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The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and Moving Forward

2009-06-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog I never thought that I would still be blogging about my job search into the summer. I am more than disappointed about how things are going. Over these past months I have seen:

The Good

People who have not hired me but who have been very kind and encouraging
People who have helped me and people who have offered or tried to help
Free training in new skills
Other people in the same situation offering support and sharing information on networking and job opportunities.

The Bad
People who have been rude and treated me as if I were not worthy of oxygen
People who have lied to me
People who have blatantly had their own self-interest in mind without any consideration of how their actions would affect me as a person
People who have insulted me in more ways than I can count

The Ugly
Resumes that ended up in black holes
Job scams
Lengthy and probing online job applications that did not work properly
The job offer that was extended and then receded because of where I live (I did not blog about this experience, but it actually happened.)

I have decided that it is time to stop blogging about my job search. I actually feel that by continuing to do so I am only reinforcing the fact that I have unsuccessful job interviews. It is as if how to conduct an unsuccessful job search is becoming my brand. While others have successfully blogged their way into jobs by blogging about looking for a job, I don't seem to be experiencing the same results.

I enjoy blogging and will continue to blog but I feel it is time to expand the topic. I have started another blog where the I plan to discuss a wider range of topics. Once I get it up and running I will share the link.

My New Twitter Account

2009-06-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that I have not posted since May 24. Well, it was not because I found a job it is because I am trying out a new way to land a job. I started a new Twitter account specifically for the job search.

I learned a few things with my other Twitter account and I am using this knowledge to try to find a job. So far, in addition to keeping me busy I have identified at least three networking groups. LaidoffCamp, Meetup and a group on Facebook. These networking opportunities outside of my immediate associates is what I needed and lacked in this job market.

Yes, many of my friends have helped but the market is so tight until helping me to find a job could end up being a part-time job. I would not want to impose on anyone and I appreciate what everyone has done on my behalf.

I will try to follow-up with this post over the weekend and fill you in on what else has been going on.

We just can't find good people -- Oh Really

2009-05-08T00:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of my busiest during my entire job search. I had several interview opportunities. One was a walk-in interview. I had two interviews resulting from my resume being listed on the CareerBuilder website and I had two phone interviews as a result of submitting my resume to companies advertising on Craigslist, alas no job yet.

While I am in no way thrilled about not landing a job, in a way I am happy that I did not get any of those jobs. Upon closer examination, I knew right-off that some of the jobs were not right for me. One involved a repetitive task, I like doing a variety of things throughout the day. One involved selling. One was about a 2 hour drive from where I live and the workday started at 8:00 a.m. that would have required getting up at 4:30 a.m. Not too good for me because I am nocturnal and getting up at 4:30 a.m. everyday would have required a lot of effort. Not to mention, it was not paying much so most of my income would have gone to gas and car maintenance.

Nonetheless to be honest, I do have a twinge of regret about not having an opportunity to interview for one of the jobs. The job itself may have not been the best job in the company; however, the company seemed very interesting. It was a start-up and they were working to bring a new product to market. From what I learned about the product, I think that it will eventually be something that a lot of people may use one day.

This company’s interviewing process involved a phone interview. After the phone interview applicants would be invited in to meet with someone in their human resources office. When speaking with the caller, I could tell from the person’s voice that their heart was not in to the conversation. There was no tone of warmth, welcoming or a smile in her voice. She just seemed to be rattling off questions from a prepared list. I had the feeling that making these calls was one of the last things that she wanted to be doing. Nonetheless, I tried to be warm and friendly as I answered her questions as honestly as possible.

I knew that I had totally lost out on any chance of getting this job when the person asked me, “What do you expect from a job,” and I responded, “I like to learn new things and have an opportunity to grow in a position.” I could tell by the deep breath that the caller took before responding that I had hit a wrong cord with her. Just as I was completing this thought she flatly stated, “There is no growth in this position.” I knew that she had heard my response come out of my mouth and I knew that her translation was totally out of sync with the actual meaning.

Here is what she heard. I want to come in there as an assistant and within a few months, I want to be a vice president. However this is what I said, I like to excel at my job. She heard the word “grow” and pretty much tuned-out before I completed the sentence.

When a potential employee wants to grow within their position it is different from growing within the company. A person who wants to grow within the company is looking for the company to provide them with a promotion within a certain amount of time. A person who wants an opportunity to grow their position is looking for support and a willingness on the part of the company to provide whatever is needed to ensure that the job is done well and in an efficient manner.

For example, suppose a company was hiring a person whose main job was polishing the furniture. A person who works to grow their position is going to take the time to find out what type of wood the furniture is made of. They are going to find the best polish for that type of wood and complete a requisition in order to purchase that polish. They are going to make sure that they have the best polishing cloth and that their cloths are always clean and neatly stored. They are going to determine the best time of the day to polish the furniture. If someone messes-up their furniture by spilling coffee, they are going to be over there with their trusty polish and cloth the minute that they hear the co-worker yell, “I spilled my coffee!” They are going to want to elevate the job of furniture polisher to an art and they are going to seek the company’s support by providing them enough time to find out about the wood and identify the best polish and cloths, as well as money to make the purchases. The management is not going to say, look we just want the stuff cleaned, go in the bathroom and get some paper towels.

Once the worker finds out that the company supported them by allowing them to purchase polish and cloths an employee who is interested in growing their position will be willing to take it a step further. They may start to look at the carpets and suggest that the company get a carpet cleaning machine so that they can clean the carpets once a week in addition to polishing the furnature. When they go home they do not stop thinking about their job, they will review their day and think of ways to improve what they are doing. They may note that one person likes to eat breakfast each morning at their desk and that it may be best to be polished that person’s furniture twice a day. That is growing within your position. You take your job, no matter how simple it may be and you take ownership of that job.

Since my job search has lasted a relatively long-time, I have noticed that many jobs that were available at an earlier date are once again being advertised. It is obvious that the person that the company hired did not pan-out. This can be boiled down to two reasons: 1) most people only hear what they want to hear and 2) there are some people that know exactly what to say in order to get heard.

The pre-screener will probably be very helpful in securing an average employee for the company because that appears to be what she was looking for, a person who does not exhibit any signs of ambition.

Hopefully, I will be happily working at my new job before the company has to re-post the ad for this position in a few months.

Forging Ahead Looking for the Right Job

2009-05-05T01:54:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness I was totally spared the experience of going back to the company that I went to on Friday, for an interview. This was one of the job search experiences for the books. I was left waiting for two hours in the reception area while the interviewer was out of the office running an errand. Then instead of being offered an apology for any inconvenience, I was pretty much scolded for not allowing their assistant to interview me. I guess I was supposed to march up to the receptionist’s desk and demand that the assistant come out and interview me.

The interviewer requested that I come back the next business day I did consider going back but a second company called me and expressed an interest in interviewing me. I went to company number two. At least it was a fresh start and the caller seemed very professional. They even made sure that I had the phone number to their direct line in case I got lost on my way to the office.

The interview went well and the company seemed okay but the job was not for me because it involved some selling. I am not a salesperson. I am an information provider. To me there is a difference between being an information provider and being a salesperson. Most sales people are interested in making a sale. They go out with the goal of selling whatever product even if the person does not really need the product. I cannot and do not do this. I sell things by educating people and my technique involves more matching the product to the customer than just moving a product and getting ahead financially by racking up commissions.

For example, I used to sell cosmetics and I would always kept bags and bags of samples of perfumes and lipsticks. By nature, I am able to look at pigments and determining which ones compliment each other. I have used this skill at my job when creating artwork and it was very useful when it came to selling cosmetics. I would be able to look at a woman and I knew my samples well enough to pull out a lipstick that would look great on them. I would approach them and tell them that I sell the products give them my card, a brochure along and the lipstick sample. I would tell them why the color that I selected will look better than their current color. That it will make their teeth look whiter, or that the suggested color is brighter or more muted than their current shade. I would not just tell them this to make the sale. I honestly wanted to help them to improve their appearance. In almost every case the person would end up calling or emailing me to order the lipstick shade along with a few other products from the brochure.

Another reason that I do not like business sales is because once the sale is made the salesperson is out of the picture and other areas of the company take over. It has been my experience that the sales staff is usually the hardest working group in a company. However, once the product breaks or the customer has a question the customer service and repair staff steps in and sometimes it becomes a totally different story. All of a sudden the customer goes from feeling important to being treated like a number. I personally do not want any part of that situation.

I feel that all of the departments within a company should be as personable and attentive as the sales staff. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In many businesses, customers are treated like pests once they need some type of assistance. Unless a person has some previous experience with the company there is no way of knowing how a company behaves after a sale. As a result, I tend to avoid jobs that involve selling.

I told the person conducting the interview that I was not a salesperson and they explained that it was part of the job. So I am back to the drawing board. Well sort of, there are a few companies that posted their address on CareerBuilder and Craigslist so I plan on visiting a few of these companies tomorrow.

At least I feel like I am actually conducting a job search at this point. Before it was all about dropping the resumes down the black hole. Now, I am at least getting responses, as well as having an opportunity to be proactive by taking advantage of walk-in interviews.

Another week and the same old thing

2009-05-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

Nothing new is going on here. Same thing submitting resumes had one interview it was a disaster. The person who was doing the hiring was so interested in meeting with applicants until they forgot that we had an appointment and left the office. After waiting for over two hours for the person to come back, I became disgusted and left.

I called the company at about 4:30 p.m. and the person was back. They said that their Executive Assistant was there and could have done the interview. I had no choice but to tell the person that their assistant left me sitting in the lobby for over two hours. I told them that I do not think that she knew that she was supposed to do the interview because she looked totally surprised about my being there.

The potential employer insisted that their Executive Assistant knew that I was coming and knew exactly what to do when they were not there. I said well for some reason she left me in the lobby. The potential employer stated that I could come in again on Monday at 10:00 am but there is no guarantee that they will be there because they have to go out to visit their store locations whenever they receive a call. I would hate to go through another two hours of looking at their receptionist again. I will go at 10:00 am but if I find myself still sitting in the lobby at 11 a.m. then I guess we will have to reschedule.

Building your Case -- Counter Arguments and Documentation

2009-04-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Based on experiences that I have had during my job search, I decided to take yet another route yesterday. I do not know if this will work but I figure it is worth a try.

In my world this method is called the, “Now what are you going to say” approach to the job search. I thought that I had finished having to result to this method once I earned my college degree. However, I guess that I underestimated those in the position of recruiting employees.

Before I earned my degree, I was told by recruiters, oh you would be great for this job, if you only had a degree. Now that I have a degree the story seems to be the reverse. I would be perfect, but they want a person with a strong computer and an administrative assistant background. Something tells me that they do know more about my computer skills then they are willing to admit. I believe that this is just their way of asking me to go away and don’t make a fuss.

The reason that I believe they know more about my computer skills is because they can see from my resume that I graduated from college in 2005. By then, no one was graduating from any college or university worth its salt without having to take and pass a course on MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. In my particular case, I had to take a class in E-commerce and the class final was to create a fully functional website, from scratch. No FrontPage or any other WYSIWYG program allowed only HTML, PhotoShop and Java if you knew it.

I am pretty sure that any recruiter knows that colleges require these classes and now since other programs such as QuickBooks and Adobe are popular in business I am sure that recent grads are taught these programs, in addition to Microsoft programs. So when a recruiter tells me that my skills are old, I know that they are either making-up an excuse or they have no idea of what is being taught at business schools today.

However, since I am not in the habit of telling people that I believe that they are being less than honest. I just play along, but on the inside this has been eating at me for months. I know that I am very skilled at computer applications and there is no reason that I should be sitting home day after day if there are jobs available for college grads with computer skills. Additionally, it is obvious from my resume that I have several years of secretarial experience.

What was missing from my job search strategy was a way of civilly contradicting what these people were saying. I mean what can you say to someone once you have told them yes, I am good with these programs and I have used them all. I typed my own letters and created my own presentations and spreadsheets. And they tell you no, we are looking for someone who can do mail mergers and write macros and you say, I have done this too. Then they say no we want someone who has done this recently. Well, when I first started looking for a job, I had done it recently about a few weeks before speaking with them in some cases.

Nonetheless, to me taking this conversation any further would go beyond having a discussion about my skills and venture into the area of having an argument about my skills.

I needed something that would allow me eliminate this argument before they had a chance to use it to make their case. I knew that I needed something besides the date on my degree to get through to them. I tried suggesting to a few that they contact my former employer and ask about my skills, they refused. For months, I have avoided this game of no you can’t, yes I can with recruiters. Since a lot of the jobs that were posted were not posted by recruiters, I felt comfortable about not relying on recruiters during my job search.

However, lately, I have noticed that a lot more companies are now using recruiters to sift through resumes and screen job candidates. Also, companies who let go of their staff are now finding out that the jobs are necessary to the organization and they are filling the gaps with temps. The current way that recruiters view my resume and work history pretty much puts these jobs out of my reach. In this economy, I need to be able to meet with anyone who has an open position that I am qualified to fill. At this point, it is not in my best interest to continue to try to work around recruiters.

However, to get my foot in the door, I needed something that goes beyond my resume but required little or no effort on their part in order to get my point across. I needed something that said, “Yes, she knows how to do this.” Well yesterday I finally found it and best of all I did not have to pay for it. I pretty much bored myself to death doing it but I managed to hang in there and see the first part of this plan through to completion.

Yesterday, I began to take online classes on MS Office programs. I probably could have completed all four of them yesterday, but I figured that they would think that the courses must have been really easy if I was able to take all four in one day. Of course the obvious, that I already know the programs well enough to breeze through them without much effort would not occur to them. After all these people make a living by noticing everything that may be wrong about a person. For them, if it looks wrong then something must be wrong there are no grey areas.

I decided to take one course yesterday, another today, one on Saturday and finish the last one next Monday. This will make it appear that it took me about a week to take all of the courses. This should look more reasonable to them since some of them appear to believe that a person can be promoted out of a position and then forget everything that they knew about their previous job. Dumb it down seems to be the theme of the day. So I will go along and see how this plays out. This effort should result in either one of two scenarios: 1) I get more interviews or 2) I may get closer to finding out the real reason that I am being passed over for consideration by recruiters.

If I manage to whittle down the excuses I might actually get to the truth. Then I will know where and how to redirect my energy. One of the worse things about looking for a job is that you do not get any feedback as to why some people are not considering you as a viable applicant. The reason may be something simple, something easy to correct like a typo on your resume or an incorrect month or year in your work history. However, a person can go on for months, even years and never know the truth until they either stumble on to the truth, pull the truth out of someone or someone takes the time and tells them the truth about their resume.

The chances of the latter happening in this economy are slim. So in order to delve deeper in to how my resume is perceived by recruiters, I will have to rely on the first two options and a bit of assistance from my little "refresher" courses.

Not Loving this Job Search

2009-04-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

Now I know what Humphrey Bogart meant when he said, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine." Only this woman did not walk in she called in.

I was really feeling okay on Friday, when I got a call from an agency regarding a resume that I submitted through CraigsList. When I say that I was feeling okay, I mean I was not freaking out about not having a job. I figured that Monday would roll around with a new crop of companies advertising and I would just concentrate on looking for a job this week.

Nevertheless, since the woman had called me and told me that she would be scheduling appointments on Monday and asked that I call her back, I felt somewhat optimistic. I did my nails, made sure that my clothes and shoes were ready, printed my resume and made sure that my daughter went to bed early so that she would not miss the bus and I would be tied-up taking her to school. I did all of these things in anticipation of speaking to the woman again and being invited in for an interview.

I know that sometimes it takes a while to settle down and get to work on Monday mornings. Co-workers want to discuss the weekend, bosses want to call quick meetings, things left over from Friday need to be cleared up. So I waited until about 10:30 am before calling. When she answered the phone, I was so sure that she was going to invite me in for an interview until I almost asked her, what time do you want me to be there.

Luckily, I held back and let her do the talking, at which point she said that she was going to interview some other candidates first and if they do not work out then she would call me. She said that her reason for doing this is because the other people had more experience in that type of work.

This whole experience really wrecked my day. I believe that I was actually feeling depressed because for the first time since losing my job, I actually cried. I was angry and I wanted to forget about looking for a job all together. I was just sick and tired of the whole process, the people, the resumes and cover letters, just the whole process of looking for a job.

Luckily for me, I had to run a few errands. Just this time outside helped me to feel a little better. If it had not been necessary for me to go out, I probably would have stayed inside and sulked for the rest of the day.

Nevertheless, I still wish that woman had never called me.

Interviewing -- Know When to Talk and When to Zip It

2009-04-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

The interview, well let’s just say that if getting along with the interviewer was the main criteria for getting the job, I would have had it in the bag. The interviewer was great, very down-to-earth, funny and sincere. We talked and compared stories about old computer programs that we used to use, we just hit it off.

Unfortunately, in addition to meeting with the interviewer there was a skills assessment test. And of all things, I did not do well on a PowerPoint test. I know of at least 30 people who would roll-off of their chairs in shock if they heard this because if there is one computer program that I know how to use it is PowerPoint. What I did not know was how to use the mock version of the program that the company was using for testing.

This thing was crazy, first of all it was missing the Drawing Toolbar, right clicking on the mouse did not work and would not display short-cuts, for spell check, or displaying the slide layouts or any formatting. Some of the functions were not available because the system did not have the arrows that were needed to expand the pull-down menus.

I started to tell the interviewer that some of the actual program was not there and that truly advanced users utilize most of the short-cut tools that come with the program and in this case the tools were not available. I had no idea of how to do some of the required functions using the longer method that the system was programmed to use for the evaluation.

There were two things that stopped me from venturing into a conversation about the weird program. 1) The interviewer would automatically think that I was making-up excuses and 2) The interviewer was being very nice and tried to make me feel better. If there is one thing that I have learned when dealing with people it is that sometimes you just have to hold back the truth. After all criticizing a program after doing worse than expected would just look like sour grapes. So I figured that it was best to leave it alone, keep the relationship positive.

I guess that my instincts though wimpy were right because the interviewer told me that they were going to be looking at some other positions within the next few weeks and asked me to call at the end of the month. What was different about this, it was not, don’t call us, we’ll call you,” the interviewer actually invited me to use their direct phone number, as in don’t you get lost now. During regular economic times this alone would not be worth much; however, being invited to contact a person who is in a position to hire is almost like gold in this economy.

As I said, if the job depended on getting along well with the interviewer, that job would have been in the bag.

Breaking News on Job Search

2009-04-13T12:20:00.001-07:00

Update: This morning I received a call for an interview it is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I was working on my blog and thinking, I need to stop and send out some resumes because Monday is prime job search day, when the phone rang.

Info on job and interview to be continued tomorrow...

An Afternoon Pick-Me-Up

2009-04-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Not getting my hopes up too high, but today I got a call back from the company that I interviewed with after showing-up on their door steps.

It looks like they are trying to narrow down the search because the interviewer had a couple of follow-up questions. Like I said, I am not going to get overly hopeful but I have to admit the call did make me feel much more optimistic about the job search.

That call was like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Elephants Never Forget and Neither do some Job Applicants

2009-04-10T03:19:00.001-07:00

I am going to say something that a lot of people know and usually from their own personal experienced. There are good companies and there are bad companies. A lot of times you can tell a good company by the way that they treat their employees and often times a company is like a family. In that you do not know what is going on until you live with them for a few months or years.

I believe that is one of the reasons that there is an “understanding” between companies that they will not hire an employee who speaks ill of the company after leaving. It helps to keep what goes on in-house from being discussed in public and allows the company to maintain its good public image.

As I have been on this job search, I have come across some companies that treated applicants well. Even if they did not hire me they were personable. They called, sent an email or a letter stating that they selected another applicant and wished me success in my job search.

Yes, this is tough news for an applicant who was not selected to receive but it also gives the applicant something that is helpful. It allows them to know where they stand and move along with some dignity. On the other hand, there are companies that send an auto response that states, if you do not hear from us in two weeks, forget about it. Not in those exact words but the meaning is the same. So is the result, it lets the applicant know where they stand. Then there are the quiet ones. These are the ones that you never hear from, the ones that never say a word about receiving your resume, how long the process may take or send applicants any signal whatsoever. Applicants never really know if their application and resume were received or considered or rejected. Applying for these jobs is like reading an open ended book. Yes, there are some people who like open ended books but most find those types of endings leave them feeling flat. They usually say, forget it I am not buying the sequel, this writer left me hanging. I guess a lot of people feel that way because book sequels rarely do as well as the original. And like a book with an open ending, I find these employers disturbing for two reasons.

1. Many of these companies are huge and spend thousands of dollars advertising their products and services

2. I usually apply for positions in marketing or public relations; therefore, if the position has been taken chances are the new hire is just becoming fully acclimated to the company

You may be asking, what do these two things have to do with each other? Okay think about this. One of the most watched cable television shows had 3.939 million viewers during the week of March 30, 2009, according to the Nielsen Media Research. Currently, unemployment stands at over 5.1 million. 5.1 million is more than 3.939 by more than 1 million and most of these 5.1 million have two things in common 1) there is a good chance that they will find another job within a year and 2) the horrible experiences that they had during their job search will stick in their memories.

In case you are not getting the point; it’s this, many of the dark hole companies may be alienating future customers. What happens when a company alienates their customers, they lose them permanently. There is no amount of advertising, sales or promotions that can get them back. Furthermore, they encourage their friends and family members to avoid the company.

If a company can afford to purchase advertising for their products or services there is a good chance that they have a human resources staff that could afford to be a bit more cordial to job applicants. Furthermore, if the company just hired a marketing person who does not know much about the company and needs some work to cut their teeth on then creating an email database and contacting those applicants who did not get the job might be a good starter project.

While companies are thinking about investing money for a person whose job description is to post and tweet. They are not looking at the big picture, nor are they looking toward the future. In short, they are possibly missing out on a golden opportunity to potentially create a customer for life, a FaceBook fan and a tweeter who will be willing to sing like a bird for their company.

Think about it, a national company advertising positions on popular job board will more than likely get resumes from people all over the country. They may be amassing thousands of resumes for a few openings and most will include an email address. What are they doing with this information? Are they maximizing its potential by nurturing these relationships? No, they are not even responding to the inquiries.

Are they having their human resources office create a few electronic newsletters containing job tips for job hunters? Are sending applicants a coupon for their product or services? Have these companies created a Blog or some other form of interactive communications that would allow job seekers to keep up to date on what is going on at the company, job openings and tips. No at this point, these potential future customers are rather bothersome. I just have one question, for these black hole companies, how are you going to view these people a year from now when they are working. More importantly, how will these people view you?

My father used to say something to us when we were growing-up and it remains a part of my character, he taught us to be good to the people that we meet on our way up because you may meet the same people on the way down. It’s a good lesson and an excellent way to monitor how you treat others.

Open Door Policy -- The Ever Changing Job Search

2009-04-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

It appears that companies have become tired of sifting their way through the flood of resumes on the job search websites. I have noticed that more and more companies in my area are putting the company address in their ads both on Craigslist and on the job search websites. This usually means that applicants who get up off of their duff and haul it over to the company’s office will be considered as serious candidates.

This morning I showed up on the door steps of two of these companies. I did not know what to expect, I was thinking that there would be double lines of applicants all around the office and out the door. Especially in light of the news reports on Friday about the number of unemployed people. I know I should stop with the news. The problem is I am a politics and news junkie. I did skip Meet the Press this Sunday, so I’m in the weaning process.

When I arrived at the first place it was business as normal. I walked in and there was not a line of applicants only employees working. A man sitting closest to the door gave me a seat in the conference room and the interviewer showed up. He was a nice enough person, a bit on the nervous side but very pleasant. We went through the usual interview process and it seemed to go pretty well. I may have asked for more than they are willing to pay but overall it was a good experience.

When I arrived at the second company the situation was pretty much the same no line, or waiting. Unfortunately for me, the receptionist told me that the position had been filled. I guess there is at least one former job seeker out there celebrating this evening.

I sent the interviewer from the first company an email thanking them for their time. Now I have to see wait to see how it plays out. Maybe I will have something to celebrate tomorrow.

Remote in Hand V-Chip Controls on the Screen

2009-04-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

No one who knows me would ever describe me as being a weak or needy person. Call it short woman complex if you want, but I can be a bit of a hard head. My Jewish friends would sometimes tease me and say I have a lot of huspa.

So I had a hard time publishing my last post where I essentially publicized a couple of moments of weakness and an inability to navigate my way through some less than positive situations. However, during my morning reading, I discovered that I am not alone. Experts have confirmed what I suspected it appears that news reports are negatively affecting people around the globe. http://www.kaplinskyreport.com/?p=437

Activating my V-Chip -- Cable News and the Job Search Don’t Mix

2009-04-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Monday morning my job search got off to a roaring start. A friend sent me a list of about 75 open positions. My LinkedIn resume was downloaded by a company. I found about 3 jobs that fit within my range of experience on CraigsList, and another person sent me a request to join their LinkedIn connection. I also found a local networking event in the area to attend next week.

I was really feeling positive as I worked my way the list. I identified companies that were seeking someone with my expertise. That whittled the list down to about six. I began searching the Internet for the companies that had online applications, completed the applications and submitted my resume.

I was thinking things are really looking up so I decided to go out to the store to buy some quality paper so that I could mail out resumes to the companies that did not have applications on their websites. I even bought some things to make a special dinner for my daughter and me.

When I got home I flipped on the television as I usually do before I start to cook. I should have turned the channel as soon as the picture appeared. There on the screen was a big white sign with red lettering hanging behind the anchor’s head and the sign said, World War III. The anchor was speaking about how the Republicans were not going to allow the guy from Saturday Night Live to take his senate seat despite the fact that the guy had won according to the recount. That show went off and the next one came on and they were discussing how the President had fired the CEO of an auto company. Then the discussion turned to how blue collar people were being treated different than bankers or as they were saying people who shower before work are treated differently from people who shower after work. Then the subject went to Spain and how members of the outgoing administration would not be able to leave the country because Spain was looking in to charging them with war crimes.

Suddenly, the feeling of optimism dried up like a prune. The feeling that the future was going to be bleak descended. Those people had not said one word about the economy or job loss. They had not gone to my desk and took my list of jobs, they had not deleted my email contacts or erase my social networking registrations. They had not erased the hard drive that contained my resumes and cover letters, they had not even taken a postage stamp. Yet, somehow I had allowed these news stories to negatively impact my outlook. I was feeling like a balloon that had suddenly lost all of its air, flat and falling.

I spent most of Tuesday, morning trying to work up the enthusiasm to print-out the resumes and mail them to the companies. It was no use, I was at unemployment anonymous and this time it was for a surprise visit. I was asking myself what’s the use. There are too many people looking, my resume will get lost in the pile. I was questioning if the employers were actually hiring from the outside or if the jobs were just being posted to fulfill a requirement before promoting someone in-house. It seems as if every defeatist feeling and thought imaginable had taken root.

As a result I did not do anything on Tuesday. I spent the day looking at old reruns on TVLand and snacking on (my number one comfort food) White Castle cheeseburgers from the supermarket. The frozen ones are nowhere near as good as the real thing but as close as you can get down here in Florida. No television judges, no you’re not the baby’s daddy, no my sister slept with my husband, no game shows and no news. Just re-runs of old television shows from the 80’s. It was as if all systems had shutdown and went looking for something familiar to cling to. I am sure that mental health experts have a name for whatever went on there but whatever it was the mini retreat was over after a day.

By Wednesday, I had pulled myself out of the blues and was back to business. I printed and mailed the resumes and checked CraigsList to see if there was anything available. There were a couple of jobs so I emailed my resume and cover letter. I went on the one job search website, where my resume is lying in wait and made a few changes, essentially lowering my expectations. I took out a desired salary and modified my previous job titles. Instead of saying that I wrote certain documents, I stated that I typed or prepared certain documents.

By Thursday, I went to my post office box and picked-up the books that I ordered. I was reading the books, making notes and listening to the news on television. When a story came on about a guy being sentenced to life in prison after he used CraigsList to lure a woman to her death, having sent quite a few resumes out via CraigsList, this story got my full attention.

After soaking in the news story and getting a bit nervous I went back to my book. At about 6:30 p.m. the phone rang. I answered it and it was a guy he said, I am calling about your resume. I say, yes. All the while I am thinking CraigList killer. He says, so you have administrative skills, I respond, yes.

Try to understand, I have a pretty creative mind or as my daughter says, an over active imagination. Most of the time it has been a good thing, but there are times when it could use a little pulling back. At this point, the logic part of my mind was telling creative to calm down this could be a potential employer. The creative side, which also happens to be the money making side so I love it dearly; in spite of itself, was yelling NORMAN BATES! NORMAN BATES! NORMAN BATES!

Despite attempts to reason creative down the imagination was overpowering logic. The caller said, so how’s your typing? Creative side answered, it’s pretty good. The caller repeats, good? Creative side says, “Yeah it’s good.” Caller says, okay, I have to go. Logic says, Hello. Caller says, I will call you back my son just came in. Creative responds, Okay, bye. Now, I am left wondering if the caller was a real employer and if so was he representing one of the companies on the list or someone from CraigsList.

I am a bit disappointed because I will never know who called. However, this was not entirely creative's fault. Creative did have a point. The caller did not seem very professional; he did not say, Hello Ms. XXXX my name is, Mr. XXX and I work with XXXX. I am calling to discuss the resume that you submitted.

On the other hand, if logic not been so busy fending off the warnings shots that creative was firing-off through the synapses it would have been in better condition to have handled and taken over the situation. Logic would have responded by saying something like, excuse me who is calling, where did you see my resume and what is the name of your company?

Lesson learned I really need to stop watching the news until I find a job. It is obvious that I have become overly sensitive to news stores at this point and time.

Live and Learn

2009-03-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I wrote a long post; however, after reviewing it I realized that this one quote pretty much sums up what I wanted to say.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. Elbert Hubbard, US author (1856 - 1915)

My Scooby-Doo Moment and the Job Search

2009-03-18T02:19:00.000-07:00

A few days before I went on my brief stint at unemployment anonymous, I was searching online for a job, when I came across a job that fit my qualifications so well until I could not hit the apply button fast enough. However, when I looked down at the source it said that the job was posted by a job search website whose business model is not to work with little monsters.

I stopped dead in my tracks, knowing that according to my annual salary for my last job I was definitely a little monster. I had big monster characteristics on paper, but I was still a little monster according to my pay check. I moved on but the job kept calling me. It was perfect for me. The job description was just like my last job, which I did very well at least according to my opinion, my annual evaluations and my raises. The one difference was that this job required social networking in addition to the traditional methods of communicating with clients.

Since becoming unemployed I have had plenty of time to become familiar with my social networking side. My FaceBook page is always jumping with news and friends wanting to reconnect. Not to mention, one of my favorite past-times of late is going on to LinkedIn each night to provide solutions to questions posted by members. Once in a while there is a really complicated problem and I do not have an answer. In these cases, I like reading the responses from others because it is a great way to learn something new. As a matter of fact, I have gotten some really useful URL’s for some very interesting websites by reading answers posted by others.

The more I thought about the job the more I knew that I could do it and that I should have a chance to prove it even if I am just a little monster. After all the other people that I worked with were big monsters, we did the same job but I was paid less because of my background. I was an administrative assistant who moved up within my company. The person who had the manager position before me went to college and had a higher degree than mine and had worked on at few professional jobs before joining the company and earned a very good salary. When that person moved on, I was promoted into the position and earned a good salary but it was significantly less than my predecessor. I had started from so far behind until it would have just been crazy to bump up my salary to that person’s level even if I was doing the job and doing it well.

I was not upset I was happy to have the opportunity to further distance myself from my secretarial background and to gain managerial experience. I really enjoyed the job and my pay was more than sufficient for my lifestyle. However after doing the job for a couple of years, I knew that I had outgrown it and the company. I had gotten all I could out the job and the other things that I had to offer were not required or necessary for the position.

When I left that company my new employer gave me a substantially higher salary and I had a lot more responsibility but I was still earning less than those who did the same job, but they had managed to skip the secretarial pool on their way up the career ladder. They had started their careers at the professional level and their salaries reflected the difference.

Before I knew it I had rationalized that I was a big monster trapped in a little monster’s wallet, I could do that job and I was going to apply for it. I went back to the ad and hit the apply button and stated adding my information then I clicked the next button and my eyes almost bugged out when I saw that big monsters had to subscribe to the service for a fee. ¿Que? Big monsters pay! Every job search advice column, person, article, blog, advocate always say the same thing do not pay to find a job. Yet here was this place that markets itself as the exclusive place for big monsters only -- oh my gosh, who knew that big monsters paid. I guess the big monsters know but someone forgot to tell the little monsters. From the amount of commercials that the company runs during prime-time; in my area, I would say that it must pay well to cater to big monsters. Sooo little monsters are advised not to pay but it is okay for big monsters to pay. I was having a real Scooby-Doo moment.

I started to reconsider subscribing to a service to help find a job. I am not going to pay the company for big monsters because it would only be a matter of time before they discovered the truth. Nevertheless, doing my job search I had come across some companies that advertised that they could help job seekers to locate employment opportunities, for a subscription fee.

I had given it some some consideration in the past, but the automatic reoccurring charge that would be levied against my credit card each month until I contacted the company to make a request to withdraw from the service, was a problem. As an unemployed person when I make a request for a charge to stop, I really need the charge to stop. Heck, as an employed person when I need a charge to stop, I want it to stop. I once belonged to a gym that would not stop charging my credit card upon request. I managed to rectify the situation but it was an ordeal and they had racked-up two months worth of non-refundable fees before I was finally able to get to the right person. At this point, my budget is tight and just because I am unemployed does not mean I get a free-pass on life’s unexpected expenses. In short, a reoccurring change that does not stop upon request could end up being just another problem to add to my list of existing problems. Nevertheless, I believe that there may be a way to mitigate this situation and I am going to give this option a try.

I have been avoiding the job boards for the past few days, but I know that I must do something. If not for myself then for my daughter the last thing that I want to teach her is that when things get tough, just give up. I have rewritten my cover letter and did some research to identify the most searched for job related words using a search engine optimization website.

I feel like I am ready to get back into the game. I am going to post my newly revised cover letter and resume on to the job search website that I am using currently. Since March 10th, my resume has been viewed a total of 10 times on the site, not exactly a record setter. I am not quite ready to go back to the most popular job search website. In my opinion, that site is a train wreck; the employers get so many responses, until they do not know which way is up, scammers are running around unchecked, everyone and their brother has a resume posted there, it is just too jumbled for me to deal with right now. During my brief break, I was able to put some peace and order back in to my life and I have no plans of disturbing my aura again.

I may not be exactly sure about my next-steps but I am sure about where I should not and do not want to go. I have never been in a 12-step program, but in my life I have known a lot of people who have and one of the most inspirational things that I have learned from them has been The Serenity Prayer it goes, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Wisdom tells me, I cannot change that job search website. I can only change my method of looking for a job.

Break Time is Over -- It was very Relaxing

2009-03-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

The break from the job search felt great. Getting away from the horrible task of reading ads and submitting resumes was great. If only there was another way to find a job besides job search websites.

Rejected Again -- Time for a Break

2009-03-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

I finally heard from the employer and I did not get the job. They did not give a reason and I did not want to put the person on the spot by asking the reason. It was clear from the person’s voice that they were uncomfortable about making the call. It would have been less than human of me, as well as unprofessional to push the issue by asking why and besides knowing would have not changed anything.

I am happy that I did not stop my job search while I was in the holding pattern because then I would have been asking myself what did I miss out on while I was waiting for a response. As it turned out, I did not miss out on anything but at least there is no lingering question to haunt me.

Last evening, I read this great post on a blog that I follow. It was about passion and how some people really pursue what they want out of life. I know that despite the mechanics, I have not been applying everything at my disposal into my job search. Instead, I have been dwelling in job search hell doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. It seems like I have been obsessed with trying to squeeze a job out of one of those websites and it has been like trying to milk bull. For any non-farmers, bulls are boys.

It seems as if everyday I manage to identify a new job search website as I attempted to distance myself from the masses. The only thing I got out of this effort is my personal information plastered all over creation, an email box full of notes thanking me for submitting my resume, notifications that my resume has been received, notes congratulating me on becoming a member of the xyz job search website and don’t let me forget those lose-a-turn emails. A lose a turn email is an auto response that invites job seekers to check back again; at another time, for another job.

There is no question about it this is a 3-D process, degrading, defeatist and depressing. I am actually beginning to wonder if and when I do find a job will I even be able to do it because my confidence, pride, and self esteem are being battered almost beyond recognition during this process. I am starting to feel like shrinking violet. Not to good for a person who normally works in a field where the verbal dissemination of information is usually a major part of the job description. No wonder companies are reluctant to hire people who have been out of work for several months. For them it must be sort of like buying something from the scratch and dent store. You know it is a little banged-up but you hope that you’ll be able to get your money’s worth out of it.

Once again, I removed my resume from some of the job search websites. The goal was to reduce the postings down to two of the less popular sites. I decided to hold my resume back from the most popular site and to only submit resumes to jobs that I choose. I recently read this article that said that a lot of employers are skeptical of the resumes that are just hanging around on the sites waiting to be picked-up like a cheap date. My words not theirs but as stated the perception seemed about the same. I figure that if I actually take the time to apply to the company they will know that I have a genuine interest in working for the company, which should score a few brownie points.

I sent out no less than 25 resumes yesterday, I think I made my quota for the week. I am going to do follow-up calls with the companies that provided their names and unless one of them grants me an interview I am taking the rest of the week off. It is time check-in at unemployed anonymous for a while. For the next few days I can found either doing something more constructive or meditating and relaxing on the beach.

To be continued next week.....

Global Financial Crisis

2009-03-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Titus 3:1 Do what is Good
Remind your people to submit to the goverment and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not speak evil of anyone, and they must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

Republicans warn democrats not to add homeowners to bailout
http://www.nfmpolitico.com/2008/09/20/republicans-warn-democrats-not-to-add-homeowners-to-bailout/

Resentment Grows Over Paying for Others' Foreclosure Misery
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497707,00.html

Let People (and companies) Fail!
http://allfinancialmatters.com/2008/07/28/let-people-and-companies-fail/

Bank bailout: Who's getting the money
http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/storysupplement/bankbailout/

How Washington's Bailout Will Boost Wall Street Bonuses
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1853846,00.html

What If God Was One of Us - Joan Osbourne

NO MATTER HOW IT STARTED, WE OWE IT TO THEM TO FIX IT

Above Images from http://www.webshots.com/

http://www.edupics.com/en-coloring-pages-pictures-photo-poverty-c332-192.html
(© Edupics.com

Waiting Game Continues -- Prospects Shrink

2009-03-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting to hear from a company that I interviewed with over two-weeks ago. The person who has the final word in the hiring process has been out-of-town. In the meantime, I have continued my job search. I submitted several resumes and received a few lose-a-turn emails from companies, requests to take online assessments, but dead silence from most companies.

I have also noticed that the number of jobs seems to be shrinking and the qualifications for the jobs that are available have become even more targeted. A lot more companies are only hiring part-time employees, one company is hiring less than part-time, offering work for 15 hours a week. Things seem to be leveling-off as employers contemplate their next move. The next move could be to remain in a holding pattern until they see shifts in the current economic conditions or it could be that they are just trying to hold-on through this downturn. Either way it does not look too good for job seekers right now.

If I do not get this job next week, I will have to change my entire job search strategy.

Holding Pattern -- No Word Yet

2009-03-03T05:13:00.000-08:00

Last week, I had a second interview for a job that I really liked. The interview went well; however, this week the person who has the last word in the hiring process is out-of-town. I was hoping that the person conducting the second interview would have been able to complete the process by making an offer.

At this point, I do not know where I stand with this company. My gut tells me not to slowdown my job search because no offer has been extended. I could be allowing an opportunity to pass me by as I wait for a decision.

One of the things that I really liked about that job is the location. It is so close to where I live, until it’s a real job a dream.

Nevertheless, I applied for another job this morning online but I would not like to find myself in a situation where I have to make a choice. I know myself and I know that I will accept the first offer even if it means leaving "dream job" behind. This is because of my passion for and value of decisiveness. I like people and companies that know what they want and go for it.

In the past when two companies made offers within hours of each other, I have always accepted the first offer. I believe that in each case, I made the right choice. However, there can always be a fluke in my reasoning but having a choice of prospective employers is better than not having any prospects at all.

Second Interview and Job Fair

2009-02-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Looks like I may be getting closer to getting hired. The company that I met with on Wednesday, called me back for a second interview on Friday.

I really like the company the people seem professional, fun and very down-to-earth. Finding a job is important, but finding one where you believe you will be happy, is also important. I would think that one of the worse things would be to search around for months looking for a job, get hired and then end up in a situation that is not right and trying to make due. Even though in a tough economy it is tempting to accept any offer that is made.

Nevertheless, job seekers should remember that they are not just being interviewed they are interviewing for a potential employer as well. A relationship with an employer should last at least two years to look respectable.

A resume is sort of like a credit report. Job hopping does not reflect badly on the employer it reflects badly on the employee and can cost a great position in the future.

Interview Tomorrow

2009-02-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

I finally received an interview from one of the job search websites. This is the first interview that I have ever been granted from one of the companies advertising on a job search web site. Also, this will be my third interview this month. I may not be setting a record but it looks like things are picking-up a bit.

Also, the job is in my neighborhood, less than a 10 minute drive. I could leave for work at 8:15 a.m and be there before 8:30 a.m. That is a great benefit less gas, I would be able to go home for lunch and at the end of the day I can be even happier because getting home will not be a job within itself.

The work seems very interesting lots of diverse responsibility, just how I like my jobs. I detest doing the same thing day-in and day-out, week after week. You rarely get a feeling of accomplishment because you never complete a repetitive job.

The Agency Part 2 and Social Networking

2009-02-24T00:37:00.000-08:00

I went to the agency and the meeting went well. The interviewer took time and spoke with me about the jobs that were available, asked how far I was willing to travel, and told me about approximate salaries for various jobs. Almost as an afterthought, I was asked for a copy of my resume and after a quick glace at my work history; I was asked, are you sure that you want to do this type of work.

It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out how this was going to end. At least the interviewer was very professional and very nice. I still felt pretty human when I left the office.

On the other hand, I have been having a great time on the social networking sites. I have found so many long lost friends and it has really picked-up my spirits. It is funny how when you are suddenly surround by people who know you, know how capable you are and still remember you after so many years it just validates you as a responsible hardworking person.

I do not know if I will find a job from social networking; however, the experience has been great for the soul.

Social Networking

2009-02-21T00:26:00.000-08:00

I’m still around and nothing has changed no interviews this week. I setting-up an account on a couple of social networking sites. My project for next week is to see how this approach works and if it results in any interviews.

Also, I have an appointment with an employment agency tomorrow. Thanks to a friend who knows someone at the agency. After my last experience with employment agencies, the only way that I would consider that route again would be through a personal recommendation.

While there is no guarantee that I will find a job through the agency, the fact that there was some groundwork beforehand should make for a better experience.

Taming the Wild West -- Modern Technology

2009-02-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

I love westerns, it may not be on my profile but I really enjoy them. I can and have spent many Saturdays watching reruns of Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and the Riffle Man to name a few. What interests me most about these shows aside from the fact that the good guy always wins, is how people traveled in the old west.

Their primary means of transportation was a horse or a few horses, a wagon or a stage coach. What would they do if their horse died along the way? Call boxes were not invented; the phone was not even invented. They also had to stop in the woods to cook and sleep on the ground, without an air mattress or a tent. Then there was getting up in the morning without a bathroom and possibly running into a snake or spider out in the bushes. All of those horses and men and no deodorant or mouthwash and the nearest police department comprised of one officer and maybe a deputy was often miles away in the next town. No one was out there in the woods patrolling to keep them safe. Nonetheless, many completed the journey west.

You may be asking, where is this going and what does it have to do with finding a job. Well, the experiences I had last night as I tried to post my resume and complete several forms on an Internet job search website is what led to this trip to the Wild West.

At about 7:30 p.m. last night, I started working to complete some online forms that applicants are requested to complete on this online job search website. After typing information into the fields on one form I went to the next page and began filling in the next form. I started to notice that some of the questions seemed repetitive. So, I went back to the previous form to review the information and low and behold, poof the information that I had typed and saved into form a was gone. A bit later, I tried to paste my resume into an online job application; I looked at it and could only see the last sentence of the last paragraph. I tried to scroll-up the page to see if the rest of the information was there and poof, that was gone too. It was well after 10:00 p.m. when I finally managed to complete my job search for the evening.

It made me start to think of how those pioneers must have felt. They were using the technology of the day and it got them from Point A. to Point B. but boy what a journey. I think that it is the same with the Internet and other technology that we use today. The technology is good for what it is but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

This is what got me to thinking about the pioneers and reminded me that in a sense we are pioneers when it comes to the Internet and other technology. It gets the job done; but all too often, only after wearing on your nerves a bit. Aside from disappearing text, think of the cell phone, when was the last time that you were in the middle of a call when poof the other person was gone. Have you ever received a long anticipated email on your phone only to find out that you could not open the attachment? What about GPS has it ever tried to demand that you drive your car through a fence or into a body of water.

In many ways today’s technology is like a couple of horses and a wagon, in that it is capable of getting you where you want to go.....eventually.

I just know that one day my grandchildren and I will be sitting around watching reruns on whatever version of television that is available at the time and the little ones will ask, “Grandma, why do the people keep saying hello when they are talking on the phone?” And I will have to explain how back when I was younger and cell phones first became very popular sometimes you would get disconnected from the person that you were speaking to, we used to call it a dropped call. And they will look at me with little puzzled faces; as they try to figure out, how can a phone lose a person.

Image from National Archives and Records Administration

Job Posting Website Status Report

2009-02-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

To date my new revised resumes have generated 91 views, 11 clicks and -0- responses unless you count the company that sent the email with the weird HTM attachment.

There must be a better way to look for a job. I can just see my poor little resume, floating and bobbing around in a sea of resumes from all over the country on that job search website.

The problem is compounded because I live in South Florida. South Florida is a place where a lot of people would not mind living, if given a chance, even if they have to pay for the move out-of-pocket. That's how I got here. Then, there is the fact that it is February and cold in most of the country, making South Florida look even more attractive. Add to that, the local unemployment rate for current residents is among the highest in the nation. For employers looking for qualified applicants in this area, it must be like looking for a grain of sand on a beach.

I am going to have to try to find some smaller lesser known job search websites. I am also going to repost my ad on that online classified ad website.

No Date to the Dance -- Same Result as Before

2009-02-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

I posted my new updated resume on one of the popular job search websites this morning. It was search 43 times, it was viewed 7 times and I received -0- inquiries. Wait a minute, I did get one email from a company offering a Great Sales Career with an HTM attachment. The last thing I need at this point is a computer virus, worm or spyware getting into my computer. I sent the company an email requesting the URL to the website, but I did not get a response.

It has only been one day and I did not post the documents until the middle of the week. Things may pick-up at the end of the week or early next week. However, is it just me or have you noticed how the weeks are just passing me by without any results to speak of from these job search websites. So far I have had more luck with the online classified ad website than I have had with the job search websites.

I am going to have to try some other tactics. Someone suggested that I should try some of the social networking sites. I think that will be tomorrow's project. If I do not find a job soon, I will have the problem of people thinking that I am not marketable.

Finding a job can be like teenage dating. If no one wants to go out with you then the one person who might like you, starts to think that something must be wrong with you or else why is it that no one else asked you out. So the person who might actually like you decides that despite their feelings about you, they do not want to ask you out you either.

Three days down and two to go for this week.

Rapper Predicts Election Outcome

2009-02-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

While filming the crowd during early voting last year, I came upon this guy who was so sure that Obama was going to win the election, until he wrote a rap.

Wonder if he predicted the winning lottery numbers yet. I could use a few bucks.

No matter, today the economic stimulus bill passed and hopefully the downturn will flatten out enough for some of us job seekers to find jobs. It is almost impossible to find work when every month a new group of people join the ranks of the unemployed.

Go Obama and thumbs up to those republicans who supported the bill.

Memories -- I Looked Out On to This Many Times

2009-02-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

This is the a view from a building where I once worked.

Earned a Few Bucks -- Something to Do

2009-02-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, on a lark, I placed an ad on a classified website. I did not think anything would come from it, but I figured why not, advertising on the site is free.

By Sunday afternoon I had a response. I was busy working so I did not have an opportunity to post my newly updated resume on the job posting websites. The work did not take that long but I was busy for a while. Now, I am back to square-one and ready to pick-up where I left-off with Plan A.

Another One Bites the Dust -- No Call Back on Job Interview

2009-02-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

I was really hoping while trying not to get my hopes up too high that the company that I interviewed with on Wednesday would contact me with good news. However, my phone did not ring and my email box was empty. Meaning my interview did not result in a job offer. Someplace in my mind, there is a part that does not like giving up and a little voice of hope keeps telling me that they may call on Monday, maybe they were really busy on Friday. Logic says, people start new jobs on Monday, mornings they do not get calls telling them that they were hired to work four days.

However, I did start my last job on a Wednesday, and I started the job before that on a Thursday, it would not be totally unusual if they called on Monday. See there goes that pesky hope again.

Job or no job I am going to have to get out of this house next week. Another side-effect of searching for a job on the Internet is I feel as if I am under house arrest. It's a life of searching job site after job site, day after day. This might be good if you have more than one interview per week, but when your average is one every few months like me, it becomes unhealthy.

My church runs a few ministries maybe I will look into volunteering a few days next week. There is also an organization that accepts volunteers to help seniors living on their own. Having a job is important, but I can't let not having one take-over my life. Starting next week I am going to claim a piece my life back and take advantage of some of this new found freedom.

Job Interview 2.5

2009-02-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

I had a job interview yesterday and it went well. No slip-ups this time.

I would feel more confident if the economy were not so bad, these days you may have been a star during your interview and the next applicant can come in and be a supernova.

It's a good job and the people are very professional. If I get the job it would be great. If I do not get the job I will be fine. I presented myself well and that is all one can do during an interview.

Three workdays down and two to go for this week.

Made Contact -- Interview Today

2009-02-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

Two good things happend yesterday!

1) I have an interview later today.

2) I managed to rid myself of some of the unwanted attention from companies looking for people willing to pay to become independent contractors. I tweaked my resume a bit and the unwanted emails were reduced. In some cases, this meant removing entire sentences but it was worth it. Those words were not attracting my target audience anyway.

Get More Discerning -- Weeding Out Pay to Train

2009-02-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

If I get one more email or phone call from some company with a great opportunity to be an independent contractor and all I have to do is pay for training and licensing I may loose it. However, today I learned that if you tell them that you are broke they hang-up really quickly. I guess they don't offer easy credit terms.

These people call and send emails all day and through-out the night and it is annoying. I wish I knew which keywords in my resume has triggered this intense interest. I am going to experiment with my resume a bit to see if I can weed-out the words or phrases generating these hits.

While following up on an inquiry from a company, which turned out to be just another one of those pay for training companies, I missed a phone call from a company with a position in my area of expertise. By the time I returned the call the person was out of the office for the day. I will try to reach them again tomorrow. Wish me luck.

One day down for this week and four to go.

Keep Going - I Only Need One Job

2009-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

This passage from Hillary Clinton's speech at the 2008, Democratic Convention where she spoke of Harriett Tubman really touched a part of me.

...... following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice. If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going. Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.

Next week is a new beginning with five days to look for and find a job. If only one company picks up on my keywords, clicks on my resume and contacts me about a job, it's okay because I only need one job.

Weeded out by a Computer Program -- Another Week Another Gimmick

2009-01-31T06:40:00.000-08:00

In addition to allowing job seekers to place resumes on their sites, job search websites provide job recommendations. Looking at the suggested jobs provided to me I saw at least three that appeared to be a good fit. I clicked the apply button on the first one expecting to be taken to the place on the site where users can cut and paste their resume and cover letter or load their resume and cover letter from their computer files.

This listing had a link directly to the company’s online job application. I have seen online applications before but this one was different. There was no place for a cover letter. Just provide your work history and let the computer load and analyze your information.

As if searching for jobs on the Internet was not impersonal enough; now, I was going to be weeded out by a computer program. Everything that I accomplished in my working life was about to be condensed to keywords and phrases . Too bad, I really liked the job description and the location was close to home. I worked extra hard to develop the cover letter I even added marketing suggestions.

The other two companies took the cover letter and resume and I was sent the all too familiar, you lose-a-turn email. The letter thanked me for applying, invited me to check back again - at another time - for another job.

I contacted some business owners that I met through previous jobs. They were all singing the same tune. We are not hiring now, maybe by the end of the year but nothing now.

Job Search Websites/Agencies -- Different Tactics Same Result

2009-01-31T06:34:00.001-08:00

A friend told me that she had posted her resume on an Internet job search website and suggested that I do the same. She also told me that I could limit the amount of information that could be viewed, when I expressed concerns about privacy. I decided to put my resume on several sites using my cell number and a disposable email address.

I nervously completed profiles, posted the resume and cover letter and adjusted the keywords on the site that allows users to manually input and delete keywords. My resume has been on those sites for about 4 days and has been picked up in 249 searches, clicked on a total of 19 times and I have been contacted by -0- companies. No that is not totally true, I have been contacted by some companies; however, when I researched these companies the results were not good -- for all but one. The one that did pass the test is located over 30 miles from where I live and becoming an “independent contractor” may involve paying for something, with money allocated to bill collectors.

I also contacted employment agencies about possible temporary secretarial assignments and one agency regarding an advertised permanent position. I was told that since I have not been a secretary for over nine years my skills are not new enough. Old skills, what the heck is an old skill and how do skills age? Can someone please tell me when did saying, “Good morning, Acme Company how may I be of assistance,” become old. Since when did a new software package replace Microsoft Office Suite as the number one software for business applications? And where the heck was I when all of this was happening?

One of the temporary agencies admitted that they did not have any secretarial work and another told me that they specialized in specific industries. The individual representing the company advertising the permanent job rejected my resume and did not bother to return my phone call.

Ha, You Got Punked - Check-out the Company First

2009-01-31T05:04:00.000-08:00

On January 22, 2009, I had my second job interview. Well sort of an interview ..... No, it was not an interview; to be honest, I do not know what was going on there.

Here is the lesson that I learned from this experience . Do not get punked, check-out lesser known companies advertising on the Internet before setting-up an interview. I should have ran that company's name through the rip-off report at http://www.ripoffreport.com/ before I wasted my time, money and gas. I cannot guarantee that The Rip-off Report has posts on every and all scams out there but it is a pretty decent place to start. Another place to check is The Better Business Bureau Online at http://www.bbb.org/online/.

Go Back to Start Do Not Collect Payday - The Job Search Game

2009-01-31T02:53:00.000-08:00

After sending out several resumes to companies advertising on various websites and not getting any responses, I decided it was time to phone a friend. The more I think about it the more I can see how searching the Internet for a job is like being a contestant on a game show. I like the game show comparison because once in a while someone wins the big prize in this case that would be a job.

Anyway some years ago, I trained this person on Microsoft Office Suite and she was a great student and is currently a valued and very much loved employee at her current place of employment.

I explained the problem that I was having and she gave me the names of some companies in the area that she knew were hiring. I checked the websites and one of the companies had a job opening that I felt matched my qualifications. I completed the online application and received the customary electronic thank you note inviting me to check back again, at another time - for another job. I categorize this as the Internet job search version of lose a turn.

The fact is searching the Internet for a job is impersonal and pretty much a game of chance. There is a chance that you used the right keywords and a chance that you did not. Which is probably why most online job search sites allow users to submit multiple resumes, there is a good chance that 1-out-of-5 versions of your resume will contain the right words to land that job.

Messed-up Big time -- Picking-up the Pieces

2009-01-31T01:22:00.000-08:00

I went to my first job interview in 10 years and messed-up big time. Then I beat myself up all the way home, and again when I got home, and some more before I went to bed that night, and once more the next morning. However, by noontime, I gave myself a break and started to analyze the situation and develop a plan on how to do better the next time. It may have been a bit too late to snag that job, but better than risking any repeat performances. I spent time focusing on my skills, abilities and techniques rather than attempting to hone perfect responses to hypothetical scenarios and questions related to personality traits. I remembered that as a job seeker, I have to be able to present myself on two levels.

I have to be prepared to respond to typical questions from employment agencies who may rely on gathering information related to character, goals, choices, and the ability to be exceedingly diplomatic. As well as, questions from actual employers who want to know that as a potential employee I can speak their language and actually know or am willing to learn their industry. The two paths may cross when a company has an in-house recruiting office.

Interviewing Tips are not One Size Fits All

2009-01-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

After I realized and accepted the fact that things were looking bad and companies were not responding to my inquirers, I decided to ask a former co-worker how they managed to find a job so quickly.

The person told me that they had used a popular website that hosted classified ads. So off I went to the site and I actually found a few jobs that I felt matched my qualifications. I emailed my resume and cover letter to the companies. I received several responses to my inquiries. Most were from companies trying to sell me something like an opportunty to go back to school to earn a degree. As if the one that I have now is actually helping me to find a job, not to mention, I am still trying to pay for it, thanks but no thanks.

However, one response was for an actual interview. After three months, I finally landed an interview! My first job interview in over 10 years! The fact that I had not interviewed for a job in over 10 years became an obvious drawback from the start. I made some really dumb mistakes.

Before going on the interview, I studied websites offering interviewing tips and responses to tricky questions. After the interview, something someone once told me came to mind. I once had a conversation with a business owner on hiring practices and this person stated, most small businesses do not really care about the same things as employment agencies. The truth contained in this statement became crystal clear during my interview; my five year plan, career goals, challenges at my last job and who was my best boss and who was my worst did not come up once. No, this businessman asked, "What are some of the sources that you use to conduct research." I was momentarily stunned. I worked in research for so long until finding data had become routine . I had never mentally compiled a list of sources.

So I rattled off some well known websites that came to mind all the while knowing that I was not prepared for the question. That question was very relevant to the position and my response should have been second nature, but I drew a blank.

Unemployed and no Responses

2009-01-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

When I became unemployed on October 1, 2008, I considered starting a blog to journal my experiences. I soon reconsidered believing that unemployment would not last long and there would not be enough information to warrant maintaining a journal. Wrong!

I first started to notice that I was not getting any responses from potential employers in early November. Soon the holiday season rolled around and I figured that I was not getting responses because people were out-of-the office on vacation.

However, I knew which way the economy was turning so I started to devote even more time, effort and attention to finding a job. And that is when it became unmistakably obvious, my situation was starting to look bleak. Companies simply were not calling me after receiving my resume.