SD Job-Seekers' Support Group

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
241

[QUOTE=maggenpye]
Of the two jobs I applied for last week, one has been withdrawn and I’ve made the shortlist for the other.

One other job has come up since then that I could apply for - sent off the application yesterday.

One thing I’ve noticed since I was last looking (March 2006), every job I’ve looked at has asked for application by email with post or hand delivery a distant second. That’s a complete turnaround from the “no email applications please” that I used to see.

Saves on the ink/paper/postage too.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, it is much easier to distribute to all the people who have to review it if it is already in electronic form.

Good luck!

242

I’ve been watching this thread thinking to myself, ‘‘No, don’t go in there. Don’t admit to yourself you’re job seeking.’’ For some reason just the idea of looking for a new job stresses me out.

I just moved from Michigan to New Jersey, and I’m trying really hard to stay with my current company. I had applied for a promotion in Manhattan and was told that if I liked the job, I could have it. I was supposed to go out and shadow yesterday but after trying the commute – something like an hour and forty minutes – I called and said it wasn’t possible.

But they are really motivated to keep me. They offered me a closer location that turns out to be closer to an hour and twenty minutes commute by train and foot. Then I found another train line from Newark directly to WTC that would get me a lot closer and be even faster.

So now I’m looking at a commute of about an hour and fifteen minutes, mostly sitting on a train. I really don’t mind sitting on a train for an hour, I actually really like trains. I’m going to go in and shadow for the job and try the new commute out and see how it goes.

I keep telling myself I’m crazy for wanting a commute like that, but I really want the job. I want to stay with a nonprofit and because it will be more involved than my old job it will really push my Spanish and administrative skills. It seems like the perfect thing to do to prepare for grad school next year (I’m applying this month for social work nonprofit management and administration.)

I just want the search to be over. There isn’t much in the area that really seems targeted toward helping others. There was a very promising opening just 5 minutes away for a software company, but that has nothing to do with my future career.

So here’s hoping the commute goes well. I think the excitement of working in Manhattan, the pay and security and the career experience will all be worth the commute. It’s just for a year. Sometimes I think when it comes to work I really need to learn to suck it up.

243

Well, I may have…something. I had submitted a general application to the state, and i got an e-mail suggesting I interview for their temp program. It’s not a guarantee, and it wouldn’t be permanent, but I’m fine with clerical work, especially if it’s not permanent so that I don’t feel guilty still looking for a job in the field I’m interested in.

Gonna call them tomorrow and set up an interview. If nothing else, it’d get me out of this damn apartment for a bit.

244

[QUOTE=Jayn_Newell]
If nothing else, it’d get me out of this damn apartment for a bit.
[/QUOTE]

That’s my big thing too. I’ve exhausted the housework potential and been for a couple of major walks Monday and Tuesday - today, nothing. My big thrill will be doing the grocery shopping. At least I will be out of the house.

Maggenkid has picked this time to become a little more independent - she’s now walking most of the way to school by herself. I’m so happy … for her (how do I fill up that extra ten minutes?).

The only new job that’s come up is working in a bakery, which I’m not experienced in and find far too tempting. I think the starting hours may make it impractical.

245

I had lunch today with a headhunter and here’s a tip for people who have posted on Monster and aren’t getting any responses:

Many recruiters only search for resumes posted in the past month, or last 3 months. If you have stopped getting hits, delete your resume and repost.

246

I may be joining your ranks soon. There’s a lot that I don’t like about my current job and they’re not making it worth my while to stay. I’ve got contacts, though, and a friend invited me to join his practice, so I’ll start making calls tomorrow and see what happens.

Robin

247

[QUOTE=maggenpye]
One thing I’ve noticed since I was last looking (March 2006), every job I’ve looked at has asked for application by email with post or hand delivery a distant second. That’s a complete turnaround from the “no email applications please” that I used to see.
[/QUOTE]
Same here - it’s quite refreshing, really - even back in 1998 when I was last applying for jobs, writing physical application letters felt antiquated.

I attended the in-person interview yesterday - it was even more difficult to tell how this went than the phone interview - they were nice people and we communicated well in both directions, I felt - including some genuine meeting-of-mind moments, with even a little laughter.

My impression on departing the interview (an hour long) was that the Finance Director was on a mission to find the right person for the job and was waiting for some kind of sign or gut feeling about it - and I wasn’t at all sure this happened during the interview.

The discussion focussed quite a lot on my past experience - including the gaps in that experience that would be stretched or tested by the role - afterwards, I was kicking myself a bit for not emphasising more that my experience and work history shows abundant evidence of gap-filling and stepping up to challenges.

Anyway, I got a follow-up from the agency this morning saying that they liked me and it was fairly likely I’ll be called back for another interview - I’m supposed to be doing a simple personality test today, but the agency is having problems with email, so it hasn’t come through yet.

Down to four applicants now, including me, but they’ve been trying to recruit for this position for several months and have been through several rounds of the process, each ending with not finding any suitable candidate.

248

I once got told that the best thing I said in an interview was “I’m applying for this job because I have enough experience to do it well - and because there’s enough in the job for me to learn something new.”

Didn’t get the job, but both the interviewers later made a point of saying I *nearly *got it (despite being incredibly under-qualified and against very qualified applicants) just because they liked that I wanted to get something out of the job - not just slog from one pay day to the next.

If you know *everything *about the job before you start, they run the risk that you’ll get bored and either bugger off or put in a half assed effort.

249

[QUOTE=Khadaji]
I had lunch today with a headhunter and here’s a tip for people who have posted on Monster and aren’t getting any responses:

Many recruiters only search for resumes posted in the past month, or last 3 months. If you have stopped getting hits, delete your resume and repost.
[/QUOTE]

Good suggestion. Thanks, I’ll do that.

250

Still nothing. No calls, no rejection letters, no nothing. (Yes, I double-checked my phone number and address on my resume, cover letter template and portfolio.) It’s not as if I’m being rejected; I’m being downright blown off.

Ohio is the blackest of black holes for the urban planning profession, and Cleveland is the singularity. The connections I’ve made here haven’t been able to find anything. Amazing: so many suburbs, and so few with planning agencies, much less job openings for anything aside from lifeguards.

Last week, I acknowledged to myself that I’ve got to leave if I ever want to find another job as a planner. I’ll shoulder a huge financial loss due to owning a house in a very depressed market, in a suburb where bank foreclosures have brought median housing prices down to 1970s levels. (I’d like to rent it out and wait for better times, but rental units are empty around here too.) There’s also the likely breakup of a long-term relationship; my girlfriend feels obligated to stay in Cleveland.

The short list: Austin, DFW, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Albuquerque. Maybe Phoenix, Tucson or Denver if the pay makes up for the cost of housing. Southern Ontario, too. Just not Ohio. The message is loud and clear - the state doesn’t want any part of me.

Odds aren’t good, though. A couple of years ago, ads for planning jobs went begging for responses. Now, they get tens or hundreds or applicants, for just a single position.

251

What annoys the hell out of me is, I went through all this in the late 80’s. Bloody '87 stock market crash. The same crap has come round again and it really doesn’t smell any better.

I went for an interview today - I straight up told the guy that I had some concerns about what I’d been finding on the internet.

He came clean - the “team” I’d be joining is him, there’s no-one else. The “office” is his spare room at home. The “clients” are companies he has set up himself. Each and every one involves the placement and management of slot machines in low income suburbs. Every email from him has been sent during weekend evenings - this isn’t even his full time job.

He got upset when I withdrew my application for the job. None of the statements in the advert (he informed me, snippily) were *legally *considered to be misinformation. I hadn’t said they were, what I’d said was, that I couldn’t support something that I wouldn’t feel proud telling my daughter about. I’d meant the slot machines.

I wished him luck and left.

Then got a phone call to say I’ve made the short list of another (long established and legitimate) company - but they want *much *longer hours than I do. :smack:

252

It has finally arrived. I’ve been expecting it, and quite frankly am surprised it wasn’t sooner.

My boss called me an laid me off today. The bigger surprise was that he had led me to believe that he would keep the guy who reported to me. He didn’t.

So now it is on for real!

I’ve got some irons on the fire. I just need to see which will play out best for me.

253

I called the agency again today - apparently no decision has yet been made, but the running is now down to two applicants, of which I am one. Not sure whether to believe this, though - the guy said he wouldn’t know any more until Thursday and I got the feeling he was perhaps letting me down gently. We’ll see - I haven’t given up hope yet.

254

I have applied for 5 job apps so far, and just today received an email asking me to call and arrange a time for a phone interview. Whoo hoo!

Of the 5, it’s not the job I think I’m best suited for, nor is it the highest paying.

And it’s already making me think – probably prematurely – about what I should say if they make an offer. The posted pay range tops out at just slightly more than what I make now, and it may well be that their initial offer will be a pay cut.

Realistically, I don’t have much choice. I will definitely be laid off in November, I can’t afford to be turning down offers. On the plus side, it’s a job at the U with a great benefits program, and once I’m in it’s much easier to move around within the system.

255

Mangetout that sounds positive! Good luck and keep us informed.

Boyo Jim, good luck to you too! Hopefully they’ll make an offer you can live with.
As for me, I don’t know what is going on. When I look inside I don’t feel too upset with having lost this job - I wasn’t loving it anyway. And yet here it is 3:00 AM and I’ve been up for an hour. Of course, if you were to hunt you’d find I’m subject to insomnia. My mind isn’t racing, but when I lay down I can’t fall asleep.

256

The upside of being unemployed is that you can take a nap the day after one of those “can’t sleep for shit” nights.

257

[QUOTE=twickster]
The upside of being unemployed is that you can take a nap the day after one of those “can’t sleep for shit” nights.
[/QUOTE]

:smiley: True, but today I have to be in to find out what my layoff package will be. Of course, I’ll still probably take a nap…

258

OK, here is my problem:

I’ve been offered about 320 hours of consulting at a pretty darn good rate.

PA Unemployment laws state that I cannot collect unemployment if I work for myself and run out of work.

Will taking these consulting hours prevent me from collecting afterwards? IOW, what is the definition of working for oneself?

I’ll call my HR tomorrow and ask and also try to call someone at the state and ask.

(My other problem is my boss never showed up to tell me what the layoff package would be.)

259

[QUOTE=Khadaji]
OK, here is my problem:

I’ve been offered about 320 hours of consulting at a pretty darn good rate.

PA Unemployment laws state that I cannot collect unemployment if I work for myself and run out of work.

Will taking these consulting hours prevent me from collecting afterwards? IOW, what is the definition of working for oneself?

I’ll call my HR tomorrow and ask and also try to call someone at the state and ask.

(My other problem is my boss never showed up to tell me what the layoff package would be.)
[/QUOTE]

This is work by your current employer? That might add another complication. My employer’s severance package offer is withdrawn if you accept an offer to do what they call “project work” after your termination date.

On the plus side, they would continue to pay my health insurance for up to six months while I keep working for them. The idea is to keep people on the payroll and allow them extra time to find another position within the company.

I was told that I would be eligible for unemployment after this six month period.

I’m not sure if the two circumstances are comparable, as I would continue to be an employee, and it sounds like you would not. My best guess is that you would still be eligible for compensation after the work, but only the state office can tell you for sure.

Another complicating factor. Let’s say you’re eligible for 6 months of unemployment benefits, but you find 2 months of temp work while you’re not paid unemployment benefits because you’re earning enough at the temp job. You may lose that time – you may only be eligible for 4 more months of benefits, even though you you didn’t collect any benefit money during the first 2 months.

I’m not an expert, and it’s been some 20 years since I collected unemployment. But I remember these issues arising way back then. It’s certainly possible the rules have changed since – and they differ by location anyway.

260

No, I was communicating poorly. Two separate issues:

One, my boss never showed up to tell me my layoff package.

Two, I’ve been offered some consulting 1099 work form another company for about 320 hours. But I have to be sure it doesn’t mess with my long-term unemployment. Mind you, I’m expecting for it to not matter, because as I’ve mentioned I have several irons in the fire - but I prefer to cautious.