kutulu

So we have a baby coming and I'm looking for a new job. I've had no sucess at all and it's quite frustrating. I'm a Chemical Engineer (graduated with a 3.0) and I've been working in a field that's not directly related to ChemE since graduation (May 2001). When I was in school I never really made a lot of friends, since graduation I've only kept in touch with one of them. Since my entire office staff is less than 15 people, there aren't many outside connections for me to network with. Although clients I work with might have some connections, I feel it would be very unprofessional for me to go that way and at worst, it could cost me my current job.

As a result, I'm left with shitty websites like monster.com, etc. where you're just another email sent to some guy that gets 200 other emailed resumes.

I want a way to personalize my approach, but it's hard to do that when at best all you have is the name of the corporation you're applying to. There's never actual contact info other than an email address. When there is an actual email address, I always write a few paragraphs introducing myself and telling them why I want the job.

A couple of times I tried contacting the HR department but the receptionists I've talked to have never let me get past them, much less actual HR people. Should I just keep trying? Say I actually get to talk to a HR person over the phone, will that annoy them because they probably would have put that info on the ad if they wanted calls or will most see that as me "going the extra mile"?

I've had my father look at my resume, his boss look at it, random recruiters, and a person who looks does resume editing for a living and they all liked it and suggested changes for anything they didn't like. I haven't put anything on it that I can't back up.

I also wonder about cover letters. I usually don't use them unless I really think my skills match that job. Do people actually read them and if they do, does it really make a difference?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

maleficent

Personalized cover letters, directed to the right person, not a to whom it may concern, are extremely important, it shows that you are taking the time to actually find out about the company and are not just blanketing your resume. And take the time to find out who the person is -- and it is Ms or Mr ( I have a friend in HR named George, that's what her parents named her, she will toss out any resume addressed to Mr. )

Does the fields that you are interested in have any kinds of associations that hold regular meetings that you could join. Networking is key. Using these associations, find people in the field that you want to work in, and contact them, as for an informational interview - it may not lead to a job, but you might get some good information out of it.

Lazy answer there - you have an email address - you have the company name in the email address, the company has a website, the company has a phone number, make a phone call, find out the name of the person in charge.

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kutulu

What I mean by an email address is that it's something like "resumes@company.com" not "name@company.com"

I've tried calling a few places that I was interested in but I'm never able to get past the general receptionists. I'll ask for the HR department and they'll ask me if this is referring to a job posting. Not wanting to lie, I'll answer honestly and they "politely" tell me to submit my resume via the net and they'll contact me if I fit. I get the impression that personal communication is greatly discouraged and I'm wondering if I should even bother because it just gets me down. Is this typical or should I try to lie to the receptionist to get to the HR department?

onetime2

Have you tried your college's job placement center? What about the CE department from your school? They both will help and may have some leads for you.

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Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

kutulu

I've wondered about that. I graduated 3 years ago so they might not be able to help me. I should at least find out for sure though.

onetime2

They usually remain open to helping graduates. It helps their image. Good luck.

__________________
Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

miggity99

I'm also a Chem E, but I'm in grad school right now getting my PhD. Are you a memeber of AIChE? If not you might want to start there for some connections, unless you're just not interested in being a process engineer or something along those lines.

AIChE

Cynthetiq

work your network.

it's not just what you know but who you know. talk to everyone talk some more. and even more.

talk to your old buddies, your fraternity friends, etc. dig them all up, and if something turns up SAY THANK YOU with a card, dinner, or something...

in tagalog it's called "Utang na loob" which means "I owe from within or heart."

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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.

Jesus Pimp

I have an Indian friend who is a CE grad and hasn't been able to find a job for 3 years. I think it's mostly discrimination but also it seems the chemical companies aren't hiring many college graduates either. Best thing to do as everyone has mentioned is networking.

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Never date anyone who doesn't make your dick hard.

:::OshnSoul:::

What about the listings in your local paper? They may have the listings on the web as well. I did most of my searching that way. Many of them were more personal with your information. And always include a "personalized" cover letter directed toward the company you are applying for and what you can do for them (i.e. what they're looking for). I have been searching for a while, but finally studied on better approches to submitting resumes & cover letters and during interviews- and I landed a job.
You can do it- do your research, there's more things out there you can do.

dimbulb

network network network.

Friends, Family, people you see on the bus.

Try your college career center first. They typically have a listing of alumni who have volunteered as mentors etc. Get this list of phone numbers, find the people in the jobs/industry that you want, and start calling. For each person that you talk to, in addition to whatever information that you want, ask for at least one more reference/contact that you may talk to.

I've found that a bad cover letter is worse than no cover letter at all. Just found a job after god knows how long, and this company that hired me, I've actually sent in a resume and cover letter about a year ago. For this job, I got lazy and simply sent in my resume. Got the interviews.. .finally got the job.