Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Thank Heaven the Election is Finally Here

Don’t know about the rest of you, but I have had the hardest time focusing on anything else, but the election, the last week or so. Between checking on the market every 15 minutes and toggling to Realcearpolitics.com to check the polls, it’s amazing I’ve applied for any jobs at all. Here’s the good news, in the last week I’ve noticed a real up-tick in the amount of new jobs posted.

Here’s the bad news, if some people used to be mean and nasty before, guess what? They’re really letting their inner b#@ch flow now. I heard from two friends today about being given gratuitous, mean feedback. I’ve had my fair share of it as well. I remember at an interview in June where the interviewer yelled at me across the desk because he didn’t agree with my expert opinion on a part of the business. People asked me why I didn’t just get up and leave. It’s like you really relate to that deer in the headlights. Part of you just can’t believe the other person is acting that way. How does one react in situations like this? It depends. Me, I laughed and said thank God I found out then what a jerk he was rather than going to work there and then filed it away for when I finally write that book. I do firmly believe that we, ourselves, govern how we feel and how we internalize this feedback. Maybe it’s my inner b#@ch, but I’ll be darned if I’ll let this other person govern how I feel about myself. It is hard when you’re daily trying to keep up your confidence level, but don’t let the idiot buggers win! That’s what I believe!

OK, got that off my chest. Now, how about some suggestions for things one can do to further the search.

1. Apply for jobs: Here are some good websites to visit that I’ve found rather good at getting interviews: www.careerbuilder.com, www.indeed.com, www.linkedin.com. Please remember to be careful about personal details in resume when you post and it’s always a good idea to update your resume monthly. That way it pushes your resume to the top of the list for searching companies. I try my hardest to apply for at least ten jobs a week. I also print a copy of the job description, date it, and file it. I then put in on a spread sheet. This way when they call to set up an interview, you can remember what job was all about and what the requirments were. The spreadsheet helps you remember where you filled the job description and keeps you on track in your job search.


2. Network, network, network: The thing is, it may be embarrassing to tell people you’re out of work, but they can’t help you if they don’t know you need help. Plus there are so many people out there now, that it's almost like you're joining a club. The linkedin.com website is great for tracking down old friends and colleagues and asking for information on that company you’re interested in, for recommendations, or for just keeping your industry knowledge up to date. Other things that you can do are: toastmasters, your alumni association meetings, join clubs etc.


3. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to have a fall back. Things are kind of dicey right now and so maybe you will have to do something that you’re not thrilled about. It’s not going to be for life, believe me.

If while reading this you come up with other ideas, please send them to me and I’ll post them. I really do believe things will get better and that we are living in interesting times. I know, I know there’s a curse like that; “May you live in interesting times.” Me, I love interesting times. Looking back you usually find that, that’s when you were really conscious of living.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Leslie - I love the site! I haven't had time to check these out, but another site I read recommended mrinetwork.com and simplyhired.com as resources for job hunters.

    ReplyDelete