Lots of Interviews, but No Job Offer
A friend of mine has been looking for work for the past 6-odd months,ever since he relocated with his wife to the US. His credentials aregreat, papers are all in order , and he has no problem speaking English. He's been getting lotsof interviews for jobs which fit his work experience, but so far, nojob offers. He's getting a bit frustrated now, and has been emailingus, his friends, for advice. I don't know what to say but would like to help. Any advice, please?
I have gone through that. Then I realized getting frustrated and jaded only harms my chances. Rather than see the job hunt and interview process as only a means to a new job, I viewed it as a tool to better myself. The resume postings became scientific marketing experiments. I kept track of what kind of responses I was getting with each modification I made to a resume. For example, I realized that in my case, the return on investment of applying to jobs was not worth it. The time it took me to search for jobs, write a cover letter and so on didn't get enough responses. It was more productive to focus on improving my resume and portfolio so that the recruiters and hiring managers were seeking me out on a regular basis. The interviews became live presentation trainings. I don't ask as much did I get the job but what did they respond positively to and what did they not like. With each experience I just got better at it and my confidence grew.
I' m hearing you. I' ll pass it on to my friend. One thought did occur to me: what if I suggested that my friend call up the companies who called him in for an interview for feedback and/or tips so he could do better in his next interview? Is this acceptable?
I have done that at the end of an interview that I pretty much knew I wouldn't get. The interviewers are usually very insightful. The thing is, once you are out of the office and the company is not mature enough to have an HR department, it is not that likely that the interviewer will get back to you. You are lucky just to get a rejection notice. But hey, at that point you got nothing to lose so it's acceptable. Personally, I prefer to focus my energy on having more interviews lined up. Following up on past interviews that have gone cold is more an after thought. Why is your friend not on the board? These boards and similar technologies are powerful tools for his job search. | |
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