datalife2

There are way too many people in the world and still growing and imagine how many people people will apply for one position?

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where's my lighter?

ChrisJericho

That's cool you finally got a call back.

I was experiencing the same thing, I think I sent out about 20 resumes each time I looked for a job before I got a single phone call back, and these were all positions I was qualified for.

I hope the exam goes well for you, I'm also on the third interview at a company I applied to, so hopefully I am close as well.

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"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows us that faith proves nothing." - Friedrich Nietzsche

QuasiMondo

Quick update:

I took the assessment today. They grilled me relentlessly. Then they went into a back room and made me wait. And wait. And wait some more.

Then they came back and told me the verdict: I passed.

Now it's on to the next step. Background check, medical exam, and hopefully, withing 3-6 months, I'll be going global!

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

Cynthetiq

AWESOME! let's see the next steps be just like this one.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

snowy

Congrats! I hope it all works out for you, Quasi.

As for my two cents regarding job advice--three of the best posters you can listen to on this topic are Cynthetiq, mal, and The_Jazz (I know Jazz didn't respond to this thread, but I've always found his advice to be solid and encouraging). All of them have been in the business world for a long time, doing a variety of things, and almost all of their advice regarding work I've found to be incredibly helpful and astute. Oh, and JustJess's advice is ALWAYS excellent because it comes from the perspective of someone who worked in HR for a long time. But I don't think you need it any more Let's hope that's the case. But keep it in mind for next time!

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

xxxafterglow

Point: Eggman.

Congrats, Quasi!

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Uh huh her.

WarMoney

As a professional job whore, I can tell you that the above statement is why your responses have been slim. Gubment jobs. They take months to respond.

Hope the State gig works out.