I can’t stand the shit at work anymore. I’m not going to detail it here. Suffice to say the situation is bad, getting worse, and will not change for the better.
I haven’t had to look for a job since '95 - back then we did our resumes on parchment with quill and ink. Or so it seems.
How does one look for a job these days? Is it all on line? Where do I look? (The local classifieds are shit - minimum wage and odd things that don’t describe the job, just ask you to send a resume)
Also, what about attire? I may be female but I’ve always been style-impaired. What’s the standard these days?
As far as looking for a job, networking is still best. Looking online at the websites of employers that interests you is a good strategy. Sites like Monster … not so much.
Style will vary a ton by the kind of work you do and company you do it for.
IANAWardrobe Expert but I would bet that in Indiana, most white- or pink-collar type jobs prolly call for a depressingly conservative suit. You mean for interviews, right? If you have a specialty other than management, YMMV…
How far along are you in your flight training? 'Round here the market is pretty hot for pilots (flight instructors, pipeline patrol, traffic reports, cargo, etc.) Sartorial skill isn’t required (they usually provide the uniform)
Apologies if this is no help. I’m unsure of what type of job you’re looking for – the flying ones just sound like fun.
G’luck,
The conservative thing isn’t a problem, since I’m from the upper Midwest and I’m pretty conservative in clothing anyhow. The thing is, my idea of comfortable is jeans and t-shirt. Of course, part of my current job is that I dress better than that. Obviously, I need to research wherever I apply, but last time I was out job hunting the thing for interviews seemed to be those “lady suits” with above-knee skirts (which I find too short for comfort), jacket, and those blouses with the fluffy pseudo-cravats. >sigh<
Well, I’m strictly a private pilot - I’d need probably about $20,000 in further training and flight time to land a flying job. Nice idea, might be a good long term goal, but I need something a little sooner than that.
You will probably hear a lot of bad things about monster.com and careerbuilder.com while you talk to people about your search. Some of it is true, and you might end up getting some offers for odd and unscrupulous interviews or pyramid schemes from signing up on one of these sites, but to be honest the last 3 jobs I have gotten have come from monster.com, 2 of which have been excellent positions. One was crap but it was for a mortgage company that hired me for one purpose and then switched me to collections before I started without telling me, so that was hardly monster.com’s fault.
Networking is still the best way to go when looking for employment but I have to say that the online job search can really work to your advantage, most notably that you can do your job searching and resume sending during the time you aren’t at work. You can sit in your underwear and submit resumes at 1:00 am if that works best for you, and that is a huge benefit when you can’t afford to quit your current job to look for your next job.
Networking is great, but sometimes it’s tough if you’re young and don’t know many people, or if you want to switch industries. For me, I found my (great) job through an online want ad. I can’t remember which site. Depending on the industry, check out Monster, US Job Bank (a government site… lots and lots of jobs, but not the best interface), any local newspapers’ classifieds or local online job sites.
That said, it is time consuming to search online and it’s also a good idea to check the sites of any individual companies you might want to work for.
I got my current job through the Chicago Reader, but the last one was through Monster. Craigslist seems to have a good quantity of jobs if you can weed out the junk, which doesn’t seem to be any worse than the classifieds. A friend of mine found a lot of opportunities there.
Aw. I came in all ready to offer up-to-date advice (I was recently looking for a job–started a new one in May–and I’ve only gotten jobs after the all these newfangled interwebs were invented, so I’m pretty qualified) and I find everyone else already mentioned the important things. I do have a couple extras, though:
In addition to Monster and Career Builder, which are classified staples, there’s LinkedIn.com. It’s a great networking site that a lot of younger professionals are using for networking. You create an account and a professional profile (make sure to spruce it up like a resume–it’s not MySpace) including as much work experience and educational history as you want. Then you can search for other people to add to your “contacts.” The idea is that you connect to people you know, and can be “introduced” through friends of friends. You can set yourself as “looking for a job,” or “want to reconnect with old friends,” etc. People who are hiring can search by skillset, education, occupation, etc. and find your profile and contact you through mutual connections. If other people are there who worked at the same companies or went to the same schools you did, LinkedIn will automatically send you a message about them and ask if you want to send them a connection request. (Can you tell I just discovered this and have been playing with it?)
I’m not sure what industry you’re in, but there might be networking sites or classified sites for your specific field, too, so you could do a google search for them. Other than that, I guess the only difference is probably that more email is used for the preliminary stages instead of phone calls.
Another vote in favor of Monster (and Career Builder) – got my current job, at which I’m blissfully happy, via Monster.
Proof the hell out of your resume, then have the three pickiest friends you know check it for you as well.
As someone who’s done some hiring – you don’t really need a suit for anything under upper-level managament. Yes, a skirt (IMHO, a battle ensued the last time I said that) and nice jacket, but they don’t need to match, and you don’t need a frou-frou blouse to go with.
I found my current job by choosing a number of companies with local offices, then going to their websites to see what they currently have open. As I would pass by, I’d note down company names from signs, do some internet research and see what they do and what was available.