Job Suggestions?

[mc ukrneal]

Alright, John e-mailed me with tips for sending in a resume for that job, since he is the expert.
I'm not sure being a programmer and testing your own software qualifies for "experience,"  but nevertheless, he has some great tips worth trying. 

But the important thing is being able to translate those skills to the job you want. Saying it is a hobby, for example, is totally different from providing specific (applicable) examples that show you can do the job being considered. Giving a concrete example of something you have done is always very useful and helpful to your cause.

[mc ukrneal]

Here is something else to consider when applying for a job:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Social-Media-History-Becomes-nytimes-510406413.html?x=0&.v=1

Starts: "Companies have long used criminal background checks, credit reports and even searches on Google and LinkedIn to probe the previous lives of prospective employees. Now, some companies are requiring job candidates to also pass a social media background check."

[ibanezmonster]

Here is something else to consider when applying for a job:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Social-Media-History-Becomes-nytimes-510406413.html?x=0&.v=1

Starts: "Companies have long used criminal background checks, credit reports and even searches on Google and LinkedIn to probe the previous lives of prospective employees. Now, some companies are requiring job candidates to also pass a social media background check."

Yeah, that's kind of ridiculous what it's coming to. Pretty soon, my friends that complain all the time on Facebook won't be able to be hired just because of that (if it gets to the extreme). Then employers will have no one to hire because nobody is perfect.

But the important thing is being able to translate those skills to the job you want. Saying it is a hobby, for example, is totally different from providing specific (applicable) examples that show you can do the job being considered. Giving a concrete example of something you have done is always very useful and helpful to your cause.

I will set up a porfolio of programming projects on a website, eventually. I might include a couple from school, but just a couple because most of them really aren't advanced enough.

Greg, I wish you well - I appreciate that this is a difficult economy for finding a job, especially a job that gets you excited. 

Having said that, a couple of ideas - nothing sells yourself better than enthusiasm, a positive attitude.  And nothing undermines you more than having an attitude that the job you are doing is "beneath" you.  I'm not accusing you of this, but just wanted to offer this advice.  A good manager will notice a worker who has an entry level job putting all his energy into it and will quickly promote that person, whereas a good manager will also notice a worker, with obvious intelligence, but who only does the minimum at a job they are probably overqualified for, and does not promote them.  It is a odd thing, but the best thing you can do is work your best at whatever job you have even if it bores the shit out of you because that is the most effective way of getting a more stimulating job.

The other thing is if all your efforts pan out and you still don't have a job - volunteer to work for free at a place where you really want to work.  I know of one person who just began showing up and unloading trucks at an organic farm/market because that's where he wanted a job and after a couple of months he was offered one.

Good luck!

Thanks! Good advice here...

[Gurn Blanston]

Greg, I wish you well - I appreciate that this is a difficult economy for finding a job, especially a job that gets you excited. 

Having said that, a couple of ideas - nothing sells yourself better than enthusiasm, a positive attitude.  And nothing undermines you more than having an attitude that the job you are doing is "beneath" you.  I'm not accusing you of this, but just wanted to offer this advice.  A good manager will notice a worker who has an entry level job putting all his energy into it and will quickly promote that person, whereas a good manager will also notice a worker, with obvious intelligence, but who only does the minimum at a job they are probably overqualified for, and does not promote them.  It is a odd thing, but the best thing you can do is work your best at whatever job you have even if it bores the shit out of you because that is the most effective way of getting a more stimulating job.

The other thing is if all your efforts pan out and you still don't have a job - volunteer to work for free at a place where you really want to work.  I know of one person who just began showing up and unloading trucks at an organic farm/market because that's where he wanted a job and after a couple of months he was offered one.

Good luck!

That's good, solid advice. I would hire Leon...

[jowcol]

Greg, I wish you well - I appreciate that this is a difficult economy for finding a job, especially a job that gets you excited. 

Having said that, a couple of ideas - nothing sells yourself better than enthusiasm, a positive attitude.  And nothing undermines you more than having an attitude that the job you are doing is "beneath" you.  I'm not accusing you of this, but just wanted to offer this advice.  A good manager will notice a worker who has an entry level job putting all his energy into it and will quickly promote that person, whereas a good manager will also notice a worker, with obvious intelligence, but who only does the minimum at a job they are probably overqualified for, and does not promote them.  It is a odd thing, but the best thing you can do is work your best at whatever job you have even if it bores the shit out of you because that is the most effective way of getting a more stimulating job.

The other thing is if all your efforts pan out and you still don't have a job - volunteer to work for free at a place where you really want to work.  I know of one person who just began showing up and unloading trucks at an organic farm/market because that's where he wanted a job and after a couple of months he was offered one.

Good luck!

Just to echo what Leon says-- show enthusiasm and being willing to pick up extra work is not only important when you are seeking a job or at entry level. It needs to be a constant quality.  In my company, all of the senior staff  (which includes me), is expected to roll up their shirt sleeves and do what needs to be done.   I've watched one V.P and 3 directors get the boot because they felt that some work was beneath them.


Also, once you get hired, you need to keep finding yourself more work (and hopefully more interesting work).   I  once did reporting and IT work for a set of call centers, and we had one "customer service rep"  who had an entry level job that, when bored, started reading about the software came up with some great fixes the whole center adopted.   She was given leadership over a group of 8, but had the slowest shift.   She used that time to develop reports.   It wasn't long before she was taken off the floor completely, and put in more demanding roles. In a year and a half, she had replaced two of the most senior people on the project.  When the project ended, she was immediately snatched up by someone who had worked with her.  She didn't shoot up the career ladder by brown-nosing, but by being creative and capable.


If you are bored, suggest something else which they may like to have done.   Finding extra work and learning extra skills can also help protect you from being laid off.  I was the sole survivor of an entire office of 200 people where the others were laid off.   I'm always lining up other potential tasking, since bored people are the first to go when budgets get cut.

Time also passes faster if you just throw yourself into it. 


For what it's worth, being enthusiastic doesn't mean being insincere- just showing a commitment to getting things done.  Also, once people know you deliver, they will cut you more slack on attitude. 

[ibanezmonster]

I got the enthusiasm and the professionalism down for that one company I worked for doing programming (he even told me so)... the learning extra skills I'm glad you say is important, because I would like to think that not all of the programming skills I'm learning would go to waste.

I was the sole survivor of an entire office of 200 people where the others were laid off.

hm, and I thought that being the only one graduating from my programming class for an entire year after 15 people dropped out was a slight accomplishment- next to that it's nothing! 

[eyeresist]

The other thing is if all your efforts pan out and you still don't have a job - volunteer to work for free at a place where you really want to work.  I know of one person who just began showing up and unloading trucks at an organic farm/market because that's where he wanted a job and after a couple of months he was offered one.

"Hey! Get away from those trucks!"

[ibanezmonster]

I'll definitely do the volunteer thing after I graduate from college if I don't get a job immediately. Until then, it will be impossible because, you know, you have to have time to sleep and work.

I could consider volunteering at the company I worked for- doing a project in my spare time, probably taking a month to do a project that would take a day. If I did that for a while, I could probably theoretically add a "year" of experience to a resume if I helped out here and there all through college.

Also, I was thinking today that I could probably work as a bagger at a grocery store (bagger + carts). I did that for 2 weeks before and it wasn't too bad because you don't have to interact with people much and you aren't lifting heavy stuff all day. It's depressing being in/near a grocery store all day, but survivable because it's a low stress job (and you can easily escape inside your mind). I even took my lunch when I felt like it, even though I found out later that I was supposed to ask, and no one said anything. 

So... library shelver, bagger, morning stocking...

[ibanezmonster]

2013 may be a lucky year, though it all depends on one thing: how much I can get back in student loans. I will fill out a FAFSA for the semester starting in January, because it can make the priority deadline. It'll take a few weeks to process, and then I just go back to the financial aid office and they can tell me how much I can get back.

The amount I need is $4,000. If I can get just that much back, I can afford to pay rent to my parents, car insurance, and gas for a whole year. Then I can quit my job and do volunteer computer programming work on the side (I have several local places in mind, though that company I worked for doing C++ code is my first choice).

My friend, the girl I used to mention on that Schoolgirl thread, is probably going to leave around the same time. She's desperate to get out of this place, and is going to go to the Air Force to "see the world."

[Renfield]

A potentially-amusing anecdote this thread keeps bringing to mind:


2-3 years back, the philosophy department in the University of Edinburgh was holding its annual 'welcome back' meeting for people affiliated with it at the undergraduate level (which is more complex than just what you'd call 'philosophy majors', for us).

Anyway, one of the members of staff present eventually mentioned the Careers Office, and whether we (undergrads) are satisfied with their regular newsletters. In response, someone brought up the issue of their newsletters' relevance, with regard to philosophy graduates: that is, the fact that their advice was a little too generic - at which point the member of staff informed him that "well, you see, the Career Office people don't know anything about philosophy; and philosophers don't know anything about jobs!"

[ibanezmonster]

"well, you see, the Career Office people don't know anything about philosophy; and philosophers don't know anything about jobs!"

lol, I can believe that.

[Renfield]

lol, I can believe that.

So could we. It was a very frank, if successful joke on his behalf.

[ibanezmonster]

Reading the last two posts... this was less than 2 months ago? I thought that was at least a half of a year ago. Weird.

I sent in an application for a Receiving position at the Lowe's near the school I'm going to (they are both ~20 minutes away) and talked to HR, and she said she would keep an eye out for my application (I told her it was a transfer position, and she noted my name). Their schedule is 5-close (9 or 10?), either Thursday-Sunday or Sunday-Thursday (forgot). It would work out great, because the job isn't too bad (I've done some of it before) and if I did classes some days in the afternoon, I could just drive to work in 2 minutes from there.

[Karl Henning]

Sounds good. Good luck!

[Karl Henning]

And may Herman Cain never ask you, You want a job, right?

[ibanezmonster]

Thanks, Karl. Not sure I completely understand that second post. 

[Mirror Image]

Reading the last two posts... this was less than 2 months ago? I thought that was at least a half of a year ago. Weird.

I sent in an application for a Receiving position at the Lowe's near the school I'm going to (they are both ~20 minutes away) and talked to HR, and she said she would keep an eye out for my application (I told her it was a transfer position, and she noted my name). Their schedule is 5-close (9 or 10?), either Thursday-Sunday or Sunday-Thursday (forgot). It would work out great, because the job isn't too bad (I've done some of it before) and if I did classes some days in the afternoon, I could just drive to work in 2 minutes from there.

Excellent, Greg I hope you get the job.

[Szykneij]

And may Herman Cain never ask you, You want a job, right?

Well, Greg is about the same height as Cain's wife.     

[ibanezmonster]

Well, Greg is about the same height as Cain's wife.     

She's 5'10"? I know I'm completely missing the joke, because I never watch TV and haven't been reading the newspaper much recently.

[Szykneij]

She's 5'10"? I know I'm completely missing the joke, because I never watch TV and haven't been reading the newspaper much recently.

"No, not 5'10". Only up to my chin!"