The Job Searchers' Thread

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by peter12

No one will be surprised here, but I've never not worn a suit to an interview.

You’ve never not worn a suit to take a dump.

[Yamer]

Here's a new one for you folks:

I'm starting to see the writing on the wall at my current job. The project has been so terribly managed from the start, and I think the contract is soon to be pulled. This isn't too heartbreaking as I really dislike the job, but it also means I may soon be facing unemployment...again.

However, I have been looking for other jobs while employed, which is actually a new thing for me. Yesterday I had an interview in Calgary, and just made up the excuse that I had a "personal appointment". If this position drags on I may have to handle more of these absences as I maneuver my way out of here.

Thing is, I don't want to let on to my current employer that I am looking for other employment. There are a number of reasons, but mostly because I've seen someone else exit the project under similar circumstances and it was capital U - UGLY. Needless to say my employer did not handle it well, and I expect I will receive the same demeaning treatment. I also don't want to demoralize the other folks working on this, but if they had any common sense they would see the end is nigh.

Any tips or advice on looking for other work while you're employed? I know when it comes to an end it isn't going to be pretty, but in the meantime I still want things to remain amicable and I want to continue to do my job, and I don't want to have to deal with the ugliness until absolutely necessary.

Thanks in advance.

[CaptainCrunch]

Not really advice, however you can let the interviewer know that you need to be a bit discrete in terms of your job search and to keep that in mind in terms of the interview process. Most people will understand that.

[mrkajz44]

Captain is right - I've searched several times for jobs while I've currently been employed. Some tips:

1) Be upfront with the company you are interviewing with that you are currently employed and don't want to disrupt your current job too much. Try for interviews first thing in the morning or around lunch and its easier to "go missing" for a bit

2) Don't drop any hints at all at work that your looking. The office gossip machine is the most efficient news transferring process of all time

3) MOST IMPORTANT - Don't check out on your current job while your looking, even when you think you've basically got the other job (or even have the new job signed and confirmed). I did this without really noticing it during my last job search and it made me such a horrible person to work with - it was only after I looked back on it did I realize how bad I was

[JohnnyO]

Has anyone had luck with Indeed or Linkedin in ACTUALLY getting a job? I am finding it very frustrating applying for positions that seem to be a good match and fit. Are these job posting boards overwhelmed with applicants. Seeing that I am in the top 10% of 40 applicants, you would think that you would get a call to come in for an interview?

The call backs I have got have been from the actual company postings or strong/capable/organized recruiters.

I feel for anyone who is looking for work in this craptastic environment. I have been continuously employed since I was 14, so this is all new for me and it totally sucks.

[GrrlGoalie33]

As an active job seeker, it angers me to no end that some low life tried to scam me recently. Falfaffaling scum go after those of us already down on our luck I've worked a grand total of 14 months since my diagnosis in August of 2013.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by JohnnyO

Has anyone had luck with Indeed or Linkedin in ACTUALLY getting a job? I am finding it very frustrating applying for positions that seem to be a good match and fit. Are these job posting boards overwhelmed with applicants. Seeing that I am in the top 10% of 40 applicants, you would think that you would get a call to come in for an interview?

The call backs I have got have been from the actual company postings or strong/capable/organized recruiters.

I feel for anyone who is looking for work in this craptastic environment. I have been continuously employed since I was 14, so this is all new for me and it totally sucks.

Depending what industry and position you are looking at but really anything in Calgary in O&G that you see applying on a website like that you have essentially no chance at all.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by JohnnyO

Has anyone had luck with Indeed or Linkedin in ACTUALLY getting a job? I am finding it very frustrating applying for positions that seem to be a good match and fit. Are these job posting boards overwhelmed with applicants. Seeing that I am in the top 10% of 40 applicants, you would think that you would get a call to come in for an interview?

The call backs I have got have been from the actual company postings or strong/capable/organized recruiters.

I feel for anyone who is looking for work in this craptastic environment. I have been continuously employed since I was 14, so this is all new for me and it totally sucks.

Honestly with linkedin, zip recruiter, and Indeed you're diving into the most competitive space out there. I mean unless you completely standout or you have exceptional skills or a cover letter that you send out that really sells yourself its a tough row to how.


However once I really got comfortable with it, I did get a lot of replies out of indeed and Zip Recruiter.



However that was more along the line of using the search tools. Not just dumping a resume and a generic cover letter. But being specific to each job because recruiters or hiring managers see the same shy55y cover letter every day until their eyes burn.


However you need to be careful registering your resume on those sites because you'll get savagly attacked by people from Primerica etc. Or by the scammers.


Linkedin is really the home for recruiting firms.


Personally you really have to augment your search nowdays to be succesful.



Some things I did that got me work within about a month.


Picked my target companies that I was interested in and could bring value to. Reach out via their career links or even a phone call to a hiring person if you see a role that's a fit.


I actively registered with a lot of recruiting firms I was just really selective though and didn't go with the lower end ones.


I paid careful attention to the matchip statistics on search websites and didn't apply to any role below 75% matchup.



Find other networking opportunities there are lots of groups out there. If you belong to any associations be active.


Do it better then anyone else. A lot of people think that a job search is a technology search and send their resume's off naked, thinking that's enough. I had 4 different resume's customized to different skill sets. I also again made sure that I had a distinct cover for each job to show that I was detail oriented and professional. Some people just hit respond on indeed and zip recruiter and then get upset when they don't get a response.


Be aggressive be be aggressive.


With it being a recruiter market in Alberta and lots of out of work people out there willing to take less and do more, be prepared for rejection and use it as a learning opportunity. Even if you get rejected after personal contact or an interview make sure that you do two things.


Try to get their feedback, what did I miss etc, think door knob close.


Ask them for permission to follow up with them in a month. Most recruiters will be ok with that. The reasoning. They made a bad hire and want to fix it. A new position opens up and they'll think of you first if you match up.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by JohnnyO

Has anyone had luck with Indeed or Linkedin in ACTUALLY getting a job?

I got my job through Indeed. But I live in an area of about 15,000 people. When I lived in North Vancouver I had very little luck. I got maybe a few phone interviews/screenings and I cant remember if the in-person interview I got was from Indeed or the company's website. Other than that it was rejection emails or no response at all.

[Yamer]

I search for jobs almost exclusively on Indeed, apart from specific organizations/companies I constantly monitor. However, I don't use the Indeed platform to apply for these jobs. If they don't have an "Apply on Company Website" button I do some research and try to apply directly through the company.

If you send through Indeed itself you're in with anywhere from 100 to 500 other applications (a majority of which is spam). If you use Indeed as a job posting page, and not as a portal to apply, I think you have a much better chance.

Also, this may have been mentioned before, but if you are submitting through some sort of company hiring platform try and submit the document in Word format rather than PDF. These auto-sorting platforms tend to view certain PDF formats as blank, and they end up in the ether. Personally, I try to submit both Word and PDF copies if I can, or if it's a direct email then I just do PDF.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

CC the career whisperer

Johnny- take this advice to heart. Many moons ago, I sought out CC's advice when interviewing / looking for a career change. I say this sincerely, CC knows what he's talking about.

Going price for that advice was a bottle of scotch, hand delivered, I do believe.

[CaptainCrunch]

It was delicious

[CaptainCrunch]

Another thing that I was thinking about it.


A lot of medium to large companies tend to use applicant tracking software that's designed to parse for key words related to the role that they're hiring for. a ATS is rapidly becoming the first gate keeper before human eyes get to it. They are designed to filter lets say 100 resume's to 20 resume's fit for human consumption.


So when the HR person gets the job description, they'll look for key word screens.



Obviously it starts with things like location and education requirements and the moves on to one word quantifiable skills.


We do a lot of filtering in our recruiting based on up to 5 screening questions that are built around specific job skills or achievements.


The idea is to allow the ATS to put applications into theoretical bundles


A) hits every requirement, local, salary range not to be exceeded (This is why you see a lot of jobs asking for salary expectations now).



B) Hits on most requirements, a fairly strong candidates with holes. An A candidate can become a B candidate if the salary requirement and salary offered don't match.


C) Doesn't hit most qualifications, it goes into a space holder in case the job requirements change.


So an ATS might filter out C's and B's or most B's and send through As. In a sellers market/candidate market A's,B's and maybe C's go through.


You have to beat a piece of software most times to get to a person. With Indeed it has a built in ATS for the clients and you can decide the submission level.


so if you're looking at a posting, look at the qualifications, and make sure that you're resume can be matched up. Also if there's a slot for salary requests, don't leave it blank. Do some research ie glass door and find out what equivalent roles play. But if you leave it at 0 it will drop you in terms of matching.

[Poster]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Another thing that I was thinking about it.


A lot of medium to large companies tend to use applicant tracking software that's designed to parse for key words related to the role that they're hiring for. a ATS is rapidly becoming the first gate keeper before human eyes get to it. They are designed to filter lets say 100 resume's to 20 resume's fit for human consumption.


So when the HR person gets the job description, they'll look for key word screens.



Obviously it starts with things like location and education requirements and the moves on to one word quantifiable skills.


We do a lot of filtering in our recruiting based on up to 5 screening questions that are built around specific job skills or achievements.


The idea is to allow the ATS to put applications into theoretical bundles


A) hits every requirement, local, salary range not to be exceeded (This is why you see a lot of jobs asking for salary expectations now).



B) Hits on most requirements, a fairly strong candidates with holes. An A candidate can become a B candidate if the salary requirement and salary offered don't match.


C) Doesn't hit most qualifications, it goes into a space holder in case the job requirements change.


So an ATS might filter out C's and B's or most B's and send through As. In a sellers market/candidate market A's,B's and maybe C's go through.


You have to beat a piece of software most times to get to a person. With Indeed it has a built in ATS for the clients and you can decide the submission level.


so if you're looking at a posting, look at the qualifications, and make sure that you're resume can be matched up. Also if there's a slot for salary requests, don't leave it blank. Do some research ie glass door and find out what equivalent roles play. But if you leave it at 0 it will drop you in terms of matching.

Sounds like a terrible company to work for with very little chemistry up and down the organization.

Thank goodness I would never meet their “A” criteria.

Good luck to all job searchers. My only secret sauce is to know how to generate new revenue that can be directly attributed to your presence, the right company will always hire you and you will never need to work for the wrong company.

[CaptainCrunch]

I work for a recruiting company, and our process is very similar to most organziations in the field. Gut instinct hiring is pretty much dead. There are too many counterfeit candidates out there and companies have to have a strong preliminary screening process so they don't waste time with candidates and find ones that fit the requirements of the role.

[jeffporfirio]

Has anyone here gone through the Higher Landing program?
I went to the intro session today, and they sell it as a career transformation program. Its a 2 month program, with everything from career coaching to resume building, and ending in a "shark tank" scenario where local CEOs interview/critique you (they call them "Grizzlies"). Its government sponsored, if you get selected, and they claim a 70% success ratio in landing you in the career you best fit in and should succeed in.
Anyhow, just looking for comments from anyone who has gone through it.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

Has anyone here gone through the Higher Landing program?
I went to the intro session today, and they sell it as a career transformation program. Its a 2 month program, with everything from career coaching to resume building, and ending in a "shark tank" scenario where local CEOs interview/critique you (they call them "Grizzlies"). Its government sponsored, if you get selected, and they claim a 70% success ratio in landing you in the career you best fit in and should succeed in.
Anyhow, just looking for comments from anyone who has gone through it.

PM'd

[Poster]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I work for a recruiting company, and our process is very similar to most organziations in the field. Gut instinct hiring is pretty much dead. There are too many counterfeit candidates out there and companies have to have a strong preliminary screening process so they don't waste time with candidates and find ones that fit the requirements of the role.

Ya I get it. I would never work for a company like that.

[81MC]

Well I’m about to start hunting for a job. I don’t know if it’s just emotion from the news or not, but it sure feels like the last several years have been one giant waste of time, and now my real skill set is so outdated I’m probably looking at an entry/mid-level gig again. How fun.

[Bleeding Red]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Well I’m about to start hunting for a job. I don’t know if it’s just emotion from the news or not, but it sure feels like the last several years have been one giant waste of time, and now my real skill set is so outdated I’m probably looking at an entry/mid-level gig again. How fun.

Don't get too down. I know the initial shock and then first couple of weeks can be hard.

If you can, take some time to think about a few things:
- what did / didn't you like about your last job
- Think about the things you accomplished (that those fools at the last job didn't appreciate)
- Think about what you would want in your next job - flexibility, meaningful tasks, location, company, etc.

- Think about (or list) what you did. I am sure that you used skills that could be transferable


Also, try not to be too hard on others - they are only trying to help in their way. Expect the usual "why not go into business for yourself", start a company/consultancy, become a real estate agent, etc.


And definitely review this thread - lots of helpful hints and encouragement.


Best of Luck!!