MadPoet needs a new job too...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Okay, I need advice. See, I’ve only really had one job over the past 3 years. Different companies, but basicly the same job, and I didn’t have to try to get it.
So now I need a new job but have no idea how to go about getting one. I’m definately qualified, but my resume is pathetic, which is only mitigated by the fact that my cover letters are so bad that the reume probably never gets read.
So I’ve got a few questions…
First off, where is the best place to look for IS/IT positions? I would make a great jr admin or even a head admin for a smaller company.
How do you get references without letting on that your feet are itching? I doubt they’d fire me here, but you never know… we’re paranoid sometimes.
Should I try to get my resume to 1 page, or make it look nice on two? As is, with the minimum I can put on it, it’s at 1.5 pages. With 10pt fonts, it can almost fit on a page.
Are hiring agencies woth the hassle? They never were before, but I wasn’t very marketable then. (Self trained doesn’t get you very far with nothing else to back it up).
Must… get… out… of… this… place…

http://www.madpoet.com
I am human, and I need to be loved
Just like anybody else does

2

Ask around to friends you know and trust about who is head of the IT department in their companies.

This will give you an inside look, and often this sort of networking will open the door to a new job. If they don’t have any openings, they may know of some that are.

Personally, I would rather keep my resume to one page. This is what you use the cover letter for…find a friend to help you with the cover letter to sweeten your “assets.”

People have short attention spans, if you have more than a page and it’s all squished in there, you are asking your reader to spend their precious time to read everything about you. (does that make sense?)

Anyhow, I have used books that have sample letters and tailored it to my needs with a quick once over from my sis-in-law or brother for grammar and punctuation.

Well…that’s my advice and in this economy, I bet you will be able to find a new job pretty dang quick especially since you are the tech field.

3

Hey Madpoet…There are several well paying jobs open as baseball announcers in my area.Oh yeah…you don’t like baseball.Well,there’s always Burger King!

((just joking!))

Rich “G7SUBS”

4

Oh, I think I’d make a dandy Baseball announcer.

"Hello! And thank you for tuning in to the 2001 World Series. What a treat we have for you today!

"The teams have taken the field… Star pitcher John Rocker is getting ready… looks like our first batter will be Darryl Strawberry!

"Darryl has recently set a new record for arrests in a single season… he’s been allowed to finish the series, but he faces a total of 342 years in prison if convicted of even half of those charges. Our sources say not to worry, and that Darryl still has enough money to pay off all involved.

"The catcher has given John Rocker the signal… no, wait… that’s the bird. Looks like there is still a little resentment there. Get a mic on Rocker! Hmmm… didn’t quite catch what he said, but it must have been colorful… the infield looks angry.

"Wait! We have a treat tonight folks… the right infielder has just stopped scratching himself and has just started urinating on the field! Could he be going for the record, set in the 70’s by Rick Bosetti? We will track this during the next season folks.

"It looks like the catcher has given Rocker another signal… this time it would appear to be the ‘Suck It’ sign popularized by X-Pac of the WWF. And Rocker has just charged the plate! This could get interesting folks…

"Strawberry has dropped his bat and… Strawberry has just tried to do the first base line!

"Strawberry and Rocker have been pulled off the field. Their replacements are comng onto the field now. Coming up to the plate is… Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins! Looks like he realy impressed em with his technique early this year!

(Some people throw a ball around and swing a stick for a bit)

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… oh, uh, Wow… what an exciting game! It looks like the… uh… one team beat the other team, by… uh… a couple points. Thanks for watching the World Series on WKRS! Goodbye!

(mumbled) “Those damn negros… next thing you know they’re gonna be taking over hockey and… What? What do mean we’re still live? I’m fired? Screw it anyways, I want to go watch a real sport.”

(Months later)

“…and welcome to the TNN tournament of Bowlers…”

http://www.madpoet.com
I am human, and I need to be loved
Just like anybody else does

5

  1. Get all the right buzz words in your resume. Managers get tons of resumes, and first scan through for key words they’re looking for. Larger companies will actually scan the resumes into a big database, where they’ll do a search on key words. So, make sure your most marketable keywords are in there.

  2. Polish your resume and cover letter carefully. Bounce it off some people you trust. Spend the time to get it looking good. One or two pages, either is fine. Don’t go over two, though.

  3. In your resume, talk about accomplishments. Talk about problems you solved and extra things you did. Don’t limit it to what the companies job description for you was.

  4. Talk to everyone you know about potential jobs. It is a huge advantage to send your resume into someone in a company that you know or who is a friend of a friend. Sending it in cold puts you in a folder somewhere.

  5. Once you get an interview, investigate it before you go in. Know all about the company and the position. Don’t just go in to answer their questions. Have questions of your own. That’s key for your well-being, but will also impress the interviewers.