Vent: Job hunting profusely Inhales

[Mickeyflower]

I just had to come and vent a little. I am coming up on 2 years of being unemployed. The L-O-N-G-E-S-T and only term of unemployment I have ever had. I have tried every avenue I can find and still nothing. I've gone to 4 different temp agencies, and they have given me "glowing reviews" on my skills, then NADA! Just today, I saw an ad for a job I applied to a week ago through one of the agencies. I haven't heard from the agency though. This keeps happening!!! ARGHH!!! My stress level is so high, that I have now started to grind and clench my teeth at nigh so much, I wake with a splitting headache! I know it's just a matter of time before I finally get a job, but in the mean time, ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!


Thank you for Pete for giving me a place to do this!

 

[FireDancer]

I'm sorry to hear that. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to work and not being able to find a job.

If you have any experience running an athletic program and are willing to relocate to State College, PA there are a whole lot of openings though.

 

[simonkodousek]

I'm sorry to hear that. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to work and not being able to find a job.

If you have any experience running an athletic program and are willing to relocate to State College, PA there are a whole lot of openings though.

In all seriousness though, hang in there. I know it's gotta be tough. Just come to your DIS happy place and have a few good laughs... I recommend Kevin's most recent post in the 'hot tub behavior' thread. Genius.

 

[Mickeyflower]

I'm sorry to hear that. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to work and not being able to find a job.

If you have any experience running an athletic program and are willing to relocate to State College, PA there are a whole lot of openings though.

Well, I am a California girl through and through, I don't do snow!

In all seriousness though, hang in there. I know it's gotta be tough. Just come to your DIS happy place and have a few good laughs... I recommend Kevin's most recent post in the 'hot tub behavior' thread. Genius.

I do, maybe a little too often

And I did read the HOT TUB thread, and if there was a little throw up face, that would be on here too! Man oh man, some peoples children!

 

[txvjc]

I feel your pain as that is about how long I was out of work and it seemed no matter where I went (looking for jobs outside my field), what I did (temp agencies, volunteering), who I talked to (recruiters, friends), who I had talking for me (former managers), etc I couldn't even get an interview then one day it just kinda happened out of the blue so keep you hopes and faiths up.

 

[kbelle8995]

I have been throught what you are going through.

I'm sorry to hear you are having this time. But keep track of what you are doing and toughest thing of all is to try not to get discouraged.

It's aggravating when they don't answer you after you applied. But sometimes that's not possible. I was told for one job I applied for the Human resource person told me that over three hundred people applied and that they were swamped by applicants. I'm in a different field but still.

Keep honing your job skills and build up your references. Also let others know that you[re looking maybe they know of a job opening.

Above all keep doing what you are doing. I am with you I'm a southern girl myself hate cold weather but I've sent apps to Northern climes. If you can move easily it might help you put your foot in the door.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Temp agency are not all that great to rely on. I recently found out that one of the companies requires their recruiters to do a mini of 40 phone interviews and 25 in person interviews a week! So they are basically trying to meet their quota and are posting fake jobs to get people to apply.
So stick with appling with companies directly.

** remember that you are not alone. There are a lot of people who have been out of work for a long time because of the economy. So hang in there

 

[princessbride6205]

Hang in there! My uncle has been out of work for that long and my former co-worker has been out of work for 10 months. It's tough out there.
As for the stress and teeth grinding, maybe you need to acknowledge that you're doing what you can. Like, write down 2 or 3 things each day that you did to further your job search. Whether it was applying for a job, e-mailing an old boss to stay in touch, taking a class, whatever. Then you can maybe go to bed feeling like you did what you could that day.

If you haven't already, check out the Ask A Manager blog. She is a fabulous hiring manager with tips on both workplace issues as well as finding a job. Her tips have helped me make my cover letters sound more like "me" and less like a form letter. And her site isn't just the same job search advice you've heard over and over.

I also like Blue Sky Resumes. I haven't used their pay service, but they have a number of sample resumes you can look at. I used that site as inspiration for formatting and for suggestions on how to approach certain things on my resume.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

If you haven't already, check out the Ask A Manager blog. She is a fabulous hiring manager with tips on both workplace issues as well as finding a job. Her tips have helped me make my cover letters sound more like "me" and less like a form letter. And her site isn't just the same job search advice you've heard over and over.

I also like Blue Sky Resumes. I haven't used their pay service, but they have a number of sample resumes you can look at. I used that site as inspiration for formatting and for suggestions on how to approach certain things on my resume.

Great suggestions from princessbride6205! I am an office manager and just had two openings - an entry level receptionist and a more specialized admin. We were also flooded with resumes! After seeing those (and previous years' resumes), I can't stress enough the need to perfect your resume and cover letter. Even though it is said ad nauseam, too many people still have glaring spelling and grammatical errors. Not to mention the odd resume with inappropriate information.

So my best advice is to get a second, third or twelfth pair of eyes to look at your resume and cover letter(s). You cannot be too careful!

 

[disprincessatheart]

I am coming up on 14 months myself. I wasnt looking at first (had a package, and an infant and taking a few months off was welcome). When I did start looking there wasnt a lot to see and I got discouraged when I didn't hear back from anywhere for months. I finally got my first interview almost a full year after my last day of work. It went nowhere. Got another a month later, nothing. Last week I had a phone interview and yesterday another with a different company. Today I have a second interview with company #4. So all in all 6 interviews with 4 companies all since labor day, but my last day of work was mid september LAST year.

The job market is completely different than it has ever been. Employers are SO picky now because they can be. WIth 100s of applicants for every position they can likely find someone with EVERY require and desired qualification they want. I actually had a company ask for my college GPA the other day. I can't figure out why that matters 12 years later, but they wanted it and i never heard back. guess it was too low. oh, and they specifically asked for undergrad and not my mba. Keep doing what youre doing and take some time every day to relax - yoga, a walk, deep breathing.

 

[ccgirl]

I just had to come and vent a little. I am coming up on 2 years of being unemployed. The L-O-N-G-E-S-T and only term of unemployment I have ever had. I have tried every avenue I can find and still nothing. I've gone to 4 different temp agencies, and they have given me "glowing reviews" on my skills, then NADA! Just today, I saw an ad for a job I applied to a week ago through one of the agencies. I haven't heard from the agency though. This keeps happening!!! ARGHH!!! My stress level is so high, that I have now started to grind and clench my teeth at nigh so much, I wake with a splitting headache! I know it's just a matter of time before I finally get a job, but in the mean time, ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!


Thank you for Pete for giving me a place to do this!

Wishing you luck. I would ditch the agency and try it on your own. Make sure you follow up and don't just wait around. What line of work are you looking for?

 

[kkwis2]

I agree that it must be terribly frustrating to want to work but to not be able to do so. I hope that something will come your way soon!

 

[SrisonS]

I kinda feel your pain. I am fortunately working at the moment, but would love to find a new opportunity. My company just had it's 2nd set of layoffs for this year alone. And I honestly don't see things getting better there soon. So I'm trying to get out. I've been looking since about March, but have had no luck at all. No call backs or anything. Although it's kinda unsettling, I know I just gotta keep trying.

 

[emilymad]

I was just on a "Learn about HR" call this week at work. One of our top internal recruiters said he finds applicants soley on LinkedIn. His suggestion on your LinkedIn profile was to keep everything focused on your accomplishments and not on what you are looking to do. He suggested getting rid of "buzz" words like team player, energetic, etc and replace with real world examples of these things.

Hopefully this helps someone! I know I was really surprised on the focus our HR was placing on using LinkedIn for both internal and external job applicants.

Good luck!

 

[Mickeyflower]

First of all, THANK YOU ALL so much for your encouraging words! The temp agency was just 1 of the many many many many many roads I used. I'm very fortunate that my cousin's wife is a career counselor for a college and she re-wrote my resume for me and helped me with a cover letter.

I got an email about an hour ago, one of the roads PAID OFF!!! I start a p/t temp job on Tuesday the 15th 3 days a week, and it could turn f/t perm. It is actually exactly what I was doing at my old job. Not ideal that it's not f/t perm, but it has a chance to turn that way, so I jumped on it! Also pays $2 more per hour than I was making!

Again, I can't thank you all enough for lifting me out of the dirt!

 

[SamSam]

Yay! I'm so happy for you...hopefully it will turn into a permanent full time position.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Congratulations! Sounds like even though it might not be perfect now, it could turn out great!

 

[Mickeyflower]

That is what I'm hoping for! In this economy, I'd better grab anything that looks promising! Kinda like I did with DBF

 

[lorax123]

Congrats on landing a job.

Job hunting is ludicrously time consuming. I'm employed right now, but looking for greener pastures (with better benefits!). But it's been off and in for a year now.

From the recruiters I've been lucky enough to talk to, It really seems to be about having a good resume/cover letter and getting it in there before everyone else. Or, in my opinion, having a really good cover letter that wins them over.

I was also surprised to hear, very few designers have a web portfolio. That information stunned me.

Anybody have some good hints or tips? I don't like the idea of using Linked-in. My employer will question you if they suspect you are job hunting and that has gotten a few people at the top of the 'to be laid off list'. Is linked-in private?