Applying for jobs is exhausting and soul-crushing

Going through the process now, it truly sucks in every single way possible. I may not have the greatest degree, but i have something, and it feels even worse knowing all my friends that have engineering degrees arent finding anything either.

I find it absolutely ridiculous that every single job i have seen has some insane experience requirements. How the hell am i supposed to get experience if every single job requires it? I just graduated in December, and out of college i really dont want to be making some garbage salary. This entire process is a horrendous and crushing experience.
 
Necromanti said:
The bolded was one of the main reasons I quit my main job, though not as extreme. What would have been 15-20 minutes by car was an hour and a half to two hours one way by bus (with 2-3 transfers).

Would you be working from home or at a different location? Or will you have a car? Because it's not worth it for your mental health and general level of energy.
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I'd be working there and if I get it I'd better take it otherwise I'm going end up on the street. My mom said I have one month to find a job or she's kicking me out.
 
Tryxx said:
Going through the process now, it truly sucks in every single way possible. I may not have the greatest degree, but i have something, and it feels even worse knowing all my friends that have engineering degrees arent finding anything either.

I find it absolutely ridiculous that every single job i have seen has some insane experience requirements. How the hell am i supposed to get experience if every single job requires it? I just graduated in December, and out of college i really dont want to be making some garbage salary. This entire process is a horrendous and crushing experience.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the club. I've been on the hunt since graduating in 2013. It's tough. Gone are the days of mass hiring. "We'll hire you, but we're not willing to train you." I have years of volunteer experience in my field, but since it's not paid experience, I'm good as nothing. -_-
 
I find it absolutely ridiculous that every single job i have seen has some insane experience requirements. How the hell am i supposed to get experience if every single job requires it? I just graduated in December, and out of college i really dont want to be making some garbage salary. This entire process is a horrendous and crushing experience.
Click to expand...

Remember, those requirements are more hopeful wishes than anything else. I might wish for a job with a pension. Ain't going to happen. Apply any ways unless it is absolutely out of your league. Don't apply for a level three tech position if you have never worked an IT job. I'm good with computers, but I'm not a programmer. I would not apply for a programming position. Absolutely, apply for those assholes that ask for 1 or 2 years experience for an entry level position. They know they are full of shit.
 
Blasian Persuasion said:
I'd be working there and if I get it I'd better take it otherwise I'm going end up on the street. My mom said I have one month to find a job or she's kicking me out.
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I'm sorry. :( That's rough. Do you have any other relatives or friends you could stay with for a while? And definitely keep searching even if you do get that job.
 
CreepingFear said:
Remember, those requirements are more hopeful wishes than anything else. I might wish for a job with a pension. Ain't going to happen. Apply any ways unless it is absolutely out of your league. Don't apply for a level three tech position if you have never worked an IT job. I'm good with computers, but I'm not a programmer. I would not apply for a programming position. Absolutely, apply for those assholes that ask for 1 or 2 years experience for an entry level position. They know they are full of shit.
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Thank you for the advice. Since i have just recently graduated ( i still dont even have access to my official transcripts until a about 10 more days). I have been applying as much as possible. I am seeing numerous jobs in my field with a salary that i will take, it is just a matter of me getting that lucky draw. I am not completely inexperienced as i did have an internship that relates directly with what my degree is, but im not exactly sure how much that really helps me with no paid experience in my field.
 
Im going to my first meetup next week in nyc. position im looking for is ui ux designer so this event will have tons of them. I dont have a business card, will a resume be fine? also should i dress up like an interview? Should I add to my resume that I attended it? Any other advice besides networking and talking to as much people as possible?
 
Tryxx said:
Thank you for the advice. Since i have just recently graduated ( i still dont even have access to my official transcripts until a about 10 more days). I have been applying as much as possible. I am seeing numerous jobs in my field with a salary that i will take, it is just a matter of me getting that lucky draw. I am not completely inexperienced as i did have an internship that relates directly with what my degree is, but im not exactly sure how much that really helps me with no paid experience in my field.
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You can't be too picky for a starter job. They might require you to work shitty hours, as my first job did. Now, I'm working Monday thru Friday 8-5. But, one day you'll call the shots. One day, you'll have the pick of the litter as far as jobs goes, but for now you'll want to fill out as many applications as possible. The best hitters in baseball are .300 or in other words don't get on base 70 percent of the time. All it takes is just one application out of the dozens you'll fill out.
 
CreepingFear said:
Yeah. To put things in perspective: Today, I had to fill out some paper work at the staffing company office. There was another person in the room who was talking to the recruiter. The recruiter offered him like $12 or $13 an hour to build some parts for the company. I thought about how lucky I am to be making $20 an hour to be in an office working with computers. Call center will open your eyes though. There is a lot of, lot of dumb people out there, more than you might realize.
Click to expand...

I'm actually a supervisor in a call center, and I will second this comment. I love the call center environment though, their are so many awesome people you get to meet, and because of the high turnover rate, the landscape is always changing.

The cool thing is that there are a lot of opportunities to get promoted within the company, and dealing with other campaigns really gets you a sort of network through different companies. I work for Target currently, and am constantly conversing with high ranking people because of the dynamics we work under. I have a great relationship with them so it's definitely helped me out for the betterment of my career.

I'd recommend any sort of call center experience for people who are looking for temporary/permanent jobs. Usually very easy to get, and are very easy to do, as long as you have the mental fortitude of sitting on computers for 8 hours a day. Also, easy to get promoted from within the company.
 
Oh man... Just came in this thread and saw people talking about call center jobs.

Wew!!! Man, the memories.

I will say this: There are certainly very "colorful" people you get to meet. Especially since we had no dress code at the time. People working there certainly had quite the imaginations. Wew lawd.

Our client at our call center was SPRINT. Like another poster above me stated, you will come away from the job with A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF JUST HOW STUPID PEOPLE CAN GET ON A PHONE CALL. I SWEAR TO GOD YOU WILL KNOW.

Ahem*

Anyways, the money is good for what it is. The breaks you get feel like nothing. When you are on the job, you are working. Hard. When you are not on the job, you are on break... Thinking about work. It is so mentally draining at times that you just want to sit there in silence. You will need a full night's sleep (8hrs) or ELSE. I promise you won't make it here long unless you sleep well.

Taking days off, calling out, and holidays? Forget it. They don't exist. You work Xmas, you work Thanksgiving, you work, you work, you work. Think you will take off for a planned date? Guess what? You now work that day. And if you manage to get a day off? You better make it up!!!! That's right. You MUST hit 40 hours a week. Sometimes if your call center wasn't meeting goals, they would "enforce" mandatory overtime. ....yea

Meeting monthly goals. You'll get them. This is actually pretty easy. You take a couple of calls a day (our minimum at the time was around 65 calls/day). Your handle times (time on a single call), had to be 2.5 minutes or less. Not too bad.

The big one was that we were also tier 1 tech support (as well as billing). Oh my god the idiots. How in the world do you call tech support ON THE PHONE YOU NEED HELP WITH? You wouldn't believe how many times that would happen.

Me:"I need you to do a reset on your phone pls".

Cust:..." Hmmmmmm I can't do that."

Me:..."why?"

Cust: "...imm on it now".

Me: ...

All in all. Money is money. It is a great "in between" job that teaches you customer service skills and communication skills (and fucking patience) lol.

You learn things there that will stay with you forever.
 
My first non-retail job was in a call center doing tech support for a brokerage website. Guiding seniors using WebTV trying to even do simple things like looking up account numbers was challenging to say the least. But most of them were genuinely appreciative of the help, so that was nice. I never minded the "dumb" people, it was the ones that were assholes that got to me.

My next job was more complex (working with account transfers) and so many of the internal employees and ones from outside companies were such horrible pricks, and it was made worse that we were understaffed so people were holding for an hour. People would be crying in their cubes after getting off the phone. I was getting migranes and developing an ulcer, so I ended up quitting. The pay/benefits were good, but not worth the stress.

As was said above, they are a good stepping stone if you can stick in long enough. I viewed my time on the phones as white-collar boot camp. You're forced to learn a lot and deal with a lot in a short period of time.

How vital do you guys think it is to have a LinkedIn account
Click to expand...

I think it depends on the industry. I work in brokerage and I got my last couple of jobs through LinkedIn (one was via applying to a job through it and the other a recruiter contacted me on it). One nice thing about it is that the job listings on it are legit, it's not like Monster where most of the listings are BS sales positions or temp stuff. If you are applying for jobs online, a lot of companies allow you to import your LinkedIn profile to fill out part of the application, which is nice.
 
I work in a call center for a small tech startup (I hesitate to even call it a center, there are only 4 of us) and it is fantastic. Fun work environment, great clients, no artificial limits or mandates. Part of it is because of the industry we work in I'm sure (the people calling in are not the general public, but professionals), and the start up culture of the business, but if you can find a job like this, it's a great college/just out of college job. I already have a job lined up here after I graduate.
 
Tryxx said:
Going through the process now, it truly sucks in every single way possible. I may not have the greatest degree, but i have something, and it feels even worse knowing all my friends that have engineering degrees arent finding anything either.

I find it absolutely ridiculous that every single job i have seen has some insane experience requirements. How the hell am i supposed to get experience if every single job requires it? I just graduated in December, and out of college i really dont want to be making some garbage salary. This entire process is a horrendous and crushing experience.
Click to expand...

Lol...you are JUST out of college..You will be making garbage salary until you actually have some real world experience...

College isn't some fast lane ticket to a six figure job.
 
Jason's Ultimatum said:
I thought about a call center job dealing with credit card issues, and the pay starts at 32,000, but I dunno.
Click to expand...

Call center jobs are actually very good starting points if you hustle and build strong relationships.

I have a friend that started at the bottom and is now a VP. Took a while.

Call center lackey,
Call center supervisor,
Sales Manager,
VP,

She just worked above her job descriptions, learned to brownnose (Don't hate on this. It's essential in the corporate world) and the senior leaders took notice.

This was a smaller company though. It's hard doing it at huge companies that outsource their centers.

Gaz_RB said:
I work in a call center for a small tech startup (I hesitate to even call it a center, there are only 4 of us) and it is fantastic. Fun work environment, great clients, no artificial limits or mandates. Part of it is because of the industry we work in I'm sure (the people calling in are not the general public, but professionals), and the start up culture of the business, but if you can find a job like this, it's a great college/just out of college job. I already have a job lined up here after I graduate.
Click to expand...
Yep, the key is to work for places with in-house call centers that are smaller.

You get to work with other departments during down times and develop other skills.

Don't look at is the ending point, but a starting point.
 
JetForceGemini said:
Yeah just the pros and cons of it
Click to expand...

I can guarantee it's like any other mobile sales gig.

Pros:
-If commission and hourly based, you have the opportunity to make a decent amount of money if you work really hard and know how to hustle.

Cons:
-Best Buy will make you take advantage of people who don't know any better to push overpriced products and services
-High stress because of management wanting you to hit quotas and customers being customers
-Little time off due to business needs (read: we're too cheap to hire enough people to cover the store)
-Variable pay for slow months which can really hurt

Some of these things will vary from store to store and pay structure.
 
Had another interview today with a local fast food joint. I don't think this one went well. The interviewer seemed disinterested when he found out I didn't have any restaurant experience and I've recently been doing office-type work, which I'd think he already knew since he had my resume.
Went to the temp service I had worked that one day for to collect my check and to see if they had something else for me since they never called me back like they said they were. That place is unorganized as fuck. Woman forgot I emailed her my transcript and resume and about some shit she offered me before and I got to wait to talk to somebody else for a skilled position next week because she wasn't in today. I've almost had enough from them.
 
JetForceGemini said:
Yeah just the pros and cons of it
Click to expand...

Pancakes said:
I can guarantee it's like any other mobile sales gig.

Pros:
-If commission and hourly based, you have the opportunity to make a decent amount of money if you work really hard and know how to hustle.

Cons:
-Best Buy will make you take advantage of people who don't know any better to push overpriced products and services
-High stress because of management wanting you to hit quotas and customers being customers
-Little time off due to business needs (read: we're too cheap to hire enough people to cover the store)
-Variable pay for slow months which can really hurt

Some of these things will vary from store to store and pay structure.
Click to expand...

Wait is Best Buy Mobile something separate? My brother just worked in the phone section of a Best Buy store.
 
J.EM1 said:
I have years of volunteer experience in my field, but since it's not paid experience, I'm good as nothing. -_-
Click to expand...

This the stupidest shit ever: companies that don't consider volunteer experience as valuable. I get it if it's once a month type of volunteer work but if you volunteer everyday or for many hours, that shit is basically a job...just unpaid. I think when i was jobless and applying i'm sure i wasn't getting calls because my previous experience was just volunteer work. Shit sucked. Even now i only have this one paid job to put on my resume. I still put my volunteer work tho.

So just when i thought i was out of research, i'm being reeled back in. I was ready to say no to the position I applied but the doctor seems really interested in me and actually called me to convince me. Looks like i may take this job afterall.


If it's not the right fit, how bad would it be for me to quit after 3 months? I don't want to force myself in a bad environment again like my current job. And i don't want to miss other opportunities.
 
Next week, I have an initial phone interview with a company that I really want to work for, so I'm excited about it. Will spend the next few days cramming things I had used to study in college, several years ago, back into my brain, heh. The interview concerns more about the company, the job, and my personality, though, so hopefully I won't get asked many technical questions.


ItIsOkBro said:
How vital do you guys think it is to have a LinkedIn account
Click to expand...

While certain areas value LinkedIn more than others do, I think it's very good to create a profile and put yourself out there nonetheless. I wish we had a GAF group on LinkedIn (maybe under a pseudonym to look professional). :)


oni_saru said:
So just when i thought i was out of research, i'm being reeled back in. I was ready to say no to the position I applied but the doctor seems really interested in me and actually called me to convince me. Looks like i may take this job afterall.

If it's not the right fit, how bad would it be for me to quit after 3 months? I don't want to force myself in a bad environment again like my current job. And i don't want to miss other opportunities.
Click to expand...

May I ask how you arrived at 3 months? You seem to know already, but catching up on someone's research as if your own takes a while.
 
kgtrep said:
May I ask how you arrived at 3 months? You seem to know already, but catching up on someone's research as if your own takes a while.
Click to expand...
It was a suggestion from my father. He said if it doesn't work out here after three months, then to quit.


Oh and good luck with your interview!!!
 
Necromanti said:
I'm sorry. :( That's rough. Do you have any other relatives or friends you could stay with for a while? And definitely keep searching even if you do get that job.
Click to expand...

I have other relatives though I'd feel weird going to any of them and it will probably create beef between my mother and whoever I go to. I also don't want to burden my friend who is also on the struggle and yeah, I'm going to keep aiming high.
 
Blasian Persuasion said:
I have other relatives though I'd feel weird going to any of them and it will probably create beef between my mother and whoever I go to. I also don't want to burden my friend who is also on the struggle and yeah, I'm going to keep aiming high.
Click to expand...

Where are you located at if you don't mind me asking? Also use craiglist, I seem to get most luck from there.
 
I'm in NY. I got promoted at my retail job mid-Nov, moved to bigger store with some attendence issues and called out a few shifts at my pt deli clerk job at a supermarket so my shop wasn't without staff for the shift.

Long story short, deli suspended me mid-Dec told me contact union person and meet him and store manager and whatever for me to continue working there. Had made a lot in OT from retail, store killed it in Dec that I got top 10 in region so I might have won a $250 bonus. Tried reaching the union rep today.

I have people saying get the deli back and resign vs being terminated because there is a record that'll show I was fired. Is that true? Would it hurt my odds for town/state/federal jobs.
 
Mr. X said:
I'm in NY. I got promoted at my retail job mid-Nov, moved to bigger store with some attendence issues and called out a few shifts at my pt deli clerk job at a supermarket so my shop wasn't without staff for the shift.

Long story short, deli suspended me mid-Dec told me contact union person and meet him and store manager and whatever for me to continue working there. Had made a lot in OT from retail, store killed it in Dec that I got top 10 in region so I might have won a $250 bonus. Tried reaching the union rep today.

I have people saying get the deli back and resign vs being terminated because there is a record that'll show I was fired. Is that true? Would it hurt my odds for town/state/federal jobs.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure previous employers aren't able to disclose why you left/were let go. They can only provide dates you worked there and position held.
 
Bacon said:
Pretty sure previous employers aren't able to disclose why you left/were let go. They can only provide dates you worked there and position held.
Click to expand...

Thought so. Besides that, I don't even include that job/position on my resumes or linked in page since it doesn't highlight skills I'm trying to showoff for positions in my career field.

Should I continue not worrying about it?
 
Bacon said:
Pretty sure previous employers aren't able to disclose why you left/were let go. They can only provide dates you worked there and position held.
Click to expand...

Mr. X said:
Thought so. Besides that, I don't even include that job/position on my resumes or linked in page since it doesn't highlight skills I'm trying to showoff for positions in my career field.

Should I continue not worrying about it?
Click to expand...

Legally speaking, yes, they can only verify your employment. In reality, during a phone conversation that isn't being taped, anything can be said.

"Did Mr. X work there? How were they?"


It's technically illegal for employers to even ask what you do on your free time because if you say, for example, church, then they might not hire you because you might be unwilling to come in on a Sunday during crunch time.
 
Are CV review services a waste of money or are they useful? I put my CV together with help from a training agency that my company out me touch with as part of my redundancy package so I thnk its at least OK. But I'm not getting as many positive responses as I'd hope from companies and roles that should be a good fit with my experience and skills. So I wouldn't mind someone else helping to see if it needs rewriting, but have no idea if any of these companies are any good.
 
Bacon said:
Pretty sure previous employers aren't able to disclose why you left/were let go. They can only provide dates you worked there and position held.
Click to expand...

nel e nel said:
Legally speaking, yes, they can only verify your employment. In reality, during a phone conversation that isn't being taped, anything can be said.

"Did Mr. X work there? How were they?"


It's technically illegal for employers to even ask what you do on your free time because if you say, for example, church, then they might not hire you because you might be unwilling to come in on a Sunday during crunch time.
Click to expand...

Honestly, this really depends on the location, and I would not give a blanket statement like that on GAF. In the US, the employers can ask what you do on your free time and they can generally disclose how you performed and the reason you left--here is a list of different state rules:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/employee-rights-book/chapter9-6.html
 
After I moved, I left my old job behind and thought it would be easy to find something new, especially having lots of varied experience and a college degree.

Well I eventually found something, but the pay isn't livable, so I'm not out on my own again yet.. I've been thinking about looking for anther job again, but even this job I have.. The only reason I got it was because I knew someone who worked there.. I actually just applied on a whim.

It really is who you know.. Now that I think about it, almost all the jobs I've ever had I got because I knew or became familiar with people already working there... Groan.
 
Passed my polygraph test and now the city is checking my references. I have been hounding my friends to call back the interviewer and all I can do now is hope it all happens in a timely manner. I don't want to panic, but if the last two people haven't gotten done by Thursday then I will start sweating it.
 
Polioliolio said:
After I moved, I left my old job behind and thought it would be easy to find something new, especially having lots of varied experience and a college degree.

Well I eventually found something, but the pay isn't livable, so I'm not out on my own again yet.. I've been thinking about looking for anther job again, but even this job I have.. The only reason I got it was because I knew someone who worked there.. I actually just applied on a whim.

It really is who you know.. Now that I think about it, almost all the jobs I've ever had I got because I knew or became familiar with people already working there... Groan.
Click to expand...

Did you still go through a regular interview process since they knew you had a connection? Or did you let them know that you know someone there? I always wondered how these go when you have connections.
 
Lol at all this call center talk.

The good ol' days. The statements about the amount of dumb people you'll encounter are 1000000% accurate.

It was the easiest, most dumb, stupid, yet rewarding job in a weird way.

So frustrating at times. I would go home certain days thinking it was all one big sham, like people were fucking with me for fun and couldn't possibly be that stupid. Boy, was I wrong.

I still work for the same company, got promoted to a different job, but man, I do not miss the phone calls at all but am glad I did it.

The best part about it was the people I worked with and when the phone didn't ring. When the phone rang, it was the worst job ever.
 
Syphon Filter said:
Did you still go through a regular interview process since they knew you had a connection? Or did you let them know that you know someone there? I always wondered how these go when you have connections.
Click to expand...

I went in for 'an interview'. They talked to me for 10 minutes and offered me the job. They knew I was a friend of someone working there. It was very casual. I didn't even sign anything..
 
Applied to 22 places so far this week. 4 rejections so far.

I feel like Bart at the chalkboard:

"I feel that my qualifications are a solid match for your position and would look forward to talking to you about moving forward."
 
What's everyone's thoughts on cold-calling small to medium-sized businesses for employment opportunities, even if they aren't advertising any openings? I just came across this suggestion a day or so ago. Found it to be quite interesting. Haven't yet employed the idea though.
 
badboy78660 said:
What's everyone's thoughts on cold-calling small to medium-sized businesses for employment opportunities, even if they aren't advertising any openings? I just came across this suggestion a day or so ago. Found it to be quite interesting. Haven't yet employed the idea though.
Click to expand...

Every single time I've tried that/heard of someone trying it, it's resulted in getting a pretty hard "No" from whatever hiring manager it is. This is outside of retail, mind you. Within retail? Eh, go for it.
 
So I received a offer for a remote installer role for a small copier company. This will be my first IT position, I previously worked for a cable company as a field service technician for about a couple years. Before that, I graduated from a tech school for PC Support & Network Administration a couple years ago, with just a A+ cert hanging off my belt.

Question for you guys, I receieved a offer for $36/year for this position and want to know if that is low or just right? Thanks!
 
Amagon said:
So I received a offer for a remote installer role for a small copier company. This will be my first IT position, I previously worked for a cable company as a field service technician for about a couple years. Before that, I graduated from a tech school for PC Support & Network Administration a couple years ago, with just a A+ cert hanging off my belt.

Question for you guys, I receieved a offer for $36/year for this position and want to know if that is low or just right? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't know the industry well, but unless the hours go over 40, I would be okay with that salary. It also depends on where you live. I live in Oklahoma and started at about 32k/year (advertising graphic design) which I was totally happy with. Now I'm at 38k/year.

I'm actually probably about to be joining you guys. I've been building my music composition/production freelance business for about a year while maintaining a full time job. The income is starting to flow in a little now, so I feel comfortable ditching the full time job that I hate and moving into a less stressful part time position so I can have more time to build the music business. Hopefully the part time job market will bring me less competition!
 
After 8 rejections, I've been offered my first phone interview!

Of my 25 applications this week (about to apply to 5-10 more today), still haven't heard back from 14 of them.

Lessons learned so far:
  • Each application takes me about 40 minutes from start to finish. This surprised me because I thought I could do it much quicker, but it's so depressing and monotonous and difficult to write an enthusiastic cover letter for each one
  • Applying to jobs that were posted within the last 24 hours gives faster responses
  • One internal referral is probably worth 10 cold applications. I should hustle and go to networking events
 
Fury Sense said:
After 8 rejections, I've been offered my first phone interview!

Of my 25 applications this week (about to apply to 5-10 more today), still haven't heard back from 14 of them.

Lessons learned so far:
  • Each application takes me about 40 minutes from start to finish. This surprised me because I thought I could do it much quicker, but it's so depressing and monotonous and difficult to write an enthusiastic cover letter for each one
  • Applying to jobs that were posted within the last 24 hours gives faster responses
  • One internal referral is probably worth 10 cold applications. I should hustle and go to networking events
Click to expand...

What industry are you in?
 
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