Dear Job Market: Please stop penetrating me there

The BBQ Pit
21

And people bemoan the current lack of culture in today’s society…

I don’t want to sound harsh, but this was exactly the type of thing that pissed me off (and several other arts majors, I’m sure) when I was in school. “You’re studying history, huh? So you wanna be a teacher? I think Starbuck’s is still hiring. Hyuck!” A history/sociology/cultural anthropology/English degree might not teach a profession, but it does teach one to read, research, analyze, apply critical thinking, etcetera and so on. Skills that employers look for and value. I’ve got an Honours History Degree and a General BA in Theatre, and I’m sitting in a top floor lake-view office of a major medical research facility. All on a degree which my parents were kind enough to pay for (thanks guys!).

My history-degreed sister is senior vice-president of a major computer-tech teaching type thing (I keep it vague for her sake). And she’s only in her mid 30s. She started as a temp receptionist.

I went to university to learn, and to learn how to think. I didn’t go to specialize. And as it stands right now, I use the skills I learned to critically review research protocols and apply relevant federal regulations. I review and edit forms. I use my university “non-working” degree.

I’ll agree with others in this thread who have encouraged Soul to start with a temp agency. That’s where I started, too.

22

Wow, thanks for all the replies and help, guys! Maybe it sounds silly, but having outside input on identifying a problem with my resume gives me something concrete to do, and that makes me feel infinitely more productive somehow than I have in weeks.
Santo Rugger, I placed that bit about “command of English” in there because it was mentioned in the job listing. I placed that typo in there because I am a moron. Crap on a cracker. Good thing I had just written that one today and only used it for one listing that, as I said, turned out to be a scam. Lesson learned: proofread three times, not just twice.

tdn et al, I didn’t realize that my resume was written upside-down from what was expected! I basically used a “resume-builder guide” booklet given to us from the UGA Career Center. Maybe it’s like you said, Bricker, that format was presented because it’s more used in academia and it was coming from an academic institution. I will reformat it and post it again, if you guys would have a second glance at it.

Action words! I will add action words! The resume will be changed to include more – no! I will change the resume! The resume will include more action!

Bricker, when I first entered sociology, I wanted to do criminology research. I always knew that that path would require more education, but I wanted to do some grunt work “out in the trenches” to learn more about the actual practice before going straight through to graduate school. I didn’t limit myself to just criminology outfits, but applied to places like Gallup who use many of the things I’ve learned in my sociology classes on a daily basis.

iamthewalrus(:3=, your username always makes me chuckle. And mean-spirited or not, your comment is spot on and something I definitely realize. I am interested in social work, but the state of Georgia has a hiring freeze on until July 1st. That’s coming up soon though, and when it does a friend of a friend of a friend of mine has told me that there will likely be a slew of open jobs that are crying out for warm bodies to fill. I’ve got my calendar circled. I’m good at math, and the insurance actuary is actually something I thought of last night. Unfortunately, it had flown out of my head until you reminded me just now – thanks!

BubbaDog, more school is in the picture for me. I kind of feel like I need to mature a little bit (and I can’t decide if that sounds mature or very, very immature), and I feel like I need to get out there in the working world to do it.

I’m off to work on my resume. I hope it’ll be okay if I post it again, post-revisions. Thank you guys so much for the help!

23

I would add to the suggestion of “Marketing Statement” above that you indicate at the very start of your resume what you’re looking for. In other words, nowhere in your resume does it say why you’re sending in a resume. By the time your resume gets past HR (if it does), the cover letter is no longer included with your resume. Or at least that’s true whenever I have occasion to review anyone. This usually means many different versions of the same resume as you tailor it to each specific job; still, it’s worth it because it a) forces you to look at your resume before you send it out to determine if the position really applies to you and prevents you from blindly sending a bunch of resumes out and b) lets the employer know you took the time to understand their needs.

So if you said something like, “Hard-working, detail-oriented administrative professional seeking challenging position supporting executive management,” at least the people you’re applying to would know why you’re sending them your resume.

The cover letter should mostly be “here’s my resume in response your job posting for an administrative assistant. Please contact me for additional information or with questions.”

Oh, I also agree with including your work experience first, then your education; however, if your concern is that you have no relevant work experience during a certain period, assess whether there are any internships or any part-time jobs you can spin for relevance and include during that blank period (and “spin” does not mean lie - it means indicate why it matters to the employer; i.e., research internships provide you with added organization and detail skills, blah blah blah). It’ll provide you with a continuous work history and demonstrate to the reading-challenged (read: those who don’t have time or don’t take the time to read the whole thing) that you’ve been busy.

24

Why not try to get into grad school. Quite a few grad students start because they can’t find a job.

25

Last time I checked, grad school wasn’t free.

Are you working now? Because you may want to plunk down a couple of hundred dollars and get your resume professionally written. There are resume writing services that do that. I had mine done (although my dad paid for it, I think he was more anxious to relocate me back to Florida than I was, and I was VERY eager) and she used all the good buzzwords that make a prospective employer gleam.

26

I wouldn’t insist so much on “salaried” positions, because many entry-level positions, which is what you seem to be qualified for, will not be salaried. Well, in my field, they’re often not, anyway. I can’t say for yours for sure, but it’s common in many fields to have entry-level jobs as hourly.

27

Soul your resume says absolutely nothing about what you can do. And having scholarships listed at the very top is a little odd to say the least.

Make up Skills, put that first, and highlight it in some way (on my formatted resume, I have a box around it)

28

I don’t think your degree is a waste of time; you never know when a BA will come in handy. My husband got a BA in English (now, there’s a degree that’ll really open doors for you!), and couldn’t find any work as a sports writer, which is what he wanted to do with it. He is now a Construction Safety Officer, and it turns out that one of the requirements for the highest accreditation in his field is a university degree of some kind. The world works in strange ways.

I too think your limitations might be more limiting than you realize. Your first job might need to be someplace not your hometown; maybe you work somewhere else for a couple of years, get experience, and then come back when you’re more employable. And your cover letter is hard to read. No one looking at hundreds of cover letters and resumes wants to have to work at reading yours.

ETA: I have multiple versions of my resume, tailored for different fields. If you are looking for administrative work, your administrative resume needs to be highlighting your administrative skills. I have a terrible work history, job jumping all over the place, and people still keep hiring me, mostly because of my truly awesome resume, I think. :smiley:

29

Also – I second the people who are saying don’t expect a salaried out of the box.

It also seems that grad degrees are becoming more essential. At the companies I know, including the government (if you can call it that) it is not required but “highly suggested” that people past a couple of promotions get a grad degree, and believe me, it’s much easier to get a MS as a full time student / hourly retail slave than it is to while holding down a real job.

You can also get a MS in fields completely unrelated to sociology, if that’s your choice. I know a music major who went straight to getting a MS in computer science, all he had to do was take a few “bridge” classes.

To the liberal arts majors-haters: in my experience companies don’t give a crap what you majored in, just that you have the piece of paper. They do however give a crap about skills. These are 2 entirely different things, almost by definition; whatever skills you pick up in a class of 10,000 isn’t going to be “marketable” so you have to learn these yourself eventually.

30

Soul,

I feel your pain. I was/am not a recent graduate when I last was unemployed for an extended period of time. I can relate, it is gut wretching and the worst part (at least for me) is when that self-confidence begins to fade and the doubts start slipping in about your self-worth and value to others. It can become a self-fulfilling cycle so try to avoid it. It is so trite but you just have to stay positive and keep at it. Sorry, not a Magic Pill solution I know.

I eventually ended up drastically under-employed. It was a difficult thing to swallow what small amount of ego I had left and it seemed at the time to be an acceptance of defeat in terms of my career goals to take the job I took but I just had to find SOMETHING to earn even a small amount of income. What I found was I slowly began to feel pride in my work again (even if it was a low end job) and that I was earning money and that I at least was contribting something somewhere. That ended up being the turning point in my career detour and pieces began to fall into line from that stage. A new job in my profession followed shortly afterwards and that lead to another position with another company that was for more money than I ever made prior to being “downsized”. I guess my point is, sometimes it just takes a small thing to get the ball rolling. I hope you find yours very soon!

MeanJoe

31

I second this. The nonprofit community (for which you’ll most likely find a job with a Sociology degree) is small in ANY community. Everyone knows everyone else. Your downfall is two-fold–one, you don’t have any working experience in your field and two, you really need professional references for your field. Get them both by volunteering. You’ll also gain a lot of connections this way.

Also, I’m not sure about your community, but in mine, Monsterdotcom sucks for job prospects (most of it is BS sales jobs). If you’re looking for a job, start going to the organization’s website to see if there are any open positions (or call).

But, really, get your butt out in the community. NOW.

32

OK- I’m back

I don’t necesssarily agree that going back to school is needed, but getting applicable skills is essential. You can, however gain valuable skills on the job in whatever field you are interested in by volunteering or working part time. Spend some time figuring out a few key things that you studied and how they could potentially help you be an awesome [fill in the blank], and use those ideas to tailor the entire resume.

For example- I graduated a year ago with a BFA in Printmaking (with minors in Art History and Book Arts- you think your degree is unmarketable!), and I just landed a great job in the area of the country my fiancee wants to go to school in. While I was job-searching, I figured out that no employer cares about my aquatint or kettle-stitch skills, but my experience with constant group and individual critiques of intensely personal work really toughened me up and made me able to step back and re-evaluate my direction at any point in a project. I now know how to consciously distance myself from any particular technique or approach, instead focusing on the end product and big- picture implications. This is a great skill to have and I apply it every day in my current job and I’m sure it will be even more valuable in my new one. If you can find some similar things and try to find volunteer work/part time jobs to develop and showcase them further, you’ll be a much more attractive prospect.

33

Where’s your GPA?

I agree that education goes first, especially for a new college grad. Your employment history shows you aren’t lazy, but doesn’t give relevant experience for any job you’re applying for. However, in a category, everything should be in reverse chronological order, newest first.

How did you get the scholarships? Were they merit based, was there a competition? If so, that might be worth noting.

DO NOT criticize other applicants in your cover letter. I’d pretty much dump your resume immediately just for that, unless you have solid reasons why you’d be better - which you don’t. Unless you are going for a writing or editing job, your proofreading ability isn’t very relevant. If you have had something published in a school paper, or, better, outside, include a reference to it. If you have had real editing experience, include that. Otherwise your claim is unsupported. You say you are good at research - what have you researched? When I interview people I always ask for specific projects and activities. Some people have done stuff a lot more interesting than they have put on their resume, while others have put down stuff that looks interesting that turns out to have been a simple homework assignment.

Did you have any extra-curricula activities? Clubs or something where you showed leadership ability? Have you done any major projects in a class that might highlight your abilities? I think the problem is that there is nothing in there that makes you stand out above the hundred other applicants an employer gets. Good for you in using your friends and making phone calls, though. But you need to answer the question “why would someone who doesn’t know me from Adam be interested” in an honest way. You need a soundbite about why you would be good to hire, (or at least interview) - something you could give to an exec you see in an elevator. I don’t see anything either in your resume or in your cover letter.

Have you tried government jobs? I would think that a sociology degree qualifies you for at least something in that area. Also, have you looked at company websites, for companies who might be interested? I’d suggest submitting your resume electronically, following their guidelines, but also look for a real person to call. Often the jobs on the website have already been filled, but there are others which haven’t been posted yet.

Good luck, but you have a lot of work to do.

34

Temp Agency, Temp Agency, Temp Agency.

I simply cannot recommend this route enough. I have gotten almost every single job I’ve ever held as a result of temping for the company, almost always in a different department than the one I was temping in. Went in to do marketing research, got hired in their sales department, that sort of thing.

It will help you build a network in the business world, perhaps garner you letters of recommendation. It’s more workforce experience on your resume. It gets you up, dressed, out of the house and interacting with people. It puts money in your bank account.

Be willing to do anything they call you for. Stuff envelopes, file, answer phones, data entry, light industrial. It will open doors for you that you may never have known existed. Many times companies don’t advertise job openings if they can hire from within, and even as a temp, you may be considered “from within.”

Here’s a copy of my husband’s resume, that I wrote for him when he first moved here from Germany. Like you, he had a hard time even getting responses at first, so he took it to a professional employment counsellor and paid her $300 to tell him she might put the titles in a different order and bold something that wasn’t bolded (or something like that). Not a single criticism of the content or layout otherwise. It wasn’t very long after that that he landed the job at Universal Studios that’s now listed at the top, and was subsequently headhunted away from there by Paramount Pictures (where he currently works – obviously we need to update his resume), when they found his resume online. Feel free to copy the concept if you’d like.

Best of luck to you!

35

Temp jobs are a way in. The pay sucks and there’s no benefits but it’s a way in.

This is so going to get me slammed, but what’s your gender and ethnicity? Can you tell by your name?

This is sooo off the wall, but if your name is John Smith consider temporarily changing it (it’s fairly easy and not too expensive) to something really ethnic sounding, and apply for jobs that aren’t allowed to ask you what your gender/ethnicity is, but still get to see your name. If your resume looks good and your English is good on the phone and your name says “diversity,” you’re in. Go for government jobs.

36

That’s what I came here to say. It’s the easiest way into a place and if you’re talented, you’ll get noticed.

37

Alright, I’ve gone through and made many changes to the format and content of the ol’ resume. Clearly, there was more than half an hour’s worth of work to do, but I’m so excited to finally have some work with a concrete result that I’m going to fling it at you anyway. Pretend this resume is an application for an administrative assistant position.

Unfortunately, I usually write very passively (an awful habit) and these oddly dynamic words don’t fit together well with my poor craftsmanship. I don’t know if they sound awkward to me because it’s not how I usually write, or because they suck arse.

By the way, I love you guys. I just started this thread to vent my frustration, and now look at all you folks coming out of the woodwork helping me out. I really do appreciate it.

(To remain pit-worthy: I hate kittens)
edit to add: lev , I’m just your run of the mill white guy named Nick. Additionally, I’m definitely hearing you guys on the temp agencies. I’ll see what’s in town tomorrow – I know we’ve got some, I’m sure I’ve seen at least two or three.

edited again to add: Holy crap you people are good luck. I just got offered an interview for Wednesday at Avita Community Partners

38

Aguecheek, I agree critical thinking will help keep a job, but I don’t think it matters a damn towards getting one. What gets you in the door, at entry level, is a) cut-and-dried, quantifiable skills, and b) being a yes-person.

39

So, looking at the dates more closely, does this mean that you’ve done no work for money or internship credit for over 2 years? If that’s the case, yeesh… I wouldn’t give you a full-time job either. If, however you’ve been filling up your time with something even remotely job-like, figure out a way to write it up, and simply make your heading “Employment and internships” or “Employent and Experience” or somesuch and write up what you did as if it were a paid position, action words and all. Don’t lie, of course, that’s why you change the heading.

Also, why do you consider yourself an “administrative professional”? There’s nothing on your resume to support that. Figure out where you have done admin-type work and emphasize that under the different job headings for admin jobs, rinse and repeat for other types of position. If you’ve never done any admin work but you think you’d like it and are qualified, word it differently- look up “career change resumes” on google for wording ideas.

40

You appear to be intelligent yet somehow seem to miss the point. It’s obvious from your explanation that it’s the research skills you developed while acquiring the degree that made you successful, not your knowledge of history or theater.

Those same skills are required for the “working degrees” I cited and which you seem to dislike for their lack of culture. The only difference is that you have less chance of having to fight your way out of a “temp receptionist” job if you have one of those when you apply for a job.

The world is full of examples of people who rose to the top with weak degrees or no degrees at all. I’ve met a lot of people with successful careers. The top jobs and top earners have a few "no degrees"and a few “liberal arts” degrees but from my experience, the top dogs are made up mostly of the "working degrees " stated above.

Congrats on your successful career. But quit kidding yourself. New grads with your degree are going to have a tough time entering the market and fewer of them will ever rise to a position at your level.