# My Big Fat Job Search Rant

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [April 23, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633 "2003-04-23T17:29:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633/41 "2003-04-26T20:39:00Z")

</div>

I hear ya, **msmith** – in fact, I had a rant not all that long ago on the same subject (which I would link to if the &(£&$^£ hamsters could find it without fainting from the effort, as they’re doing at the moment). Even the temp agencies won’t call me back. Bastards.

Hey **zenith** : I used to work at UNL before I relocated. I actually enjoyed that job. Oh, those halcyon days of gainful employment…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633/42 "2003-04-27T12:18:33Z")

</div>

I’m working at a temporary job that ends at the end of June and find it frustrating that I’m not even being considered for RETAIL jobs because I have too much experience. I just want an easy, reasonably paying summer job until the school year begins again in September. Since it’s a temporary post, I don’t get paid for the summer and have to reapply for my current post all over again.

All I know is that if some one with a leaving cert (HS diploma) can do this job, I surely can. I’m also apparently not qualified to do telephone work. What? Huh?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633/43 "2003-04-28T12:34:02Z")

</div>

Well, apparently ralph124c is not going to explain why the “targeted approach” is better than the “shotgun approach”.

The idiots at my school’s career services said something similar. (from the same morons who brought you the “if you had a million dollars what would you do…” question) That you should pick 20 or so companies and really target the heck out of them. I can tell you that this is the stupidest idea in the world. This works if you have already have a job and are willing to wait a year for a position to open up at your target companies. This does not work if you need a job right now. This does not take into account that you could send your resume to your target companies and never hear from them again.

Companies get a thousand resumes a day. The idea that you can somehow cheat their HR system by calling every week (assuming you can even talk to a human being) or that some manager who has a tenuos connection to you at best will champion your resume is ridiculous. It’s not that it can’t work but there’s no reason not to send out as many resumes to as many companies as possible.

Of course, the jerkoffs working in career service centers still live in the collegic job search fantasy world where everyone ends up in their dream career with just a little planning and companies really are the Utopias described in the Wetfeet and Vault guides (the hours and travel never “suck” they are “challenging”).

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-fat-job-search-rant/170633.md?page=2)