Free Career and Job Search Advice

lergeo9 · Newbie Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 1 Career Advice: +0/-0

I am completely lost as far as finding a job. I have a BA from a major university, with a good gpa. I have applied for literally hundreds and hundreds of jobs. I have only had a few interviews and those did not go well. I have been to resume and cover letter writing workshops. I do not know what else to do. At this point I have 0 confidence and I think potential employers somehow pick up on that. I am desperate but I do not know what else to do. I have been out of school for over a year with no luck. I am shy, an understatement, I do not really know anybody I could network with. I thought about grad school but when I spoke to professors about recommendations none of them knew who I was because I never spoke in class.

lilo · Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject:

I recommend some career councelling. Why? If you feel you're hopeless...it doesn't mean that you actually are without hope. It means that at this moment, you're too worried and frustrated by tyour lack of success to see that things are not all in black. I believe you need a professionist to open your mind and eyes and to show you other possibilities to get out of this....blockage.
I'm not gonna tell you it is going to be easy, but it WILL get easier if you appeal to such a person.
You can find a councelling office in your former school/college.
Good luck and don't lose hope!

Randy · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:07 pm Post subject: Re: Lost

quote="lergeo9"

I do not know what else to do.

Start by writing a book and telling the whole world about your experiences! Yes, I'm completely serious. Yours is a perfect example of why y'all read so many negative and scathing remarks from me about working in this country.

If I'm wrong, tell me:

Growing up you were led to believe "to get a good job, get a good education," right? And you did that, right? You chose a "career," planned for it, went to the right school, got the necessary and required education, and now? Now what? "What the hell ELSE am I supposed to do?" Right?

That "what" you're facing is the real truth about getting and keeping a job in this country. It's less about your education and experience and your qualities as a person as it is about how well you play their silly-assed little games involved in getting and keeping a job.

At this point I have 0 confidence and I think potential employers somehow pick up on that.

Well, "they" done good. It's like taking a perfectly good dog and mistreating it until you've "broken its spirit." I swear to God I think that's the only reason corporate america exists--to dehumanize us all until we reach the point that most blue-collars feel when they talk about someone "giving" them a job. Slave, meet master. Master, this is slave.

Yes, they do indeed "sense" that. Just as they sense my obvious antagonism. And just as I correctly sense their arrogant, patronizing, and condescending attitudes toward me and folks like you.

I am desperate but I do not know what else to do....I am shy....

Believe it or not, I, too, am very shy. So here's what you do:

Get angry! Get really, really angry and just plain ol' fashioned pissed off at how the "game" of finding a job is more important than your education and credentials and even your humanity! In short, how dare these bastards purport to give us the standards of employment (i.e., "to get a good job, get a good education") and then simultaneously place the preponderance of importance on arbitrary and capricious matters such as the "appearance" of your resume, how you're "dressed" at an interview, and all the rest that goes into they do, for lack of a better way to say the thing, "judge a book by its cover."

It's no real secret (there's plenty of HR-types and experts who admit this and in fact I'm finding all sorts of wonderful "truth" on this website--the best one that exists, in my opinion, about "working in America") about this whole "hiring process" being a game. After all, when your resume gets a whopping TEN SECONDS worth of attention and it's acknowledged that the decision to hire/not hire is usually made with the first FIVE MINUTES of the interview, you've got to accept the fact that all of this is comes down to nothing more than:

"Does this employer like me or not?"

Now, ain't that a helluva thing? All that money for all that education--in your situation. All those years and all that experience--in mine. And it's no more complicated than we end up working where we met someone who "liked" us. What a damned mess!

So, all ranting aside, DO take the time to write, in journal-like fashion, all your experiences up to this point. Replay those interviews over and over. You'll remember sensing at exactly what moment the whole thing went south.

Then, as I just said, get really angry about it. If you don't know who Howard Beale is, rent the movie "Network."

And then do this:

Promote yourself to the "CEO" of yourself! Face it: YOU not are only the final "authority figure" in your life, you are the ONLY one with real power and control over your life. I.E., do NOT let these bastards intimidate you! Meet "them" on YOUR terms, not the other way around!

Listen: Do these folks not live for their presumed "authority" over others, their titles, and the such? Of course they do. Well, make them meet you on YOUR terms for a change. This is YOUR life we're talking about, not them and their stupid companies! Don't "be" interviewed. YOU interview THEM! You've already learned they don't "respect" you because you're timid and shy. Fine. Then make respect YOUR authority over YOUR life. In short, march in there as their EQUAL, not subordinate!

...I spoke to professors about recommendations none of them knew who I was because I never spoke in class.

That's why I'm glad I never went to college. Clearly it's just more of the same silly-assed little games...

You're going to do fine. You really do have to know that. These things are about time more than anything else. But you've worked damned hard to get where you are. Don't let them get away with ignoring or downplaying what you already have to offer them. And make sure they understand that if they don't hire you, it's THEIR loss, not yours!
[/quote]

Katja144 · Expert Joined: 22 Aug 2005 Posts: 177 Career Advice: +2/-0

You sound like me. I dread having to go back out into the job market in the next year or so. I think employers also sense desperation and that turns them off too:

I remember an interview I had that was going awesomely, the guy was telling me about apartments in the area (as I was moving to a new area,), etc. Then he asked me "how soon can you start?" I told him I was planning on killing two birds with one stone and looking at apartments while I was there that day, and that technically I could sign a lease that day and start by the next Monday. Suddenly he started backpedalling and "well...don't go get an apartment on our account" and such. Still polite and all, but...I didn't get the job. I don't know if he felt my answer was too desperate, or perhaps too cocky in that he thought I was assuming too much about getting the job, but that was definitely the turning point in the interview. And all just because I wanted to show that he wouldn't have to wait weeks for me to move or something.

lexa10881 · Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:45 pm Post subject:

There are a lot of options for you....

First, fire up your search again. You definitely cannot obtain employment if you have stopped seeking it. And in doing so, don't just try to refine one area of your search. Do a complete overhaul. Review some interview tips; brush up our resume and make revisions as necessary. Check these articles out for assistance:

http://www.cvtips.com/resume_cover_letter.html

http://www.cvtips.com/job_interview.html

Also, try to apply for a broader range of jobs than you have in the past. Sometimes, a job in your field is more difficult to obtain than one in a related area. Many employers just want to know that you graduated and look upon that as desirable. Last, work on your shyness....even if it isn't networking, trying to be around others in a social environment may help your shyness. Best of luck!

Join our Newsletter
CopyRight © 1999-2008 cvtips.com This material cannot be published under any form or condition.