June 26, 2014

Job Search 2014

Since the company I work for has had a couple rounds of lay offs already, I decided it might be time to get my resume freshened up and to start sending it out.  So a couple weeks ago, I started spending every evening looking through any job site that I could find.  I sent my resume out to about 15 different companies.

One thing I absolutely hate is when a company asks for a resume and then wants an application filled out too.  The application containing pretty much the exact same info that is on the resume.  Such a waste of time.  If you are interested in me and want to contact me for more information... Great, I'll fill out an app.  But I don't want to waste 2 hours just to apply for a job.

One thing I have learned from this job search, nobody uses the phone anymore. Of the 3 people that have contacted me, not one person used the phone.  All of the initial contacts have been made through email.  And then when we were to the point where there needed to be a phone conversation, they all emailed to ask me to call them.

So far, 1 recruiter really liked me and thought I was perfect for a job that sounded pretty perfect for me.  Unfortunately after listing the job, the company took a step back and is hesitating on hiring.  I didn't even have a chance to interview with the actual company, just a phone interview with the recruiter.

Another person that contacted me said they were interested in me after seeing my resume but would like me to submit an application through their website and then went on to list all their websites so that I could start learning about the company. This job sounded like it would be a good fit for me also.  But then I never heard back from them.  They are still listing the position on all the hiring sites so either they didn't like my application or they haven't gotten to the next step of setting up interviews.

The last company that contacted me was great location wise.  It's only 7 minutes from my house but I wasn't sure if the position was a great fit.  I don't feel like the interview went really well.  The owner of the company talked a lot about himself and the company, giving me some history and what he hoped the person who filled the position would be able to accomplish.  But when he asked about my current position and what I do, he cut me off after about 2 minutes and then started talking about his company again.  After I left I felt like there was so much I didn't get a chance to tell him.  I probably wouldn't be good for the job as it require's the social butterfly type of person and I'm not that.  But it sounded like a good company to work for, good benefits and plenty of education provided.  I sent the owner an email today telling him I appreciated the interview, that I would love an opportunity to work for his company but this position just isn't the right one for me.  Then I listed a lot of my strengths and what I could do for his company. Hopefully it was the right move.

2 comments:

  1. Hehe... though my company mostly hires blue-collar and does not require an application until an offer is made, while I was applying, I saw that sort of stuff all the time--the resume/cover letter/application. Applications, especially online ones, are more to help sort without buying into a resume sorter. It distributes applicants into pools based on their responses and gives them a score. Those that pass the initial app test move to the resume stage, where the resumes are actually forwarded to hiring managers. Just one of multiple possibilities. I know it's a pain, but do remember that otherwise, you'd have 1 overworked HR person reviewing 200+ resumes, many of which dont even begin to qualify. (Sorry, I'm in HR)

    Good luck with your search!

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  2. I hope the job search goes well. I think that it's pretty awesome that you are being so proactive in looking and making contacts.

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