My current job is nearing the end of its contact and I’ll have to start looking seriously for a new job.
For the past few months I’ve been sending out my CV here and there to other companies hiring for similar work but I feel like the lack of response has been somewhat depressing.
It’s been almost 8 years since I’ve had to do this and I feel like the rules on getting jobs completely changed since then. So, beyond nepotism, how’d you get your current job?
Ugh, I feel you. I got laid off at the beginning on the year and it’s just the most depressing thing to look for a job. The worst part is that I spent five miserable years in university getting a “useful” degree and here I am with it meaning precisely jack shit to employers.
For the past few years, I’ve basically just been sending my resume to anything in the area that I think I could do a good interview for. Mostly ended up being call centers. I hear back from maybe 1 in 6 of them, and of those, it’s a maybe 1 in 4 chance they’ll want to go through the whole hiring process with me. None of them have paid particularly well.
The one I’m at right now is losing the client I work for on October 1st, though they’re trying to keep people around through at least February, so I feel your pain. The key is really, honestly, just to know somebody. I’ve got an interview lined up at a place for this same kind of job, but it pays $3 an hour more than my current job, and it’s only because my mom knows someone who works there now. She’s effectively retired but those connections still help.
It always feels gross to use family or friends as connections for job stuff but honestly it’s the only way you’re going to get noticed. Otherwise you’re just relying on luck. Luck doesn’t do enough though.
Yeah, I think it was luck for me. I just happened to have the specific combination of mildly uncommon skills that this specific job was looking for at that specific time. If there’s anything remotely generalizable about that experience, maybe it’s that mentioning tangential-ish skills on your resume can be helpful? (The tiebreaker between me and the other candidates was my better proficiency at one of aforesaid tangential-ish skills.)
You’re right, @RyleeEllison. The modern job search is a different beast as far as I can tell. I send a lot of applications and generally hear nothing back. Merely receiving a rejection letter makes me feel immense respect for a company. Meanwhile, my parents are encouraging me to “pound the pavement” and try to set up informational interviews, even though a lot of postings include a “Please No Calls” line. I spend a lot less on vellum, but I’m also competing for jobs in the region with people from around the world. Being near New York City is a mixed bag as a result.
They tossed me out of my gig at the beginning of the month, but I got it the “old fashioned way.” I sent out dozens of applications and they took me on as an intern, and gave man offer at the end of that time. The company went to pot about six months after that, and I think I’m honestly happier without the job. I’d already been looking for other work. Although I’m also able to go home to supportive parents and have a bit of savings, otherwise I’d probably in trouble.
Good luck everybody!
This may be outdated advice, but I know someone who has had a lot of success getting their foot in the door at places by getting gigs through temp-services.
I’ve been employeed for a while and things seem steady, but my plan if I lose my job is to volunteer at places where folks are doing useful work as much as I can and be vocal about needing a paying job.
I more or less got my current job through twitter. I still had go to through the normal application process and interviews and such, but I am 100% sure the fact that I showed interest in the position on twitter and contacted the people hiring with doubts and questions made a huge difference. The world is weird now.
I got my current job (2 years ago) after basically failing at freelancing, concurrent with a long period of being a caretaker. At that point I was ready to take anything, so I hopped on craigslist and proved it.