masthedrunk

is there some secret to getting even just an interview or a 'thanks but no thanks' letter from a job application? i've probably submitted 200 resumes to various places in three different major metropolitan areas over the last few months, and have gotten virtually no response. not even an automated thanks card. the people that have seen my resume say it's very strong and looks good. if so what is the problem? i'm not asking for absurd amounts of money. or hell, not even more than i make now. i just need to change locations. i know the market is kind of tight right now. but this is getting ridiculous. i've seriously considered changing career fields all together. but that would mean i'd have to go back to college. i'll be 30 in a few months. getting a degree at 34-35 and being a pauper student once again doesn't sound like much fun. plus the student loans to deal with afterwards. i just don't know what to do.

FYI: i work in the IT field. i have almost 6 years of experience. some MCSE certs, etc. i'm not looking for high power/money management or anything. just a lowly tech answering phones and fixing PC's. does anyone have any tips?

bigoldalphamale

i dont know what city you are trying to leave, but washington DC and it metro area (northern VA, southern MD) is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers. particularly in your field. if you have a security clearance or could obtain one with little difficulty, you need to come to the DC area. Places like Booze Allen, EDS, PWC, Lockheed, Northrop, and all the rest of the big boys are bending over backwards to get thier hands on experienced computer people who have/can get a clearance.

all other cities suck.

hope that helps.

(and if you need some inside help getting something here, just send me a pm)

Cynthetiq

In NYC it's not that great either.. what used to pay in the high 80's now is going for the 40's....

shame too.

It's just the nature of the market. Find out your other skills and figure out how to move them into another sector.

good luck!

__________________
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*Nikki*

My boyfriend is going through the EXACT same thing right now. He has been trying for a year though. He has experience and degrees. He is lucky if a place even calls him back much less sends a thank you.

All I can tell you is that the economy sucks and it is like that everywhere!

kurty[B]

I hear India is looking for skilled/unskilled phone technicians.

maleficent

Despite the economy being in the toilet, companies are still hiring. It's a matter of matching your skill set to the jobs at hand.

Your skills would be needed at any company. However, what you are looking at is, without insulting you, an entry level position, ever think that you might be over qualified? A company will hesitate at looking at someone who is over qualified because they know darn well, as soon as something better comes along, they're out of there.

Law firms boom in a bust economies, law firms have IT departments, and they pay fairly well too... at least tehy used to.

Rather than sending out generic resumes, send out resumes that are geared to the job you are applying for.

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kurty[B]

oh, and networking! People networking. I hate to say it, but every job I've gotten, EVER, even the conference attendant job I got as a teenager, or the shitty manufacturing job I worked when hit by the recessions was because someone I knew, knew someone who knew someone who was hiring for a position, and got me in direct contact with the proper channels to get me a job.

Talk to your friends, talk to the people you work with (as long as you trust them not to go telling your managers you're not looking for a job).

Quadraton

Some general pointers off the top of my head.

1) Be active, not passive.

The passive method of job hunting involves just blindly sending out a mass of resumes to anyone willing to accept it, and waiting for the phone to ring.

The active method of job hunting involves calling up the company, eventually speaking with a hiring manager, sending him your resume (in person if possible), and convincing him to take some time for an interview.

If I were to make up some random statistic right now, I'd say that about 90-95% of people looking for jobs use the passive method. That means if you're using the passive method as well, you're competing with 90-95% of the job hunters out there. If you use the active method however, you're only competing with the remaining 5-10%, with a distinct competitive edge over those using the passive method.

2) Learn to talk to people on the phone.

The phone is your friend. The phone is what gets you past the distance barrier, past the security guard at the front door, and if you're good enough, past Helga, the gatekeeper secretary.

For some, talking on the phone is a natural talent no matter who they're talking to. For others, they can be a stammering mess. It's quite the skill to be able to cold call a complete stranger, and ask him for a piece of his time for an interview. It's also a skill to be able to sweet talk your way past the barriers companies set up so that you can actually speak with the manager who will actually hire you, which brings me to my next point.

3) Try to avoid HR like the plague.

Most times, dealing with Human Resources (HR) is inevitable, but for those with the skill, getting past HR can save you a boat load of time and energy, and can increase your chances of landing a job.

The purpose of HR is not to get you an interview. The purpose of HR is to weed out all the candidates they deem 'unsuitable', and pass the remaining names on to the hiring manager who will then set up an interview, and if he likes you, hire you (hence the name 'hiring manager').

It's important to note here that, first of all, in most companies, HR has no hiring capability. Its the hiring manager (or the manager that you will be working under, be he an R&D Manager, QA Manager, etc...) that has the power to recommend you be hired. HR is just there to fill out the paperwork.

Secondly, HR's vision of what makes the perfect candidate could be completely different from what the hiring manager's vision of the perfect candidate is. After all, HR is looking for how well you fit into the company's culture. The hiring manager is more interested in whether you can actually do your job.

Since it's usually the hiring manager who will hire you, you want to make sure you fall into his vision of what he feels would be a good fit for the company.

4) Customize your resume for each individual situation.

As was mentioned above:

And I couldn't have said it better myself.

5) Everyone is part of your network.

To elaborate on a point that was previously made, don't just look at professional contacts as a source for your network. Sometimes the best sources come from within. Your Mom might know a real-estate agent, who knows a guy who's friends with the R&D Manager for IBM.

That's a loose analogy, but the point is, don't brush someone off as not being a potential source for your network just because they don't have any technical expertise, or work in the industry.

=======================

Finally, one of the things that always pisses me off about job advice, even that coming from so called 'experts' is they always give good advice (i.e. speak with the hiring manager, not HR), but they never tell you how to do it. So, on that note, if you're interested in a really good book that helped me when I was down on my luck, then head on over to (link->)College Grad Job Hunter(<-link). Yes, I know it sounds like it's geared towards college and university students, and for the most part it is. However, some of the techniques the guy talks about (i.e. how to actually get a hold of the hiring manager) are very useful to all people looking for jobs.

And above all, this in no way applies to all situations. I've had this happen before, but if anyone disagrees with this, please don't starting calling me an idiot, and proceed to educate me on the intricacies of how you think the world actually works. If these methods were all rock solid principles, they wouldn't be called advice.

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"A witty saying proves nothing"
- Voltaire

mtsgsd

Well I have 11 years in IT and have been out of work for a year now. Part of my problem is that the platform and software I worked on isn't all that common in the are I live in, and I can't relocate.

This means that I'm trying to move to another area of IT and that means a drop in income. It seems impossible to convince people that I'm willing to drop 50% in pay and won't leave the minute something else comes along.... I'm about ready to apply at the local hardware store just to say I'm employed.

Bentley Little

The fact of the matter is: it is an employer's market, meaning: they don't give a shit about you or me because 300-500 people just like you and me applied for the same job and you probably asked for too much money, (even though you don't think you did, someone out there is more desperate than you and will work for less), you have too much experience (6 years means you will want too much money), so they couldn't give a shit if they piss you off. They have supreme pickens'. Plus, I am looking as well (I am a graphic designer and our field has been hit especially hard) and one place I got a phone interview from said they had over 3,000 resumes come in. Although I did get an automated response before they called me that said they would only contact qualified candidates (I didn't get the job). So suck it up. IT SUX. Believe me, I know, I have sent out over 300 resumes in the last 8-10 months, and had 2 real interviews and 1 phone interview. Keep on pluggin' away.

And when it finally becomes an employees' market again, bend those mother f**kers over and stick up so deep they bleed.

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That is my 2 cents.

Astrocloud

The truth of the matter is that I've been looking for work for over a year now and I can't find it. I have a BS in Math from a major university and 6 years of engineering experience. The other people that I used to work with are also struggling and the fact is that jobs just aren't around. If anyone disagrees with this statement -by all means set me straight and show me the job.

As far as I can tell, there is a lot of generic ideas being thrown around here. Here's another one. Don't look for jobs in the field that you currently are. If you do change careers be expected to toil like you never have before. The reason I say this is that a good impression goes a long way. Show yourself as a hard worker and most of the time you will be respected in your new career.

Good luck to anyone else who is looking.