# I'm sick of job hunting

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-job-hunting/834057>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [May 16, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-job-hunting/834057 "2019-05-16T15:10:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-job-hunting/834057/81 "2019-05-31T17:14:08Z")

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> [@msmith537](#):
>
> Received a job offer today! So…yea me!

Congrats!

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-job-hunting/834057/82 "2019-06-01T02:56:17Z")

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> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> But now you can see where you went wrong. Eight months of diligently beating the pavement = bupkis. Two weeks after posting a rant at the SDMB and job offers are raining down from above

For all the “networking”, applying for jobs online and otherwise pounding the pavements, for all intents and purposes I could have just sat back and waiting for a recruiter to contact me on LinkedIn! (at least…in this particular case).

> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> I work for Capgemini and can do referrals if you see something you like.

Thanks! Capgemini is actually one of the other firms I’ve been interviewing with through another contact of mine. The process has taken a really long time, but I know that’s because they are in the process of forming the group I’ve been interviewing with. As \*\*pullin \*\* alluded to, I think there’s a good chance I could land an offer if I continue the process. But I already verbally accepted my offer with the first firm and I don’t want to be in a situation where I a) jeopardize my offer in hand by stringing the company along while I shop for other offers or b) accept the first offer and then rescind for another offer a few days before I’m supposed to start.

Besides, last time I worked at the same company as you, I spent the next 20 years dicking around on some message board

> [@Nava](#):
>
> Picked this one simply because I found it first, but it’s something you’ve mentioned in multiple posts in this same thread. You appear to believe that “bringing in business” is an essential part of consulting: in European locations it tends to be considered a different function. Some people will indeed do them both (usually partners in small firms, and usually they won’t sell and consult/PM the same project), but consultants and PMs find it insulting that certain firms will call their salespeople “project managers”.
> 
> Good luck with the offer(s) and so forth.

I’m kind of used to the American Big-4 “grinders/minders/finders” management consulting model. Consultants / Senior Consultants do the work. Managers and Senior Managers primarily do engagement management. Directors and Partners are mostly responsible for generating business or being very senior subject matter experts (enough so to passively generate business. It varies somewhat from firm to firm. For example, more technical forms of consulting typically have dedicate sales career tracks.

Generally, the roles I’ve been looking at, I’m expected to lead client engagements and contribute to business development / sales through growing existing client relationships, working on proposals and marketing activities and mentoring junior staff (all of which I enjoy doing). I’m not expected to come in with my own book of business (which I don’t have).

“Project management” is it’s own weird thing IMHO, which I may get into in a later post.

> [@bump](#):
>
> I’ve often wondered/theorized about the “sweet spots” of job hunting/job hopping. I mean, there seems to be a sort of trajectory that these things follow, but your title, your salary and your experience have to be in sync for you to be hot, and if they get out of sync, people get confused or make a bunch of (likely incorrect) assumptions.
> 
> For example, people assume that there should be some kind of up or out process going on, and that if you stay doing the same thing too long, there’s something wrong with you that prevented you from making that step.
> 
> Or maybe there are… inflection(?) points in job seeking, and if you’re in between these points, you’ll have a harder time. Like in your case, they want more technical experience, or more strategic stuff, and you’re kind of a neither fish nor fowl kind of beast.
> 
> I wonder if there are any studies or research on this kind of thing… it seems to be that knowing the patterns or potential strategies would be a very powerful tool. And I’d think that any job posting site could identify them pretty easily through analyzing their job postings.

Yeah, it’s very strange. Like, for months I was getting all these calls for jobs, but none of them were great fits. They might be glomming onto keyworks or certain company names, but the roles would really be either too junior or too senior or just “off”. But then for some reason, for the past three months, I started getting hit with calls for jobs that seemed to be a perfect fit. Like there’s some shift in the market where all of a sudden, my weird job history is the perfect match of experience for whatever.

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