# Is there any process more soul sucking than job searching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573 "2014-10-06T18:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/41 "2014-10-09T03:11:28Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > The fact that she got a job so soon after I took the job I have now > > I’m apparently being overlooked because I’m wanting to change jobs so soon, but it’s out of my control/not my fault that she got a job away from me, but I’m apparently being punished for it because I look like a quitter or whatever I have a similar issue - I took eighteen months off - which employers see and say “what the hell?” You are taught to look at resumes a certain way - look for gaps in history or short assignments. I’d make it clear that the six months you have spent on this job (or will spend) are as a consultant and the term of your contract ends then. ABC Consulting company, client XYZ. Six month contract beginning September 2014 to wash elephants. During this time I improved the elephant washing process to be just as effective while using less water, saving XYZ $4M in utilities cost. This contract will end in February when the elephants are rehomed to Rhode Island. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/42 "2014-10-09T03:11:33Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > The fact that she got a job so soon after I took the job I have now > > I’m apparently being overlooked because I’m wanting to change jobs so soon, but it’s out of my control/not my fault that she got a job away from me, but I’m apparently being punished for it because I look like a quitter or whatever What you do with the job you have now is 100% within your control. It’s absurd to try and say otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/43 "2014-10-09T05:30:50Z")
I would suggest that trying to get an agent to take on the book you spent years writing is right up there. What really hurts is that so many books that get published just out and out suck. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/44 "2014-10-09T06:29:27Z")
I havent had to look for a job in 18 years but I can feel your pain. In my day it was sending out all these resumes and filling out applications which I knew were just going in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/45 "2014-10-09T12:40:45Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I have a similar issue - I took eighteen months off - which employers see and say “what the hell?” > > You are taught to look at resumes a certain way - look for gaps in history or short assignments. > > I’d make it clear that the six months you have spent on this job (or will spend) are as a consultant and the term of your contract ends then. ABC Consulting company, client XYZ. Six month contract beginning September 2014 to wash elephants. During this time I improved the elephant washing process to be just as effective while using less water, saving XYZ $4M in utilities cost. This contract will end in February when the elephants are rehomed to Rhode Island. I take offense to this pretty hardcore. The XYZ company is a HUGE competitor of my LMNOP company. They do NOT wash the Elephants nearly as well as we do > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > What you do with the job you have now is 100% within your control. It’s absurd to try and say otherwise. I never said that my current job is out of my control because it’s indeed absurd to say otherwise. What is out of my control is the fact that I will be looked down on for getting a new job 6 months after I just got this one, so it looks like I’m “job jumping” or being whiny or whatever…when the real reason is I just want to be with my girlfriend ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/46 "2014-10-09T12:50:05Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > What is out of my control is the fact that I will be looked down on for getting a new job 6 months after I just got this one, so it looks like I’m “job jumping” or being whiny or whatever…when the real reason is I just want to be with my girlfriend My eighteen month sabbatical was to homeschool a kid who decided “school is for suckas” He’s back now, doing ok, brain a little more developed and past the “I can’t think past lunch - why do you expect me to think to an end of a trimester” stage, and I want to go back to work. But the issues in raising a teenager are not issues I need to share in a job interview. And “family matters” are too vague. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/47 "2014-10-09T12:55:25Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I never said that my current job is out of my control because it’s indeed absurd to say otherwise. > > What is out of my control is the fact that I will be looked down on for getting a new job 6 months after I just got this one, so it looks like I’m “job jumping” or being whiny or whatever…when the real reason is I just want to be with my girlfriend No, that is not out of your control. I have no idea why you think it is. You don’t have to move to be with your girlfriend. You are job jumping. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/48 "2014-10-09T13:15:03Z")
If I was hiring, the excuse “following my beloved” would not make me think any better of your decision to job jump. I’d be wondering how soon you might break up and move again. Didn’t you move fairly recently to be where you are currently? That kind of transient history would make me pass on your application, because I’d be certain to be able to find someone with the same experience/skills but that have a stronger history of reliably. One other thing, you probably won’t have any luck until you actually move. Employers wont take you seriously until you’re local. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/49 "2014-10-09T13:47:48Z")
After two fucking years of looking for a job, sending out hundreds of applications and resumes and having five (!) interviews, I took a temporary part time holiday job as a store cashier. Fortunately, it turned into a full time permanent job because _I am good_. Yes, it is discouraging as hell. All I can say is don’t give up and taken anything. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/50 "2014-10-09T13:55:11Z")
Which format are you supposed to use for cover letters and resumes…PDF or Word?? It would be lovely if these sites would specify one or the other! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/51 "2014-10-09T14:08:31Z")
International adoption. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/52 "2014-10-09T14:22:03Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > No, that is not out of your control. I have no idea why you think it is. You don’t have to move to be with your girlfriend. You are job jumping. So then I should propose and say fiancee so that it would sound better? we should shotgun wed so that I can say wife? and have it be a little better? I’m really only half being sarcastic, should I just go out and wear a ring so that it sounds more permanent than “girlfriend?” > [@GrandWino](#): > > If I was hiring, the excuse “following my beloved” would not make me think any better of your decision to job jump. I’d be wondering how soon you might break up and move again. > > Didn’t you move fairly recently to be where you are currently? That kind of transient history would make me pass on your application, because I’d be certain to be able to find someone with the same experience/skills but that have a stronger history of reliably. > > One other thing, you probably won’t have any luck until you actually move. Employers wont take you seriously until you’re local. I came out here a year ago for a full-time position that was eliminated, have had contract work ever since. These are all fine and good questions to ask that I would be expected to ask/defend in an interview. It’s the same with homeschooling your son, going back to school, taking care of a sick parent/child/any of that. The problem with the whole situation for people in our…situations…is that we never get a chance to explain it. Hence the soul sucking ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/53 "2014-10-09T15:03:49Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Which format are you supposed to use for cover letters and resumes…PDF or Word?? > > It would be lovely if these sites would specify one or the other! I haven’t heard this “officially”, but I always go with pdf. Someone else’s version of Word may have different settings which result in your document looking or printing differently than you intended. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/54 "2014-10-09T15:39:27Z")
Thank heavens for those employers who at least get back to you quickly. If the interview didn’t go so well and I’m not quite what you’re looking for, fine, I can accept that, but don’t leave me hanging. And take heart: sometimes the soul-crushing bits end up with positive outcomes. I saw a good job opening this past spring, and applied for it. Come summer, I still haven’t heard back from them one way or another, so I dug out some e-mail addresses (which turned out to be the wrong ones, but they forwarded me to the right people) to ask. “Job opening? What job opening? We didn’t have an opening.” (except it’s right there on your website). Grr. But flash-forward to this fall, when I get a phone call one Friday: “So, when you inquired, we didn’t have a job opening… but one just opened up, and we need someone starting Tuesday. Since you had expressed an interest, could you come in on Monday morning?” Why yes, yes I can. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/55 "2014-10-09T15:46:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Thank heavens for those employers who at least get back to you quickly. If the interview didn’t go so well and I’m not quite what you’re looking for, fine, I can accept that, but don’t leave me hanging. I can’t wait until hell freezes over, I get a real nice long lasting job, and I can be in the position to hire people just so that I can respond, be communicative, and right all the wrongs! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/56 "2014-10-09T16:01:36Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Which format are you supposed to use for cover letters and resumes…PDF or Word?? > > It would be lovely if these sites would specify one or the other! > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I haven’t heard this “officially”, but I always go with pdf. Someone else’s version of Word may have different settings which result in your document looking or printing differently than you intended. Speaking as someone who does a ton of hiring, I vastly prefer pdf. It automatically cleanly resizes to my screen while keeping your formatting the same, and it’s safer for you as well: unless I feel like opening it in Acrobat (and most people don’t even have Acrobat; only Acrobat Reader), I can’t edit or alter your pdf resume. Meanwhile a Word document is easy to alter, either intentionally, or just by accidentally hitting a key while reading it on-screen. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/57 "2014-10-09T17:54:38Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > So then I should propose and say fiancee so that it would sound better? we should shotgun wed so that I can say wife? and have it be a little better? > > I’m really only half being sarcastic, should I just go out and wear a ring so that it sounds more permanent than “girlfriend?” You could wait a few months until you’ve had the job a little longer, before moving to be with your girlfriend. Most employers are going to find it a little strange that you didn’t forsee this important life change coming 90 days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/58 "2014-10-09T22:17:09Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Which format are you supposed to use for cover letters and resumes…PDF or Word?? > > It would be lovely if these sites would specify one or the other! I was once asked for a JPG. From a graphic design company. They said they didn’t know what a DOC file was. Incidently, the ad I originally replied to specified they wanted a ‘computer illiterate’ applicant… That is the lighter note of job hunting- finding the stoopid ads. I enjoyed the one I came across today, which was for an assistant/driver for a deaf-blind guy. It was from a charity helping deaf and/or blind people, and as such does its best to be inclusive, but, for that position, maybe the braille option for an application pack just isn’t really appropriate? ---
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/59 "2014-10-09T22:34:13Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’m pretty sure it was just a general statement describing the wonder that is job searching, since that’s essentially what happens. I doubt it was directed at either of us specifically > > I will say I don’t TOTALLY hate recruiters since they gave me the job I have now, but the jury is still out if recruiters are fine, or if I just got lucky. Sorry if I was obtuse…just a general sighing out loud in my comment. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/60 "2014-10-09T22:51:25Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > No, that is not out of your control. I have no idea why you think it is. You don’t have to move to be with your girlfriend. You are job jumping. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > So then I should propose and say fiancee so that it would sound better? we should shotgun wed so that I can say wife? and have it be a little better? > > I’m really only half being sarcastic, should I just go out and wear a ring so that it sounds more permanent than “girlfriend?” No, I think what he is saying is, employers expected you to choose between your desire for a job, and your desire to be with your girlfriend. If it looks like personal relationships are more important than complete and utter devotion to your job, then you are obviously not XYZ material. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573.md?page=4)