the Job thread

[slowSSer]

so, I thought i heard that several of us are unemployed so i thought that posting a thread to find out your current status is and so that some of us can get pats on the back and affirmation that we indeed are doing ok because this job-hunt thing sucks and I'm not feeling like I'm realy getting anywhere- i havent been this unemployed since the 3 month stint betweek college and my 1st true job out of college.

mine:
one definite interview mext tuesday
one more definite next week- just need to set up the day
one possible for next week.

other hopefuls:
found a good posting on craigslist- i'd be a good fit. hopefully they see the same thing
sent resumes to Verizon, T-Mobile thru Duan, caltrans, edison, the US Govt (eek!) and several other locations.

hopefully something will stand up and salute. i wish that being unemployed meant riding more, but with the recent batch of injuries, I'm not about to go ride w/o insurance. oh well.

[LBmtb]

There's a customer service / QA opening here at my work if anyone's into that and needs a job.

[TURNERob]

The job hunting is slow going for me also, gets discouraging after awhile. I had worked at the same place for 11 yrs till I quit in late June so I feel like a fish out of water. Just gotta stay positive that something will turn up eventually

[jonsocal]

I was there for a couple of months earlier in the summer. I found some jobs early, but wasn't a fan of the people or some of the companies who wanted to hire me so I held out. I am very fortunate to have a great girlfriend who helped out through the rough times until I found a job I wanted and could actually thrive in. (Being a sponge was kinda fun, but tough on the ego to be sure.) Be sure to find a place which fits your needs if you have the luxury to be able to do that.

I work in outside sales and run into companies listing jobs of all types all of the time. I also know a bunch of recruiters in the so-cal area too. You can PM or email me if you like. Good luck with your search.

[Rkoa63]

I'm graduating in May and will be starting the interview process within the next two months. It's scary to think that I'm going to be interviewing for my future career..blah. I never thought this day would actually come and now that it's here I'm scared sh*tless.

So if anyone has any connections for a future accounting grad drop me a line.

[slowSSer]

Originally Posted by Rkoa63

I'm graduating in May and will be starting the interview process within the next two months. It's scary to think that I'm going to be interviewing for my future career..blah. I never thought this day would actually come and now that it's here I'm scared sh*tless.

So if anyone has any connections for a future accounting grad drop me a line.

put your resume on monster. not kidding- i'm in the environemtnal industry and it's worked several times. also, http://www.ocjobfinder.com/monster/ supposedly works. finally, check out Craigslist.

a job straight outta college isnt the easiest thing on the planet- employers want experience, so if you've done any sort of internships or accounting related work, make that the strong point of your resume.

that and feel free to PM me that resume- I'd like to think that I've written and re-written my resume enough times to know what works and what doesnt. the monster resume builders are also a great help.

final tips: buy a nice suit. wear it to all interviews. go on cr@ploads of interviews. why? you'll get better at them. remember: a resume is you selling yourself.

[Rkoa63]

Originally Posted by slowSSer

put your resume on monster. not kidding- i'm in the environemtnal industry and it's worked several times. also, http://www.ocjobfinder.com/monster/ supposedly works. finally, check out Craigslist.

a job straight outta college isnt the easiest thing on the planet- employers want experience, so if you've done any sort of internships or accounting related work, make that the strong point of your resume.

that and feel free to PM me that resume- I'd like to think that I've written and re-written my resume enough times to know what works and what doesnt. the monster resume builders are also a great help.

final tips: buy a nice suit. wear it to all interviews. go on cr@ploads of interviews. why? you'll get better at them. remember: a resume is you selling yourself.

Thanks for the info! Funny you mention the suit thing; I just spent all day shopping for one yesterday. It's amazing how some places just won't take you seriously; so I went someplace that did and gave them my money. I run my own bookkeeping business right now with about 5 clients so I'm hoping that will be sufficient in place of an internship.

I'm re-writing my resume right now actually to make things a little more appealing. I will send it over to you once I'm finished. Thanks again!

p.s. Any specific type of work your looking for slowSSer?

[2wheel_lee]

Hang in there guys. It's all about timing and a bit of luck. I was working for a racing sanctioning body. For my last year there, their budge was cut back considerably, so I only worked two days a week, but the salary was still ok. I was doing freelance work for various things.

At the end of the year, I was told that the association was going to lose all it's budget. I would be out of a job. While doing the freelance thing (media relations for SCORE Internation - the Baja 1000), I met a gal in a bar who was also working the event. After chatting with her for a while, she said her department was hiring. I sent in my resume (actually, accidentally, I sent an early draft with a lot of mistakes), and I got the job the following month. I'm very thankful for bad luck (losing my old job), because this was an opportunity greater than I had imagined.

Good luck all, and be positive. Just like dating, when you go in for your interviews, don't be desperate, be positive!

[DownhillWebKook]

I have been pretty lucky with the job thing, but interviewing and going through the whole process is always painful even when the prospects are solid. It's even gnarlier when the market is a bit more bleak or your skills aren't up to snuff.

The whole damn thing is stressful and can start to play on your emotions and morale. This does not have to be the case.

One thing you can do to actively stave off the stress is do a lot of preparation: do research on potential prospects, analyse your goals (personal, financial, career), prepare strategies for generating leads and for closing the deal in your interview. Knowing what you want makes it so much easier to go out and get it. Most people take the definition of what they want for granted.

You can never be too prepared for this stuff and the process of preparation is a great way to not only distract yourself from the woes of your situation, but it makes you feel in control of your destiny at a time that all to easily feels out of control. (Do some research online to find strategies, techniques, and tools--they may work for you!)

Also, be aggressive. The jobs won't just come to you. Go out and get them!

To those of you out there looking for jobs, I wish you luck. I hope you find something that you really enjoy doing and that keeps you able to ride and ride often.

[houseofmusic]

this may not apply to most of you guys but if you're in IT and interviewing for developer position, study and expect technical interview at all time!

[CalEpic]

A great resource for resume and interviewing tips is the book Knock 'em Dead. The author is Yate.

It offers great insight into the mindset and hiring protocol for larger companies. Many Human Resources departments use the techniques to get to the final applicants.

To prepare for interviews use your wife or friend to role play the interview. You will feel much more relaxed and confident.

C

[LBmtb]

I'd like to add . . . an interview is as much you interviewing them as it is them interviewing you (unless you're desperate at that point in time). You have to make sure you'll be a good fit and that you won't be looking to quit 4 months after you start the job.

[slowSSer]

Originally Posted by Rkoa63

Thanks for the info! Funny you mention the suit thing; I just spent all day shopping for one yesterday. It's amazing how some places just won't take you seriously; so I went someplace that did and gave them my money. I run my own bookkeeping business right now with about 5 clients so I'm hoping that will be sufficient in place of an internship.

I'm re-writing my resume right now actually to make things a little more appealing. I will send it over to you once I'm finished. Thanks again!

p.s. Any specific type of work your looking for slowSSer?

I'm a rather specialized person in the environmental field, so headhunters etc are my best bet right now. the cool part is that i just found a job posting at Disney that would work rather well.

Men's warehouse treated me well and i walked in wearing shorts and a t-shirt!

Originally Posted by LBmtb

I'd like to add . . . an interview is as much you interviewing them as it is them interviewing you (unless you're desperate at that point in time). You have to make sure you'll be a good fit and that you won't be looking to quit 4 months after you start the job.

so very true. then again, ideally, you'd like to be interviewing while still employed so that you don't seem desperate!

[Rkoa63]

Originally Posted by slowSSer

Men's warehouse treated me well and i walked in wearing shorts and a t-shirt!

Haha..thats where I ended up. I went in with shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. The only thing I didn't like was the fact the sales guy told me alterations were extra after he had already measured me for two suits. I told him from the beginning that I was new to the whole thing and didn't know much, so i figured it was reasonable for him to tell me alterations were extra; just not after he measured me up and I told him $$$ was tight. So I bought one suit instead of two.

[BrewMaster]

We have a customer service and inside sales position open at my company here in Chino. Pay could be pretty good if you have experience, and decent with no experience. Candidates must be outgoing and have great initiative and follow up. Benefits are pretty good here too. And you would get to work with me a lot! (What a treat, right?!)

Also, we are looking for chemists. I am in the polymer business. No experience necessary, but we would consider people with experience. Qualified people need at least a bachelor's degree in a science or engineering field, preferably chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or mechanical engineering. This person would work directly for me, so we might have to have work meetings out on singletrack to "discuss strategy."

PM me if interested. I am one of 3 or 4 decision makers in hiring for these positions.

One more thing, a customer of mine is looking for a Mechanical Engineer in Fullerton. It's a great company. PM me if interested and I can forward your info on to my customer. They pay well, have awesome benefits, and are just downright good people to work with. I'd work there if I was a mechanical engineer.

[Burner]

I used a professional resume writer with a ton of experience as a recruiter, it was the best money I've ever spent... I got a response from almost everywhere I sent it, and had a ton of interviews and offers to choose from (I'm lucky, as far as my specialization goes, being in high demand and relatively insulated from economic fluctuations, but I was still surprised at the response my resume got, I even got offers without interviewing, and I'm convinced it got me a higher salary offer to start the negotiating)

Basically the reason I bring this up is because often times a removed third party can sell you better than you can sell yourself... I felt like a cheese dick when I was writing my own resume, but when you just send a list of everything you've done to someone and let them work their magic and send it back to you, you end up being more impressed with your accomplishments than feeling like a douche tooting your own horn. At least I did. I felt like my own version of my resume was fine, but what came back was outstanding.

if anyone wants this resume writer's info, PM me.

AND I'd also recommend finding a recruiter that specializes in your niche/field/industry - sometimes they are hard to find, but well worth it.

edit: some are asking, I'm in the security industry (on the hi tech side of it) and if I remember correctly the resume writer only charged ~$100 (or something nominal)

[b5driver]

Originally Posted by Rkoa63

I'm graduating in May and will be starting the interview process within the next two months. It's scary to think that I'm going to be interviewing for my future career..blah. I never thought this day would actually come and now that it's here I'm scared sh*tless.

So if anyone has any connections for a future accounting grad drop me a line.

I'm an audit manager at a firm in San Diego. I know it's far away, but I'd be happy to help with resume advice or I can suggest a couple of firms in OC if you like. Feel free to PM me if you'd like. Good luck!

Ok, now back to the corp tax returns.

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by b5driver

Ok, now back to the corp tax returns.

I'd rather go OTB than look at that stuff! Good luck!

[surlygal]

Originally Posted by b5driver

Ok, now back to the corp tax returns.

Are you working all Week-end since the're due Monday? We are done and going to relax.

nothing like a 2nd deadline for taxes..

Sorry for the hi-jack