SD Job-Seekers' Support Group

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
101

Yay, Einmon! Congrats and good luck.

I did hear from the person who’d I’d hoped to work out some kind of contract-work gig – alas, it was a friendly “thanks so much” with a book from his collection. (I worked for a rare book dealer 20 years ago, it’s on my resume, and we talked books for a while at the interview.) Oh well.

As for you, C&D, here’s how I’d edit your resume:

Note 1: Brief isn’t necessarily your best bet. Don’t go on and on, but spell things out and be specific. The person reviewing your resume isn’t a mind-reader, you need to say exactly what you did.
Note 2: I have a strong preference for verbs over nouns – no one cares what titles you had, they want to know what you have experience doing and what you can be expected to do for them.

**Job Title: ** Head English-Language Editor <Since that’s what you were, use that as your title>
Responsibilities:
Oversaw editorial work on all [company] textbooks and scripts, including writing X, Y, and Z and editing X1, Y1, and Z1
Edited [company] English-language magazine. <What does edited mean in this content? Copy-editing the text, or overseeing all content? Did you work with the art director/layout person or just tweak the text and pass it on?>
Assisted the director of the televised [company] education program and [video series name] series. Wrote <how many? 2 or 3? Over a dozen? 100?> scripts for these programs. Acted in them <because you have acting ambitions or because you’re a team player who’d help out in a pinch? be more specific/provide some context.>

Don’t worry about the translation of the Korean terms; as I say above, focus on the functions you actually performed. Plus, as I said before, don’t undersell yourself by being too brief. This sounds like you’ve got really amazing experience to offer, and you should showcase it.

No. Focus on the stuff you did, and have experience having done. Focus on your skills, not your titles.

Hope this helps!

102

lol, Thank you for the wish of luck! The new boyfriend is turning out well (so far, knock on wood!!!). He just lost his job recently as well, so we both are in the hunting market.

I just reapplied for unemployment insurance, so hopefully that will kick in a few weeks. I was told the first time that I had to wait for 10 weeks and then reapply. Anywho, I have yet to hear back from anyone about anymore interviews and what not. McDonald’s had called me for a second interview around two weeks ago (at this point, at least it would have been some sort of bill paying cash flow, right?). I was told by the store manager to expect some sort of third call back in about a week. Well, that was last week. Do I suck that much as to McDonald’s not even wanting to hire me? Ugh. Has that two year degree I worked my chubby backside on so hard gone to waste because no one wants to hire a college student to do office work? [/sigh]

More good news, I was accepted into the Education program at the local University! I’ve also been awarded a scholarship. Hopefully, that little bit of news can keep me perked up…

103

Now that I’ve graduated, I can officially join the party. Looking for a job in Japan, most likely teaching English. My kanji (reading+writing) don’t match my excellent speaking-listening skills, so I don’t know what other kind of job I can get. I really want to be in Japan because my girlfriend will be working there starting in September.

Last semester I applied to two different programs and was rejected by both. Reasons were not given, but people in-the-know say it’s because I’m “not American enough,” aka I know too much about Japan and Japanese. Apparently it’s a common problem; my friends have suggested I conveniently leave out any mention that I know Japanese on my resume. It seems counterintuitive to me but… we’ll see.

104

Just mostly bitching here…

Okay, I have a PT job teaching college English. I’ve been doing it, in fact, for nearly 18 years. I also have a side job scoring assessment tests. Both jobs pay hourly. This would be nicer if I could get more hours, but there are limits on that.

I apply for FT positions but the last time I interviewed was about 7 or 8 years ago. Yes, I know there are very few positions and many, many applicants, but it just feels like a total crapshoot to apply at all anymore.

105

Thanks Einmonand twickster! I’m actually constructing two resumes right now. One is for law school, which I’m applying for this Fall/Winter, and the other is for a job to satiate my tastes till next year. I think both of you gave advice applicable to my dual-situated scenario, so I am very appreciative.

To Autolycus, the English private school business recently crashed in Japan. The by-far-largest employer of foreign English teachers went completely bankrupt and left hundreds of teachers stranded with void contracts (and no ticket home). That’s not to say there hasn’t been some rebound, or that Japanese English centers are unreliable, but it may help explain your trouble in finding immediate hiring.

Even Korea’s market has been getting harder to access, and it’s become especially bad following the Interpol catch of that pedophile who was working all over Asia as an English tutor. Visa restrictions are much tighter now, and foreigners are being held to higher standards and elevated levels of control and oversight. It’s becoming increasingly troublesome to hire foreigners in the come-and-go basis Asia was previously known for.

Also, I don’t know about in Japan, but in Korea it’s not a good thing to advertise your Korean language skills when hunting for English teaching positions. The concept is that you shouldn’t speak any other words than English while teaching. Education here rarely goes by half measures, regardless of the effectiveness. Plus, when teaching smaller children, a lot of parents just want their kids “exposed” to English speaking on a daily basis. They feel that the kids will somehow absorb language skills through the environment.

Needless to say, despite the popularity of such schools in Korea, Koreans, in general, are pretty poor at English in contrast to oftentimes decades of exposure to English. This is due to a variety of issues.

Private schools are either managed by people with good backgrounds in teaching (which means they’re terrible businessmen/women and the school can’t finance itself properly or attract students) or by people with good business backgrounds (but who are bewildered by pedagogy and cannot fathom what it means to teach or to provide proper institutional support for teaching staff). Obviously, there are several exceptions, but this seems to be the norm. Recently, there’s been an overall push to reevaluate the use of private schools and to emphasize an overhaul of the public systems instead. These factors, in part, may help explain or give context to your situation with Japan. I hope I didn’t ramble too much :wink:

106

Another day, another mess of resumes and cover letters sent out. And of course, I just realized how bad the timing is…now I have to compete against all the recent college graduates, with their 4.0 GPAs, and internships and co-ops coming out their wazoos. I’d like to say I have a leg up on them, being graduated for four years, but the jobs I’ve had really didn’t give me any relevant work experience.

sigh

I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get a real job. :frowning:

107

And here I thought I was the only unemployed procrastinater playing waaaaaay too much Scrabble! :smiley:

108

Ah, it looks like I need to join this club. Company bosses visited us yesterday to say that the place I work will close down over the next few months.

Various promises were made about ‘trying to look after everybody’, but I’ve heard this enough times to realise that’s just what directors always say, because they have to keep things moving. Maybe they mean it, but I’m not counting on that.

Apparently they do want to discuss something with me individually at a separate meeting - this might be a job offer with relocation 70 miles away (a long-ish distance, in this land), or it might just be that they want me to do something specific during the closedown.

Bugger. Worst part of it is that the job I’ve been doing for the last 5 years or so consisted substantially of developing proprietary software using very obsolete tools - so it isn’t exactly as though I can easily boast a readily marketable skill set.

109

Bummer, Mangetout! This is one support group where we prefer to lose members, not gain them.

110

Sorry to hear the news Mangetout! I have been looking, but am now thinking that I will soon be LOOKING. Some of our team were laid off a few weeks ago and my boss has been telling me that we are moving to a new devision. But lately it looks like we are begging for a new devision to take us. Almost every day one of the management team will let something slip that lends credence to my belief that we will soon all be laid off.

We will see. I guess that if they wait until after my operation (almost a guarantee now, since the op is next Friday) I don’t care what they do.

111

Might as well jump in here too. I just graduated with my law degree, and now I need to find a law firm with which I can do my articling. For those not in the know, the articling year is like an apprenticeship, and must be done before one can be called to the bar. It is done concurrently with the bar admission courses that are also necessary. Looking for an article is the same as looking for a job, so here I am.

I’ve been sending out letters, resumes, transcripts, and references; and while I’ve scored a couple of interviews, nothing has been offered. I admit that I am a bit unusual–I spent twenty years or so in the working world before going to law school–but I look at my life and business experience as pluses. I guess not all potential employers do.

But if anybody knows any law firms and/or lawyers in Calgary who may be willing to take a chance, I’d sure appreciate hearing about them.

112

A brief update.

I heard back from the company that’s been stringing me along, remember, who said I’d know by May 1? Apparently there’s been some shifting and ‘external factors’ come into play, which may change the position description somewhat. Hmm. Maybe someone quit? Maybe they got more funding? Anyway, they said I’d now know ‘by the end of the week.’ NOT holding my breath :slight_smile:

I also had a phone interview yesterday for an awesome-sounding position, it’s less than 2 miles from home, working in a small team, with a decent balance between the fun stuff and the necessary stuff. I hope they’ll call me in for a face to face interview next week.

And, I have ANOTHER phone interview today, for a position I think I’m very qualified for, which might be a little more high-level (both $ and responsibility) than the one from the last paragraph.

I had some bad news this week, in the form of a postage disaster - some of my boxes which I shipped sea mail from back home were damaged, and the good stuff is missing - CDs, binoculars, medication - but most of my books and sheet music have arrived relatively unscathed. USPS is being monumentally unhelpful.

So, wish me luck! I need some good news.

113

Quick update: I got a call from the job interview guy that I talked to last time, he wants to offer me the job. It wouldn’t be bad, but it isn’t the job I would like to have. I emailed a resume to a job a few days ago, the next morning he emailed and asked for an interview. I got back from the interview just a few hours ago and it went well. Great pay, decent benefits, and an amazing atmosphere to work in. I’m looking forward to it if I get it, but I’m not holding my breath. They said they’d let me know within a week, so it isn’t too long off. I’ve got my fingers crossed, but I don’t know how much it will help.

Brendon Small

114

sigh

Another day, another dozen or so resumes and cover letters sent out.

You’d think that at this point, having applied to almost 50 jobs, I’d have gotten some kind of notice from one of them…but nope. Nothing, nada.

:frowning:

115

As mentioned up thread, I have been thinking my job will soon be cut. I was out with my boss having beers on Friday night and he confirmed my suspicions. He didn’t mean to, I don’t think, but beers will do that to you…

He pretty much said that since I’m not billable, if I didn’t have medical leave at the end of this month, he would have had to lay me off, but since I will be out for the better part of June, he talked the director into keeping me to see what would pop up. (Medical leave comes out of a different budget, so the director didn’t mind care.)

He thinks the whole department will be moved to another department if we can make it until July.

116

I think it’s past time for me to join this thread - I have a job right now, as a bank teller, but I just finished my Master’s in Library Science, so I’m looking for some kind of library job. I’m aiming for an academic or research library, but whoo boy do colleges not get back to me. I’ve sent out more cover letters/resumes than I can shake a stick at, and all I have to show for it is a couple of automated replies (“Thank you for your interest in working at…”) and one rejection. The local school district here is advertising for a librarian to work at the two elementary school libraries (yes, one librarian, two libraries), eeeek. I… don’t get along with kids. Eek. Maybe it’s mostly administrative? Eek.

117

Still have yet to get a real job. Should be getting unemployment checks soon to tide me over and help pay some bills that are looming over my head. I have two interviews tomorrow, so maybe those will help…

118

Well, I’ve got an offer in hand, and it’s for significantly more money than I was making, but it’s 50 miles away. I repeat, it’s 50 miles away. It’s in a rural area with no mass transporation and, even though it’s divided highway almost all the way there, I’d be looking at an hour and a quarter commute each way and I don’t like driving that much. I’d basically be leaving the house at 6:30 am and not getting back until 6:30 or 7:00 pm. I called the recruiter this morning and he pushed me heavily to take it, but it’s simply too far away. I haven’t given the company my reply yet. Could someone please tell me I’m not crazy for turning it down?

119

I understand totally. I travel nearly an hour now. Although I don’t hate it, I’m not loving it.

We must all make our choices and if, for you, time is more valuable than money, then you made the right choice.

120

One, one tiny, tiny, tiny shred of good news. Out of the dozens of resumes and cover letters I sent out, and amidst the half-dozen or so rejection emails, I got one non rejection email!

I don’t have anything as big as an interview, but I was at least good enough to get past the first guy who tosses all the crappy stuff in the trash. So now someone higher up is reviewing my resume and cover letter and possibly considering me for an interview.