Never ending job search...I feel like I have found my new career...SEARCHING FOR A JOB! I realize from past unemployment periods that this is a full time job, however, this time is the longest. Here is a layout of my situation:
My background:
I am frustrated (YES!!!!) but I have learned a great deal about myself and the myriad of companies and industries from researching (and I do TONS of research) and interviewing. This is what has kept me going but I was wondering if anybody out there had any additional THOUGHT? IDEAS? SUGGESTIONS? that I could take away and run with? OH, BTW...I am in the Tampa area...any advertising pros out there hiring? Sorry, but I am in a similar situation as you in that I relocated almost 11 months ago. The first month was devoted to settling in and getting my child enrolled in school. The next month was reading, researching and preparing my resume for submission to different companies and firms. I received a temp job and then stayed there until the end of July. So, my actual "job locating job" has been since August. I have received interview after interview after interview. I have sent out, I actually calculated this, 1,497 resumes via fax, email, on-line company website and US postal mail. I have received exactly 8 responses regarding my interviews (rejections, by the way) ranging from I am over-qualified to they have decided to "go a different way" to thank you but we have decided on another candidate. I have gone through recruiters and temp agencies. I have lost ALL respect for the people who work in these agencies and I am frustrated as heck. I have been on interviews through these agencies where they have told me that there are no other candidates and that the interview is merely a formality. The interviewer likes me, says she like me, sets up a time to come in and file paperwork and then calls before the end of the day to state that they have changed their mind because the agency representative showed up with someone else they like better. Then when I call the representative back, she states that the other person was willing to accept less money. EXCUSE ME!!!! I was the one who said that I would be wiling to accept a certain amount, the representative told the company a higher amount. Anyway, I feel your angst. At this point, I feel that there is nothing left to do but keep plugging away. Yesterday, I actually told my family members that I might go to McDonalds and put in an application. That' s how frustrated I am. As comforting as it is to know that others are in the same predicament as I am currently, I have to say I AM SO SORRY for your troubles. I too have thought the McDonalds scenario more than once. One thing I am working on today is to redo my resume...again. One will focus on my professional profile and areas of expertise before even getting to my work history. I am hoping that will lessen the emphasis on the gaps in my employment history and more on my qualities and what I can bring to the party. Also, I am making another version, one I like to call the "dumbed-downed" version. In other words, one to send so I don' t seem overqualified for some of the jobs I am presently applying to. Thanks again and good luck, remain sane, don' t lose hope and remember...McDonalds kinda smells bad! What are you telling them about these gaps? Would any former employers or references mention that you were on disability 3 times? If so, I' d say that' s it. If not, then you need to check how you' re coming across in interviews. See if your recruiter will role play with you and find out where you might be going wrong. Thanks for the good advice. I have had numerous conversations with my recruiter re: my interviews and style and for the most part I can pick out where I need improvement and have definitely been working on it. Believe it or not, one of my areas to work on is toning down my level of enthusiasm. I need to find the "gray" area with respect to this but I am sooo passionate about my work (and the fact that I am sooo eager to work again) I sometimes don' t realize how over the top I can get. About the gaps...there is much more to them than just being out on disability. A large part of the gaps is doing what I am doing now LOOKING HI AND LO FOR A JOB. This is mainly what I tell them when asked. After talking to my recruiter I realized that during some of this time I did some contract design work for a friend so she told me to add that to my resume, filling in some of the time.
If you can honestly say that after each interaction with a hiring manager or HR person, you feel like you learned something or gotten better at the job hunt, then you are doing fine. Just keep on bettering your self and you are guaranteed some offers. I had interviewed for almost 4 months. Like you, I realized it was a full time job. On top of my previous employer requiring me to put in 55+ hours, I was going to an average of one in-person, and up to 3, interviews a week. Most of these interview locations were an hour or 2 hours worth of driving in LA traffic. This culminated in going to 2 of them in one night. To be able to leave early enough from work, I came in at 7am and left at 4:30pm. Then interviewed till 10:30pm and went to bed some time after midnight. It was getting to the point that I was considering passing up interviews just so I can get some sleep. Out of all that effort, I only got 2 offers. However, those 2 were from the best companies I have ever interviewed with. What a similar story we have: relocating,settling in for a while to later have a rude awakening. This" looking for a job' job is mind numbing. You go though the too familiar drill of researching, emailing, follow up etc until even the skills you know you have sound hollow because you stopped using them. Instead, you have become increasingly knowledgeable in HR stories. The major caveat is the lack of a network in place. I think I' m going to pursue the old fashioned venue of volunteering although I need an income just like everybody else. | |
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