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[CreepingFear]

I hope you weren't being serious here, but man congrats. I've been lurking this thread for some time. Happy for you.

Everyone else keep your head up.

Maybe I was using a little bit of hyperbole. I was pretty negative and depressed for a while though. There was a moment this later summer when I was miserable at my current or should I say soon to be former job when I was thinking of a painless way to do it. This was also coming off of losing my childhood home, being disowned by my grandmother, and being beaten up and almost killed by some crazy neighbor who was found dead the day after he attacked me.

 

[Sun Drugs]

Not sure if it is allowable to do this on this forum, I'll edit if necessary. The company I work for (located in the Inland Empire, SoCal) is looking for a graphic designer who knows how to run a plotter. Making signs, decals, banners, stuff like that. PM me if interested.

 

[ElTopo]

What sucks is that I have this customer service job (I'm not disclosing what exactly it is, it's not demeaning or anything, just in case they search for things like this) and I was confirmed two weeks ago and we're still waiting for a criminal background check to go through. I have no record whatsoever. Good news is that it's part time so hopefully, if everything goes through by tomorrow my start date could be Thursday or Friday. If not, that means it's going to be next week and I have to wait an additional week to get paid. This is a problem because my car insurance is due on the 1st. I have overdraft on my bank account and my plan was to go over my limit and then pay that off Friday when I get paid. Now waiting another week to get my paycheck fucks everything up but I absolutely need to have my car insurance paid. The cops in my town are nazi's and if one cop checks my license plate and sees I don't have insurance I'm done. Hopefully I can work something out with my bank, if not I might lose the account and may have to go with a crappier bank.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

hey guys I have currently started to look for jobs myself, but I'm wondering should I just have one resume or should it be tailored depending on the job I'm applying for or does it even matter?

I worked in manufacturing/under management but went to school and have done freelance for digital media. So if I apply for a management/professional type job I'm sure they don't care about what freelance animation work I've done.. right?

 

[anonymous_abc]

hey guys I have currently started to look for jobs myself, but I'm wondering should I just have one resume or should it be tailored depending on the job I'm applying for or does it even matter?

I worked in manufacturing/under management but went to school and have done freelance for digital media. So if I apply for a management/professional type job I'm sure they don't care about what freelance animation work I've done.. right?

The basic frame of our résumé can stay the same, nevertheless it makes sense to tailor the amount of detail you put to each job according to the position you are applying to.
I.e. when applying for management position highlight relevant experiences and keep the freelance work to a minimum. That doesn't however mean not to mention your freelance work at all. Hell I'm sure it takes lots of management skills to freelance. e.g. client acquisition, contracts, people skills etc...

 

[hastethedav]

Altogether have sent out about 20 resumes over the past 2 weeks and haven't heard anything back. Does anyone know any places to get a resume reviewed and criticized? I have my BA in business admin and marketing and almost 6 years of experiences as an operations coordinator running a commerce site and website. I feel like I am not hopeless but it's starting to feel that way

 

[anonymous_abc]

Altogether have sent out about 20 resumes over the past 2 weeks and haven't heard anything back. Does anyone know any places to get a resume reviewed and criticized? I have my BA in business admin and marketing and almost 6 years of experiences as an operations coordinator running a commerce site and website. I feel like I am not hopeless but it's starting to feel that way

Right here‽
Either straight up post it, anonymise it, or PM it to helpful members.
I'd be happy to take a look at it. Mind you I know little about US-specific résumé traits, most will be global though.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Sigh. I think I have gone as far as I can go. The last flicker of hope has gone out. I get paid on Thursday. Prob kill myself. Maybe I can find the peace in death I never could in life. Apparently I was just never good enough.

More rejection emails today. I just walked off from my retail job this morning, said I wasn't feeling well. Still haven't heard back on the Time magazine interview so I guess that fell through and there is no follow-up contact info.

2171 job applications and not one damn offer. How is that possible?! Professors and recruiters say my resume is great. Practice interviews went great. How is this possible??? Every night still stuck in this studio apartment with the neighbors running water and playing music. Banging cabinets endlessly.

Did I sit through all those fucking math classes and bullshit for six years for nothing?! How much more do I have to endure?! I did everything I was supposed to do!! I worked two full-time jobs while going to school full-time because I kept telling myself it would pay off in the end. And here I am still stuck in retail getting scheduled mornings and nights so I can never get any damn sleep, forced to be polite to rude scumbag customers. Couldn't even pay my damn car payment this month, let alone my student loans. All those months I spent applying to jobs and nothing to show for it. If I had done nothing, the result would be the same. How much rejection can a man take? I don't want to be some bitter old man dying of disease. God knows I tried.

Dude, that sucks, and I am truly sorry that it sucks so bad for you. I can't offer an advice except that it fucking isn't fair sometimes but perseverance will pay off. Just keep going on.

 

[Cuban Legend]

So I graduated high school with my A+ Certification in 07, graduated from a Tech School with an AAS Degree in Comp. Networking & Internet Technologies in 09, middle of the market crash. Tons of buddies already in IT lost their jobs back then, thrust into the job market alongside me and made it impossible for me to find decent entry level work for my knowledge level. I was on the way to certifying for Net+ and CCNA.

Fastforward to today, I've kept myself afloat with computer and tech-related side-jobs through word-of-mouth, part-time subcontractor work, and my TESOL certification as an English Tutor. but now I'm looking for full-time entry level IT work in my local school district because I'm still 25 living with my elderly parents and they need me to earn a more regular salary money to make ends meet, plus I've always wanted to do IT for a living. So I passed a District-administered IT test with 80% on my first try without reviewing any of my old certifications books and I qualify for work as IT in a K-5 school.

Here's what I'm looking at: [Job Description and Pay info in this Link] They offer entry-level IT jobs for External Applicants for Elementary schools, K-5. Middle/High are for Internal Applicats who have previous years experience in the field. I'd be a 10-month employee, with the same days off that the kids have, 6 weeks summer, 2 weeks christmas, 1 week thanksgiving, 1 week spring break, holidays, etc. That position is to work alone, 1-per school making sure all the tech on the software and connectivity side is working. the only moderately advanced thing I was asked about was familiarity with Active Directory (easymode lol). Hardware fixes and upgrades and new installations are done by other District IT-Support workers. It's a position where I'd not be micromanaged, pretty much left to address the various support tickets sent by staff to me through an NEW eSupport ticket system that was implemented in July of 2014. Healthcare and Pension/Retirement plans, etc, all the perks. Their last IT guy was there for 4 years and is moving up to a Middle School, sounds like great job security (which is what i need right now) as long as I know my stuff.

I've gotten past the Round1 Panel interview (Principal, ESE Coordinator, current IT guy). and I'm called earlier today to be going in tomorrow morning for Round 2 with the Principal again, this time the Asst. Principal too.

Anything I should ask tomorrow in Round2's Interview?Anything I should have in mind to bring up at this point if I haven't already, in general and from an entry-level IT perspective?
Round1 Interview Notes I made:
-during Round1 the principal mentioned (in passing) that they were still trying to get the teachers to use the new ticket system (which was implemented July of 2014, the old system was retired June 2014). this system is centralized along with the District-wide IT-Support Desk that I would personally escalate issues to if I can't, so it'd be very useful if it was being used. Before these systems issues were made known over e-mail or phone, but I think this is important to allow me to keep pace with the last IT guy of 4 years in this new environment for me. I'd like to offer for me to train the teachers and other non-instructional staff how to use it, maybe on a teacher-work-day if they have no classes to take and are free? I have the patience to teach from my experience as a Tutor and I've made that known, but I don't want to sound like I'm demanding they embrace this new support ticket system that will make my job way easier before I even have the job. What do?
- ESE coordinator asked if it was okay for me to be assigned other duties outside my job description on a seldom basis, one example she gave was watching the kids for 20 minutes at lunch in the cafeteria, which I had no issue with. But Idk if this is just one tiny thing in a pool of many more things outside my job description that i would be asked to do. I don't want to be taken advantage of, but I want to be there to do my best to help the teachers who are teaching the leaders of the future, so... idk if I should ask what "other" duties i might have.

Any other tips appreciated, IT-GAF.

 

[Blablurn]

Haha


Had an interview on Monday. Went there at 1PM. Took me a 1h drive.

I arrive there, all motivated. And that dear lady tells me the position is gone since the morning.

Thanks for not even calling.

 

[anonymous_abc]

Anything I should ask tomorrow in Round2's Interview?Anything I should have in mind to bring up at this point if I haven't already, in general and from an entry-level IT perspective?
Round1 Interview Notes I made:
-during Round1 the principal mentioned (in passing) that they were still trying to get the teachers to use the new ticket system (which was implemented July of 2014, the old system was retired June 2014). this system is centralized along with the District-wide IT-Support Desk that I would personally escalate issues to if I can't, so it'd be very useful if it was being used. Before these systems issues were made known over e-mail or phone, but I think this is important to allow me to keep pace with the last IT guy of 4 years in this new environment for me. I'd like to offer for me to train the teachers and other non-instructional staff how to use it, maybe on a teacher-work-day if they have no classes to take and are free? I have the patience to teach from my experience as a Tutor and I've made that known, but I don't want to sound like I'm demanding they embrace this new support ticket system that will make my job way easier before I even have the job. What do?

This is something that you will hardly be able to take care of before you actually get started. I think it makes sense to highlight the value of the system and that you will do everything in your power to get people to use it.

- ESE coordinator asked if it was okay for me to be assigned other duties outside my job description on a seldom basis, one example she gave was watching the kids for 20 minutes at lunch in the cafeteria, which I had no issue with. But Idk if this is just one tiny thing in a pool of many more things outside my job description that i would be asked to do. I don't want to be taken advantage of, but I want to be there to do my best to help the teachers who are teaching the leaders of the future, so... idk if I should ask what "other" duties i might have.

Any other tips appreciated, IT-GAF.

I think it's fair game to ask about what and hoe many other duties you can expect.. Ultimately I would say you will just have to wait and see. If they end up giving you too many side gigs, you will have to try to deal with it then.

Haha


Had an interview on Monday. Went there at 1PM. Took me a 1h drive.

I arrive there, all motivated. And that dear lady tells me the position is gone since the morning.

Thanks for not even calling.

The worst.

 

[ElTopo]

Haha


Had an interview on Monday. Went there at 1PM. Took me a 1h drive.

I arrive there, all motivated. And that dear lady tells me the position is gone since the morning.

Thanks for not even calling.

Damn. Shittiest thing to do.

 

[Vivalaraza]

Haha


Had an interview on Monday. Went there at 1PM. Took me a 1h drive.

I arrive there, all motivated. And that dear lady tells me the position is gone since the morning.

Thanks for not even calling.

Sorry about that Bla

 

[Blablurn]

Thanks guys : (

Wasnt sure how to react at first. So in the end I decided to just keep it cool and smile it away. She told me she would keep my file in their registry but that sounded more like Bla Bla.

 

[Vivalaraza]

Thanks guys : (

Wasnt sure how to react at first. So in the end I decided to just keep it cool and smile it away. She told me she would keep my file in their registry but that sounded more like Bla Bla.

You would have been well within your rights to say something, in fact you probably should have.

But yeah, it would achieve very little! Keep trying!

 

[Assanova]

Altogether have sent out about 20 resumes over the past 2 weeks and haven't heard anything back. Does anyone know any places to get a resume reviewed and criticized? I have my BA in business admin and marketing and almost 6 years of experiences as an operations coordinator running a commerce site and website. I feel like I am not hopeless but it's starting to feel that way

If you are near your old college, go to their career services department. If they won't do it, they will most likely point you in the direction of alumni resources that you can use.

 

[cacildo]

If anyone knows of any IT jobs in the Toronto area, my brother is looking for something.

I dont live in toronto, so i think is also valid to ask: is there any job agency or some easier way to find jobs over there?

Not sure if it is allowable to do this on this forum, I'll edit if necessary. The company I work for (located in the Inland Empire, SoCal) is looking for a graphic designer who knows how to run a plotter. Making signs, decals, banners, stuff like that. PM me if interested.

Dont know if is allowed but its pretty nice of you

 

[ElTopo]

I just found out the I.T. job I was up for declined me purely because I don't have an Associate degree. Even though I have tons of experience in I.T. and worked for an Ivy league school it doesn't matter, this one company wants a degree.

I may be up for another I.T. job at a school, gotta' contact the recruiter. So, still waiting for the customer service job to start on top of this.

 

[brerwolfe]

I have to wait an additional week to get paid. This is a problem because my car insurance is due on the 1st.

This might be obvious, but I'll throw it out there anyway. Call your insurance company and see if they have a grace period. A lot of places give you up to a week before there's any kind of late fee. And with auto insurance, they need you more than you need them

 

[brerwolfe]

I don't want to be taken advantage of, but I want to be there to do my best to help the teachers who are teaching the leaders of the future, so... idk if I should ask what "other" duties i might have.

I think this is the wrong attitude to have. I think it's more important to express that you're willing to do whatever they need because you're a team player and you understand that small teams require individual roles/expectations to bend from time to time.

 

[King Gilga]

1

 

[Brerlappin]

God almighty, ive been shitting bricks all day. Waiting on a callback from my 2nd round interview on Thursday, i was told they wanted a "quick chat" with me today at 1. So i talked to them and basically it was like they just wanted to discuss this one thing i said int he interview that was potentially a bit of a fuck up (wont go into details), but it was like they were giving me a second chance to un-fuck up what i had said.
The recruitment agency person ive been dealing with met me for coffee afterwards and she says shes currently negotiating salary with them, but ive been absolutely shitting ever since that phone call as i have a nasty habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and fucking up at the final hurdle really is my style lol

I never got around to posting an update, but i got the job in the end And the agency who arranged it even managed to get me a pretty good wage increase too. Normally agencies are kinda dicks in my experience (i went to the agency who placed me in my current job when things were at their absolute worst, told them i was miserable in the place and it was going from bad to worse, and could they help me look for something better, they straight up told me no, we wont help), but the woman who arranged all this for me was such a huge help i actually sent her some flowers after it was all done and dusted

Such a relief. I start on the 11th, so i have 11 days to just chill and play vidya games and hit the gym in between. So happy to be getting out of this fucking shitshow of a job im currently in. The asshole who gave me the most hassle in the 7 months i was here is still pressuring me to give him a "6 months report" on all the work ive done here since i started. The guy isnt even my boss or even my superior, just a little Hitler who thinks hes everyones boss. Like fuck will he get anything out of me between now and my last day on Friday. Fuck this company to death. This is the one time im happy to burn bridges when i leave as ill never look for a reference from these cunts, and im taking the job off my resume as soon as im done here

 

[Shagwell]

I've basically given up any hope of being noticed on Indeed or Monster because they seem like hellholes. I've been having a bit more luck with Craigslist lately, insofar as that I've at least been receiving occasional responses. Has anyone used it before? Some positions' descriptions do look like they were written by high-schoolers sometimes. Should this be an immediate red flag?

 

[ElTopo]

I've basically given up any hope of being noticed on Indeed or Monster because they seem like hellholes. I've been having a bit more luck with Craigslist lately, insofar as that I've at least been receiving occasional responses. Has anyone used it before? Some positions' descriptions do look like they were written by high-schoolers sometimes. Should this be an immediate red flag?

I've gotten a couple of I.T. jobs through Craigslist. You start to notice how the bots post. Usually it's something along the lines of "Make 500 a week from home!" or "No experience required." or something like that. If it's legit they provide quite a bit of information and may or may not tell you what recruiting agency they work for.

If it's anything where they email you a time to contact them and give you a code and mention if you'd like to go to college or anything like that it's a scam.

Just use your discretion.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

I have a question about my LinkedIn profile. It just dawned on me that I never listed that I'm trying to get into the field of whatever. Where would I list that on my profile?

Anyone guys?

 

[Marcus]

Anyone guys?

Isn't there a 'Bio' section on LinkedIn profiles. I think it would be OK to mention what field you are trying to get into as the last paragraph/sentence.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Anyone guys?

Occupation: DANGER ZONE

I mean, duh!

I blame your avatar for that, but that's basically where you put it.

 

[Cuban Legend]

Welp, GAF, after the Round2 interview, the Principal and Asst. Principal called in the IT guy and asked me to wait outside. When they let me in again, they offered me the job. I took it. spent the next 4 hours chilling with the IT guy taking notes on everything he said, seems like a SUPER chill IT position in every aspect, only aspect i might have to get used to things is learning peoples names, they were very friendly and warm. I have to wait 2 weeks or so to get cleared by the district, background and drug tests probably, before I start.

He even offered to have me come in on Friday, (his last day there) all day to go through everything in detail so i can study up in the 2 weeks prior to starting on what software or systems ill be maintaining and troubleshooting.

Then I went home and talked to a buddy who's the manager in the district's Electrical/and plumbing division and he said he knows everybody at that school, it's one of the main school's he services with the 15 guys working under him. He didn't even pull a favor for me, so i got in on my own merit, how cool. He says I'll get to see him from time to time so i wont get lonely at first being a new guy, he's been in that position for years so he's got tons of experience and connections to help me learn about office politics in this district and whatnot. All i gotta do is keep my patience about me, smile, and study my IT stuff and I should be all set with more than double the money ive ever earned in my life.

Next step is to save up so my parents can retire as soon as possible with my help, they deserve it.

This is something that you will hardly be able to take care of before you actually get started. I think it makes sense to highlight the value of the system and that you will do everything in your power to get people to use it.

well turns out that school is one of the oldest in the district and lots of teachers there have been in the system for 25-20 years and they don't like change so much.

The current IT guy showed me his system which is basically having others email his district email with "Technical Issue" in the title and he set a filter for that to go into a folder in his gmail. I'm going to go with that for now to appease everyone as they get to know me and before the end of the year I'll offer classes during the summer so they can learn to use the eSupport ticket system, if they want to. And hopefully over time more people will adopt it as they see how it makes my life easier than dealing with a disorganized email inbox. I hope it goes well.

I think it's fair game to ask about what and hoe many other duties you can expect.. Ultimately I would say you will just have to wait and see. If they end up giving you too many side gigs, you will have to try to deal with it then.

technically in the job description it says i perform duties as assigned so i have no issue setting up parking cones, directing traffic a bit before school starts or watching kids in the lunchroom or wherever.


So... if any IT gaf has any tips for being an IT guy at a school, please PM me or let me know in here, I could use all the help i can get in this new environment.

I think this is the wrong attitude to have. I think it's more important to express that you're willing to do whatever they need because you're a team player and you understand that small teams require individual roles/expectations to bend from time to time.

this is true. thanks for the info, I'll certainly try at adopting an attitude to help the school's staff with all I can.

 

[RoadHazard]

What sucks is that I have this customer service job (I'm not disclosing what exactly it is, it's not demeaning or anything, just in case they search for things like this) and I was confirmed two weeks ago and we're still waiting for a criminal background check to go through. I have no record whatsoever. Good news is that it's part time so hopefully, if everything goes through by tomorrow my start date could be Thursday or Friday. If not, that means it's going to be next week and I have to wait an additional week to get paid.

To look on the bright side, you at least do get paid weekly. In Sweden everyone gets paid monthly, by the end of the month, for the previous month's work. So if you started working February 1st you wouldn't see a cent until around March 25th.

I know that doesn't help you, but yeah!

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

Last time i wrote was that i got a part-time in IT job for around 25 hours a week. So i was looking for something on the weekend, but my boss called me on my way home today and asked me if i wanted to do it full time - 40 hours. I asked him if i can call him back tomorrow and he said sure thing, no problem.

Now i´m kinda thinking about it. On the one hand, that free time right now is pretty neat, but i wanna move into a new apartment (with a pretty big downpayment and i REALLY do not like taking credit at the bank. I never have and don´t want to start now) so i gots to get payed. And the pay isn´t something insane compared to what other people regard as high, but for me who was either unemployed, doing internships or part-time, this amount of money is unreal to me.

Mo-Thu 9 hours and Fr just 4. So that is kinda nice too. I think i´m gonna take the full-time week. But man, i´m already fucked after three 9 hour days lol.

Now to find out how i´m actually supposed to pay my taxes, since this is my first freelance work. I think it´s once a year, but better call the tax office soon.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Had two job interviews today for some on-call education work.

The first one went awesome. The lady said she was going to ask me a series of 10 questions and then stopped me halfway through the second and said, "You know what, that's enough. We're going to hire you."

Second one was with this guy that had a very tough-guy interviewing style. Right off the bat he sat down and started looking at his watch, and reminded me twice that I could work for them IF they decide to call me back. Then, he said, "well, to be honest, we don't always call people back anyways."

It was pretty funny because I hadn't encountered that kind of deliberate psychology routine in a while. I just kept smiling and let him do his thing. He even hit me with a purposely difficult and open ended question right away.

Seriously, we were in the room thirty seconds and he goes, "Alright, in two minutes or preferably less tell me your entire life story and how anything you experienced relates to what is going to make you good for this field of work. Go."

And I just nailed it. Answered every question well and didn't flinch.

So at the end of the interview, he just pushes his paper aside and does a complete 180 turn. He outright tells me I'm hired, and he wants to invite me to the training session next week. Then he compliments the qualities I displayed during the interview and even offers solid career advice to earn a full time position in the district.

Feeling good, hope the winning streak keeps going.

 

[Cuban Legend]

Last time i wrote was that i got a part-time in IT job for around 25 hours a week. So i was looking for something on the weekend, but my boss called me on my way home today and asked me if i wanted to do it full time - 40 hours. I asked him if i can call him back tomorrow and he said sure thing, no problem.

Now i´m kinda thinking about it. On the one hand, that free time right now is pretty neat, but i wanna move into a new apartment (with a pretty big downpayment and i REALLY do not like taking credit at the bank. I never have and don´t want to start now) so i gots to get payed. And the pay isn´t something insane compared to what other people regard as high, but for me who was either unemployed, doing internships or part-time, this amount of money is unreal to me.

Mo-Thu 9 hours and Fr just 4. So that is kinda nice too. I think i´m gonna take the full-time week. But man, i´m already fucked after three 9 hour days lol.

Now to find out how i´m actually supposed to pay my taxes, since this is my first freelance work. I think it´s once a year, but better call the tax office soon.

from my years as a sub-contractor in IT, i save at least 25% of every penny I earn because I end up paying about 12% in taxes as a sub-contractor, plus i get to save some money on the side.

 

[endre]

Right here‽
Either straight up post it, anonymise it, or PM it to helpful members.
I'd be happy to take a look at it. Mind you I know little about US-specific résumé traits, most will be global though.

Hey! I have a question, if you can provide some insights. Do you work in HR? What do you think about using Europass CVs?

I believe they are very good and I can use the template without any hindrance. In my mind the big thing is the cover letter, when it comes to adding a personal touch. These should be tailored to the job position, one is actually applying for. Explaining why one feels he/she would suit the position.

p.s.: You offered me generously help once, hopefully you can help out here as well. ;-)

Spoiler

I remembered your avatar

 

[ThankYouDaletech]

I need some GAF career advice.

Planning on going back to school for an associates in General Sonography but not sure that it's worth it. As it stands I'm a college drop-out with mostly retail on my resume so I won't find anything other than more bad retail jobs, and have nothing to lose. On the other hand, I'd be spending 1.5 - 2 years and 10-15k only to graduate with an associates degree in my early 30's. I don't think I'll be able to compete with 21 year olds with four year degrees and lower pay expectations.

Seems like I'm career-fucked either way, you guys!

 

[Assanova]

I'd do it. I was given another job offer today based on my associate's degree. It has done more for me than my Bachelor's degree ever did. The good thing about community colleges is that they usually only offer degrees in fields that are actually employable and they have relationships with the local employers.

I need some GAF career advice.

Planning on going back to school for an associates in General Sonography but not sure that it's worth it. As it stands I'm a college drop-out with mostly retail on my resume so I won't find anything other than more bad retail jobs, and have nothing to lose. On the other hand, I'd be spending 1.5 - 2 years and 10-15k only to graduate with an associates degree in my early 30's. I don't think I'll be able to compete with 21 year olds with four year degrees and lower pay expectations.

Seems like I'm career-fucked either way, you guys!

 

[anonymous_abc]

Hey! I have a question, if you can provide some insights. Do you work in HR? What do you think about using Europass CVs?

I believe they are very good and I can use the template without any hindrance. In my mind the big thing is the cover letter, when it comes to adding a personal touch. These should be tailored to the job position, one is actually applying for. Explaining why one feels he/she would suit the position.

p.s.: You offered me generously help once, hopefully you can help out here as well. ;-)

Spoiler

I remembered your avatar

I'm not in HR. Not even close really, I'm an engineer.
Imho you will have to pass several hurdles before anyone will actually read your cover letter.
The CV is much easier to parse quickly and will in most cases be significantly more important to the first impression than the cover letter.
Never heard of europass before, the examples I find via image search honestly don't look all that great to me. They try too cram too much onto one page.
I have my CV in Word and Pages it's also a tabular CV and has evolved over time. My CV actually has a semi cover page, with my personal data and a short profile naming the main points about me, my career path and wishes in a few bullet points.
These bullet points I will always taylor to the position I am applying to e.g.
'Looking for new challenges in exactly the field that the opening is for'

Keep in mind there probably isn't one correct way of doing it, and every HR-rep will have other expectations depending on his or her own background and education.

 

[MC Safety]

I'm job hunting, and I've come to despise sites that use Jobvite.

Jobvite is a Web site employers and applicants can use to track applications. The thing is, if you're a job seeker, the site lists every position you've applied for. So you get to revisit, say, the job you wanted in 2011 but did not get.

Talk about user-unfriendly. Jobvite doesn't let you delete old job applications.

 

[PeskyToaster]

I'm about to graduate as a CS major and History minor (the minor was more or less for fun). I've put some feelers out last semester but I'm about to hit it hard soon. I got my resume all ready to go. Kind of excited, kind of nervous.

 

[CreepingFear]

Today is my last day at my current job. My new job starts Monday. Feels good.

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

Things......

Asked if i can work Mo-Thu, 9 hours a day, 36 hours a week and Friday off. And so shall it be.

I actually am, somewhat happy. Took me almost 18 moths to find a job in my field, and this started as just a part-time job, but now it´s basically a full-time job, pay is good, and i actually kinda like it too. Which just blows my mind, as i hated everything i did before. I wake up in the morning and don´t immediately calculate in how many hours after getting up, that i´ll be back home.

So to you other job hunters out there, don´t give up and good luck to you.

 

[endre]

I'm not in HR. Not even close really, I'm an engineer.
Imho you will have to pass several hurdles before anyone will actually read your cover letter.
The CV is much easier to parse quickly and will in most cases be significantly more important to the first impression than the cover letter.
Never heard of europass before, the examples I find via image search honestly don't look all that great to me. They try too cram too much onto one page.
I have my CV in Word and Pages it's also a tabular CV and has evolved over time. My CV actually has a semi cover page, with my personal data and a short profile naming the main points about me, my career path and wishes in a few bullet points.
These bullet points I will always taylor to the position I am applying to e.g.
'Looking for new challenges in exactly the field that the opening is for'

http://i.imgur.com/EZFRPJY.png[img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/B9FZVkC.png[img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/NMr7Jrx.png[img]


Keep in mind there probably isn't one correct way of doing it, and every HR-rep will have other expectations depending on his or her own background and education.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for replying. I am checking what Austrian and German employers prefer. Since you seem to be active in this topic and probably have some relevant experience, I thought to ask for your advice.

By Europass CVs, I meant [URL="https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates-instructions"]these[/URL]. My question is, if by your experience, DE/AT dislike if one uses a template from here?

[I]EDIT: On one job I was involved in selecting candidates for a position. I did not care if people used templates if it was actually good in structuring info. I would skim through it, see if there is any relevant info for the open position. Only then would I proceed to the cover letter if there is any. These steps seem ok to me. Now, on gaf, and other american sources one gets the impression, that the cv should immediately stand out by design. When I was hiring, the standout design was never important for me. We were not in the graphical design business. So, like I tried to say, I am curious if this seems to be the case in German speaking parts of Europe. [/I]


Would you please elaborate on the hurdles you mentioned?

 

[ShOcKwAvE]

After weeks of procrastinating, I've finally gotten a few cover letters and resumes out there. It's amazing how much better I feel just getting it done. Sure I may not hear anything, but it motivates me and makes me almost eager to send out more the next day.

I've been on the consulting bench for about a month now and I'm convinced my company is inept at finding positions for me. The last time I was on the bench (5.5 years ago), it lasted over two months. I enjoyed getting paid to basically do nothing, but this time I'm sick of it and I've just spent all my time job hunting (albeit with the procrastination until now). I did a few days of non-billable work for a pursuit they're working on, but communication has been terrible on their end and I haven't gotten any feedback on the work I did.

I tell everyone it's like dating. The more you do it, the more comfortable and confident you get. You learn what you want and what you don't want, and it's ok if one party doesn't like the other, because there's always another around the corner.

 

[CreepingFear]

It's kind of funny that with today being my last day at my old job and starting my new job on Monday, I just got a call from one of the companies I applied for back in December. I called him and fished him for details. It would be a 4 month contract vs the 1 year contract I have now. $16 vs the $14 I'll get now but no benefits which I'll have now. I believe I applied for that job on December 18th, so it shows you how long some companies can take. Don't give up guys.

 

[Sun Drugs]

Does anyone know how useful an associate's degree in Computer Science would be? I'm seriously considering going for one at a community college. I currently have a BS in Geographic Information Systems I got in Summer 2013, but could not find a job with it. I am working making signs at a plastics shop and it just isn't what I want to do. I'm feeling very ambitious about doing something else with my life, I want to learn programming. Ideally I want to work part time at my current job while I go to school but I am not sure if an associates degree would put me in a sufficiently good position to land a job. I am also considering getting a second BS but that is a larger leap to make.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[the_firewithin]

well ive officially received an offer sheet for a job. everything is conditional upon drug test and background check.

the drug test isnt a problem but i do have a misdemeanor from about 5 years ago so im really hoping that doesnt bite me in the ass like ive always assumed

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Haha


Had an interview on Monday. Went there at 1PM. Took me a 1h drive.

I arrive there, all motivated. And that dear lady tells me the position is gone since the morning.

Thanks for not even calling.

This place I worked a year or so ago. They hired this guy, he worked there for like 3 days. On the third day they decide they're firing him.

They tell the recruiter from the firm they went through this is happening, he offers to let the guy know. They say they will tell him.

Monday. Guy drives over an hour through LA traffic for work. He comes into the office and the HR director asks him (rudely) what he's doing there. He answers that he's there for work. The HR director says "They didn't tell you?". And then he finds out he has been fired and that the recruiter was supposed to tell him (even though the recruiter was told not to).

Some companies are just shitty.

 

[Syphon Filter]

well ive officially received an offer sheet for a job. everything is conditional upon drug test and background check.

the drug test isnt a problem but i do have a misdemeanor from about 5 years ago so im really hoping that doesnt bite me in the ass like ive always assumed

Out of curiosity how long did it take from the day of the interview to receiving the offer sheet?

 

[the_firewithin]

Out of curiosity how long did it take from the day of the interview to receiving the offer sheet?

From initial phone interview to offer about 2 and half weeks.

Had a phone and in person panel interview

 

[DiddysKongQuest]

Had my Interview a couple of minutes ago and it went really well.

I was in the company's library with 3 excecutives. They were all really nice and the atmosphere felt more like a round of smalltalk than an interview.

They suddenly switched the language to english in the middle of the it, which caught me off guard, but I think I quickly adjusted to it.

Now I have to wait 2-3 weeks for an answer :/

 

[Junior Mint]

I hope this helps someone. The best strategies I've found are:

1. WRITE ALL YOUR INTERVIEW NOTES DOWN! Re-use these and build on them. Helps you remember what you did at your previous jobs and helps you with not having to start from scratch for every interview you take. I like to structure my notes in 3 categories: a) general knowledge about my role/career path (i.e. let's say accounting principles, business knowledge), b) projects/software I've worked with in previous jobs, c) behavioural questions

2. Write down as many behavioural interview answers as you can and do it in STAR format. Especially important is explaining the "R" part - how what you did led to a good outcome. This website that I found was really good with giving me ideas on how to approach this: http://careerconfidential.com/how-to-answer-interview-questions-series/ You don't need to answer every one of them but do maybe 20 and in almost all cases, you can re-appropriate them to answer other questions. Practice rehearsing these so it sounds natural.

3. Always do research on the company you're applying for. Know why you want to work there and how YOU can contribute to the company. My strategy is to always bring up something recent in the news (some sort of new project, initiative, etc.), philanthropy/corporate social responsibility, work culture, and something about the company at large (leader in some industry, how they differentiate themselves). Then you explain how these all match up with your interests/capabilities/working style, etc.

I really hate doing interviews and I'm not very good at them but these have really helped me calm myself and show confidence.