Job hunting in a recession

[NiX]

Some of us are grads and some of us just don't have a job, either way, I'm sure there are some people here with some bits of wisdom. I'm well aware that there's no sure fire way to get a job right now.

I'm using Workopolis, Jobboom, Monster and, an HR specific job site, Hire Authority. Any other suggestions? I hear Craigslist has something once and awhile.

My resume has been looked over by way too many people and I know all about "Networking."

My only help is for any Canadians looking for work: Comprehensive list of job sites for Canada

[grebo]

I would say that it isn't worthwhile to apply to anything more than 2 days old, maybe 1 day, Craigslist makes this easy.

If you're in the general market and don't have a hot tip I would advise you to proceed thusly:

When looking for work, use a generic resume/cover letter.  Don't invest yourself overly in anything, just gets you down more when you don't get it.  Fire and forget them resumes, send 20+ a day.  Looking for work is work, don't think about it any other way.  You're just sending the resumes because you have to, you don't expect ever to hear back from any of them about anything, that way you don't have an excuse to give up.  Believe me, you'll want to give up.

This doesn't mean that you should be as generic as possible tho, I would use the cover letter to try and set yourself apart.  What is it about you that makes you more qualified than the next drone?  Can you sum it up in the cover letter in a nice way?

For interviews, dress to impress.  Wear the damn tie and the shiny shoes, even if it's not required for the job.  Act like a good drone, you'll follow instructions and not think too much.  Make a good impression, get along with the interviewer.  What you know isn't nearly as important as the impression you make (usually).

That sort of attitude kept me going most of last year anyway while I was looking.  Looking for work sucks.

Of course, if you have a hot tip/friend put you in for something/they are talking to you before posting job, etc... those are the ones that you want to invest heavily in, you'll just have to suck it up and suffer if you don't get it.

All just my opinion, feel free to disagree.

[TheWalrus]

Also, even if you know more than the interviewer, don't show it. You don't want to even appear to be threatening their job.

And apply at places that aren't advertising for openings. Never know whos itching to fire that snotty jackass down the hall but doesn't feel like training someone. Give em a reason.

[Oban]

Send your resume to friends and family, because you just never know.

[schild]

Send your resume to friends and family, because you just never know.

This.

Nepotism.

[stray]

I've exhausted family and friend resources, I think. Hell, even some of them are in danger right now, working at places where people are getting dropped. I've been meaning to just say fuck it and work at a restaurant or something... But then, I say fuck it to that as well. I've been nothing but a bad influence in those settings.

[Selby]

Send your resume to friends and family, because you just never know.

This.

Nepotism.

I'll third this.  I've got people from my former company sending me all kinds of info on jobs.  I have jobs that I was told to apply for that require a PhD, yet I'm getting interviews for them anyway and even second ones.  Essentially if you know someone, chances are they know someone.  Of all the places I've sent resumes to, only the ones where I was handed to their recruitment group on a platter by friends and associates am I getting any hits on.  Believe me, the first place that offers a job I'll likely take.

indeed.com is the big one among all of my peers, as is LinkedIn (strangely enough).  Knowing what people are looking for and their experience helps a ton (kind of a duh, but seriously it is important to know).

[schild]

I've exhausted family and friend resources, I think. Hell, even some of them are in danger right now, working at places where people are getting dropped. I've been meaning to just say fuck it and work at a restaurant or something... But then, I say fuck it to that as well. I've been nothing but a bad influence in those settings.

I, finally, for the first time since I was 15, asked my family for help on finding a job.

I feel dirty.

[MahrinSkel]

You and 30,000 other people will apply for every job on craigslist, hotjobs, monster, and any other public site.  Unless you think your resume is going to stand out, don't expect anything from that.  Your odds are much better when applying for jobs that never hit those sites.  If your work is specialized, bookmark the "opportunities" pages of the companies most likely to have openings, if it is specialized enough, consider some carefully crafted Google Alerts.

When you send in a resume, search your contacts for anyone you know who works there, or has a brother/sister/second cousin that does.  Especially when responding to something on the major sites, what you need most is for your resume to survive the first sort where they discard 99 out of every 100 of the several thousand they get, and all it will take is an internal email from *anyone* (even the janitor) to the HR people doing that sort.

--Dave

[Quinton]

When you send in a resume, search your contacts for anyone you know who works there, or has a brother/sister/second cousin that does.  Especially when responding to something on the major sites, what you need most is for your resume to survive the first sort where they discard 99 out of every 100 of the several thousand they get, and all it will take is an internal email from *anyone* (even the janitor) to the HR people doing that sort.

This.

You may still get dropped before a phonescreen, depending on what's being looked for and how your resume matches up, but having *anyone* do even a "hey this is the resume of {somebody I know, a friend of a friend, ...}" is useful to get past the initial discard phase.

[stray]

I've exhausted family and friend resources, I think. Hell, even some of them are in danger right now, working at places where people are getting dropped. I've been meaning to just say fuck it and work at a restaurant or something... But then, I say fuck it to that as well. I've been nothing but a bad influence in those settings.

I, finally, for the first time since I was 15, asked my family for help on finding a job.

I feel dirty.

Well if they can help, just roll with it. Actually, quite a few of my jobs were that way. It's just not an option now unfortunately.

[Tale]

In my work in the media we published this list of tips from a recruiter. Mostly obvious but may be something in it that helps: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1013921/Ten-tips-to-surviving-unemployment

[Righ]

Well if they can help, just roll with it. Actually, quite a few of my jobs were that way. It's just not an option now unfortunately.

If anybody is new to this, welcome to networking. It nets more high powered jobs than any other method. When you are out of work, you should be calling or writing literally everybody you know. Everybody. That includes family, friends, former work colleagues and bosses, your doctor, your dentist, your banker, etc. Its not a silly as it sounds at first. If your doctor knows somebody who is looking for an IT employee and you ask him if he knows anybody who is hiring in IT, he'll likely put you in contact with the person in his personal network.

The hardest part of getting a job is standing out enough to get the first interview. Having a personal contact (even one that is one degree removed) increases the odds of being interviewed by a fuckton.

I would say that it isn't worthwhile to apply to anything more than 2 days old, maybe 1 day, Craigslist makes this easy.

Only if you are looking for unskilled or trainee work. Very many professional positions have long recruitment periods. For positions that I have advertised for, I've been interviewing people for several weeks afterwards in order to get the best candidate.

[Selby]

Only if you are looking for unskilled or trainee work. Very many professional positions have long recruitment periods. For positions that I have advertised for, I've been interviewing people for several weeks afterwards in order to get the best candidate.

Truth.  My former job was open for almost 18 months before they found me to fill it.  The same goes with quite a few of the jobs I am now applying for.  The companies flat out need people, but the skill level they are looking for just doesn't come around very often, so the jobs will sit open for a while as the recruiter and hiring manager are trying to determine who out there is telling the truth vs. stretching a bit on their resumes.  I've had some seriously nice resumes and "qualified on paper" people where the interview turned into drooling and "urgh?" when I started asking questions.

[Bunk]

We've been interviewing for entry level customer service positions for a couple weeks. If you are looking for someone long term, you don't hire the first applicant through the door.

For those of you looking for work - my first hand experience as of late - it's all in the interview. We basically look over the resume, make sure it meets a few minimum requirements, and then go to the interview.

Anyone looking for software/tech sector work in western Canada let me know. I could use a finder's fee. :)

[Teleku]

Yeah, after applying towards many jobs using all the usual methods, I'm going the nepotism/friend-of-a-friend route. 

We'll see how that works out, though it looks like its going to work much better already.

I just wish I didn't suck at interviews so much.

[Lantyssa]

I barely use it, but how do y'all feel about LinkedIn?

If you think it's not a completely useless resource I'm sure a few of us would be willing to add people to our lists.

[Quinton]

I barely use it, but how do y'all feel about LinkedIn?

If you think it's not a completely useless resource I'm sure a few of us would be willing to add people to our lists.

I pretty much only use linked-in to track people I've worked with who I would want to work with again.   It's been useful for staying in touch with smart people who are doing cool things, who I'd definitely ping if I was job hunting (or sometimes ping if I'm looking to hire somebody).

[Tale]

I barely use it, but how do y'all feel about LinkedIn?

If you think it's not a completely useless resource I'm sure a few of us would be willing to add people to our lists.

I got my new job in December after a recruiter heard about me from someone else, then contacted me via LinkedIn. Except I ignored his message, a month went by, and he cold-called me at my old work and I got interested So it wasn't exactly LinkedIn being useful, but he was using it.

A few days ago he emailed me, asking if I knew anyone suitable for another job. I knew someone good, so I looked her up on LinkedIn and it turned out she had a fully fledged profile, with recommendations from others. So all I had to do was send him her LinkedIn profile, and he had a candidate. I'm guessing the written recommendations from former colleagues on LinkedIn were VERY powerful for him. She's very good at her job, and they were prepared to say so publicly.

[Ghambit]

recession = stay in (or go back to) school on bank/govt dime

Once the recession is over you'll have a skill worth making money for and will actually be able to pay your student loans.
Training for something during an economic boom period is wasteful.  Doing it during a shitstorm is the way to go.

[Teleku]

What if you finished up all the school and training you could right as the recession started 

[Ghambit]

What if you finished up all the school and training you could right at the recession started 

learn something new   

[Gong]

I just graduated with a BS CS in December, and just started my first post-college job on Wednesday. I had a couple of pretty great internships, which I incidentally landed through a previously internet-only friend that I met while playing DAOC - I think having some relevant experience helped me stand out from other fresh college grads. I can't recommend going the 'friends-and-family' route enough, especially if you've maintained friendships with particularly smart and motivated people.

Due to a hiring freeze in my old branch of the company, I wasn't able to go back to the position I was being groomed for as an intern, but I made contacts in other parts of the company who helped my resume get wide circulation throughout the company, and after interviewing for about a million different positions, finally found one that I was a good fit for. Even still, they're being super cautious - I'm getting hired as a contractor for 3 months as a trial period, and if I impress them enough they'll hire me fulltime at the end.

During the couple of months between graduating and starting work, I found a few freelance gigs via posting my resume on Dice/LinkedIn. It didn't come close to a 40 hour workweek, but it was enough to keep my skills sharp and keep me from getting too bored, plus it's always nice to make a little bit of money.

tl;dr version: be extremely proactive about asking friends/family/former co-workers if they know anyone who could use you, do something to stay busy in the meantime whether it's freelancing or just teaching yourself new skills

[Oban]

I told my wife I am going to go back to school to become either an economist or a meteorologist if I lose my current job.

[Teleku]

Do both, you could be the wacky weatherman economist on the news.  You could give weather and financial forecast at the same time!  I bet they'd let you wear a funny hat.

[NiX]

I've hit up every contact I have. The biggest problem I'm finding is that most of my contacts are in my field and half of which were in industries that went lean as the recession hit, so they're looking for work too or recently hired. I've set myself up with an agency, but I'm not holding my breath for them to find me a job any time soon. It just might be a good idea for me to pick up some shitty summer job, apply for my university transfer and dump another 20K on my student loan to get my B-Comm.

[Selby]

What if you finished up all the school and training you could right as the recession started 

That's what happened to me in 2002.  Sure, it wasn't as bad as it was now, but finding a job then wasn't easy either.  Graduate school for the win!  Or at least getting another degree in something useful (note the "useful" part, that's important).

[NiX]

I barely use it, but how do y'all feel about LinkedIn?

If you think it's not a completely useless resource I'm sure a few of us would be willing to add people to our lists.

I tried this here before and it didn't go well. A lot of people think you should NEVER add friends to your network. It really depends on how you view people from F13 and, as pointed out by one person, if they'll respect your 2nd degree contacts. You don't want some random contacting some high profile exec on your contact list, using your name and then making an ass of themselves.

Of course, I'm not of that school of thought. I'm in HR and they all tell you the same thing, a contact is a contact.

[Selby]

A lot of people think you should NEVER add friends to your network. It really depends on how you view people from F13 and, as pointed out by one person, if they'll respect your 2nd degree contacts. You don't want some random contacting some high profile exec on your contact list, using your name and then making an ass of themselves.

I stopped using LinkedIn for almost 3 years because I had a stalker who wouldn't leave me the hell alone.  They are gone now and I am much happier.  I still subscribe to the "I have to know you decently" before I'll add you.  Mostly it's ex-workers from my old job and the jaded few still there.

[Paelos]

They are gone now and I am much happier.

You had your stalker killed? Hardcore! 

[Jimbo]

We could use some IT that is in nursing.  Right now they suck, they just don't get how we operate and why we bitch about the programs being bulky and not user friendly.  Of course that is partially from HCA wanting to use MEDITECH in the most weird way possible, but still we need more tech friendly people designing and fixing computers and programs for health care.  Hell, we are supposed to go to a Electronic Medical Record eventually, and that keeps getting pushed back.

If Bob is coming over to the RN side, along with a ton of medics (plus a couple of police and firemen), you could come play in the 12 hour + madness that I luv 

Oh yeah, health care in general is booming, I'm seeing about 25% increase in patients since last year.

[schild]

Right now they suck, they just don't get how we operate and why we bitch about the programs being bulky and not user friendly. 

I worked for an insurance company for a few months in AZ and if the programs on that end aren't user-friendly (and bulky, and on shit computers) I can't even imagine how bad they are in hospitals.

[jpark]

It's always good to pursue many options - but in the end you need to be places your peers are not.

Read the business section of your newspaper.  Read between the lines, and identify firms moving in directions that interest you.  Cold call them to be learn more about the project - informational interviews etc. - and see if you can angle in.  It's not easy to do this - it's the "hidden job market" or "creating opportunity" but rest assured your peers won't be doing it - so you will be the only guy calling.  Downside - there is no hiring deadline for the said firm - so this can take a long time.

Even if you have to be clandestine about it - take any job that gives you some sort of income to hold you over, regardless whether you find it humiliating or beneath you.  Being poor eats at the soul and debt accumulates too quickly.  On the flip side, especially for those young in their careers - Volunteer for a cause related to your interests.  Or... volunteer at a company in your area of interest if you can afford the time, this can work well if you are new to your career path.

In the end I find job fairs to be a waste of time.  I have learned to avoid environments filled with job seekers.  If you can afford it, the ideal is to attend conferences on specific issues for industry insiders - attend - and socialize.  This takes a fee and travel, but if you can do it locally it's more feasible.

Write.  Get your views known.  Blogs are laudable, but there is no 'barrier to entry" you are competing in a sea of unqualified commentary.  Publishing in a trade journal, magazine or local newspaper is more visible and helps - and adds to your writing portfolio which can be tangentially relevant in any career path.

Pitch.  Come up with an idea you're passionate about - and contact folks in your industry to discuss it.  A good place to start is try and build on a direction you suspect their firm or industry is already heading.  If you think your idea is actually good - super - if not, it's a platform for discussion.

The most important thing - as cliche and dumb as it will sound - keep upbeat about yourself and keep your eye focused on where you would ideally like to end up in life.  It will happen!

[Raging Turtle]

For those who aren't as tied down, you can always take a year off and go abroad to teach English.  I'm approaching three years in and will probably be looking for something different this summer or fall, but it's been a life changing experience - I'm doing things now that most people dream about doing when they're retired. 

A popular job site: Tefl.com
Note that for nearly all the jobs on that and similar sites, you'll need some kind of TEFL certificate, which generally costs around $1000 and involves a month of training and teaching practice.  And for nearly every job in the EU you'll need an EU passport or work permit, which is incredibly annoying when all I want to do is go teach in a little town of the coast of Spain or Portugal but I can't because I'm an American.   

One of the most popular forums for ESL teachers, organized by country/continent:  http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/
Beware: Much whinging in certain parts of those forums.  If you're interested in South Korea (where the money is, at the moment, and where I started), there's a separate and huge forum just for that.   

[Broughden]

If you are in the US, have a business degree, have knowledge of either the health care field or IT project management, or both......I know of an open job at Humana here in Louisville.