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Applying for jobs is exhausting and soul-crushing

Justin

Member
I had a funny thing come up with a recruitment agency a bit ago. I live in Minnesota, FYI.



And in the addendum, they ask the following:



Seems like a really roundabout way of asking the same question that was banned.

Did you actually go in for an interview? The fist email says they cant ask for that information till after the interview. I am a recruiter for a large EMS provider and I dont ask for that till after making a verbal offer.
 

FLAguy954

Junior Member
Both jobs will offer a different kind of stress: dealing with the public. Good luck with that

I understand that but I was just asking which if the two would be the least stressful. I'm guessing Panara Bread overall as Chipotle seems much more fast paced in general.
 

Pancakes

hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
Sigh, got passed up for a government position that I had multiple recommendations for since I had to apply near the end of their hiring cycle. Would've been a really great fucking job something something I'm actually passionate about instead of my current internship.

Feels real bad man...

On the slightly bright side they said it was very close decision and that if I apply again during the fall hiring cycle I would have a much higher chance of getting hired. So at least I got that going for me.
 

Pastry

Banned
Just had an in person interview today and it was really anticlimactic. It was the 3rd interview and I talked to 6 people over 4 hours. It's so hard to read people some times and you have no idea what the competition is like.

Geeze, what type of position is it for?
 

LaNaranja

Member
After nearly two months of applying to all sorts of nonprofits, government agencies and some other human resources positions I finally got hired after an interview today.
Part time at Babies R Us.

Yay.
 

Nether!

Member
Coming up next week on my one-year anniversary of unemployment! Congratulations!

Had the oddest interview/rejection experience this week though.

Applied for a writing job and was brought in for an initial interview last Thursday.
The interviewer seemed very ill-prepared, without any real questions for me. Fifteen minutes in she left to go see if another person in the office was available to talk with me as well.
She was and sat down to read my resume as we all sat in silence.
I answered similar questions as before and then left - with the manager telling me they would make a decision in regard to moving on with the interview process the following week, which consisted of a writing test.

This Monday I was emailed by the executive assistant of the company's North American CEO several timezones away, who apparently wanted to have a Skype interview with me, I had no idea this would be part of the process, but of course I agreed.

Later that afternoon the HR person from the local office messaged me to set up a second interview with the same two people I had met with last Thursday. Again, I agreed, of course.

Yesterday, I received cancellation of the Skype interview.

Today I received this message from the HR manager:

Hi XXXXX,

I do apologize, but we must cancel the interview set for tomorrow. Due to unique circumstances, we are going to hold off on the final in-person interviews for the time being – I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I hope to be in touch by this Friday with an update on next steps.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,

xxxxxxxx

Not sure what to think on this one, the whole process seemed strange.
Not expecting to hear back Friday haha.
 

StayDead

Member
Another 'Thanks but no thanks' yesterday. :(

I guess every 'No' is a step closer to a 'Yes.'

I'm throwing out my CV to every job that looks like a fit to me right now and oftentimes I just haven't heard back. I've had one interview in 4 months, but a lot of interest in my CV. I understand there's a lot of people applying for entry level IT jobs, but this is getting horrible for me. I'd rather just get a no than not hear anything at all.
 

Dimefan3

Member
I'm throwing out my CV to every job that looks like a fit to me right now and oftentimes I just haven't heard back. I've had one interview in 4 months, but a lot of interest in my CV. I understand there's a lot of people applying for entry level IT jobs, but this is getting horrible for me. I'd rather just get a no than not hear anything at all.

My career choice/skillset is a lot more niche (Audio production in Radio) so it's a little more of that old 'who you know' scenario...*sigh*
 
Been unemployed for a month, looking everywhere that is related to my chosen field.

Sending the CV to companies is as good as throwing it into a dark hole.


People just don't even get the courtesy of saying "we received it, you may or might not get a reply, thank you"

Edit: I'm a Computer Systems Engineer, can do both programming and IT. No dice on either. I'm starting to think that the last company i worked in might be giving bad references about me. I had zero contact with the only HR person the company had: he is a drunk whom you have to drink with him and buy him drinks so he can give you promotions or even good treatment.
 

Woffls

Member
Skype interview
Two online tests
Skype competency interview
Face to face interview
Presentation in front of seven people

All that, then I get rejected at the last stage because I'm not enthusiastic enough.... enthusiastic about fucking ERP who gives a shit? I am so pissed off about this one.

Am I really expected to show genuine enthusiasm about shit like this? I don't get it... I'm barely enthusiastic about video games.
 

StayDead

Member
I'm throwing out my CV to every job that looks like a fit to me right now and oftentimes I just haven't heard back. I've had one interview in 4 months, but a lot of interest in my CV. I understand there's a lot of people applying for entry level IT jobs, but this is getting horrible for me. I'd rather just get a no than not hear anything at all.

Once again complaining on the internet seems to have done something, because I got an agent call me today saying that a company I applied for wants to see me and I've got an interview on friday. This is only my second interview in the 4 months I've been looking for work, I really hope I can nail this.
 

Slo

Member
Skype interview
Two online tests
Skype competency interview
Face to face interview
Presentation in front of seven people

All that, then I get rejected at the last stage because I'm not enthusiastic enough.... enthusiastic about fucking ERP who gives a shit? I am so pissed off about this one.

Am I really expected to show genuine enthusiasm about shit like this? I don't get it... I'm barely enthusiastic about video games.

Yes. Yes you are. Nobody wants to work with a guy who is always annoyed that you're asking him to do something, and can't be bothered. If you couldn't even give a shit during the interview process, then how are you going to be 6 months in?
 

Acrylic7

Member
Also format is everything. My resume:

image.jpg

Did anyone else get this template from Dr.Feel Good? Can anyone share?
 
Not sure what to think on this one, the whole process seemed strange.
Not expecting to hear back Friday haha.

I guess this was for a very small company? After being out of work for a year anything must be appealing but that company sounds like a mess. Hopefully you can get something with a better organized group.
 

Woffls

Member
Yes. Yes you are. Nobody wants to work with a guy who is always annoyed that you're asking him to do something, and can't be bothered. If you couldn't even give a shit during the interview process, then how are you going to be 6 months in?
I gave a shit about the job and interview (£100+ in travel expense should've indicated as much), just not the fun magical world of ERP. Do people generally not make a distinction there? Am I expected to have devoted my life to ERP, attended seminars and read about it in my spare time?

How people see me in interviews has no reflection on how I am at work, and it's just making me want to give up entirely. I was very enthusiastic about my last role, even after a year, but that counts for nothing on the day.
 

Nether!

Member
I guess this was for a very small company? After being out of work for a year anything must be appealing but that company sounds like a mess. Hopefully you can get something with a better organized group.

It was actually for Ipsos, the largest company I've ever interviewed with.
Definitely still a mess though.
 

Agent Icebeezy

Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
This is me except minus the trying in my current company. I've got my first interview since starting the job hunt, it's been around two weeks, this Thursday. I can tell they're trying to fill this fast and I've got a couple of more days to prepare. Super nervous since this is my first interview back in the game but I've got an in-person interview so can't complain!

From the looks of the thread, I am farther along in my career than others. I am currently a senior contract analyst in a big national hospital network. I would like to stay with the company but my options are limited because I'm going upward to director of departments based on my level of experience and education. Been up to three in the applying for jobs. I can't do this half assed so I grind. Good luck to everyone out there.
 

Agent Icebeezy

Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Did anyone else get this template from Dr.Feel Good? Can anyone share?

I like that layout. I used to use something that features many things here. I suspected that my old resume didn't pass the scanners so I still have a clean resume, I removed my tables and other t.
 

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
I'm happy in my current role, but there's a fantastic opportunity in another department where I work that is available. I'm going to be redoing my resume to apply. I've been working in different roles in the same division for the last nine years so I have a lot of ground to cover in my resume. I have a couple questions though...

- Is it going to be best to cover every single role I've had here (it's been 8), or just use my current title and explain the previous experiences through my competencies?

- What's the best way to detail those competencies? I'm a college dropout (but I'm back in school and set to graduate in a year) so I want to demonstrate that I have well above the required experience for the role (as I do). I just don't want the resume to be too long. Any layout suggestions are greatly appreciated. All I have right now is a one page resume I did for school that has job titles and dates (that I got an A on, even though it's terrible).
 

Voror

Member
I think I've reached a point where I'm somewhat terrified to even apply to anything since I just assume it's pointless and don't know what I can do that would actually get me some sort of response let alone a interview. I honestly get thrilled whenever I get a rejection notice since at least on some level that's an acknowledgement that my stuff might have been looked at.

Part of it I think is that I'm utter shit at writing cover letters. I look at what I have and then look at guides about writing them and I pretty much do all the things you shouldn't.

But I just don't know what I'm supposed to write. I don't have any inspiring stories or huge accomplishments to enhance myself. Just that I'm reliable and that's a useless trait. I can't talk myself up well or be witty.

My resume probably still doesn't help either. Most of my experience remains in food and retail.

I'm planning on going for a job at a warehouse for Diageos as my cousin and his wife work there. I know I won't get it though as I have no experience with that sort of thing.

Also going to a convention next week that has several panels themed around my field that I'm hoping can give me some advice as well as a sit down with a professional of the company running it that will offer advice and go over your work. But I can't bring myself to be hopeful.

My family told me to take resumes down there (it's in Austin) and shop around to see if u could find something, but can you even do that anymore? Just walk in some place with a resume looking for a job?

I almost feel I shouldn't have wasted time and money going on something like this since part of it is supposed to be a vacation for me. I feel guilty for doing this when I could be working more hours at my jobs and trying to figure out some way to get an interview somewhere.

Apologies for rambling.
 

SaskBoy

Member
Does anyone have any tips for finding temporary work? I graduated in May with a B.Sc in Environmental Engineering and I've pretty much decided I want to go for a M.Sc starting September 2016. Ideally I would like to find temporary/contract work in the engineering/science field, but I'm not having much luck. Most companies I look at are hiring for permanent employees.

I guess if I don't find anything soon I'll start looking at volunteer opportunities, but that's another thing I'm not sure how to look for.
 

entremet

Member
Does anyone have any tips for finding temporary work? I graduated in May with a B.Sc in Environmental Engineering and I've pretty much decided I want to go for a M.Sc starting September 2016. Ideally I would like to find temporary/contract work in the engineering/science field, but I'm not having much luck. Most companies I look at are hiring for permanent employees.

I guess if I don't find anything soon I'll start looking at volunteer opportunities, but that's another thing I'm not sure how to look for.

Volunteer work is dead easy to find. Just look up nonprofits in your city and start applying. The bigger ones have volunteer offices.

I gave a shit about the job and interview (£100+ in travel expense should've indicated as much), just not the fun magical world of ERP. Do people generally not make a distinction there? Am I expected to have devoted my life to ERP, attended seminars and read about it in my spare time?

How people see me in interviews has no reflection on how I am at work, and it's just making me want to give up entirely. I was very enthusiastic about my last role, even after a year, but that counts for nothing on the day.

Interviews are a performance art. Think of each as a performance and prepare for them in the same way.

It's tough losing out on an offer during the final rounds. I've been there, take the feedback with care. Don't ignore it. You're lucky to have gotten such valuable feedback. Many employers don't even do that anymore.
 

Izayoi

Banned
Try to keep your heads up, guys. I was really struggling not too long ago but I stuck with it and was eventually rewarded for my dedication...

If anyone is in the Greater Seattle Area and looking for work, check out this resource:

UW Hires

Currently 750+ postings, many of which have been up for a while. UW is always looking for eager people, and even if you end up scrubbing toilets, you will be getting at the very least a livable wage and fantastic benefits. UW Medicine in particular is a great place to work, and they treat their employees VERY well.

I would recommend creating a profile, listing your resume, and then just applying for anything that looks even remotely interesting, even if you don't meet the minimum requirements. Chances are you will hear back regarding at least ONE of the positions you apply for.
 

Pastry

Banned
Forgot to update this earlier but I had a huge interview with a big bank for an analyst position. Had three seperate interviews. First was just with the recruiter, that went okay. Next two were with the VP of the department and the Assistsnt VP. Both went pretty well, the second was much longer and I knocked that one out of the park. We ended up just shooting the shit and talking about different projects we had worked on, she made a comment on her way out that she enjoyed the interview so fingers crossed on this one. I should be hearing more this week or next.

I'm just going to act like I didn't get the job so I don't get my hopes up and keep on applying in the mean time.
 
Well the big boss visited the office this morning to inform everyone that they're closing the office. Which is no surprise considering how many contracts we've lost.

When I joined 6 years ago there was nearly 400 people working here, now there's currently 10 full time staff left. I'm surprised I've lasted so long tbh.

On the bright side I did get a phonecall on Tuesday from someone who came across my CV asking if I would be interested in job 10 minutes away from my house for less hours but more money than I'm currently on. Fingers crossed the application side went okay and I'll get an interview
 

Servbot24

Banned
If anyone wants a job at a software company in Austin, TX, PM me. We hire based on potential rather than experience (though the latter doesn't hurt). And I get a sweet referral bonus for recommending new hires. ;)
 

Quazar

Member
So my 6-month internship ends in September, and not sure if it'll be extended. I'm a nontraditional, so I risked a good bit taking it as they said they'd like me to end of year. But contract states otherwise. I have a co-op interview this week which pays same and much closer to home. I'll talk to boss at current if I get offer at other. Still applying to others in the meanwhile.
 

JBourne

maybe tomorrow it rains
It took about 6 months, but I finally landed a job I like. Salaried, my own office, health insurance, 401k. Pretty great for a guy who hasn't even gotten his AD yet.

This is the third time I've gotten a job after applying to a Craigslist ad. Apparently CL is good for more than just prostitutes and cheap furniture.
 
Applied to a few different Apple jobs and will probably be waiting a couple weeks to hear anything from them. Already got turned down for a sales job at AT&T even though I'm more than qualified. One of the hardest things to do is keep your head up when your in a dead end job and can't get any leads for something better.
 

Paracelsus

Member
I never worked in a hotel before, so I think it's understandable to see if I'm good enough for the job.

And no, it's not paid.

How skilled are the tasks you're going to be dealing with? Beware as it could be a way to sucker in. Regardless of whether you're good or not, they kick you out and replace you with someone else, at no cost. Trust me, it does happen.
 
Just had an in person interview today and it was really anticlimactic. It was the 3rd interview and I talked to 6 people over 4 hours. It's so hard to read people some times and you have no idea what the competition is like.

Sheesh, what are you applying for? President of the United States? What kind of position possibly requires talking to that many people over 3 interviews unless it's like a CEO or similar level position?
 
That seems shady. Is this in the U.S.?

How skilled are the tasks you're going to be dealing with? Beware as it could be a way to sucker in. Regardless of whether you're good or not, they kick you out and replace you with someone else, at no cost. Trust me, it does happen.

I'm from Germany.

Today I worked in housekeeping, tomorrow in their restaurant and on Wednesday at their reception. It's all legit and they even let me sleep in their guest house for free.

If everything works out well I can sign a contract as a trainee on Wednesday.
 

Zips

Member
Thanks for the advice, this is what I need to hear right now. How would one go about finding volunteering opportunities?

Sorry for the late reply.

Explore different organizations that often use volunteers. Community organizations, non-profits, and schools are common ones.

I started mine while at my university's career centre. Went there initially for the services, and found out about something coming up they needed volunteers for. Helped with that, and volunteered for a volunteer leader role (there were so many volunteers for this they needed to put us in teams and have group leaders). They liked me so much they asked me to help out with some other things coming up they needed volunteers for. While doing this I found out about other things at the same school and went for the ones that interested me and had skills I wanted to develop further.

I also volunteered for membership with committees, and got involved with their activities. All these things were relevant to my current job - not directly but through transferable skills like event coordination, team leadership, project development, and communication. It also helped put a nice reputable and recognizable name on my resume, and gave me a few references and networking opportunities I could use as well.

These skills and experiences supplemented my existing ones, which helped me get a contract position I was interested in, which then led to permanent contracts, and now my permanent full-time one.

Except he says he got paid a token amount for some of the jobs.

The guy can clarify his statement if he wants.

I am not saying offer to do jobs for free that you would normally be getting paid for. All the things I did were not regular positions someone would get paid for, they were things that only volunteers were utilized for. The one or two things I got a token amount for (classified as an honorarium if I recall) were for the advanced leadership positions within that volunteer structure.

You seem to take it as me saying to offer yourself up to a company as a free worker to replace a paid one. Totally not saying that.
 

Coolluck

Member
Woo! Am close to getting an accounting position. Waiting on background check at this point. Bad news is I'll be moving to Minnesota. I'm from Texas. This must be how people on death row feel like.

As it's been stated before, it's ok to take a job that's not in your field. Internal transfers was my way in. Can't really depend on it but if nothing else less unemployment looks better on your resume.
 

Pastry

Banned
Bad News: I don't have the job yet
Good News: I have a 2nd round interview this week

Super nervous, this is definitely the biggest interview of my career. I got along great with the two managers i already interviewed with so that's reassuring.
 
Another week gone by, another week of non replies.

I can't even score myself an interview, WITH connections. I keep getting the same, "Hey, thanks, I'll forward your resume along to the right people!" And just...radio silence after that.

Patience is running so, so thin. Don't know what to do anymore.
 
Another week gone by, another week of non replies.

I can't even score myself an interview, WITH connections. I keep getting the same, "Hey, thanks, I'll forward your resume along to the right people!" And just...radio silence after that.

Patience is running so, so thin. Don't know what to do anymore.

True story. Same here. It's a real shitty world out there. My frustrations with unemployment for nearly six months are starting to manifest into bad thoughts. I'm worth something good, but I've not been given much chance to prove it in a professional environment.

I got lucky that a co-graduate from school let me know of a few openings for graphic designers for the semester on campus, so I'm gonna pull together my portfolio and, with a good word from her, apply. Hopefully that will get me some professional momentum going. If nothing in the next two or so months, desperate measures.
 
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