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OctaviusBeaver posted:Don't take a loving internship after you graduate. You have an engineering degree, find a real job. Ahahahahah. Simply having an engineering degree does not mean that you can get a real job, not with things as they are now. Anything more than a $20k lab bitch position is out of reach for anyone that's not got an MS or Ph.D., and even then there's not much else. Most of the people graduating with me have either nothing or an internship lined up, because real jobs won't take fresh graduates. They take people who have already proven themselves in their field, which requires a job or project in the first place. So, you get the chicken-and-egg problem of needing a job to get a job.  You need a combination of persistence, nepotism, and shitloads of resume accessories to actually get a position somewhere. Mostly nepotism.
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May 4, 2012 04:47
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Pollyanna posted:Ahahahahah. Simply having an engineering degree does not mean that you can get a real job, not with things as they are now. Anything more than a $20k lab bitch position is out of reach for anyone that's not got an MS or Ph.D., and even then there's not much else. Most of the people graduating with me have either nothing or an internship lined up, because real jobs won't take fresh graduates. They take people who have already proven themselves in their field, which requires a job or project in the first place. So, you get the chicken-and-egg problem of needing a job to get a job. Where do you go to school? I had no problem finding a job this year and the same goes for everyone I have talked to in my graduating class.If you think that the only way to get a job is nepotism then you are doing it wrong.
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May 4, 2012 15:33
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Pollyanna posted:Ahahahahah. Simply having an engineering degree does not mean that you can get a real job, not with things as they are now. Anything more than a $20k lab bitch position is out of reach for anyone that's not got an MS or Ph.D., and even then there's not much else. Most of the people graduating with me have either nothing or an internship lined up, because real jobs won't take fresh graduates. They take people who have already proven themselves in their field, which requires a job or project in the first place. So, you get the chicken-and-egg problem of needing a job to get a job.
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May 4, 2012 17:35
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yadayadayaba posted:How do employers look upon large gaps of time (2+ years) between when you graduated and when you're applying for their opening? The job application and interview process is one of imbalanced information. You hold all the cards with regards to presenting your life and experience to the company, and the company holds all the cards dealing with giving you a job. They don't show you their hand, a lot of companies will barely discuss compensation, actual workplace requirements, or the intricate details of their antiquated systems. So why lay all your cards on the table for them? Let's say you have a gap of two years. You're being honest and rounding out graduating in June of 2010 to now, May of 2012. That looks pretty close to 2 years. But if you format it this way on your resume: College: 2006-2010 Some Stuff: 2011 If they don't dig too deeply they might come off with the impression that you only have a gap since the beginning of this year. Now what is "Some Stuff"? Well, think about what a company would like to see you doing, barring actually working in literally the exact same job you're applying for. Volunteering? Working freelance? Traveling? Personal projects? Put that in place of "Some Stuff", and say you've been doing it for the past few years. What's that, you haven't been doing that stuff for the past few years? Well start doing it then! And then put it on your resume, dated "2012". Pollyanna posted:Ahahahahah. Simply having an engineering degree does not mean that you can get a real job, not with things as they are now. Anything more than a $20k lab bitch position is out of reach for anyone that's not got an MS or Ph.D., and even then there's not much else. Most of the people graduating with me have either nothing or an internship lined up, because real jobs won't take fresh graduates. They take people who have already proven themselves in their field, which requires a job or project in the first place. So, you get the chicken-and-egg problem of needing a job to get a job. Not true in the least. Think outside the box a little. You've been immersed in engineering school culture, so your perspective is filled with what the rest of your classmates and professors and friend group have been talking and thinking about. Yes, getting a job that is specifically in your field is probably quite unlikely, as it's dominated by MS and Ph.Ds. Great. Get a job outside your field. An engineering degree is an incredibly valuable asset that holds its value in just about every industry I can think of, even if the job doesn't have "Engineer" in the title. Look at a random company for roles like Analyst, Coordinator, Associate, Designer, Technician, maybe in IT, maybe in Marketing, maybe in R&D, the choices are just about infinite. Imagine your skill set as amorphous, and think about how you meet the job expectations of a listing, not the experience requirements (which are completely fabricated and useless). Companies are not stupid, they usually recognize bright young talent, and they will reach outside their requisites to get it, those requisites are not legally binding or anything. You learned more in college than what was specifically laid out in your engineering classes, you learned how to meet expectations, perform under pressure, stay organized, the list goes on. These are things companies like, and things that a very large portion of job applicants to any position don't have. Sell yourself, don't limit yourself. DukAmok fucked around with this message at 19:11 on May 4, 2012 |
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May 4, 2012 19:02
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DukAmok posted:Not true in the least. Think outside the box a little. You've been immersed in engineering school culture, so your perspective is filled with what the rest of your classmates and professors and friend group have been talking and thinking about. Yes, getting a job that is specifically in your field is probably quite unlikely, as it's dominated by MS and Ph.Ds. Great. Get a job outside your field. An engineering degree is an incredibly valuable asset that holds its value in just about every industry I can think of, even if the job doesn't have "Engineer" in the title. Look at a random company for roles like Analyst, Coordinator, Associate, Designer, Technician, maybe in IT, maybe in Marketing, maybe in R&D, the choices are just about infinite. Imagine your skill set as amorphous, and think about how you meet the job expectations of a listing, not the experience requirements (which are completely fabricated and useless). Companies are not stupid, they usually recognize bright young talent, and they will reach outside their requisites to get it, those requisites are not legally binding or anything. You learned more in college than what was specifically laid out in your engineering classes, you learned how to meet expectations, perform under pressure, stay organized, the list goes on. These are things companies like, and things that a very large portion of job applicants to any position don't have. Sell yourself, don't limit yourself. There is a lot of truth in this here. However, I will give a caveat, you really have to be able to sell yourself and convince the recruiter or hr moron that your knowledge can be used outside of your degree. I'm an Aerospace Engineer, which sounds daunting to a lot of people, but if I can convince the person from HR that I can, in fact, do Mechanical Engineering things like structural analysis, then most of the time I can get an interview. However, you will still have people who cannot get over the fact that your degree is 'x-engineer' and they want a 'y-engineer' position. I have been shut out of jobs because of stupid HR people with things like: "This position requires strong math skills and profeciency with Microsoft Office. Oh, you're an engineer, I'm not sure we have a position for you." Otherwise, if you can't get anything right away, be willing to play the long game for it. I'm starting a warehouse job next week, which can be etched into logistics experience, and used to get me into MRO. Otherwise, I'm talking with a recruiter about a QC position that can advance into a QE position. Granted, my goal at this point isn't an engineering position nessicarily, but to get a position in the aerospace industry.
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May 4, 2012 23:35
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YF19pilot posted:There is a lot of truth in this here. However, I will give a caveat, you really have to be able to sell yourself and convince the recruiter or hr moron that your knowledge can be used outside of your degree. I'm an Aerospace Engineer, which sounds daunting to a lot of people, but if I can convince the person from HR that I can, in fact, do Mechanical Engineering things like structural analysis, then most of the time I can get an interview. That has to be a hyperbolic example or we're missing some context there. A position looking for math skills and Microsoft Office proficiency would love a technically competent engineer. Perhaps you're running into the "overqualified" problem. That definitely exists, but once again, you can approach it by only revealing what is necessary. Don't say you have a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, say you have a B.S. from X college. Or put your college at the bottom of your resume. I've even recommended leaving your degree off of your resume if you're really desperate but that's probably more an indication that you're looking at the wrong class of job. You have to cater to what they're looking for, and you're right, not every position is looking for what they think a capital-E Engineer actually is. Give them the best image of you, and the one that they want to see, and you've got a good shot. Based on your long game plan though, you've got that, I like your planned path. Starting low sucks, but if you have to, get in on the ground floor in a place where you can see your path upwards (i.e. not retail or food service). It takes longer, but it'll get you there all the same.
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May 5, 2012 00:31
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DukAmok posted:That has to be a hyperbolic example or we're missing some context there. A position looking for math skills and Microsoft Office proficiency would love a technically competent engineer. Perhaps you're running into the "overqualified" problem. That definitely exists, but once again, you can approach it by only revealing what is necessary. Don't say you have a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, say you have a B.S. from X college. Or put your college at the bottom of your resume. I've even recommended leaving your degree off of your resume if you're really desperate but that's probably more an indication that you're looking at the wrong class of job. You have to cater to what they're looking for, and you're right, not every position is looking for what they think a capital-E Engineer actually is. Give them the best image of you, and the one that they want to see, and you've got a good shot. That one was actually from a career fair a while back, the guy glanced at my resume and the latter part of the comment came up. I just snipped the conversation down for the sake of brevity. quote:Based on your long game plan though, you've got that, I like your planned path. Starting low sucks, but if you have to, get in on the ground floor in a place where you can see your path upwards (i.e. not retail or food service). It takes longer, but it'll get you there all the same. I would add to avoid Customer Service/Call Center jobs as well. You have to have like 10 years experience just to get to $12.00/hr.
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May 5, 2012 01:00
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Internships are generally things you need to do before you graduate, but if it's an internship or nothing I'd still go with the internship. I'm graduating in a week and just got a full time job offer, and almost the whole interview was asking about my experience in my two internships I had as an undergrad. They didn't ask about my relevant coursework at all. They don't just want industry experience, they want someone who already knows how to deal with office bullshit and politics and knows what they're getting themselves into. For example, my degree is in product design. There's a whole layer of politics involved that they don't teach you in school between engineers, designers, and clients that can only really be learned in a real-world setting through internships. Out of 30 people in my major graduating this spring, only four have solid plans for post graduation. Of those four only two of us have full time offers (one of the other two has a kickass internship in Tokyo that he actually turned down a full time offer for, and the other is going to grad school). Both of us with full time jobs lost count of job applications around 75 or 80. Job market sucks. Aim for that full time job, but take what you can get.
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May 5, 2012 15:52
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I am an undergraduate studying Journalism and Mass Communication/English. I'm not sure if I want to go into the journalism field, but I enjoy using the skills I have learned. My university focuses more on web writing and multimedia, so I have produced and edited video, audio, digital photography, and interactive data visualizations. Besides getting an entry-level job at a publication/site, what are some other fields I could look into? I graduate in Winter 2013.
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May 5, 2012 16:26
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YF19pilot posted:I would add to avoid Customer Service/Call Center jobs as well. You have to have like 10 years experience just to get to $12.00/hr. My impression was that this was a complete reach and that these sorts of reqs never get fulfilled. I guess I can kinda get what you guys mean by branching out. My BME experience has been mostly dealing with MATLAB and some measure of programming, anyway. So, maybe something software related or something could be in the works. I'm not a specialist with it, but I have my own pet projects. Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 18:14 on May 5, 2012 |
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May 5, 2012 17:09
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Tig Ol Bitties posted:I am an undergraduate studying Journalism and Mass Communication/English. I'm not sure if I want to go into the journalism field, but I enjoy using the skills I have learned. My university focuses more on web writing and multimedia, so I have produced and edited video, audio, digital photography, and interactive data visualizations. Besides getting an entry-level job at a publication/site, what are some other fields I could look into? I graduate in Winter 2013. All of those seem like they'd be useful in advertising, making commercials and web ads and stuff.
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May 5, 2012 21:54
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:All of those seem like they'd be useful in advertising, making commercials and web ads and stuff. Okay, thank you! Do any advertising professionals know if I need a degree or experience in advertising for an entry-level job? Or mostly technical skills with solid writing?
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May 6, 2012 03:31
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Tig Ol Bitties posted:Okay, thank you! Do any advertising professionals know if I need a degree or experience in advertising for an entry-level job? Or mostly technical skills with solid writing? I'm not an advertising professional but I want to work in that field too. As far as I understand you don't "need" anything, other than the pre requisite degree piece of paper. You need a portfolio. You get a portfolio by volunteering, making "spec" ads, and/or paying for Advertising school. If you can get in and are willing to pay the tuition (its post collegiate), and can prove your salt, you can get an internship (paid, for realsies) at a big agency and have some real experience under your belt. Overall, there are a lot of barriers to entry.
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May 6, 2012 06:51
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YF19pilot posted:I would add to avoid Customer Service/Call Center jobs as well. You have to have like 10 years experience just to get to $12.00/hr.
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May 6, 2012 17:01
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Hey all, I'm in the middle of the job hunt and am wondering if I could get some advice here. I've been out of school for 4 years now. I took a 1 year Graphic Communications program so that I could become more familiar with the print industry since my ultimate goal is to colour comic books for a living. It was a pretty crappy program where they threw a bunch of programs at you, but there wasn't enough time to become proficient enough in any of them. After talking with a local graphic designer friend, she said that local companies actually try to avoid graduates of that program because the students coming out of it are incompetent and not up to date. I had a job at a women's clothing store for 9 months that I quit about a year ago to pursue a colouring job that would take up most of my time. I was fired from the colouring job at 6 pages in because my work just wasn't doing it for them. I also realized that I was not being hired as an independent colourist with creative control, but merely as someone to push the creative vision of the other artists. Even though it didn't work out, I was still paid for the work that I did and for all of the revisions I was asked to do. I didn't really want to go back to my old job and beg for it back. My manager and I didn't get along so great and I was getting hours that I was unhappy with. It didn't make that big of a difference because the store closed down by the end of the year, likely due to a long running problem with internal theft. After that, I took on a colouring project that I had worked on before because the Kickstarter for it had reached it's goal. (I should be receiving some copies in the mail of my first ever fully coloured comic book.) A family friend also got me a short stint doing some data entry work and a friend of a friend got me a project designing the "cover" of an iPhone app. Lately, I've just been applying to retail jobs downtown and have been sending my resumes to a few staffing agencies. I haven't heard back from the staffing agencies yet and was told to wait 2 weeks for an email response. After 2 weeks I was then told that I would only be contacted if something came up that matched my resume. Basically "go away and don't contact us anymore". I've also been using Kijiji and Craigslist to look for jobs every morning. Craigslist got me a "Yahoo messenger interview" where the interviewer didn't seem to want to give out details of the job and then told me that I was hired as soon as I had to leave. The next day, she then demanded that I go run some errands for her and start doing work for them without signing a contract or even discussing payment. "But you will take 10% of the payment we need you to process as your first payment! We will give you a contract later!" I flat out told them that I didn't even accept their job offer and would refuse to do work of any kind without a contract. It just seemed to set off all of my alarm bells. Perhaps I'm being too picky, but I want to find a job where I can work part time during weekdays so that I can spend evenings and weekends with my boyfriend. I would love an entry level administrative job, but those seem to have "minimum 1-2 years experience in an office environment" requirements. I'd love to do odd jobs that no one else wants to do. In my retail job, my favourite part was unpacking stock and reorganizing the back room. Though it seems that if I mention that to people, they take it to mean "I'm unfriendly and terrible with customers." After dropping off a resume at a given place, I will return a couple of days later to ask about the status of the hiring process. Most of the time people look at me like a weirdo and say "We're still looking a resumes. Come back in a week or so. Don't call us, we'll call you." Even places that I've applied to more than 2 weeks ago are still "looking at resumes". I've gotten phone numbers for the places I've submitted to (except for places that weren't hiring, but still accepting resumes) and am planning to call every couple of days to check up on the hiring process (though a friend of mine told me that they don't like it if you call them?). My boyfriend said that I should even call the places that told me not to call them. I have a bit of phone anxiety and have a hard time hearing people properly over the phone, so I'm also going to be showing up at some of these places and asking about the hiring process personally. As far as my dream job of comic colouring, I check ads every day and there hasn't been a decent job posted in a long time. I'm going to be working on some submissions packages to various companies. I was also directed to an editor after speaking with a comic artist at a convention. She told me to contact him about my colouring and I sent him a Facebook message that reads like a cover letter, but I haven't heard back yet. I did some comic flatting work a little while ago too and though I would like to get back into flatting, my boyfriend says that it's not reliable enough (which is kinda true, even though I could make as much as I did when I worked retail). Sorry for the novel, but I would really appreciate any advice.
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May 7, 2012 18:21
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Nessa posted:It doesn't sound like you're being too picky, that Yahoo IM conversation sounded nothing like a legitimate job interview, and you're definitely in the right to not work without a contract. First of all, I'd probably stay away from CL and KJJ. There are tons of listings there, but as you've seen, the odds are not good. The easier it is to apply for a job (submit an online questionnaire, e-mail off a resume), the more people will apply for it, and no matter how good you are, it's tough to stand out in a potential market of tens of thousands. Other job search websites will also likely end up with an e-mail or an online form, but moving away from the giant audience of CL and those sites can definitely increase your chances. Are you located near a major city? You mentioned office staffing agencies, and those are actually pretty good in city areas, if you find the right one. They can get you in the door of a pretty decent company that probably wouldn't have even found your resume in their huge stack of incoming ones. The big advantage agencies have is that they try to quantify you. So if you can type fast, or score high on their relatively easy tests, they'll slap a big number on your resume, and that makes it pretty easy for bigger companies to find you. Getting the agency to talk to you in the first place is tougher, but they have short memories, so don't be afraid to keep trying. They're also way more sympathetic to your application, as if you end up getting placed, that's basically more money for them. As to your dream job, as with all more creative fields, the best way to get a job doing it is to just do it for free first. Specifically, do it on your own time. I have no idea what comic book coloring entails but it sounds like a pretty niche thing to me, so join some hobby forums, draw/color things for yourself or friends, maybe hang out with your local comic book geeks, and just do what you like to do for the pure fun of it. The more you do it, the better you'll get, and you'll be building a portfolio for later. There's no sure way to get a job in these super niche and creative fields, but the good thing is that if you treat it like a hobby, there's no downside. You're having fun, and doing it for free anyway, the possibility of a job is just a bonus there, not a necessary imperative that puts food on your table. For paying the bills, normal retail/office/whatever work is fine. Generic advice is all well and good, like "sell yourself", and "be persistent", but what will really get you a job is tailoring your resume to your strengths, networking with friends, and putting together a great story as to why a company should hire you. If you want any specific resume or cover letter advice there's that one thread in SA-Mart, or feel free to PM me if you don't want to post your resume publicly.
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May 7, 2012 20:11
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DukAmok posted:It doesn't sound like you're being too picky, that Yahoo IM conversation sounded nothing like a legitimate job interview, and you're definitely in the right to not work without a contract. Thanks! I did just get a response to set up an interview from a KJJ job after sending them a link to my portfolio. It seems they're looking for people who are familiar with the comics industry, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on getting a job in my field of interest. quote:Are you located near a major city? You mentioned office staffing agencies, and those are actually pretty good in city areas, if you find the right one. They can get you in the door of a pretty decent company that probably wouldn't have even found your resume in their huge stack of incoming ones. The big advantage agencies have is that they try to quantify you. So if you can type fast, or score high on their relatively easy tests, they'll slap a big number on your resume, and that makes it pretty easy for bigger companies to find you. Getting the agency to talk to you in the first place is tougher, but they have short memories, so don't be afraid to keep trying. They're also way more sympathetic to your application, as if you end up getting placed, that's basically more money for them. I'm in Edmonton, Alberta with quick access to the downtown core. I'm definitely going to keep going back to the staffing places every couple weeks and a friend of mine just recommended the place that got him his job. Back in the fall, my cousin recommended a staffing place and I went for an interview, took some tests and filled out a bunch of applications only to get a single phone call asking if they could submit my resume for a relevant job. quote:As to your dream job, as with all more creative fields, the best way to get a job doing it is to just do it for free first. Specifically, do it on your own time. I have no idea what comic book coloring entails but it sounds like a pretty niche thing to me, so join some hobby forums, draw/color things for yourself or friends, maybe hang out with your local comic book geeks, and just do what you like to do for the pure fun of it. The more you do it, the better you'll get, and you'll be building a portfolio for later. There's no sure way to get a job in these super niche and creative fields, but the good thing is that if you treat it like a hobby, there's no downside. You're having fun, and doing it for free anyway, the possibility of a job is just a bonus there, not a necessary imperative that puts food on your table. I already hang out at the comic store with a bunch of other artists and am part of a local creators group. Unfortunately, none of the people who are doing their own comics can afford to print in colour. Every single professional I've ever talked to has given the advice of "never ever work for free". I'll work for peanuts, but not for free. Free work is also never going to be good enough to even put in a portfolio, so I really don't bother. The only free work I do is for contests or portfolio pieces. I have a nice set of 6 professional pages (that I flatted the other week) that I'm going to colour once that book hits stores. I can use those pages as part of submissions packages to various publishers, though fewer and fewer publishers accept submissions anymore. I honestly feel that I am ready to take on colouring in a professional capacity. Maybe not Marvel or DC, but a minor publisher with artists that suit my colouring style. It's really all about networking in this business and I need to do more of that. quote:For paying the bills, normal retail/office/whatever work is fine. Generic advice is all well and good, like "sell yourself", and "be persistent", but what will really get you a job is tailoring your resume to your strengths, networking with friends, and putting together a great story as to why a company should hire you. If you want any specific resume or cover letter advice there's that one thread in SA-Mart, or feel free to PM me if you don't want to post your resume publicly. Thanks. I have been contacting friends recently. I know a guy who works for the company where I did my college practicum and my boyfriend's coworker might help me get a job at Future Shop (Canada's Best Buy). I think my biggest issue regarding retail work is that they always want "motivated individuals who are passionate about selling!" I am not passionate about selling and I am not very good at pushing products onto people or lying to sell things. (lying to sell things happened at my previous job) I will send people to other stores if we don't have what they're looking for, and I don't think companies like that. I am a fairly passive, quiet person, so I'm hoping I can get my foot in the door on some basic administrative work. I would be perfectly happy spending my day collating, copying, scanning, typing, printing and doing generic office duties with not a whole lot of responsibility. My boyfriend's dad said that I should save up to go to secretary school. A while ago I had thought that I would be really happy working in a library until I learned that you need a degree to work at the library. I would definitely tailor my resume for certain jobs, but my printer broke down a while ago and I can't afford to get a new one until I can find a job. Right now I just have to print out batches at a local printing place (that ripped me off at nearly $1 per copy). I'm going to keep a copy of my resume and just do photocopies from now on at 10 cents per page.
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May 7, 2012 23:36
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Nessa posted:I already hang out at the comic store with a bunch of other artists and am part of a local creators group. Unfortunately, none of the people who are doing their own comics can afford to print in colour. Every single professional I've ever talked to has given the advice of "never ever work for free". I'll work for peanuts, but not for free. Free work is also never going to be good enough to even put in a portfolio, so I really don't bother. The only free work I do is for contests or portfolio pieces. I have a nice set of 6 professional pages (that I flatted the other week) that I'm going to colour once that book hits stores. I can use those pages as part of submissions packages to various publishers, though fewer and fewer publishers accept submissions anymore. I think I phrased that poorly. I totally agree, don't work for free. I was talking about the second bit you said up there, about contests and portfolio pieces. Do those well, and act like they're basically "work", except you're not getting paid for them. I know it's tough to muster the effort for free pieces, but I think quantity is sometimes just as important as quality. As a person who has no idea about visual art (which some hiring managers very well might be as well), a big portfolio carries some significant weight. It says that not only are you willing to put in the effort and make one piece shine, but you can do it over and over again pretty quickly. 6 pages seems like a good submission set, but I can't imagine it would hurt to have an online portfolio as well with everything you've ever done. As you said though, it really is all about networking. Even if the extent of that networking is just a few friendly e-mails or LinkedIn or Facebook messages, it all counts.
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May 7, 2012 23:55
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DukAmok posted:I think I phrased that poorly. I totally agree, don't work for free. I was talking about the second bit you said up there, about contests and portfolio pieces. Do those well, and act like they're basically "work", except you're not getting paid for them. I know it's tough to muster the effort for free pieces, but I think quantity is sometimes just as important as quality. As a person who has no idea about visual art (which some hiring managers very well might be as well), a big portfolio carries some significant weight. It says that not only are you willing to put in the effort and make one piece shine, but you can do it over and over again pretty quickly. 6 pages seems like a good submission set, but I can't imagine it would hurt to have an online portfolio as well with everything you've ever done. From what I've heard, a huge portfolio is not a good idea, but I do have one. It's always suggested to have only your very best 12 pages or so on display and nothing more. Publishers don't want to see much more than 6 pages of sequentials in their submission guidelines. I talked with a friend who unfortunately, no longer works at the company where I did my college practicum and he said conditions are horrible right now and I wouldn't want to work for them anyway. :/ And the request for an interview from a KJJ ad looks like a flop too. I guess it's just some kid selling metal-head t-shirts on a really badly designed website. I should have figured. All the places that I called back said that they wouldn't start looking at resumes for another 2-3 weeks. Even the one place that just opened and desperately needs staff. Should I still call them every few days even though I was told to wait 2 weeks? I almost wish my comic store was hiring again since I know the manager and am friends with most of the staff, but he didn't hire me 2 years ago, and likely wouldn't hire me now. "Don't worry, we already hired a cool gamer girl!" I do have an interview with Bentley's tomorrow, so I really hope that goes well. I just hope they're not specifically looking for someone to work evenings and weekends like every other retail place I've been to.
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May 8, 2012 17:55
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Good news! I got a couple responses from my job applications! Bad news, they're rejections.  quote:Thank you for your response. Unfortunately we need more experience with the items related in the title. I will keep your resume on file for future job opportunities. quote:However, after thorough consideration by the hiring team, we have identified other candidates whose credentials and qualifications are a closer match to the needs of this position. drat. It pretty much spells out completely that I'm unqualified for the positions. I'm still not sure if I'm looking for the right kinds of jobs. Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 03:28 on May 9, 2012 |
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May 9, 2012 03:16
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Pollyanna posted:Good news! I got a couple responses from my job applications! I think this is just the standard rejection letter format. Every time I got a rejection (and not flat-out ignored) it was worded like that. Just keep sending out those applications.
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May 9, 2012 03:43
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Also remember that the job market is still crap and you might be qualified but they have candidates dropping down to take that position.
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May 9, 2012 20:35
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So I've started applying to a bunch of administrative/file clerk jobs online. I feel that my resume is fairly generic and could apply to any kind of job. Should I try to make a tailored version anyway?
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May 9, 2012 23:22
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Nessa posted:So I've started applying to a bunch of administrative/file clerk jobs online. I feel that my resume is fairly generic and could apply to any kind of job. Should I try to make a tailored version anyway?
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May 10, 2012 00:58
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Dik Hz posted:Can you think of a reason not to? I just don't think a tailored version would be any different content-wise. I would really just be switching around the order of a few things in my "summary of qualifications" section, and even then, not by much. How would you tailor a general resume specifically for administrative work?
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May 10, 2012 04:40
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Nessa posted:I just don't think a tailored version would be any different content-wise. I would really just be switching around the order of a few things in my "summary of qualifications" section, and even then, not by much. You should tailor each application to suit the job description they provide, frankly. Demonstrate how you meet each of the qualities they're looking for. Repeat their own language back to them, and show continuous development of the skills they're looking for through each of your previous jobs. They're genuinely not interested in what you did at previous jobs unless it directly relates to what they're looking for, and you won't get the time of day unless you explicitly demonstrate that you should be screened in.
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May 10, 2012 07:07
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Fraternite posted:You should tailor each application to suit the job description they provide, frankly. Demonstrate how you meet each of the qualities they're looking for. Repeat their own language back to them, and show continuous development of the skills they're looking for through each of your previous jobs. I thought that's what a cover letter was for.  I don't have anything on my resume that specifically relates to previous jobs. Just general things like "enjoys keeping things organized", "prompt", "dedicated to given tasks", "friendly and approachable", "attention to detail", "eager to learn" etc... Are those bad things to have on a resume? I honestly don't have any skill or experience that specifically relates to administrative work. I'm only applying to ads that require a high school education and being able to read and write English, just for some experience.
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May 10, 2012 07:31
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I'm thinking that your best bet is to try to get a job through a temp agency. That way, you can get experience, plus feedback on your resume. Also, for each job, it's usually helpful to make a few changes to your resume for the job in order to highlight what is described as being the most important part of the job. Not large changes, but add in any keywords they have in the job description. So if you've worked customer service, and they say "experience serving patrons in fast-paced environment", you'd make sure to make any changes in your job descriptions to highlight that, and use that exact phrasing if needed, and then change the order of your bulletpoints to put it at the top of the list. That said, you can make a resume to send out to types of jobs, and most likely only need to make a few changes and focus on tailoring your cover letter. That way you save a bit of time and energy while still customizing your application. In terms of the phrases you listed, I personally feel like those things are best in a cover letter. Whatever you list, you want to make sure that it highlights what you can offer rather than what you gain ("eager to learn" is good, but "quickly adopting new protocols" or "quick learner" is better, since it highlights a benefit to the company rather than to you). Maybe you can list your skills in a summary of qualifications section instead. That said, I'm no expert, so I'd suggest posting your resume in the resume thread and seeing what feedback you get.
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May 10, 2012 07:57
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yoyomama posted:I'm thinking that your best bet is to try to get a job through a temp agency. That way, you can get experience, plus feedback on your resume. I have been going to temp agencies, but they offer no feedback and never get back to me. Some of them also refuse to accept hardcopy resumes anymore. One of them specifically requested a Microsoft Word file instead of just a PDF. Another problem is that I'd only be able to make changes to emailed resumes since I don't have a functioning printer at the moment and can't afford a new one. I also don't want to phrase my resume in such a way to make it untrue. I am eager to learn new things, but I am certainly not a fast learner. I require writing down steps and a lot of repetition to learn new things. The last thing I want to do on a resume is lie about my abilities.
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May 10, 2012 19:12
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Fraternite posted:You should tailor each application to suit the job description they provide, frankly. Demonstrate how you meet each of the qualities they're looking for. Repeat their own language back to them, and show continuous development of the skills they're looking for through each of your previous jobs. Really if you're entry level there's not too much you can cut without making your resume really sparse. If you don't have a filled-out LinedIn page it's worth making one; I've had stuff come my way completely out of the blue because of my LinkedIn page. My other advice is to try a recruiter -- sure, they skim off the top and all but, on the other hand, since they get money out of it they have some incentive to push you into positions you may not be fully experienced with. Also, the reason temp agencies want a .doc resume is so they can scrub your name, insert their logo, and possibly inflate your qualifications.
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May 11, 2012 01:27
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Something I recently heard on the radio I wanted to share with this thread. Now, I haven't yet tried to reconcile this with my own online snooping, but some research organization asked a group of college grads which of the following was most important when seeking/accepting a job: a) Salary b) Benefits c) Advancement/Upward Mobility d) Facebook/Social Media Access Now, according to this research, 50% of college grads answered 'd'. The second figure I heard was '2/3s admitted to refusing job offers' because the employer either blocked or denied access to social media. Not sure if this was 2/3s of the 50%, or 2/3s of the whole lot. Again, I heard this on a local mix station (while at work), and didn't catch the name of the researchers. Also, take with a grain of salt. However, if you're refusing work because you can't spend time on farmville, please tell me the company you applied to so that I can work for them.
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May 11, 2012 03:02
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At my company you can go on facebook, a lot of people uses google for gchat during the day, and it's not uncommon to see a few people huddled around a youtube clip, but those bastards took away my Pandora....
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May 11, 2012 04:53
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YF19pilot posted:d) Facebook/Social Media Access If I want to be charitable, I can stretch to understand this. Generally jobs where the company feels the need to block websites and restrict things like Facebook are going to be crappier jobs where your employer doesn't trust you to get the job done (barring something like working with classified data, or other such unusual situations). On the whole, jobs that allow Facebook are probably also going to treat you as an adult in other ways. That said, I suspect these people who were surveyed aren't really thinking about that.
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May 11, 2012 05:05
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Call me paranoid, but I'd rather not log onto my personal e-mail, Facebook account, or anything else tied to my identity, really, using a work computer. Still, filtering software is obnoxious and I'd hope to get a bit more credit than that. I don't think this would be a dealbreaker for me though.
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May 11, 2012 05:24
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YF19pilot posted:d) Facebook/Social Media Access Honestly this isn't even something that crossed my mind while job searching. At my internship it wasn't blocked, but I didn't trust my coworkers not to snoop on my Facebook page if I left my computer. It's definitely not something I'd turn down a job offer for. Seriously what the hell "Oh you won't let me slack off and be on Facebook all day? I'd rather stay unemployed!" Yeah I get that it'd be nice to be able to check Facebook/Twitter on my lunch break or whatever, but it's far from being a job deal breaker.
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May 11, 2012 05:28
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Those surveys are invariably full of poo poo. lies drat lies and statistics.
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May 11, 2012 14:37
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Nessa posted:I have been going to temp agencies, but they offer no feedback and never get back to me. Some of them also refuse to accept hardcopy resumes anymore. One of them specifically requested a Microsoft Word file instead of just a PDF. Yeah temp agencies like to be able to edit your resume in .doc, they want to add their little header/footer and such. Resume framing is an art. You're absolutely correct, don't put down things that are objectively untrue. But don't give up the game either and tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", so help you god. Put your best foot foot forward, and talk about cool stuff you've done. You mentioned earlier that you don't have a lot of specifically relevant experience. Does that mean you have no job experience? Or just the irrelevant kind. Honestly, class projects, jobs in unrelated fields, just about anything is good to put down. If you're starting from scratch, employers are okay with that, but they just want something to latch on to, even if it's the time you built a website for your mom or volunteered at your grandfather's nursing home for a summer. If you're having trouble even getting a foot in the door, it's possible your resume might be holding you back. I read somewhere recently that it takes less than 6 seconds for a recruiter to scan over a resume and deny it. The ones that pass that initial check are the ones that get a deeper reading and a rating. Passing that initial culling phase is pretty drat important though, so if you haven't already, I recommend getting another pair of eyes on it. There are paid services, but I get the impression that might be a little pricey at the moment, but if you redact some personal info and post it here I'm sure people will chip in some good advice on it. There's a thread around here for that specifically, or at least there used to be.
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May 12, 2012 02:54
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DukAmok posted:Yeah temp agencies like to be able to edit your resume in .doc, they want to add their little header/footer and such. Thanks. I posted in the resume thread earlier today and will be making some changes to it.  It's not that I have no experience, but no relevant experience to these kinds of jobs, and even when working retail, I didn't have a lot of responsibility (and didn't want a lot of responsibility).
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May 12, 2012 03:41
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Honestly this isn't even something that crossed my mind while job searching. At my internship it wasn't blocked, but I didn't trust my coworkers not to snoop on my Facebook page if I left my computer. It's definitely not something I'd turn down a job offer for. Seriously what the hell "Oh you won't let me slack off and be on Facebook all day? I'd rather stay unemployed!" Yeah I get that it'd be nice to be able to check Facebook/Twitter on my lunch break or whatever, but it's far from being a job deal breaker. This is anecdotal but a friend of mine turned down a $40,000 a year job when she found out going on Facebook and texting was against the company rules. She couldn't find a job for months and then once she got another offer, at a much lower starting salary, she pounced on it. I guess she wizened up. So don't think it doesn't happen.
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May 14, 2012 03:16
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The Experiment posted:This is anecdotal but a friend of mine turned down a $40,000 a year job when she found out going on Facebook and texting was against the company rules. She couldn't find a job for months and then once she got another offer, at a much lower starting salary, she pounced on it. I guess she wizened up. I could see myself turning down a job if I wasn't allowed to check my personal email or whatever. Not because I spend all day doing that, but because gently caress you rear end in a top hat stay out of my life.
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May 14, 2012 04:57
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