Job search strategy discussion thread

That is 19th Century melodrama villainy there. The governor should probably just grow a mustache to twirl. Hope you find something good soon!

Today turned out to be my last day at this assignment. It was a good day; my bosses gave me a formal farewell ceremony and some lovely parting gifts. Plus it was Customer Service Appreciation Week and so the company laid on a good feed.

ETA: Applied for unemployment—Minnesota now allows you to deduct both federal and state taxes from your unemployment payments.

edited 12th Oct '15 10:36:08 AM by SKJAM

This morning I got a call from one of my temp agencies; they have a possibility, but it would be a two-hour commute even if I am approved. I go in Friday to update my info.

Also today, I went to a state government job fair. Minnesota needs an archaeologist right now, if any of you want to use your archaeology degrees.

Oh man. And here I was wondering when I could crack my whip and nazi fighting skills again.

Just got asked about a bilingual IT-call center job, English-Japanese...

My Japanese is far from being that good, but i definitely don't think it would do good for call center work :-/

Getting a good chug along on job applications. Applied for one in the same city, serving the same cause, feeding from a few of the same donors, as the group i interned with before. Really tried to play up the fact that i worked with a lot of the same donors.

Also a neat looking fellowship in grantmaking out in Cleveland.

You'd be working for this office—I'm not clear if you'd be an assistant archaeologist, or replacing the current officeholder.

http://mn.gov/admin/citizen/archaeology/

Cleveland wouldn't be my first choice, but you have to go where the money is.

edited 14th Oct '15 3:53:53 PM by SKJAM

I'm so sick of job applications...

(sigh)

Hopefully one of these will pay off. I recently applied to my local college's library. I really, REALLY would love that job. Pay is dick but at least I would be happy.

You can do this!

Had bad cough since Friday, felt enough better to do temp company interview Monday—why these companies have their offices out in the boonies and needing three bus transfers is beyond me.

Filled out over 100 applications in the past couple of days and I actually got two human responses, and that's delightful. Even if I don't get the jobs, the fact that I received human responses is nice. That's reassuring.

Now all I have to do is call for my unemployment benefits for the week and hope that I have some luck with any of the other applications or these inquiries.

Huzzah for human responses!

I have another temp company interview Tuesday; and an online test to take before then...not keen on that.

I've been thinking of getting a subscription with Jobscan. They've got software that'll analyze job listings and tell you how you should word your experience to optimize your chances of getting past the Applicant Tracking System software. Can't hurt, and the sub's only $50 a year (which my parents would cover, since it's a small investment to get me financially independent and off of the $300-some they give me each month)

Of course, it will SUCK having to rewrite my resume as much as my cover letter. So much work for so little gain.

Database those suckers. Seriously: putting together an adaptive CV-and-cover-letter combo construction kit and linking system for the job-types you're going for pays dividends in the longer term. Even though it's a right pain to set up.

My SNAP appointment isn't until November, and I can't apply for any other aid until I am approved for that. The hope is that something will come through sooner instead of later, but better to be prepared for the worst anyway. That is one good thing about poverty. I've been down this road before so I know where I need to go to try and get help, especially since unemployment won't cover rent.

At least I have the opportunity to volunteer a lot more in hopes that will at least keep me busy and be productive in more than one way.

It's not so much an issue of job-types as it is of mirroring language. One fundraising job could emphasize grantwriting, one could emphasize "donor stewardship." One policy analysis job could emphasize "trends" while another never mentions the word.

What i think i'll do, because i really mangled my resume today to send it out to three different places, is rewrite my resume once, putting the basic stuff in there in my own words. Then have a second resume storage box with a more exhaustive list of my experience and what i did per job, and then, in a third file, the resume the employer sees, which will be a chameleon file.

Part of it is that i don't want to tip my hand to employers that i'm making dozens of different resumes, which is apparent in the file-names if i save them separately, so i have one "output" resume and two "input" resumes.

Got called about an interview just now, too, which is rockin', though i still worry it's too far out (getting closer, but still about 7 weeks out from graduation. Depending on how urgent their need is...), which is good, i was getting rather depressed earlier today.

Went to a class on improving SEO; turned out I knew most of the tricks already.

When I got home there was a temp agency call, but by the time I called back they'd already filled the job.

I had my SNAP appointment today and my former boss is telling DHS he can't verify my October income...I did that and there is no way he can.

(sigh)

Interview went well, forgot to send them a thank-you note. I should know late this week or early next week.

I was focusing on a few things, like not rambling in my answers (mostly succeeded), not fidgeting, eye contact (succeeded here), which were my large weaknesses. It definitely sounds like it would fit like a glove, they draw from the same donor pool as the place i used to work at, although i forgot to mention that i have contact information for a lot of high-placed people at major organizations. Not sure if that would come off as amoral (it's a list i walked off with from the internship, direct lines on CE Os and the like), so it's best to leave that out.

I swear i heard, as the candidate before me was walking out, that she wasn't able to start until December either, so that would be at least one candidate that doesn't have that edge on me.

Still plugging away, though. Found a fundraising job in my graduate field (International Development, a hospital based here in Pittsburgh that works in the field in Haiti, needs fundraising, hired a graduate from my program). So hopefully i can get a callback there if this thing doesn't go through.

I keep swinging back from high hopes to base depression, nervous all the while. Soon, however, that knot in my stomach will unclench, and stay unclenched. Perhaps forever, if i have the good fortune to never get fired (again) or laid off.

Edit: woot, scheduled another interview today, found a part-time job at a place well-connected with my program too.

edited 4th Nov '15 7:19:40 PM by Ogodei

You're doing well, keep it up!

Went to resume review session and updated my resume some; tomorrow is mandatory re-employment seminar.

Place i interviewed at two fridays ago re-listed the position, only calling it "manager" instead of "associate." I'm going to call them on Wednesday if i don't hear, because the people i've talked to about it (including our career counselor) think that's just strange for a group that small.

Have an interview somewhere else on Tuesday, though, and was called by a hiring agency last week for whatever that's worth.

Yeah, that does sound odd that they'd suddenly promote that position (or alternatively, just use the same ad with a new title.)

Did interview practice today with a fellow from Lagos, Nigeria. He's looking to be a legal assistant—I recommended he play up his multiple languages as a strength, bringing in more clients that he can communicate with.

I am told I will have an interview Friday or early next week, as soon as the company is ready for that.

Had a phone interview for a position over in Baltimore (I'm in Pittsburgh). It sounded like a great place, though, and their only question about the distance was whether i was available for a second interview, and i told them that a second interview would be worth my time.

Still plugging along, getting nervous, throwing some "whatever" jobs in there, but i'm rather overqualified for some of them.

For those of you who do not have a job, the opportunity to beef up your Resume lies in classes, so here is a list of a few of them that start next December, and enrollign for them ends soon.

Starting a Business

Statistical Thinking for Data Science and Analysis

e-Health, opportunities and challenges

Lessons from Ebola: Preventing the next pandemic

Programming for everyone: Gettin started with Python

Programming in R

Learning online: Learning and collaborating

Analyzing and visualizing data with Microsoft excel

Microsoft Exchange 2014 Fundamentals

Optimizing Microsoft Server Storage

Computer Graphics with OpenGL

Calculus 1B: Integration

A Christmas Carol by Dickens: Berkeley Book Club

Will China Rise as a Disruptive Force?

Advanced Credit Risk Management

Career Edge: Communication and Teamwork

Managing amultigenerational and multidiverse workforce

The above classes are all free, online, and are given by pretty decent universities, from MIT to Leeds, to Tsinghua, and Columbia.

edited 25th Nov '15 12:05:09 PM by Aszur

R could actually be good for me, i'll give it a look.

The interview I mentioned earlier has finally been scheduled for tomorrow. Whee!

...And I did not get the job. I also had a lead on an assignment that would pay $20/hour(!) but I had to take a typing test for that one and don't think I passed the minimum.

Wonder where Gab's been. Haven't seen her around in like a month.

Anyway, getting down to the wire and it seems like getting the "real" job out of school is a bust, but i'm still gunning hard for other kinds of employment along with hammering away on the real job front.

Good luck yourself, SKJAM.