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I don't think I'm ever getting a job again

D

DomS

Banned
I haven't had a job since August. I've applied to probably 300 jobs at this point. I have mid-level database and IT skills (high end as far as help-desk stuff goes). I have a BA in psychology which is the field I want my career in. But a BA is useless.

Out of those 300 jobs I've applied to I've only gotten calls back from 3. It's the same resume & cover letter I always used with success before, but I guess the economy is just shitty. Out of those 3, 2 were right at the beginning, the hours were awful so I didn't take the jobs, figuring I'd get better offers soon enough. Oops. I honestly don't think I'm going to have another job ever. I always had an inkling that I'd end up homeless living in a shelter, and that's exactly the path I'm heading on.
 
If you really need a job bad enough then you'd take the one that has awful hours. You could still in the interim look for something else while you're working.
FYI, I've noticed that companies like people who are working rather than people sitting at home waiting for a job.
Lastly, tailor your resume to the specs of the job you're applying for. Your chances of getting a call back are enhanced greatly. Don't just send the same resume/cover letter to all 300 companies.
 
We should start a support group. I've been out of work for about as long and had the same lack of success in my applications.

I've been scraping by on pay from a very part-time job I have doing some maintenance work.
 
Originally posted by: DomS
I haven't had a job since August. I've applied to probably 300 jobs at this point. I have mid-level database and IT skills (high end as far as help-desk stuff goes). I have a BA in psychology which is the field I want my career in. But a BA is useless.

Out of those 300 jobs I've applied to I've only gotten calls back from 3. It's the same resume & cover letter I always used with success before, but I guess the economy is just shitty. Out of those 3, 2 were right at the beginning, the hours were awful so I didn't take the jobs, figuring I'd get better offers soon enough. Oops. I honestly don't think I'm going to have another job ever. I always had an inkling that I'd end up homeless living in a shelter, and that's exactly the path I'm heading on.
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You don't work for this agency?

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...261242&highlight_key=y
 
Originally posted by: zoiks
If you really need a job bad enough then you'd take the one that has awful hours.
Click to expand...

He said he'd have taken them if he knew those were the only offers he was going to get, they were just at the beginning and he thought more were coming in.
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: DomS
I haven't had a job since August. I've applied to probably 300 jobs at this point. I have mid-level database and IT skills (high end as far as help-desk stuff goes). I have a BA in psychology which is the field I want my career in. But a BA is useless.

Out of those 300 jobs I've applied to I've only gotten calls back from 3. It's the same resume & cover letter I always used with success before, but I guess the economy is just shitty. Out of those 3, 2 were right at the beginning, the hours were awful so I didn't take the jobs, figuring I'd get better offers soon enough. Oops. I honestly don't think I'm going to have another job ever. I always had an inkling that I'd end up homeless living in a shelter, and that's exactly the path I'm heading on.
Click to expand...

You don't work for this agency?

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...261242&highlight_key=y
Click to expand...

they've gotten me like 3 one day jobs.
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one in this boat. I just got a call from a temp agency saying they found a 6 week job that they'll put me on the potential candidate list for. It pays 10/hr. ugh.
 
Originally posted by: DomS
Glad to see I'm not the only one in this boat. I just got a call from a temp agency saying they found a 6 week job that they'll put me on the potential candidate list for. It pays 10/hr. ugh.
Click to expand...

Male strippers make a lot more than that. :evil: 😀
 
for people looking, hopefully you are also looking outside of your profession. Agreed, it's better to deal from a position of experience and knowledge, but there are other avenues, and some of them have unusual entry points. If you have friends with flexible work places, ask if you can job shadow them for a day; have them explain to their bosses that you are looking for cross training and to get knowledge of other types of work. This does require a great deal of flexibility from the job and boss, but it will give you some different experience, and it also gives someone a chance to see you work. I met someone who was doing a ride along with a deputy, and ended up talking with the sherriff. He started a part time job there that turned into full time, then academy, and now he's about to finish the academy.

use your network of friends and family; this is very important. The part time jobs may have screwy hours, but it's money, and it gets your foot in the door. Often your friends or family members work at places that are looking for temps but are cautious because they want good temps, not an idiot. If they put in a word, you might get the call.

Rather then sit at home, volunteer. this keeps you busy, and you start meeting a different group of people. lol not just the people you might be helping, but others who are volunteering, organizing it, or supporting the activity.

In the past when i've had to get jobs, it was the network of family and friends that was the most valuable.

good luck

EDIT: and no puns about flexible work places and unusual entry points. just getting that out there, before someone jumps on it. Yep, this is OT afterall.
 
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
We should start a support group. I've been out of work for about as long and had the same lack of success in my applications.

I've been scraping by on pay from a very part-time job I have doing some maintenance work.
Click to expand...



It's good to know there's others out there in the same position. I honestly can't even get hired at a package store or bar at this point.
 
Come onnn cant be that bad...

Join a temp agency to get your foot in the door.

Or maybe your just a wierdo that people don't want to hire?
 
I'm in the same boat. Applying for grad schools and will go in September if I haven't found anything by then. I applied for an unpaid internship with the city's criminal justice division, if I get that I'm going to deliver pizzas or something while gaining that experience and then keep looking. If I don't then I'll deliver pizzas and find some volunteer work.
 
if you were in jersey, I think we're looking for someone we can hire for dirt cheap who's willing to work graveyard. lol.
 
Originally posted by: Insomniator
Come onnn cant be that bad...

Join a temp agency to get your foot in the door.

Or maybe your just a wierdo that people don't want to hire?
Click to expand...

I'm registered with 6. I never had trouble getting positions in the past. I did consulting for some time and have references from every single place I've worked.
 
Lalakai pretty much hit all the points I thought of.

The saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know" is so true. I have a bachelors degree in a field I'm no longer interested.

I left my first job last August. (worked part time senior year in high school and part time during four years of college and then two years full time after college). I was there for 7 years and was too comfortable. I didn't have a job lined up but left anyway.

Leaving allowed me to volunteer while I looked for a new job. I volunteered three days a week for 2 months before I found a temp gig that lets me work full time hours until I max out at 1040 hours.

Having large gaps sucks and I think even the volunteering looks great on my job applications. I am now pursuing a new career path related in some fashion the the volunteer work I did for those couple months.

/current life story

You need some hookups!
 
Originally posted by: Insomniator
Come onnn cant be that bad...

Join a temp agency to get your foot in the door.

Or maybe your just a wierdo that people don't want to hire?
Click to expand...

Ah, I got my current job by using a temp agency. My "case worker" seems to be pretty god, got me into an engineering firm. Unfortunately, this firm is structural and transportation engineering; the very 2 fields that I said I didn't want to get into. I'm doing a kick ass job (sans neffing) here, but they stuck me in a corner of the library and I'm not that sociable when I have no reason to initiate a conversation.

Oh well, I'll try better at the next gig.
 
Umm... you might want to go back to school and get another degree in a more marketable skill.

Either that, or take one of those contracting positions you've been offered. Yeah... I know that the hours suck and the pay is lousy for most new contractors right now, but it's better than nothing at all on your resume and in your bank account.
 
I've not been really out looking but occasionally send my resume out just to see about consultant work. I've noticed I'm getting far fewer responses than in the past. Out of the 15 I sent out last year I only got 1 response. This is as opposed to 3 years ago when I put out like only 10 resumes and got 8 responses. There is definitely something up right now and takes a bit more time to find a real position (one that is not just temp work) willing to pay for someone with some experience and is truly looking for your skillset.
 
Truth is, for many people, it is that bad. I just received a job offer from the USPTO which i accepted. I had been out of work since last April. 8 months unemployed with a BS and MS in chemical engineering and a high GPA, 2 years work experience, excellent references, etc. All of my networks couldn't find me a job because none of their companies were hiring.

Day after day of combing the internet, careerbuilder, usajobs, monster, jobcentral, linkedin, my university's alum network, led to disappointment and minor depression, which, I am grateful for my close friends and families for stopping. No minimum wage place wanted to hire me as they new I would not be happy at their establishment and would leave the second I found a "real" job. Temp. agencies were worthless in trying to find me a position.

Having to beg your parents and friends for help for 8 months -- let me tell ya, it isn't a fun thing to do. I'm just fortunate enough for all of them to be so willing to help.

My point is, this is a tough time, and I wish you the best in finding a position. This really is something that qualifies for the need of a support group. Keep talking to your family, friends, classmates, professors anybody. Most of the time they will have dumb suggestions, but occasionally, a good suggestion comes up - one you haven't looked into, and that might be the ticket to your first job interview and subsequent job offer (in a long time). That was how it worked for me.
 
OP - I hope you're tailoring your resume/cover letter specifically to each company/position and not just using the same one over and over.
 
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