Looking for a job? Also a rant

[Deleted]

I've only ever had one job and it was in a restaurant owned by family friends. So I didn't really "apply" for it as a stranger. It was offered to me and I did good in it but the business went under and with it my source of money.

Now that I'm looking for another job I realize how much bullshit the economy is. I used to think it was just lazy people complaining but now I know. I have so many complaints but I will try to keep it short.

1. big name stores have an online application where you type out what your resume says in their individual boxes (step by step process that takes at least 20 minutes) and if you're lucky your application has some keywords that their computer searches for. I think that if your application doesn't have these keywords, nobody will ever see it... so I might as well be playing the lottery.
2. It always feels like there are 300 people applying for any given job. Hell, when I go to online job posting sites, I can see how many times a posting as been viewed. Even the ones that are posted a few hours before I saw it will have at least 100 views. I tell myself "applying is better than not" but I think the chances of someone SEEING your resume before they have a good candidate in mind is 1 in 1000. Maybe the first few resumes they see will stick out the most in their head? I try to go for the newest ones with this theory in mind.
3. Resumes have to be full of shit like "i am a fast learner" or "i work well in groups" even though there's no way to tell if i'm lying unless THEY CALL ME FOR AN INTERVIEW. So what is the point of a resume besides work experience? I only had one job so already I'm playing with a bad hand.
3. most job postings online have NO phone number and has minimal information. So I must rely on emailing my resume along with a "please please hire me even though you don't know me and there are lots more people saying the same thing" and hoping for a reply. I only look for job postings with numbers that I can call but then half the time they say "you need to apply online" and I'm afraid they'll see my # on my resume and go "hey that's the guy who tried to be slick and talk his way into the job- throw his resume away!"
4. I don't have connections but I'm trying to make some through family friends. It feels like getting a word in is the only reliable way to get a job.

What are some tips that I can actually use to help me get a job? I always hear "you have to follow up once you send your resume" but I assume most people do that so if there are 100 applicants and even just a quarter of them call in, that didn't make me stand out at all. I understand that there's no ultimate trick to getting a job but maybe there is something I don't know.

 

[Steppin Razor]

I was out of work for quite a while as well just recently after I quit my soul-destroying job in Accounts Payable. The key to getting a new job is applying for everything that you can and settling in for the long haul. Unless you're incredibly lucky, you won't get a response for at least a week or two, especially if it's a large business or a chain. With the economy the way it is, it can sometimes take quite a while for companies to decide on who they wish to employ as they can't afford to take on just anybody who seems like they might make a good fit. So while you await a response, keep looking and applying for everything you think you could do.

As for your resume, it's very important to talk up your previous work and what qualities you brought to that job. You may think it's a pointless waste of time since everybody does it, but thinking about it now and listing it will prepare you for when an interview finally comes along and they ask you what qualities you will bring to your job. "Fast learner" is incredibly generic, but not mentioning it in some way if you are actually a quick learner on the job is like handicapping yourself. Some other good things to mention include if you work well with/without supervision, on your own/as part of a team and how well you can perform under pressure. Mentioning these on your resume and including a small example of how this was reflected in your past job can help you stand above at least some of the competition for a job. It's the little things that can help you to stand above the crowd and at least get your foot in the door for an interview.

Getting a job is like fishing. Sometimes you can land something straight away, but most times you have to just be patient and wait for a company to bite. Shake things up a little by going into a place and dropping off your resume there instead of sticking with online. I don't know what it's like over there, but here in Australia most places will accept both online applications and resumes being submitted in-store. And if you do drop it off in store, make sure you're decently presentable. First impressions count, even if the person you drop it off to turns out to just be a check-out girl. You would prefer the resume to be handed over to the HR department with a, "some guy just dropped this off" instead of "some scraggly, unshaven bloke just dropped this off".

 

[bluepilot]

Yeah, getting a job is pretty tough right now. But based on your complaints, I can give you some tips.

1) Some applications do heavily rely on keywords. The key is to do your research. Look on the company`s website, advertisment e.t.c and see what kind of keywords come up. But these in your application.

2) Yep, one in 300, those are your odds. I have applied for a job with 1 in 1000 chance before. Don`t get discouraged.

3) Lot`s of companies rely on a competency-based interview. Which means you cannot just say `I am hard working`, you have to prove it based on your own experience. This can be anything. `I am a very precise person who pays attention to detail, as anyone who has eaten my creme brulee will tell you (cooking is a science and an art)` or `Since my days of college football I have learned the importance of going for the goal and keeping my eye on the ball in both a literal and metaphoric sense`. Talk about what you learned in life and how you can apply it to the job role.

4) Nothing wrong will calling to make enquiries. This shows initiative. Just be polite, ask them what kind of qualities they are looking for e.t.c. They may note that you called and it will help you stand out. It will not count against you.

5) Connections help but if you do not have any...gatecrash an investment banker party. But yeah, unless you went to the right school and know the right people it cannot be helped. Refer back to points 1,3,4

Good luck