Category: Job Search

Posted on

Hey… It’s not Politics!

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But the news is just as bad for me personally.

I got a notice yesterday that I was out of the running for a job that I really wanted.

Sigh…

This is one of those positions that I was completely willing to take a lot less money for and that I think I would have really enjoyed doing.

I wanted it so bad that I asked all kinds of people to write letters of recommendation for me and got everything in under a deadline.

I’m guessing that they looked at my previous salary and wondered why I was applying for a position that was going to be 30K less.

Sadly they didn’t give me a change to point out that the commute was less than 30 miles and that the savings in fuel and insurance per month alone would go a long way toward making up the difference.

I’m sure that they hired some hot shot from the local college, whole will be gone in a couple of months. I applied for a similar position several years ago. They interviewed me, but hired a new graduate.

3 months later they called me back to see if I wanted the position because the new graduate had accepted another position for more money.

I was polite at the time but pointed out that I too had recently found another position and that it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to switch so soon into my new job.

I strongly suspect that I’m looking at the same sort of event.

Of course if they call me in a few months… I may still be looking this time.

On the other hand I hope that I’ll be able to politely turn them down again. Not out of any sense of vengeance or retribution…

But because I’ll have a new JOB!

Posted on

I figured it out

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I’ve mentioned in the past how frustrated I’ve become with the job search.

I’ve been puzzled as to why this task is so darn frustrating for me.

I finally figured it out.

It’s the difference between the Old and New way.

In the old days, back in the beginning of time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth we would look religiously through the newspapers each day or every other day.

We’d read small descriptions of the jobs being offered then dutifully write a cover letter. We’d stuff the cover letter and our resumes into an envelope then put a stamp on it and drop it in our local outbound mail box.

I’d sometimes send out 5 or 10 resumes a day. Sometimes I’d send to a company I knew of “Blind” because their HR would actually file a resume for 6 months or so, sometimes longer…

Often, these applications would generate nice little letters addressed to me.

Many times these letters would say in a nice way the position had been filled but that my resumes would be kept on file.

Other times the letter would be something like “Thank you for your interest in our company we have no openings but will call you if we do.”

The best day was when a company you applied to called you to schedule an interview. That was a WHOO HOOO DAY!

Now we apply online and each application requires MORE time to fill out than writing/mailing a simple cover letter & resume.

Dice

Monster

Cybercoders

Careerbliss

Careerfinder

All of them have their own method of accepting information. They all want you to have an account, and then you have to cut and paste your resume into their form. You’d think that would be that… once the information was in their format… You click apply and all that data would be sent to the hiring company HR and bing, bang, boom, you get called for an interview.

You’d BE WRONG!!!!

You log in, search for the job, click on apply, THEN you get to fill out a 20 minute survey about the job, followed by an essay exam “Tell us why you think you should be presented to our client.” “Make us believe that you are worthy of our attention.”

The problem is this, when I start talking about what I do 50% of the words don’t make sense to the average person. Those that actually understand the words still don’t understand what I do. So I’m faced with a conundrum… Do I write something simple enough that an average person will get it without bleeding from their eyes, or do I write something assuming that a hiring manager is going to see what I wrote and understand? 

I’ve tried both ways with little difference in result.

(I’ve noticed that the job application process gets a WHOLE lot easier with these people if there are a lot of jobs and very few applicants)

Where I could crank out a nicely customized cover letter  and have it and a resume in the mail, in about 15 minutes. NOW it takes closer to 45 minutes to apply for some of these positions.

There is ONE of the above headhunter sites that is awful in this regard.

Almost every single fucking application requires that you answer different questions and move little sliders around then enter the number of year experience you have. It’s maddening! Especially since all this information is already contained in my resume. And that same information is already contained in their specific forms that I filled out when I created my account.

I’ve actually gone back to sending a fax or mailing a cover letter & resume whenever possible!

Even that can be fraught with difficulties.

Since so many of these sites link to other sites which link to other sites it’s pretty easy to get messed up thinking you’re responding to an ad from one site when it’s really from someplace entirely different.

In general, I prefer to send something I wrote, and had control over from start to finish rather than turn my future over to a snot nosed idiot.

Back in the day… If you were going to use a professional placement agency… you’d contact someone that specialized in your industry and you’d work with a single agent.

That way you could actually build a relationship and that person could sell you because they knew you. It was an implicit recommendation.

Now, you never speak with the same agent twice and you’re damn lucky if they speak English.

So to all you job placement firms… Understand that some of us have little to no desire to spend our days filling out 4 job application forms online when we can type and stuff 8 or 10 of our cover letters and resumes into an envelope or fax machine in half the time.

Heck, I have a fax machine and a nifty little usb fax modem… I might as well get some use out of them!

Maybe I should get into the job placement gig. Perhaps it’s time for OLD SCHOOL standards to return.

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$60 well spent

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Went to Guitar Center today, and spent some time with Beauty and a professional instrument technician.

I learned how to change strings, how to do minor maintenance and do intonation. Plus I learned how to do a bunch of easy little things that will make the guitar sound better, and last longer.

When I got home, I practiced for about 2 hours during a thunderstorm and am excited.

I’ve been trying to learn to sight read standard musical notation and the TAB standard. The miracle is that I’m getting it. 

For someone that has believed for a large portion of their life that they were musically inept and incapable of learning to play an instrument, this experience is really good for me as it’s allowing me to have a sense of accomplishment.

Right now this is really important since the job search isn’t getting much in the way of results.

Learning something new, that is also artistic seems to recharge me so that the next set of indignities I have to deal with in the job search don’t seem so bad.

If you’r e looking for a new job and not having much luck, I highly recommend learning something new, or that you dig out an old hobby and use it as a means to relax.

Have fun, play with the dog, or the kids. But make sure that you set aside some time for something that you love to do alone.

It might help you see a new way to pursue the jobs you’re seeking or just see a new path.

I’m sure as heck not going to become a rocker. My next career isn’t going t be on stage but I can learn to make music and enjoy myself.

Isn’t being happy what it’s all about?

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My God I am tired of the job hunting games!

I’ve written about the EDD, I’ve written about companies demanding Twitter and Facebook account information. 

Now, It’s crap where companies are asking questions that sound an awful lot like “Does this dress make me look fat?” Every single man in America knows that no matter what answer you give… it’s the wrong one!

“Why do you want to work for us?“

“Well… My unemployment benefits are running out. I’m tired of jerking off or fucking all day. I’d like to go back to contributing to my 401K.

I don’t really know much about your company since your web site is all about marketing hype but doesn’t actually say what the hell you do. However, your ad matches my experience and qualifications pretty closely so I figured I’d apply.

Finally, to steal a quote from Malcolm Reynolds, “I have a powerful need to eat sometime this month.”

Oh and that dress makes you look really fat! Ya probably want to loose that skirt/tutu thing with that leotard… The whole ensemble just makes your fat ass look like Saturn!

Of course that kind of brutal honesty isn’t something that anyone nowadays is ready to hear. Honesty it seems is just too … honest.

You know… honesty, like reality can be painful!

Instead some companies apparently want to be wooed like a fucking Prom Date!

Which, by the way is one of the reasons that prostitution is such a popular service industry. At least prostitution is honest. You see the goods, you like the goods, you rent the goods, and you get off. Everyone is happy. There’s a straight forward no-nonsense business transaction and that’s it.

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But corporate America apparently wants to play games, and have you win a popularity contest before they’ll even look at your resume. 

Don’t we play enough games? Look at my fucking resume, then using that information narrow down the list of candidates, then call us, then schedule an interview. Shouldn’t a cover letter and resume be sufficient for consideration? Why on earth would qualifications be secondary to how pretty the lies you tell are?

If Corporate America wants a popularity contest that’s fine… I’ll put on my best suit, (Or my sexiest outfit) and take a bunch of pictures of myself leading up to a grand finale where they see my cock and then some little HR bitch can decide if I’m worthy enough to actually speak with the hiring manager

Yeah… I’m over the bullshit!

I can do the fucking job! Stop toying with me.

It’s real simple corporate America

I’ll do the job, and you’ll pay me.

I’m probably not going to want to spend my off time with my co-workers

I will use the money you pay me to eat, buy shit, date, and screw. And you Corporate America can’t say shit about that.

I’ll be professional at work

I will never be owned by you, and honestly if someone comes along and makes me a better offer I’m likely to consider it JUST LIKE YOU WOULD! 

The only difference is that you’ll align and realign with large corporations in strategic partnerships and I’ll align and realign with your competitors for straight up Cash! I won’t give your secrets away because more often than not those are given away on the golf courses of America… CEO to CEO.

SO Don’t ask us to participate in your popularity contests.

Don’t worry about equal opportunity employment crap, just hire the best fucker for the job and move on.

 

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Just when did I sign on at an Indian Job placement firm?

IWorklogo just got a call out of the blue from a job placement company.

The guy calling was obviously Indian. His accent was so thick that I could barely understand him.

He sent me an email while we were speaking on the phone. That gave me and Identification of the company, this guy worked for. As I explored their website I found that in addition to a supposed office in IL their main office were actually in Bhusari Colony,
Kothrud, Pune 411038 India.

So that’s all fine except that this guy tells me he wants me to respond to his email in the next 15 minutes. Say what?? Hello, I’m actually filling out another application right at the moment.  I told this guy that, then he starts pressuring me to apply for a job in San Jose, for 80k max and he has no idea what the hell the job is. All he can tell me is that it’s something to do with embedded systems That could be anything from a Jet Engine control module to an implantable medical device.

His email has a ONE LINE job description and the only information is a requirement for HP Quality Center which is a test tool HP purchased from Mercury Interactive.

What the fuck?

So this moron wants me to apply, in the blind for a position that I have no data on, and he wants me to do this in the next 15 minutes…

I told him that the application I was working on would be finished first, then I’d send him the information he wanted. He asked how long that would be… I told him he’d have it by tomorrow morning. 

You know I want a job, but I can’t waste time with people that don’t do their jobs. Especially when I’ve got a real job application that I’m working on.

——– UPDATE ——–

Ok maybe I’m a bit too sensitive.

I get another email this morning from this Manoj guy. This time he’s wanting me to sign a document that says, and I’m paraphrasing here;

“I promise under threat of litigation, that I will not apply for or allow anyone else to submit me for a position with GE or any of their subsidiaries or partners for the next 45 days.”

I have some problems with this.

1) GE has it’s fingers in companies all over the world. Technically that makes all of those companies subsidiaries or partners, completely off limits. How would I keep track?

2) The document also specifically mentions a Wisconsin job opportunity NOT a San Jose position that we discussed yesterday.

3) Until yesterday I never heard of the agency this guy works for.

4) Based on his comportment, his inability to speak English clearly, and the way he represented his company… I DON’T want him representing ME.

I was polite, I sent an email saying that I couldn’t in good conscience sign this exclusivity agreement because I had no capacity to control what other headhunters may or may not do and bade him farewell.

I hop in the shower, when I’m put together for the day, I check my email again. There’s another email from him. This one is the same email as yesterday with ONE difference. It’s for a position in WI.

Yesterday:

I have a fulltime position at San Jose CA which is an HP QC and embedded requirement.

In case you are interested please call me back asap.

Today:

I have a fulltime position at Milwaukee WI  which is an HP QC and embedded requirement.

In case you are interested please call me back asap.

The rest of the email is a list of questions… all of which are answered in my resume, and oh… They’re also answered on the job search board that he got my contact information from. Mind you he’s asking for all this information but nowhere does he ask for a resume, or salary history

Name: 
Availability:      
Current Location:

 Please let me know if you wish to consider him!

Contact No.:       

Email ID:   

Work Status:        
 

Employer Details
Full Name: 
Company Name:

Phone No: 
Email ID:

 

Reference 1
 
Name: 
Designation:
Company:
Phone No:
Email ID:
 
Reference 2
 
Name:
Designation:
Company:
 Phone No:
Email ID:

I preserved the formatting of his email. If you look carefully, you’ll see that after this information has been filled out… It looks like he just cuts and pastes it, including the line ” Please let me know if you wish to consider him!” into an outbound email to his supposed client. I wonder if Manoj remembers to change the pronoun… I doubt it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that this guy in fact doesn’t have a client. He’s just spamming corporations with names and resumes hoping that someone will be interesting enough that he can get his 10% to 20% cut of their salary.

I’ve no sooner looked at the email than my phone is ringing. Yep it’s this idiot… I decline to answer.

I thought about writing a nice email to him explaining that I wasn’t interested in he or his company representing me. But I thought the effort would be a wasted one.

One of the advantages of owning your own domain names is that you have the ability to really control what’s going on through those domains.

Believing that Manoj wouldn’t get the hint, (I may be one of the few people he’s spoken to for more than 5 minutes) I created a filter on my domain that will reject all messages from his corporate domain, returning an error message “YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY THIS USER”

Maybe he’ll get the message then.

If you’re looking for a job, be careful in your search.

There are people like Manoj who through their puerile efforts simply blow your chances of even being considered, and then there are others who actually use the information that you provide about your work history and other personal information to construct false identities or steal yours. 

Remember, there are always predators. This is  especially true in tough economic times.