Depressing

[tucker rocky]

What happened to the old days of filling out an application for a job, then getting a call back within a few days?

My job and my wages were recently cut from the payroll books at my company(hench my handle here at FOFC).

I've been out of work for almost a month now, I know there are many people out there that are far worse off than me, so I can't complain.

I'll be getting an unemployment check in the next few days, which will suffice for now(cause I need that little income), and hopefully somebody, anybody will give me an offer.

The days go by and sometimes I wonder. I have to keep the faith, even that is hard to do.

[RomaGoth]

I know how you feel. I remember when I was younger, filling out applications and usually getting an interview within a few days. Now, I am lucky if I hear from any of the places I apply at. I am lucky in that I have a good job, but if something happened and I become unemployed, yeah....

The days of an associates degree getting you a job are long gone. Now, you are expected to have a bachelors degree, but a master's degree causes you to be over-qualified.

Keep the faith, the economy is not what it was but it is slowly getting better.

[DaddyTorgo]

sucks. sorry to hear that man. wasn't there a big job-loss thread where people were posting about their situations and what they do - in case some ole FOFC-networking could get them in the door...

[tucker rocky]

I'd like to go to school and get a degee, but that costs money.
Even with financial aid, I'd still probably have to pay that back
sooner or later.

I know what I'd want to do, but I have other financial responsibilities that are more important.

Maybe I expect to much when I send off emails with my resume, hoping that it'll get seen sooner. This one company actually wanted emailed resumes for faster screening. I match the qualifications that are needed for the job , send me an offer. Patience is very tough when you're job hunting.

[RomaGoth]

I'd like to go to school and get a degee, but that costs money.
Even with financial aid, I'd still probably have to pay that back
sooner or later.

I know what I'd want to do, but I have other financial responsibilities that are more important.

Maybe I expect to much when I send off emails with my resume, hoping that it'll get seen sooner. This one company actually wanted emailed resumes for faster screening. I match the qualifications that are needed for the job , send me an offer. Patience is very tough when you're job hunting.

What is your job specialty? Or, what were you doing at your last job?

[tucker rocky]

What is your job specialty? Or, what were you doing at your last job?

I was basically a blue-collar type worker for my former company for 10+ years.

I'm now venturing out to the different local motorcycle and atv dealers that we did business with.

Like I said, schooling is being given a long look at. I could do this with financial aid, knowing that I'd have to pay that back, after job placement.

I regret now not going to a training school earlier when I had the time.

[RomaGoth]

I was basically a blue-collar type worker for my former company for 10+ years.

I'm now venturing out to the different local motorcycle and atv dealers that we did business with.

Like I said, schooling is being given a long look at. I could do this with financial aid, knowing that I'd have to pay that back, after job placement.

I regret now not going to a training school earlier when I had the time.

Well, do what you like and like what you do. If this is your chance to start a new career, make sure you are spending the money on something you really want to do. The job market is much more competitive now than it was in the past (I am sure you have realized this already).

Good luck with whatever you decide upon and keep your chin up.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

My mom has been looking for accounting work in the Jacksonville area for about six months now. As she put it, it's like dating; you can't get too upset when the guy doesn't call you back, just buck up and find someone else to date.

[Tasan]

I'd like to go to school and get a degee, but that costs money.
Even with financial aid, I'd still probably have to pay that back
sooner or later.

I know what I'd want to do, but I have other financial responsibilities that are more important.

Maybe I expect to much when I send off emails with my resume, hoping that it'll get seen sooner. This one company actually wanted emailed resumes for faster screening. I match the qualifications that are needed for the job , send me an offer. Patience is very tough when you're job hunting.

Remember to follow up those emails with phone calls. Wait a day or two then actually talk to a human at the place if you can find a number. Sometimes that will get you bumped up, and sometimes being on top is all that matters ;- )

[CU Tiger]

Do not wait on them to call you back.
I know this sounds crazy, but I recently picked up a huge contract and needed to add 4-5 employees, paid the outrageous sum to run a sunday classified (over $1k...fwiw) and had over 60 respondents...so yeah it is Friday and I havent looked at any of them.

Dude called earlier, wanting to follow up, sounded bright and personable presented himself well...he is coming in for an interview Monday..now I just have to dig his resume out of the stack and review before then.

I can not stress enough, no call does not mean not interested.
In fact I have a rule, if you dont call to follow up on an interview you dont get an offer....

[gstelmack]

FWIW, if a company is getting a flood of resumes, they may only be contacting the folks who they want to interview. You should get an acknowledgement that your resume was received, but that may be all you hear.

[DaddyTorgo]

Do not wait on them to call you back.
I know this sounds crazy, but I recently picked up a huge contract and needed to add 4-5 employees, paid the outrageous sum to run a sunday classified (over $1k...fwiw) and had over 60 respondents...so yeah it is Friday and I havent looked at any of them.

Dude called earlier, wanting to follow up, sounded bright and personable presented himself well...he is coming in for an interview Monday..now I just have to dig his resume out of the stack and review before then.

I can not stress enough, no call does not mean not interested.
In fact I have a rule, if you dont call to follow up on an interview you dont get an offer....


what he said - somewhat different situation on our end, but we basically do outsourced sales & marketing for small investment managers. we get at least 4-5 people a week sending us emails or filling out the "contact us" form on our website looking for us to do representation.

i'd say i maybe glance over all the ones that come in, but unless they actually make the effort to reach out individually with a call they'll be likely to even get a form-letter in response from us.

give the company a call, somehow. talk to the receptionist and sweet-talk her into giving you the name of somebody in HR or hiring...let them know you're alive and you're hungry and committed to getting the job.

[molson]

Do not wait on them to call you back.
I know this sounds crazy, but I recently picked up a huge contract and needed to add 4-5 employees, paid the outrageous sum to run a sunday classified (over $1k...fwiw) and had over 60 respondents...so yeah it is Friday and I havent looked at any of them.

Dude called earlier, wanting to follow up, sounded bright and personable presented himself well...he is coming in for an interview Monday..now I just have to dig his resume out of the stack and review before then.

I can not stress enough, no call does not mean not interested.
In fact I have a rule, if you dont call to follow up on an interview you dont get an offer....

I guess this is the what people have to do these days to get noticed, but I hate that its the rule. What if you have 500 respondents and get 150 follow up calls - it's just annoying, and I figure the people calling don't have a respect for your time.

I mean, what does it say about someone that follows up with a call:

1. They read that they're supposed to do that on a website or career advice book
2. They're socially aggressive and perhaps self-centered (not having a comprehension of other people's time)

I don't think it says anything about how much somebody wants the job.

[RomaGoth]

What about those jobs that say "no phone calls please"? Seems to be a lot of those these days, at least in my experience.

[CU Tiger]

I guess this is the what people have to do these days to get noticed, but I hate that its the rule. What if you have 500 respondents and get 150 follow up calls - it's just annoying, and I figure the people calling don't have a respect for your time.

I mean, what does it say about someone that follows up with a call:

1. They read that they're supposed to do that on a website or career advice book
2. They're socially aggressive and perhaps self-centered (not having a comprehension of other people's time)

I don't think it says anything about how much somebody wants the job.

Well it depends on what you are hiring for.
If I am hiring a salesperson, they better be tenacious in persuing orders for me. If they are tenacious in persuing me, they will likely bring the same tenacity to the job.

Sure time is valuable....by your logic, you could also think, "Surely someone is better qualified than me, my resume is just wasting his time I will just not send it."

I respect if you take your valuable time and come after me to hire you.
If you dont want to work for me, Ill find someone else.

[CU Tiger]

What about those jobs that say "no phone calls please"? Seems to be a lot of those these days, at least in my experience.


Are you selling yourself?
Then call

[molson]

Well it depends on what you are hiring for.
If I am hiring a salesperson, they better be tenacious in persuing orders for me. If they are tenacious in persuing me, they will likely bring the same tenacity to the job.

Sure time is valuable....by your logic, you could also think, "Surely someone is better qualified than me, my resume is just wasting his time I will just not send it."

I respect if you take your valuable time and come after me to hire you.
If you dont want to work for me, Ill find someone else.

Good point on the sales job, I can see that as an exception.

But there's a lot of jobs where the "sales personality" isn't really helpful, and displaying it can be counter-productive.

[RomaGoth]

Are you selling yourself?
Then call

See, I understand what you are saying, but...often these people will get pissed off that you called, and will tell you that the ad said "no calls". Don't get me wrong, I would still call, but often it is a waste of time in these instances.

[Sgran]

When I'm hiring, I don't want applicants calling me up all day. Call me crazy, but I like looking through CVs, and I will look through them all.

[CU Tiger]

See, I understand what you are saying, but...often these people will get pissed off that you called, and will tell you that the ad said "no calls". Don't get me wrong, I would still call, but often it is a waste of time in these instances.


1) I havent been on a job interview in a decade.
2) I have conducted 100s in that same time, so I may be jaded
3) All this could be just the opinion of one guy....as a matter of fact it most certainly is, just my opinion but I know others think like me (and I am positive many dont)

If I was told, "The ad said no calls", my reply would be, "Yes sir, I did see that and I understand that. however you wuldd not beelieeve how excited I was that there may be an opportunity at your esteemed company, and as I rread through your needs and researched your company online I was so excited at the opportunity and the ability I had to help your organization, that I wanted to be absolutely sure that i at least had thee opportunity to speak with someone and make sure I was not just another resume that never got looked at. You see sir, I know you are very busy but the perfect candidate calling you ssure would eliminate a lot of needless searching on your part."

If that doesnt get you an interview, call back and say it 2x....if it still doesnt work try 4x, if 4 fails, well this job is not for you.

[kcchief19]

1
If I was told, "The ad said no calls", my reply would be, "Yes sir, I did see that and I understand that. however you wuldd not beelieeve how excited I was that there may be an opportunity at your esteemed company, and as I rread through your needs and researched your company online I was so excited at the opportunity and the ability I had to help your organization, that I wanted to be absolutely sure that i at least had thee opportunity to speak with someone and make sure I was not just another resume that never got looked at. You see sir, I know you are very busy but the perfect candidate calling you ssure would eliminate a lot of needless searching on your part."
I think you might be in the minority there. I've had people who have called me or written that in the past and their resume goes right in my trash can. If someone has the ego to tell me that they are the perfect candidate and my search is over, it tells me that I won't be able to teach this person anything because they will always think they are perfect. Plus, if I specify that I want you to do something or not do something and you don't follow the instructions, it tells me that you don't follow instructions or don't pay attention to details -- either way is bad.

It's a tough market right now. A friend of mine recently hired someone and got 200+ applications. That takes some time to go through, and the competition is fierce.

[fantom1979]

In my search for a job from that lasted about 6 months, I probably sent out close to 100 resumes and probably received about 15 calls back. I was a retail manager with 10+ years experience and usually got calls back in that field. I really wanted to change professions, but found that I did not receive a lot of calls back in jobs outside of retail. I had to be a bit more aggressive when going after those jobs.

Just a couple of things I did:
1. Adjust your cover letter (and resume if possible) to match the job you are applying for. I didn't lie, just changed things to put my skills that best matched the desired job to the forefront.
2. Follow up emails/phone calls verifying that they had received your resume and try to set up an interview time. I did not call the places that said "do not call"
3. Email/Send a Letter/Place a phone call a day or two after the interview.

[JetsIn06]

I feel your pain. I'm a recent college grad and just moved to State College, PA. I've applied to TONS of places and never heard back, so for now I'm working night shift at a supermarket to pay the bills while I look for a better job.

Sucks.

[RainMaker]

I think the best way to look at job searching as a numbers game. You may have a 5% return rate on resumes/applications during good economic times. That may drop to .5% during bad times. So it's about getting your resume in as many hands as you possibly can.

As fantom said, make follow-up calls. There is no harm in getting on the phone with someone and letting them know how interested you are in the job. The worst they can tell you to do is fuck off, which they would essentially do by not calling you back. I hired for my division at my last job and I'd get calls from people a day or two after they sent in a resume and it always left their name resume at the top of the list.

[DaddyTorgo]

In my search for a job from that lasted about 6 months, I probably sent out close to 100 resumes and probably received about 15 calls back. I was a retail manager with 10+ years experience and usually got calls back in that field. I really wanted to change professions, but found that I did not receive a lot of calls back in jobs outside of retail. I had to be a bit more aggressive when going after those jobs.

Just a couple of things I did:
1. Adjust your cover letter (and resume if possible) to match the job you are applying for. I didn't lie, just changed things to put my skills that best matched the desired job to the forefront.
2. Follow up emails/phone calls verifying that they had received your resume and try to set up an interview time. I did not call the places that said "do not call"
3. Email/Send a Letter/Place a phone call a day or two after the interview.

i had the same experience trying to get out of retail - i can't tell you how many recruiters i got saying "i could have you managing a Sunglass Hut in the Mall X tomorrow" or whatever. But yeahh...not my thing.

Making a transition is tough, and i think it does depend on what you want to do to some extent - but if the ad doesn't say "no calls" at least call.

better yet - with everyone emailing resumes these days it might make sense to take the time to do an actual cover letter and resume on decent stock paper and send it by snail-mail.

[Lorena]

Sending some good vibes your way... good luck in your job search!

[Noop]

I am sorry to hear this and I am also looking for a new job myself. I have been told I am over qualified three times now and I am at the point where I want to remove my degrees from my CV.

While I like my current job I would prefer something that allows me to save a little money before heading off to law school.

Please keep this thread updated and I will be sending out good thoughts for you as well.

[wade moore]

I am sorry to hear this and I am also looking for a new job myself. I have been told I am over qualified three times now and I am at the point where I want to remove my degrees from my CV.

While I like my current job I would prefer something that allows me to save a little money before heading off to law school.

Please keep this thread updated and I will be sending out good thoughts for you as well.

I feel bad that in hiring I've had to do the whole "overqualified" thing. When I hear it from others I want to say, "that's ridiculous!" - but then I realize that I do it too.

It's an unfortunate thing, but as a hiring manager I understand the necessity of it.

[Noop]

I feel bad that in hiring I've had to do the whole "overqualified" thing. When I hear it from others I want to say, "that's ridiculous!" - but then I realize that I do it too.

It's an unfortunate thing, but as a hiring manager I understand the necessity of it.

At first it was funny but after getting the second and third time I have been debating whether or not I want to put my degrees on my CV.

Another note getting a state job or a government job is extremely difficult because I have no idea how to write the KSAs portion of the application. - Sorry off topic.

[wade moore]

At first it was funny but after getting the second and third time I have been debating whether or not I want to put my degrees on my CV.

Another note getting a state job or a government job is extremely difficult because I have no idea how to write the KSAs portion of the application. - Sorry off topic.

I'm not sure what type of job you're goiing for, but if it's part-time or full-time non-professional type stuff just for money, it might not be ahorrible idea.

[BishopMVP]

FWIW, if a company is getting a flood of resumes, they may only be contacting the folks who they want to interview. You should get an acknowledgement that your resume was received, but that may be all you hear.I've been looking for work haphazardly since late May and more seriously the past 2 weeks once the summer painting/landscaping jobs (which honestly around here pay more than most entry-level positions) dried up, and I've given up on looking for jobs through Craigslist - the ones I've met tell me they get mass emails from people - like 200+ resumes - and its basically a shot in the dark. But even when going around and talking to people in person I've been disappointed with the lack of communication or respect from the employers end. I've had multiple managers tell me they'd call back in a day or two to set up a formal interview or once they'd made a decision and I never even receive a courtesy phone call or e-mail afterwards. I would understand if they went in a different direction - I'm sure they had multiple qualified applicants - but I would just appreciate the courtesy or an email or phone call that said they were going in a different direction. I'm pretty certain in at least one case they were just stringing me along in case their first choices turn it down. Which is doubly bad for me, because I don't even like interviewing for multiple jobs at once, so if I have someone saying they'll give me a call in a day or two I don't want to set up other interviews and waste other employers time.

On the plus side Tucker, I did just get a concrete offer, although it was through networking instead of blind contacting (my friend switched locations, has been working there all of 2 weeks and that's enough to get his manager to choose my resume over the numerous other random ones they had). Of course, now I'm in a different waiting game because I got the offer Friday, but now I'm waiting for the results of my drug test and backround check - neither of which should be issues, but they said it would take 24-48 hours, which I don't know if that means 24-48 business hours, (and now I'm nervous that I drank Nyquil the night before and maybe that screws up my test,) and I don't know how long I should wait before I call back. I figure Wednesday morning, but again, considering the likely event I am working under these managers, I don't really want to bother them if they're just waiting for results. Anyone who's had to deal with those formalities know how long they take?

[BYU 14]

I feel bad that in hiring I've had to do the whole "overqualified" thing. When I hear it from others I want to say, "that's ridiculous!" - but then I realize that I do it too.

It's an unfortunate thing, but as a hiring manager I understand the necessity of it.

I unfortuantely had to do this to and the irony is after leaving my last management job in early 2008 for health reasons I was confronted with being on the other end. I have solid connections in the Health Insurance industry after being in it for nearly 20 years, but I had to talk myself into the job I have now. The Director is an old boss of mine and also a friend and she even asked why I would want to take such a big step back and mentioned she thought I would be bored and was way overqualified.

I had to explain to her I wanted to be "bored" for a while and recharge. Things have worked out well and I have transitioned into a position created earlier this Summer that fits a State requirement and is not "boring" but I can't imagine the difficulty I would have faced had I not known people.

Best of luck Tucker and as many have said, follow up with a phone call as the process takes so much longer now and you can get lost in the shuffle. When you land an interview research the company before you go. You are hiring them as much as they are hiring you.

I would always ask canidates what they know about the Company when I conducted interviews. Even if you are just "flooding" the market with resumes looking for anything, it is always impressive to me when someone has done their homework.

If the question does not come up throw it in yourself at the end when you get that "Is there anything else" question.

"Yes, I know that your company is involved with XYZ, do you see this current direction providing growth opportunities in the future?" or "I know that you are highly regarded as a place to work, what do you feel is the key to fostering that atmosphere here?"

Basically anything that shows you know a little bit about them would work, then of course don't hestitate to ask for a time frame on the decision.....It just reaffirms your interest.

[Noop]

I had a few interviews this past week and today I got a call to come for the job I really wanted. I am very excited because I will be able to do something I love to do(coach basketball and football)

[BishopMVP]

Anyone who's had to deal with those formalities know how long they take?Got the call back on Thursday, heading off to training in half an hour. Hope your search is going well Tucker, etc.

[DaddyTorgo]

Got the call back on Thursday, heading off to training in half an hour. Hope your search is going well Tucker, etc.

good stuff...grats!

[MacroGuru]

Anyone know of any solid resume creation places...I need to redo the resume as I am looking to stop traveling and be at home with my family now.

[Noop]

Anyone know of any solid resume creation places...I need to redo the resume as I am looking to stop traveling and be at home with my family now.

I would recommend doing it yourself because those creation places in my experience are crappy, unless you pay for someone or some service to do it for you. I would suggest getting a few ebooks that are about resumes and using those as a template.

[BishopMVP]

good stuff...grats!Thanks... although it was a little funny getting my schedule at the end of it (~8:30) and seeing I'm supposed to be in at 6am tomorrow. But hey, go big or go home, let's get it started. :)