Job search strategy discussion thread

Congratulations! May the job be very rewarding.

Go, Ogodei!

edited 16th Apr '16 6:43:04 AM by SKJAM

So an acquaintance brought to my attention this article, which tries to summarize the current problems plaguing the United States, but which I feel probably apply to many other countries as well.

Here are a few relevant snippets:

So, good news on my end, I've been invited to a job fair and interview at a grocery store thanks to my application! Unfortunately, I'm not entirely great at interview-style stuff. I'm an autistic introvert with no job experience whatsoever (not even an internship), and I feel like I'm preparing to debate Steven Hawking on quantum physics. Does anyone have tips for me? Thanks.

It's unofficial since it's not tomorrow. But by the end of the day (8th), I'm going to be removed from probationary employment since my "boss" and my department head says I have mediocre progress in doing reports.

The former did say that he enjoys seeing me use my intellect skills, but thinks another place can be suitable since the think tank currently doesn't have the means yet (e.g. no department/place to do so), although he did say that he's willing to set recommendations up for future employments with other think tanks/places.

Sorry to hear that, though if you're parting amicably it helps to have a reference for the next thing.

Indeed.

I'm now using whatever free time I have (aside from doing workouts in kendo) is to get back to university, redeem myself and get a BA and maybe, think of getting masters.

Although my dad is Genre Savvy on this and says it's just words. He's been not hired and fired before, from what he said before.

edited 8th Jun '16 7:30:20 AM by Ominae

I can't help but think that I'm getting more and more disillusioned that I won't get another analyst job any time soon after I get my BA and stuff.

My (now) ex-boss mentioned that while he wants to use my intellect skills in East Asian politics, the think tank doesn't have it right now. It makes a search for a think tank/institute that does this even much harder.

...I feel like exploding right now.

About a month ago, I applied for an internship at a major telecom company via a student employment agency. A week later, the agency called to discuss the details: nightshift with accompanying pay bonus, three nights per week, flexible scheduling, looking for someone for keeps, ie. through the autumn. As someone about to graduate from university at the end of this year and needs to travel across the country for one day per week to finish that last subject, this is perfect and I consented to have my CV forwarded to the company.

This Wednesday, the agency called again about whether I got a response or not; I told them I haven't, so they said they'll ask around. In the meantime, they had a second job offer which I took as a backup after being assured that if I get positive answers to both, I can still choose. So I was in fairly high spirits.

That ended today. After having gotten myself through my last exam this semester and had plans to work on my thesis this weekend once I shake off the chronic sleep deprivation, the agency woke me up at 9:30 AM today with a third offer: start tomorrow, one Saturday per two weeks, can be done parallel to other jobs. Without being fully awake, I said sure. Except once I thought it through, I realized that there are going to be scheduling conflicts with the internship once I resume university in September^note Monday: at school, Tuesday: travelling across the country to go work at the internship tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: work at the internship, Saturday: this side job, Sunday: travelling across the country to go to university tomorrow; no free hours to wind down and no time to finish my thesis, plus I had plans to work on my thesis this weekend because I have to show something working to my thesis consultant next week.

So when I told them that, the response was an ultimatum: either I take this job and show up at 10 AM tomorrow, or both of the other offers including the internship, PLUS any future offers? I can kiss all of them goodbye.

Why? Because suddenly backing out of a job less than 24 hours beforehand is extremely bad form and brands me as unreliable. Never mind that I only got the job offer 24 hours beforehand to begin with!

edited 10th Jun '16 7:27:02 AM by amitakartok

Is there a way to talk with the university folks to see if you can get a readjustement or a pass in regards to classes/the thesis and their schedule? Here, I know student-workers can skip classes and re-schedule exams and thesis-related stuff.

I can't skip these classes because this particular teacher always passes out an attendance sheet on every single one of her lectures and near-religiously adheres to the rulebook when it comes to minimum requirements for completing the subject. This is the only subject I have to take this semester because I finished every other subject already; had I not failed this subject last autumn, I could've had my finals and graduated this summer.

Even worse, the scheduling problem isn't merely because of my not having a single free day per week. University lectures are in the morning; this Saturday job is around noon and early afternoon; I do my train trips late afternoon; the internship is during the nightshift. So there is absolutely no chance for me to have anything resembling a sleep cycle, meaning that I'll never be able to perform 100% in either university or jobs because I'll be eternally sleepy.

So what I'm going to do tomorrow is to tell the boss that I simply cannot do this job beyond the end of August and this is non-negotiable because I'm only human. If he won't have me because of that, that's that; I still have two other job applications in limbo and a 75% chance that either will accept me, so it's not vitally important for me to get this one.

Well, as long as you have other options available, I guess it's allright to make that choice. It is a pity (and quite unfair) that the professor can't make exceptions for student-workers, though.

edited 10th Jun '16 8:08:29 AM by Quag15

I now have to worry about explaining to the next HR person in case I get recruited why I got laid off in a few weeks.

Official: My problem of following some basic protocol (Disclaimer: I did not violate any ND As. See below).

Unofficial: My mediocre progress in writing quality reports on behalf of the think tank.

• Bonus: The firm doesn't have the means of using my intellect/experience of East Asian politics.

edited 11th Jun '16 3:50:00 AM by Ominae

"It wasn't a good fit. At my current skill levels and my interests, I feel this job will be a better fit for me."

That's kind of what i said just today. First in-person interview since I got my current job back in mid-April. Wasn't rusty at all, although this one was similar to a phone screen in that it was just a preliminary with a lower-ranking HR person to get a feel for my background, why i want to work here, and why i'm trying to get away from my current job.

It's a touchy subject because it's only been 10 weeks on the job so far, so I was honest and said that I undersold myself and got paid too little for my current job, and that this job would give me more responsibility for presumably more pay in line with what I want.

The ones i'm applying to in Washington DC i have an easier excuse for: given my educational background and where my passions lie, DC is the future for me, which is true, and then i can just play my current job down as a placeholder, but moving jobs locally the message requires more massaging.

I'm going to go on a trip to the 2 malls within walking distance of where I live and hand out my resume to every store I could possibly get hired from.

It's been like a month or so since I finished my exam for the government position I was applying to (I did better than expected but hardly exceptional), I have applied to a few jobs but have not gotten any calls.

I've been talking about the possibility of going to a trade school, so I guess we'll see what happens. I just hope I find something soon, I'd be a NEET right now if I wasn't looking for a job.

While I'm looking for another job (permanent one), I decided to do volunteer work in a university that I didn't get into when I was fresh out of high school due to failing their entrance exam.

Despite that, they were willing to allow me in a research project. That's good for starters in getting more experience to in research and analysis.

Good news! I have apparently landed a job interview at last, at a place I could reasonably work at (it's even within walking distance, although the walk would be a little long at about half an hour). It's a supermarket chain I've been to plenty of times. I have one literally across the street from me, but didn't hand in my resume until like 2 weeks ago for some reason. I just ironed out the details, and will be heading there tomorrow.

I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket or anything since the vast majority of my interviews have been fruitless but I'm glad I'm being called for something since i've been on this job hunt for like a month and a half with pretty much no calls.

ugh... I officially hate Universal Credit... I can't claim ANY out of work benefits as they lowered the threshold from £16,000, to £6,000, and I have £12,000 out of my reach, locked away for the next few years in a savings account in France (what? they gave a great interest rate)... which I foolishly did not convert to Euros...

Good luck,Wehrmacht!

I am coming up on the renewal period for my current temp position, and I am really hoping they keep me on...as my landlords are kicking everyone out of the apartment building for major renovations. I've been in this same place since the late 1980s and have no real savings, so I have no idea how I'm going to move.

So the placements for the exam I took some months backs are out. I honestly think I did pretty respectably, I placed 494th out of a list of 1661 approved candidates. This was the first kind of exam of this nature I've done, all from me studying at home from sources on the internet with no tutoring, and lord knows I could have been more dedicated and spent more time than I did. It's probably too low for me to be called within the next 2 years (when my placement on the reserves "expires"), but it was a damn good first effort so I'm honestly not sad about it. My mother even congratulated me on it which given how stressed and negative she can (understandably) be made my day.

There's another exam that's popped up now, which is pretty similar to the one I took in terms of the material I need to study and pays around the same. Moreover, since the signups for it just started and the exam begins in January of the next year I have around 6 months to prepare for it, which is like 2-3 more months than I had the last time. This means I'll have some sort of order and goal again instead of just meandering around and drawing much less than I should be, so I'm glad for that.

One of the DC jobs bit on my proverbial fishing line, have to go on my birthday though because i already had the day blocked off at work.

Exciting stuff!

Thinking about getting a second job so I can clear my car payments sooner. Trouble is, my full-time job doesn't have the most predictable schedule, so I'd like something I could do from home.

I've been thinking about looking into writing gigs and the like, as I enjoy writing and I'm decent at it, but I've also heard about writers getting stiffed on the regular. Anyone have any experience with that kind of thing?

Wehrmacht, practice makes you better, so keep at it with this new exam.

Brain Sewage, check out the Writer Beware site for a list of things to watch out for, and names of publishers to avoid.

edited 2nd Aug '16 3:51:50 AM by SKJAM

Thanks.