Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests jobless....tick tock tick tock...month 7

I got laid off on Oct 1st for a support/LAN job. I went and got my MCSE in Jan and really started looking for work. I've sent out about 35 applications for positions I am fully qualified for but not a single phone call...(sigh) I live in Oregon which has had the highest unemployment in the nation for almost a year. The unemployment rate peaked at 8.5 and now is 7.5.

Anyone got any advice?

Thanks

Monster.com ... seriously, my dad looks at applications from there all the time for his company, and I believe it was that site that got him several interviews when he himself was searching for a job (3 years ago).

Register on each and every e-resume place you can ...

best site i've found is hotjobs.com, i've gotten a lot of good interviews from there, but none at all from monster.com

off topic but...did u get ur rim fixed yet shaun?

I fixed my rim and you can hardly see it if you know exactly where to look. I'm happy with results and this is my second repair job on two different sets of wheels..I'm turning in to a real pro at it. I don't know if that is a good thing or bad thing.

As for monster.com. Two years ago I was getting calls from monster but know it just seem like all the jobs are flooded by employment agencies. Almost a waste of time...now, that is

I've been jobless since February, and have placed about 40 legit resumes into companies. One solid lead so far. Hang in there. Best job search engine, in my opinion, is careerbuilder.com. Set up a personal search agent on that site based on your qualifications. Best of luck.

From my wife's job search we learned that (at least in Canada) approximately 80% of jobs are not posted. These can only be found/had through networking. It took her 4 months to find a job and she sent out approximately 500 resumes, each individually tailored to the job. About 10 responses all togther. In the end, she found a job through a friend.

FWIW she has two university degrees, a college diploma, and teaching certificates. (IOW - it's rough out there).

Best of luck to you.

500 resumes?....you sent out 500? Wow, that's alot. I can't even find 500 jobs to apply for.

don't sit and wait for them to call you.
do your damdest to get a phone number and someone to contact (beyond HR too, get a name of someone who would be in charge of hiring you for your position) bug bug bug them to no end asking for an interview.
never ever sit on your hands waiting for them to come to you.

I'd also get involved with those employment agencies aka "head hunters". you don't have to pay them a dime to help find you a job because companies pay them to find employees aka YOU.
find some in your local area, and go have an interview with them. they'll be extra help finding you jobs while you do your own searches.

Someone mentioned to me that there was an analysis of job markets, and the internet boards seem not to be the best place to operate with. If I were you, get calling the individual head of depts, in the companies that usually hire your kind of expertise.

I think that Monster board, etc, are a bit overrated in their success. You still have to do more leggwork than usual now, so get calling people,,pronto!!!

Thanks for all the great advice.

I do have a question. I have known a couple of people who have done "informational" interveiws and were very pro-active in their job searches. But in the end they ended up landing jobs through their friends or through the paper not because of "informational" interveiws.

I've always had mixed fillings about just cold calling people trying to hard sell myself when all I may really be doing is bugging some busy person who does not have any money for positions anyways.

Has anyone here had sucess finding a job cold calling or landed a job because of an "informational" interveiw?

Thanks for any advice.