# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/61 "2014-10-09T23:57:17Z")
I am so happy nobody has said “network”. Hate that word. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/62 "2014-10-10T01:47:05Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I am so happy nobody has said “network”. Hate that word. Networking? I feel we could leverage our synergy in that regard. 😃 ---
**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 10, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/63 "2014-10-10T03:16:42Z")
> [@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. > [@OneCentStamp](#): > > 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. I figured as much…everything I’ve submitted so far has been in PDF format. I had thought that PDFs are the current accepted format, but I keep seeing references on career sites that indicate that Word documents are preferred because they’re easily searchable by the file system used in most large companies. This had confused me, because the PDFs I’m generating are searchable in Acrobat, Mac Preview, and Windows Reader. > [@Filbert](#): > > 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… 😃 Back to soul-crushing things: Six Sigma, Black Belt, Kaizen, and various other quality programs whose requirements are presented in such a way that you just know you’re going to turn into a buzzword-spewing drone by your second month of employment. ---
**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 10, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/64 "2014-10-10T12:36:57Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I am so happy nobody has said “network”. Hate that word. “You just gotta put yourself out there ya know?” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/65 "2014-10-10T13:07:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > 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. Why shouldn’t they? > [@](#): > > If it looks like personal relationships are more important than complete and utter devotion to your job, then you are obviously not XYZ material. It doesn’t need to be as extreme as that. If the next guy has similar credentials and isn’t trying to perform that difficult balancing act (or even, just _hasn’t said so_), he’s a safer choice for them. ---
**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 10, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/66 "2014-10-10T15:40:15Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I am so happy nobody has said “network”. Hate that word. Complain about the word all you want but there’s almost no other way to get a decent job these days. Every good job I’ve had was the result of relationships I’ve developed over the years that would clue me in on openings and put in a good word for me here or there. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/67 "2014-10-10T16:23:07Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > Complain about the word all you want but there’s almost no other way to get a decent job these days. Every good job I’ve had was the result of relationships I’ve developed over the years that would clue me in on openings and put in a good word for me here or there. What is the primary purpose of these relationships? Is it social? Or is it so they’ll think of you when there’s a job opening? To me only the latter is networking. The other is called having friends, and I would agree that friends are the best source of job information. The problem is not all of us are blessed with friends like that. ---
**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 10, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/68 "2014-10-10T16:29:00Z")
Heck, I’ve gotten some pretty good job tips from people I’d only known for a day, and probably wouldn’t see again. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/69 "2014-10-11T12:34:08Z")
I just wanted to ask… What is your greatest weakness? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/70 "2014-10-11T12:53:01Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I just wanted to ask… What is your greatest weakness? Well, I would have to say that my greatest weakness is that I work _too_ hard. _gag_ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/71 "2014-10-13T18:14:22Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Well, I would have to say that my greatest weakness is that I work _too_ hard. _gag_ 😛 Ehh . . . you’re a liability. I don’t won’t someone working themselves to death in the office. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/72 "2014-10-14T01:21:58Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Online Dating. I have to pitch in with bump. Online dating isn’t nearly as bad. Don’t get me wrong; it’s bad. Online dating was something I found kind of depressing, at least until I found my fiancee. But a job search is worse. The thing with online dating is that unless you’re very stupid or unbelievably attractive, you come to expect failure. But the failure is pretty much limited to how much time you’re spending online; once you close the [Match.com](http://Match.com) window and go do something else, you’re doing something else. When I was trying online dating it was depressing for maybe an hour a week. And it was sometimes fun, or funny, or both. Then if you’re not online you’re at work, or at your Tuesday night bowling league, or playing Scrabble, or watching a movie. But when you’re out of work and looking for a job it makes your life grey. You live your life with a clock in front of your eyes that counts down to when the money runs out. You think about it all the time, and every activity is tinged by it. ---
**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 14, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573/73 "2014-10-14T12:43:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But when you’re out of work and looking for a job it makes your life grey. You live your life with a clock in front of your eyes that counts down to when the money runs out. You think about it all the time, and every activity is tinged by it. I never did online dating, but this is the most true statement in your post in my book. It’s horrible when you literally can’t do anything because it makes you think of the fact that you don’t have a job. I don’t want to sit on my ass and watch tv, but I can’t do anything else because things cost money that I don’t have, I even hated doing things I loved by myself (playing video games mostly) because…what else do I have to do? It’s 6:30, I’ve sent 50 applcations online what the hell do I ahve to do for 4 hours until I go to bed and start this stupid process over again [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-process-more-soul-sucking-than-job-searching/700573.md?page=3)