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Applying for jobs is exhausting and soul-crushing

No! I'm doubling down! You won't get the job!

j/k. Congrats!
He he... thank you

Man what an emotional and draining experience these past 5-6 months have been. I been hanging on for my dear life at retail on my last strike and shit hours.. last week I only worked one day! Now ima be working in SM with a clothing store.. geezus
 
I contacted something from a month ago basically begging for the job even though they said I was overqualified. Waiting to hear back from them.
 

Vex_

Banned
He he... thank you

Man what an emotional and draining experience these past 5-6 months have been. I been hanging on for my dear life at retail on my last strike and shit hours.. last week I only worked one day! Now ima be working in SM with a clothing store.. geezus

Bro... Im happy for you. That's good shit.


I contacted something from a month ago basically begging for the job even though they said I was overqualified. Waiting to hear back from them.


I hate that shit. It always feels like they are just trying to find a reason not to hire you.
 

Flux

Member
Made some progress this past week. Got two separate phone interviews for two different jobs. Hoping to push for both, but they are very different.

One is full time on a one year contract, much better pay and benefits. The other is part time, low pay but potential for moving up and getting a permanent role.

Mayne I thinking too far ahead, but anyone else have experience with an issue like this?
 

Layell

Member
Gaf your assistance,

I am applying to a position and one of my uni friends is the point of contact for the job. Because their website is out of date and the new job is keeping it up to date her job position isn't listed.

How do I maximize this connection in my cover letter, and not make it look really corny.

She knows my work ethic really well, we worked together on multiple school projects, so I am also very nervous about this.
 

entremet

Member
Gaf your assistance,

I am applying to a position and one of my uni friends is the point of contact for the job. Because their website is out of date and the new job is keeping it up to date her job position isn't listed.

How do I maximize this connection in my cover letter, and not make it look really corny.

She knows my work ethic really well, we worked together on multiple school projects, so I am also very nervous about this.

Did she refer to the job? That should be enough.

Have you gotten an interview at least? If not, I'd ask her to see if you can contact the hiring manager directly and have her put a good word for you.
 

NeOak

Member
OK, so far:

1. Recruiter whose call I missed on Thursday morning, called back and left a VM that afternoon: Called again on Friday afternoon and left another VM. Not sure if I should try again tomorrow, but I will probably call again.

2. Gonna review some stuff for my Skype interview tomorrow. Wish me luck D:

Gaf your assistance,

I am applying to a position and one of my uni friends is the point of contact for the job. Because their website is out of date and the new job is keeping it up to date her job position isn't listed.

How do I maximize this connection in my cover letter, and not make it look really corny.

She knows my work ethic really well, we worked together on multiple school projects, so I am also very nervous about this.

"I was referred to this opening by Mr./Ms./Mrs." as the first line.

No more
 

Sora_N

Member
I am currently employed but trying to get out.

I have an ex-coworker friend who works at this company, so I applied and she talked to her manager last week. They responded to my email right away and wanted to interview me immediately. I decided to take the chance and take the interview ASAP so I'm doing it tomorrow morning. I told my boss that I have a doctor's appointment.

I prepared a little bit, but I'm pretty nervous now that it's getting close to the time. I felt pretty confident earlier though. Haven't done an interview for almost 2 years haha.

My friend said they received 40 applications within 3 days so the fact that they want to meet me is a good sign and I basically qualify right now.
 
I am currently employed but trying to get out.

I have an ex-coworker friend who works at this company, so I applied and she talked to her manager last week. They responded to my email right away and wanted to interview me immediately. I decided to take the chance and take the interview ASAP so I'm doing it tomorrow morning. I told my boss that I have a doctor's appointment.

I prepared a little bit, but I'm pretty nervous now that it's getting close to the time. I felt pretty confident earlier though. Haven't done an interview for almost 2 years haha.

My friend said they received 40 applications within 3 days so the fact that they want to meet me is a good sign and I basically qualify right now.

Networking/referrals will always the first dibs when it comes to interviewing/hiring.

I just got my new job which I'm starting in 2 weeks through contacting a past co-worker I had worked with. She said they had over 100+ applicant for that position most of which doesn't even have that experience or background.
 

MC Safety

Member
How do I write the best cover letter guys?

Find out what your story is and then tell it.

A cover letter is a great chance to sell yourself. But you need to practice, and you need to change your cover letter to suit the individual job and the company you're applying to.

I'm not a big fan of spray and pray and one size fits all cover letters. If you're going to look for work, you should treat that as your job. That means research, tailored cover letters, and lots of editing/revising.
 

entremet

Member
I am. Apparently I'm not good enough to flip burgers, stack shelves, stand at a till. Nothing.

Are you healthy? Mentally and physically? Do you have any disabilities? I don't know you were you live, but you can try your labor office for help for long term displaced workers.

Maybe you need skills training. Just dont' stay still.
 
Find out what your story is and then tell it.

A cover letter is a great chance to sell yourself. But you need to practice, and you need to change your cover letter to suit the individual job and the company you're applying to.

I'm not a big fan of spray and pray and one size fits all cover letters. If you're going to look for work, you should treat that as your job. That means research, tailored cover letters, and lots of editing/revising.

I did a test while I was looking for work... I've written long and short cover letters, and the ones that usually gets me interviews are the ones that are short and straight to the point.
 

MC Safety

Member
I did a test while I was looking for work... I've written long and short cover letters, and the ones that usually gets me interviews are the ones that are short and straight to the point.

Brevity/succintness is an awesome skill to learn.

Beyond that, it's mostly trial and error. I find humor works well, too.
 

gwailo

Banned
Are you healthy? Mentally and physically? Do you have any disabilities? I don't know you were you live, but you can try your labor office for help for long term displaced workers.

Maybe you need skills training. Just dont' stay still.

The last time I was out of work for a long stretch, my local unemployment office (in MN we call them "workforce centers") was really helpful. They helped my re-do my resume and got me (after some paperwork) into a class to get a certification for free (would have normally been about $2500). YMMV on that though, some other offices were basically like "you're white and can speak English, you don't need any help".

Also try temp agencies. The work is often boring and benefits are pretty much nonexistent, but it's usually not taxing mentally/physically and they typically at least pay above minimum wage.
 

NeOak

Member
Skype interview went well. Managed to throw questions that were interesting. I was asked to submit transcripts as well as any project reports of whatever I have done in school. Seems there is interest from that manager, and what they do is something I do like working on.

This is great!

Would you recommend including a small list in the cover letter as well to highlight your skills based on their job requirements?

You mention things you have learned or done in your cover letter. Skills are listed in your resume, and you don't repeat those.
 
Got an email today with an interview date for next week. It's better hours, money and location (literally 2 mins walk away from home) than my current job, but the ad said it was a 6 month temp appointment.

I'm gonna go for it, definitely, but I'm a little apprehensive about the idea of going from a terrible, shitty job that I hate with the white hot intensity of a thousand burning suns to a better in every way job that could potentially disappear in under a year.

I mean, there's likely a chance that it will last longer, because usually the ACTUALLY temp stuff says something in the description like, "Maternity Cover" of "Sick Cover", or something like that, so it's possible that it's the usual "if we like you, you can stay" kinda thing.


I dunno. It's obviously something that I'll bring up if they don't during the interview.

'spose I just felt the urge to vent a bit. I'm still kinda in shock that I was given an interview at all. My current job has me in such a funk at the mo that I kinda feel like I don't even deserve a chance at escape.





This is all fuckin' weird! lol.
 
I just applied to a ton of jobs down in Virginia. So many tech jobs down there. Hopefully one would want to talk to me or interview me. Hell, I am willing to drive 4 hours for an interview.
 
I've got a phone interview on Thursday and I'm a little nervous. It's for a programming job in Chicago which I'm trying to relocate to (in NC now). I've never done a phone interview before, any tips or sites to prepare for this I'm advance?
 
So I go to the "final interview" job offer tomorrow and getting anxious.

Any questions I should ask when they ask me do I have any? Most times they be covering everything already like pay, start date, etc.
 
I've got a phone interview on Thursday and I'm a little nervous. It's for a programming job in Chicago which I'm trying to relocate to (in NC now). I've never done a phone interview before, any tips or sites to prepare for this I'm advance?

Since it's programming, expect some kind of test. I ended up flunking mine a couple of months ago due to nerves. Write some stuff down that you can quickly refer to.
 

Perfect! Thanks.

Since it's programming, expect some kind of test. I ended up flunking mine a couple of months ago due to nerves. Write some stuff down that you can quickly refer to.

Yeah, the job is in C# which I've only used a handful of times so definitely gonna do some cramming.

Sidnote: Monster is fucking garbage now. Any of you had a positive experience with postings on Monster? Thinking about just deleting my account.
 

gwailo

Banned
Monster is pretty much garbage IMO. Vast majority of the jobs on there are crap sales or call center jobs. Plus they farm out your contact info. I haven't logged into my account in 2 or 3 years and I still get calls/emails weekly with terrible offers.
 

Flux

Member
Monster is pretty much garbage IMO. Vast majority of the jobs on there are crap sales or call center jobs. Plus they farm out your contact info. I haven't logged into my account in 2 or 3 years and I still get calls/emails weekly with terrible offers.
They used to be the go-to site. I don't waste my time with their posts anymore.

Strictly Indeed and LinkedIn for me.
 

Sora_N

Member
Networking/referrals will always the first dibs when it comes to interviewing/hiring.

I just got my new job which I'm starting in 2 weeks through contacting a past co-worker I had worked with. She said they had over 100+ applicant for that position most of which doesn't even have that experience or background.

Just wanted to say I actually got the job and they are paying me what I told them I expected. Lol I really owe my friend.

Starting on December 12, can't wait. Will be a lot tougher but I really want to learn more.
 

Gengahrrr

Member
Long post, but my anxiety of this whole interview process is getting worse by the day.

I'm currently interviewing for an amazing job after having gone through two rounds of interviews. The first interview was with the lady in charge of hiring for the position and it went better than expected. We talked for well over an hour, she went over all of the benefits of the position (personal and insurance wise) and asked me back for a second interview with the head of marketing that same week.

The second interview went well but I don't know if that was enough. This guys rigid personality, which the hiring manager warned me about, was completely opposite of hers. It threw me off at first but I thought I was able to recover and get him to smile and even laugh a couple of times. He was honest in telling me he saw potential, but didn't know how it would translate to certain projects. He even mentioned possibly starting me off as a contractor instead. Thankfully he's not making the ultimate decision but he is meeting with hiring manager to go obviously go over what he thought of me.

Regardless of how different in tone I thought the second interview seemed, the hiring manager asked me back for a third interview to meet with the team I would be possibly working with on a day-to-day basis. The only problem is, that was on a Friday and it's now Wednesday. I still haven't heard back from her to confirm the third interview. I know that doesn't sound like a lot of time, but the other time I was asked back was the afternoon after my first interview by email.

Should I be worried? Does it make any difference that she gave me her personal number so I could text her when I arrived at the building for the interview? I hate all of this second-guessing every little detail.
 

gwailo

Banned
I wouldn't worry too much. It's only been two business days at this point, and yesterday was the election, so people may have been out of the office to vote and whatnot. Give it until the end of the week (Friday) and then call or email the HR person - don't call on her personal cell phone though.
 

NeOak

Member
Welp, got the call from the hiring manager today. The recruiter said yesterday it was a phone interview, the manager said it was a phone screen.

Not very promising at all, lasted like 9-10 minutes, so gonna count that out.

Onwards :(
 

SmugFox

Member
Anyone in the Bay Area know of any good recruiters that help people that are trying to break into the tech field? Being self taught, and having no networks, it's been a real struggle with applying for jobs, and getting my foot in the door.
 
Ok so I printed out my resume for reference and to my horror realized one bullet point is slightly larger than the rest. (Thankfully the words detail-oriented are not in there) Could this have hurt my chances anywhere?
 

timewyrm

Member
Need some advice from UKGAF. I've been offered a job by a mate, but he's offered me well under minimum wage. I could really do with the job, but don't want to cause him any problems, but I want to do everything above board. Is there any way I can work as a sales assistant for him, but as a self-employed contractor, so that everything is above board so to speak ? I'm not asking for advice on how to pull one over on the tax man, just if there is any legal way to be a self-employed contractor working for him.
 
I just applied to 14 jobs tonight. Combination of around my area and also northern Virginia.

Also, that place that was supposed to give me a possible surefire job (since he said I was perfect for it and has tried a lot) might be bullshit. Been led on for the past 3+ weeks and the guy put the job back up online a day ago... I emailed him and I'm going to call him and get this shit settled. No more bullshit. Hell, he even told me they might of added something with VOIP for the job, but when it was reposted, there was nothing about VOIP.

EDIT: Make that 19 jobs tonight.
 
Phone interview went well! Was a basic check just talking about my experience and what I'm looking for. Next a technical skype interview, yikes
 

krpiper

Member
I have been at a small Credit Union for about 6 months and I wasnt super happy at it (it was very small with only 5 employees, myself included) I was doing loans there and you could tell that the traffic was just super slow. I started to keep one ear on the ground for a different job.

Anyway I found one. I will be the Academic materials Manager at the local college bookstore! I'll do doing the ordering of the textbooks and other supplies! It also came with a raise!

When I put in my two weeks late Tuesday Night at the credit union, I go in on Wednesday morning and they are like "gimmie your keys", which I guess is standard-ish for the financial industry, so I guess I just get a long weekend! Does anyone have any good retail management resources to read or anything?
 

gwailo

Banned
Based on my time being a manager at Target where a lot of the employees were high school or college students, get ready to be more of a babysitter than a manager. Just in general those sorts of jobs and the ages of the people having them will generate a lot of bullshit and flaky employees.
 
Just received a verbal offer for a job I had a recruiter contact me for about 3 weeks ago. I'm very excited as I wanted to work for this company 3 years ago before I landed my current job. I just went on LinkedIn, turned on the flag that lets recruiters know you are looking for a job, and over the past three weeks I've had about 8 legit inquiries.
 
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