Job search strategy discussion thread

That's not very convincing. Trust me, you will never get a job if you believe even the slightest bit you can get away with lying to do so. Even if you do get the job, you'll suck at it and be sacked. Then, getting your next job will be even harder because you'll have to explain to past employers why you left, and they won't give you a reference.

Tis true. Embellish the crap out of your resume in ways that make it a fit for the job you are applying for, but don't lie.

Unless it's a job you for sure know how to do, in which case embellishing is much easier to do in a certain way. But if you're wading into unknown territory, don't lie. I mean if I was going out for, say, a security guard gig, I can say all sorts of shit. But that's because I've been in that industry a lot and know most all the ins and outs. I wouldn't do it if I were applying for a job in sales, per se.

edited 14th Jun '12 1:15:50 PM by Barkey

I have done two jobs where Claustrophobia was a hindrance, both caused by squeezing in as many workers as they could. Certainly if I had to work in my Ph D supervisor's office then I could only use one of the two desks that they had squeezed into that one-person office.

I would of course word it a bit less bluntly in an interview. Oh, and also since I've done a lot of jobs requiring international travel, I need an aisle seat. It can be an issue.

I've got a question: I was hired to work as a cashier at an ice cream parlor a few years back. About two months in, my boss more or less said "I'm not going to fire you, but you're not very good at this job so I'm not giving you any hours anymore." The job is relevant experience for other jobs I'm applying to (customer service, cash register use, etc.), but listing it on my resume will show that:

• A.) I was "fired" very quickly.
• B.) If they try to contact my boss, he probably won't say the best things about my work skills.

Thing is, it's the only real job I've ever had. Should I leave it out entirely?

You only leave in jobs you want to talk about. That's the rule.

Yup: if you have to ask yourself "how bad would that make me look?" rather than "would that make me look bad?", it's probably best to leave it off. However, if you get quizzed over the gap, you will have to actually say something about it. However positive you try to make it. Again... lying? Not an option. Trying to find a positive angle? Go ahead.

A good reason for saying why you didn't put it down, should they ask? It might be slightly better to look a little muddled as to whether you thought it would be a good example or not (not exactly in the same field, was so long ago, was laid off that quickly, whatever), rather than lie about it not being an example at all.

edited 14th Jun '12 4:21:17 PM by Euodiachloris

A situation like that, I'd say something about how they'd hired me and a few months in the business decided it needed to cut labor by getting rid of a few people and that as the employee with the least tenure, I was the first to go.

Bingo: fudging the truth a little bit with the "laid off" is a good bet, even if they're unlikely to follow up. Because you never know. You'd have a leg to stand on if it gets into semantic wars if you pick your words carefully.

Thanks for the advice. If they ask "Can we contact this employer?" on an electronic form, would it be better to say no and avoid the bad feedback, or to say yes and avoid the suspiscious-ness of saying "no"?

Adding to the above, we all make mistakes. Demonstrate what you've learned from it, how you've improved as a result, etc. If being fired meant never working again, the world would be in a hell of a state. Especially when you're young and naive, but have matured since. If you're struggling to evidence it though, then yeah, consider leaving it off. It's more of an issue when it's a very recent job. In Britain at least, it's always the last employer, two employers, or all in the last 5 years (which is causing me an issue because no one I worked with in my job 4 and a half years ago is still there, and I was on a student placement due to still being at uni, so I didn't have much chance to be remembered). In those sort of cases, leaving it out isn't really an option.

^^

Could always put yes and leave a number that is now out of service. -shrug-

I always find those requests stupid. Like I even have a number to give them to call.

Try finding work with limited work experience these days. It's not fun, especially when there's thousands of people in the same position trying to get the same jobs (moreso at this time of year with all the school leavers). Looking forward to getting back into college, where I can worry less about this. It is very stressfull.

edited 15th Jun '12 2:26:41 PM by TheBatPencil

I'm going to have to start university this semester.

I don't know what mean about worrying less about jobs though; I'm certainly anticipating that I'll have to get a job, with study allowance only covering my rent and nothing else.

The main thing I'm worried about is finding a job that is flexible enough that I can work around studying. So probably working at a fast food outlet Mc Donalds claims to be student-friendly. My experience? Two months of working at a grocery store before four years of working in Administration. Hopefully they'll give me the chance to explain why I'm applying for a lower-paying job.

Well... We'll see how it works out. All next month I've got leave from my current job, so I don't have to worry so much. I'm hoping to figure it out once I move to the city I'll be living in. And I'm optimistic, because the city has to have more opportunities than a moderately sized town.

edited 15th Jun '12 5:36:41 PM by UltimatelySubjective

Depends where you are. Bat Pencil, like myself, is in Scotland (same city in fact) where the Government pays 100% of tuition, so it's completely free. This only applies to Scottish students studying in Scotland though, where the definition of "Scottish" I believe includes those living in Scotland/attending Scottish schools for those going straight from highschool. In other words, covered by the Scottish education system, which is very different in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK/much of the rest of the world.

In my case, since I went to a university 75 miles away and it was my first time living from home while my parents earned income under a certain threshold, I got a full student loan of about £3,500 each year for 4 years. Interest on it is tied to the Bank of England base rate (the central bank is the same for the whole of the UK, for those that don't know) and that rate is currently 0.5%. It's also not repaid until one year after you graduate, and even at that only after you earn £15,000 or more per year, whereupon payments are taken from your salary directly like with tax.

So Bat Pencil, if either living at home or earning a decent student loan, is unlikely to have significant expenses during semester time. That was how I did it - worked my ass off on-call for a bank during the holidays (I could pick up three grand in a summer even as an 18 year old by exploiting travel expenses which were somehow given to me at 40p per mile, when my car cost about 10p per mile to run and nothing to maintain as it was my dad's) and just focussed on drinking and partying during term time. Sorry, did I say partying? I meant "diligently studying, like a good boy". Definitely didn't ever kill a bottle of vodka and think it would be funny to phone my parents at 3am claiming I'd been arrested for indecent exposure. No sir.

There is another job search strategy not mentioned thus far: Getting a job through connections/networking.

I am about to start volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity affiliate. As I am not as proactive at putting in job applications as I should be, I am hoping that I can meet someone there who can point me to a permanent job. Also, having something to do on a regular basis will make it easier for me to manage my time (I hope...).

I dislike the connections thing but it's actually the number one way to get a job, especially in the United States. I think over half of hires are referrals or something like that.

The connections thing is true.

And it's not even about directly getting a job through your connections. I plan to volunteer at my old job if I ever need to get back in, because just being in tune with the workplace helps a lot.

The reason for that is because not every job is listed. If you were the owner of a small business with a position to fill, would you ask around to see if someone you know can fill the position or start putting up adds for it? And even if you don't personally know someone who could fill the position, if someone you trust refers someone else... Well, that is nearly as good.

Yeah, a referral goes a long way. Either as doing a favor for a friend or simply as having to compare a bunch of unknown quantities with a known one.

I've been trying to get my first actual job, with W-2 forms and all, for about a year and a half now, and no luck. A friend of mine gave me some advice, and I think this is probably for entry level or sales jobs:

Get as many applications you can, fill them out and send them in, call in 2 days and ask if they've had a chance to look at your application. If they schedule an interview, good, if they say they'll call, move on.

Anyone have any tips on getting any employment at all?

When trying to get a job anywhere you can find one, don't just look for places with "now hiring" signs or hand in your resume to anyone who happens to be there. I've heard of someone walking into a retail store, being told that they have no openings, insist on doing the application, and then the manager took a look at it and hired him on the spot. Which is the other thing you should do: if at all possible hand in the resume to the manager/boss so that they have some reason to remember you when looking through the applications they have.

Yup: getting remembered by somebody who counts is rather important. Even if you can't get right to the top, getting near enough is worth it. Well, better than sticking with the front desk and no further.

Uh... just as long as you're remembered for the right reasons... I'll never forget one selection event where the group of people accepting applications got together to laugh about somebody after it was over. Poor guy fluffed not only the time, but finally entered covered in seagull droppings and then handed in a CV written in a funky (and illegible) font. Which had also suffered the seagulls. A for effort, though.

edited 19th Jun '12 9:47:03 AM by Euodiachloris

Agreeing with those who say that networking is really important, though of course you need to work at all to get such a network.

For that reason though, treat every job as an opportunity, and never burn your bridges. My last job, I couldn't stand. It was affecting my physical and mental health, and I say that as someone who has already let his loyalty to his job in the past continue to the point in staying in a position that quite literally drove me to self harm (this was before I'd heard of trichotillomania, but I was actually doing in the office I had to myself, I was that bad). But even though I hated the place, what I was doing, everything in it, and everything about it, I stuck at it. I was very well liked there, and they kept extending my (temporary) contract until they legally couldn't, which was a couple of months ago. They're still trying to get me back.

Point is, however much I hated it, and however much the idea of really letting loose my true feelings to them appealed, I'll never do it. I've now got connections there, my ex-coworkers and managers will remember me, and might be able to get me better jobs in the same company, in areas I actually want to work in. If I gave them what for, I'd lose all that. You never know what will become of the bottom-feeding manager scum you hate right now in a few years time. She might be top of the pile and holding the key to the door between you and your dream job - would you dare risk losing out on that because of a stupid rant that felt good for all of thirty seconds a few years prior?

edited 19th Jun '12 10:54:48 AM by CaissasDeathAngel

A friend of mine just referred me to a good job that just got vacated at the navy base. It's as a coordinator for an effort called FOCUS that is based out of UCLA and is present at several bases across the nation. It basically focuses on getting services and help for military families who have either currently or recently deployed sponsors(military members). It's kind of a go-between position since there are things such as benefits and information that are hard for military families to get without the sponsor present.

On the one hand, the job requires a bachelors. On the other hand, it also says someone who is comfortable and experienced working with military members and their families, and my friend is now the lead psychological coordinator for this job. So I have an in. Pay is good, minimum salary is 18.50 an hour, tops out at 36.40 an hour.

Definitely hopeful. It's stupid that it requires a degree, not only can I do every requirement on the list and have experience doing so, but I can interface with families and sponsors way better than any civilian can, by virtue of having deployed a few times myself. I hated dealing with candy ass civilian mental health "professionals" when I came back from overseas, so I think it would be fulfilling to be a mouthpiece for these members and their families and not be talking out of my ass.