Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with jobhunt

Apply again or give up?

so much modern time — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:58:55 -0800

Didn't do well in a previous interview, but the company has a new position that I'd like to apply for. Try again or give up? There's a company that I applied to a few months ago that is expanding rapidly, and they have positions open that I'm qualified for and would love to do. The company as a whole is also one that I'd love to work for.

Now they have an a position that is EXACTLY what I would like to do. However, I had previously applied before for a different position, and had a phone interview with the hiring manager. When I spoke to her then, she was not at all impressed with my experience and made that clear in her tone. To be fair, I did not present it well and I found that failed interview to be a good learning experience. Needless to say, I never heard back from her again.

My resume has changed somewhat since--I've been freelancing--and I know now how I can present my experience and accomplishments. Should I apply again or have I burned that bridge? If I do apply again, what should I say to acknowledge my previous interview? These new positions would also likely report to the same hiring manager.

Please help me figure out this snowflake-looking career pickle.

drea — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:21:36 -0800

I'm a manager in my field who, in moving to a new city, got into. Things were looking great, but unexpectedly the company shut down two weeks in. Now I'm looking for a managerial job again, and I need to know how to explain this. Coming from a senior management position in one city, I moved to another. The whole job search process took a grueling six months. At the last minute the offers started coming in. One of them was an offer for a management title -- with a way lower salary than my previous job -- albeit from the most recognizable company in the country.

The job that I did end up taking was a specialist position in the same department but a new field. The pay was higher than what I was earning in my last job. I loved my job and the people right away. But all of us got laid off when I was about to cap off my second week into the job.

Now, I'm looking for management positions again, but I don't know how to explain my career move by taking a specialist position in a way that will paint me better than just being "after the money". It just seems like a bad move to just settle back into a nonmanagerial position and for less pay: a one step forward, three steps backward situation that I don't think I'd be able to recover from. I can't move back into my old city, either; there's a reason I left.

TL;DR question: from senior manager to specialist and now looking for a management job again: how do I make it happen without looking unsuitable?

New to the US but not to software engineering- help advise my husband.

cacao — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:04:35 -0800

My husband just moved to the US and so is not so familiar with the local software engineering scene (actually, not so familiar with the scene at all as he hadn't even visited the US before this). I'm American and can guide him a little, but not too much because I'm not in software or a related industry. He doesn't need employer assistance to get a visa, he can already work in the US indefinitely with no issues (through marriage to me and the immigration procedures we went through).

I have to help him get the best job possible for his profile.

So please advise on EVERYTHING- what's unique about this issue, I feel, is that he has really very good working experience (three years, for the last couple of years he was the principal developer for software developed for major international companies with branches in his country, great experience at a young age because there are very few software developers in his country and he is good) but no familiarity with the industry in the US in terms of getting a job (he does follow news on latest technologies and stuff)

He knows a bunch of languages and technologies but considers himself expert in C#, and will probably seek a job in Philadelphia.

His spoken English is probably 95% (expresses himself perfectly, but sometimes you need a bit of patience). Written English is fine for short e-mails but not for long research reports. He speaks a couple of foreign languages.

Please advise on anything and everything he might need to know, including but not limited to:

1) suggested resume template
2) e-mail address best to have (he just set one up with live.com, should he have something else?)
3) suggested cover letter template
4) do people really all wear jeans to interviews? I'm from a very formal industry, so that skews me the other direction, but I would think he should at least wear a casual blazer on top?
5) how much you think he should try to get as a salary? previous salary isn't so relevant as payscale in his country is much lower. He's from Southern Europe
6) definitely the best way to look for a job, including best web-sites to search as a software developer
7) any and all other advice

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE :)

Is there a good way to list an ABD instead of a PhD on a resume?

lostguy — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:36:09 -0800

About a decade ago, I had a quarter-life crisis and decided to drop out of grad school in science... how do I deal with that now? I went to an Ivy League university and then a very prestigious grad school for chemistry. I spent about 3 years earnestly working towards a PhD, but the work seemed to become unrewarding and my prospects in academia looked bleak (I hit that 3rd year wall... really hard). I was mentoring an undergrad who was applying for grad schools and he came to me one day with a letter of recommendation from our PI -- and it was not glowing. It was actually the opposite of glowing. I was shocked. (This undergrad had gotten a "backup" letter of recommendation from another professor and used that one... but wanted to let me know what my own advisor thought of our work together.)

That was the data point in my mind that made me think that I really needed to quit and do something else. (Other grad students in this lab had quit before me, and I heard I wasn't the last one to quit after I left, either.)

So I've been at a couple of jobs now, but I haven't really built a "career" in my mind. I may still be stuck in a mindset that I don't have any credentials to show that I'm a PhD-level employee. I don't really regret my somewhat rash decision to quit a PhD program (and I quit it totally, without getting the consolation master's degree). But I've take jobs so far, where I haven't needed to really demonstrate an advanced degree. And now I think it's time to try to move forward a bit more career-wise.

I don't want to go back to school for anything. I just want to start exploring my employment options more, but I still haven't sorted out how to explain this non-PhD on a resume. Do I leave it off entirely? It's only 3 years of a PhD, after all. Is a 3 year gap right after college a no-no? Or do I leave it on my resume (and even list the publication that actually has my name on it, even though I didn't finish that work...)? How do I really explain the quitting to an interviewer in a way that doesn't sound like I'm blaming my advisor or that I'm prone to making rash decisions? (I wouldn't even call it a rash decision because I really did actively decide to quit my PhD program for the sake of my best emotional well-being at the time.)

Hive-mind, let me know if there's a way to sweep this under the rug now that it's a decade old... or help me figure out a way to explain my situation that.. presents me in the most favorable way to someone who doesn't know me at all.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know how to hunt a job.

furnace.heart — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:37:32 -0800

I have come to the realization that I don't know how to look for work. How do I find a job outside of searching craigslist (unuseful in this part of the country) or other local job boards (that are all overwhelmed with medical field or mental health jobs....or temp jobs)? Right now I work for a small, new, and magnificently failing specialty grocer in a small town in Maine. The owners are going insane because the business is failing, and it is making my working here totally untenable. They're getting increasingly difficult to work for and with as the business degrades. I need to quit, but my family can't really afford it (even though I am not the primary breadwinner). So, I need to find a new job, and I just straight up don't know how. I landed this job through a random craigslist post.

I've always fallen into jobs, The first 10 years of my working life, I worked for small produce markets and specialty grocery stores (a path started by a family friend who gave me my first job when i was 15). I randomly (total right time-right-place-right-friends) fell into the coffee industry (roasting, wholesale side of things) and worked there for 5 years, which I excelled at and have an impressive resume for (at least in the industry). I've got a ton of admin experience, and general office experience, but zero medical experience, which seems to be where most of the jobs are in this area for full time office work.

All of the cold-calling/applications/resume's that i've dropped off at both the coffee industries and grocery fields have yielded no results. I've gotten phone calls back from a couple coffee roasteries in the area saying 'yeah no, we don't hire from outside.' I don't have a lot of personal contacts in the area, which is primarily how I've landed jobs in the past. My resume is rather nice, and I've been complimented on it before, I can also write a slamming cover letter. These factors have typically received remarks when I do interview with someone.

Temp agencies are not finding any placement for me in temp-to-hire or straight hire positions.

Complicating factors:
-Our budget is super tight, and it's not realistic for me to temp.
-My kid is in daycare 3 days a week; this can be flexible but it might take a few weeks or a month or two to get him into other days of the week.
-I can't work past 5pm or so, because I have to pick kid up from daycare.
-To make any money past our childcare costs, I need to be making approximately $11/hour or more. Anything less than this, I may as well be staying home with kid.
-On days I can jobhunt, I have the kid in tow. This makes it very difficult to drop into places.

I'm not really sure what to do, or how to go about finding new work, and I'm getting kind of desperate and helpless with the situation. I'm sort of freaking out that I've missed out on all the skills needed to actually find a job, and now that I need to do it in a terrible economy, I'm paralyzed on what to actually look for or how to go about landing a job.

*sigh* Any help mefi?

Cold calling academics?

Slackermagee — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:04:11 -0800

Is it appropriate to cold call a professor with a cover letter and resume when looking for lab tech/research assistant positions? Starting to look for work as a protein chemist (MSc biochem, 5 years protein purification and characterization work, 2 years misc biochem work) in Vancouver and while there are a LOT of biotech companies, I thought it would also be worthwhile to send off resumes to PI's in the academic world.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it considered rude to snail mail/email the prof directly or is that the preferred way? Any experience with cold calling as a biotechie in general?

Tips for working with recruiters?

radioamy — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:56:39 -0800

I am looking for a job and am starting to work with some external recruiting firms. Do you have any suggestions/advice/wisdom for me? I am trying to broaden my job search and have sought out a couple of recruiting agencies (recommended by friends). I have meetings with two different companies this week. I am a bit nervous because I have only ever applied to positions directly with companies before and this is new territory for me!

I'm looking for advice, tips and wisdom from past experiences - whether you have been an applicant who has worked with recruiters or you've been a recruiter yourself. What should I be prepared for, both in terms of this first meeting and then the process beyond? Anything I should or shouldn't do in particular?

If it is relevant, I am looking for a marketing job in the SF Bay Area and I have about six years of experience.

Living with post-recession stress disorder

pullayup — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 21:51:52 -0800

I've landed in a dead-end job, but it's hard for me to overcome my anxiety about retraining or changing the direction of my career. How should I perform an objective, reasonable risk-reward analysis in the face of imperfect options and information? I've tried pro/con lists, spreadsheets of financial projections, and informational interviews, but when it comes down to pulling the trigger--taking a temp job in a new field, enrolling in a graduate program--I just can't do it. I know that any new job is a leap of faith, but I can't shake my fear that things won't work out, and I'll come out the other side with more debt, less time, more miles on the same car, fewer and/or worse career options, etc. I tend to be someone who lacks the courage of their convictions, and I don't trust myself (or, maybe, believe that it's possible) to make an informed decision about this.

Recent examples:

1. I'm qualified for admission to graduate programs in the allied health sciences, but I can't square myself to the idea of spending $50-80,000 (and two or three years away from full-time employment) essentially on spec. Will there be a glut of graduates (who, like me, headed for grad school after the recession derailed their career) in three years? Will I be able to service $90,000-120,000 of student loan debt--I have ~$40,000 now--on my salary? What about the opportunity cost of leaving work for two or three years? Will I make it to my clinical internship to discover that I don't enjoy, or can't tolerate, the narrow range of jobs which the degree trained me for? Will a shift in the regulatory climate put me out of work in a decade? If I was passionate about being a nurse (clinical dietitian, perfusionist, occupational therapist, vascular sonographer, audiologist, etc.) that might carry me through, but I have to accept that I'm not, and probably never will be.

2. I have a biology degree, so I contacted a lab/biotech staffing service. The positions I've been offered are all unequivocally worse than what I have now: swing shifts or rolling start times (5, 7 or 9 a.m. depending on the day of the week), short contracts (4 to 6 months), 100-130 mile/day commutes, low-ish starting salaries (equivalent to $30,000/year). On top of that, I would lose my un-vested 403(b) match, and my benefits would be in limbo until I land in a permanent position. At this point I wouldn't bat an eye at one or two of these things, but together they seem like a poor trade for just the possibility of a stable-ish career.

3. I recently asked this question about library school, which is now off the table, in part due to the good advice in that thread.

For those of you tempted to encourage me to follow my true passions or interests, What Color Is Your Parachute?-style: I whiled away my twenties doing just that. It was fun but unremunerative--I didn't make more than $18,000/year or have health insurance until after I graduated from college in my early 30s--and now I don't think I have the luxury of taking eight or ten post-college years to get on even keel and start saving for retirement. If I had my druthers I would stay in the job I have now, or work for a bike shop, or in the produce department at a food co-op. Realistically, though, I can't do any of those things and pay more than just the interest on my student loans, let alone save for retirement, put together a down payment on a house, or afford to take vacations.

As I proofread this post, it sounds like a list of entitled complaints--and, in a way, that's what I'm worried about.
Do I need to wait until I find an option which doesn't twist up my stomach and keep me awake at night? Am I overestimating (or underestimating) the amount control I have over my life and career? Am I unreasonably afraid of what is, ultimately, an acceptable level of risk, debt and discomfort?

How do I thank a recruiter who didn't end up placing me?

i am a sock puppeteer — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:28:24 -0800

I have been using a professional recruiter. If I end up taking a position that I didn't find through them, what the best way to thank/compensate them for their effort? Possibly relevant details:

I found the job I'm (probably) taking totally independently.

I'm a professional. The interviews the recruiter got me were with great firms. The recruiters were excellent communicators throughout the whole process.

I will, of course, recommend them to anyone in need of their services, but don't know if I need to send a gift or some other token.

Is a Master's in Public Policy something I want to do?

Shesthefastest — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:59:24 -0800

What sort of entry-level type jobs can I look for now to help me figure out if a Master’s in Public Policy is something I want to pursue? Little more background: I’m 26. My Bachelor’s is in Political Science with a minor in Asian Studies. After graduating I was unemployed for several months before working a low-paying, menial labor job in a nursing home for five months. Then I spent a year teaching English in Asia. When I came home last summer I was hired to work customer service at a small startup. I was laid off in June when the company went out of business. So, while I’ve been working steadily since since graduation, I don’t have (I think) a very strong work history, and I don’t want to continue doing any of the things I’ve done.

In one of my upper-level classes, a professor once told me I should be a policy analyst/work in public policy. That line has really stayed with me through the years. I think working in public policy would play to my strengths (writing, research), and would let me work in areas I’m interested in. However it seems, I need a Master’s in Public Policy for this, correct me if I’m wrong. As my work history shows, I don’t really have relevant policy experience, so I'm thinking I should try and find something now that is somewhat related to give me an idea if policy work is something I would want to continue in the future.

My question: Now that I’m on the job hunt again, what kinds of positions, or even volunteer opportunities, could I pursue to help me determine if public policy is a career move I want to make? Thanks!

I got my MBA and all I have to show for it is a pocket sized diploma

hrj — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:58:46 -0800

I got my MBA, and moved from the suburbs to the city -- why can't I find a job to apply for? And those I do, no interview. Some backstory -- typical, I guess. I got my B.A. 10 years ago with excellent grades from a decent school (Rutgers). About 2 months after graduation, I took an Inside Sales job at a local company (that really wasn't sales -- more customer service).

After moving from NJ to PA with my boyfriend (now, husband), I ended up in a more traditional inside sales Account Management job where I did pretty well, but hated. I hated pushing products, I hated the end of the month pressure, and the managers who thought Glengarry Glen Ross was inspirational. I worked for a major commercial credit reporting company, working with small businesses (usually owners and finance people). I liked being helpful to my customers, I liked problem solving, and I also liked helping my coworkers navigate our very complicated compensation program (which meant tinkering in spreadsheets).

I thought about going back to school to be a teacher, but didn't think I could find a job as a social studies teacher, so I went back to school for my MBA, starting part-time, and then switching to full-time as a TA. I have no student loan debt. I concentrated in corporate finance -- I liked the analytical side of it, tinkering with spreadsheets, doing analysis, etc. I also really enjoyed teaching which I did for classes that were outside of my concentration -- Organization Management the first year, and Supply Chain Operations Management the second year.

In my last semester of school, my husband got a new job which facilitated a move from Allentown, PA to Austin, TX which was AWESOME. I arrived in May, and have been job hunting and there are lots of jobs, but I'm floundering. I don't know what I'm qualified for now, I don't really know how to do resume/cover letter/interview stuff. I have applied and interviewed for exactly 3 jobs, of which I got all 3, and sales interviews are different - they are more personality based. They were all entry level positions.

I applied for one job at my husband's company -- as a University Relations Representative which seemed like it would be interesting for me. The hiring manager called my husband (who submitted me internally, and said I was overqualified and would be bored). I've thought about going back to school -- either PhD or for teaching, but I don't want to keep using school to delay working which is what I think I did with the MBA. I don't need to be in a high level position, or make the money I was making before (low six figures). I'd be happy with 35-50K and the chance to enjoy the Austin lifestyle, and not be a workaholic. I am an overachiever, and I know that I can learn to do most anything fairly quickly. I've excelled at every job I've had, and I have good verbal and quantitative skills.

Sorry for the novel, but I really don't know how to approach this job search when I all I really know is that I want to do something different.

Thanks in advance for your help. I'd be happy to post my (altered) resume if that would help people.

How should I explain job searching after only eight months?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 May 2012 17:43:22 -0800

Eight months into a one-year contract, I'm aggressively searching for a new job because of a horrible boss. How should I explain my short stay at the company to recruiters and potential employers? From a potential employer's point of view, it's probably surprising that I would be searching now. First, I've stayed at my past jobs between three and five years (and I can give concrete reasons for leaving, such as moving to a new city). Second, I work for a big corporation that's known for high salaries and excellent benefits. Third, it's legally challenging for me to change jobs because of my work permit situation (I'm an immigrant). And finally, they might wonder why I'm trying to leave before the end of my contract, when the end is relatively near. (Even if they don't explicitly ask me, most people will guess that I'm working under a one-year contract, based on normal hiring practices where I live.)

Trust me when I say that my working environment is bad enough that I can't finish the contract and I need to get out as soon as possible, for my emotional well-being. But I need to secure a new position first.

I want to get my story straight so that:

- I have a coherent explanation for wanting to leave
- I don't blurt out something unprofessional (in my secret desperation to get out)
- employers don't worry that I'll do the same to them (I'm definitely looking for a place where I can stay many years, but of course all applicants will say that)
- it's clear that I'm not being "unofficially fired" (my coworkers and intermediate managers are very happy with my work; the boss is terrible to everyone, not just to me)
- I can field probing questions about my situation (last time I was job hunting, I tried to keep it vague to avoid saying negative things about my employer, and that inevitably led to more questions because recruiters/interviewers were curious)
- I still communicate that I'm good at my job, I'm professional but friendly, and I'm not a complainer or someone who needs to be handled with kid gloves (all true - I'm just in a situation that's not working for me and is not going to change)

I'd love to hear advice from people who have experience job hunting in such a situation, and from hiring managers and HR employees who have evaluated applicants who are looking to move on after a short stay at a company.

This job search is putting holes in my soul...

the NATURAL — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:18:30 -0800

You live in City X. You want to move to City Y and are looking for a job there. Do employers care if your resume says you live in City X or City Y? If yes, other than outright lying, what are some ways around this?

Help me design a great résumé, please?

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:54:57 -0800

Résumé design advice needed! Details within. I'm updating my wife's and my résumé, and it's been quite a while since either of us have looked for work. (10+ years for both of us -- we're both in our late 30's.) I work in a creative marketing field. She handles logistics and event planning for a non-profit.

Our old resumes were a very simple, straightforward format: All black text, descriptions and bulleted text for responsibilities / accomplishments. In an age of LinkedIn and high competition, is that still the best way to go? Or should we be doing something flashier?

I see sites that design spectacular-looking resumes, and I think I can do something like that myself. But while I would like to create a resume that stands out, I'm afraid of detracting / distracting from the content.

Any advice you can offer regarding formatting, style, what to or not to include, or simply what you think makes a résumé memorable and its owner a desirable job candidate would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Letting my manager know that I am looking for a new job?

moiraine — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:25:47 -0800

Should I tell my manager that I am looking for another job? I understand that the answer to this question is usually a big NO NO NO. But, special circumstances inside. For the past three years, I work in City A in my current job that I love. I would like to move to City B for personal reasons. I have carefully considered all other options and there is only one conclusion: I need to be in City B and nowhere else; this decision is not negotiable.

I would have to find a new job in City B as my current company is fairly small (<500 people) and does not have an office in City B. My current company have spent a lot of money and time in training me; however, this is fairly standard for the field that I am working in. They have personally treated me well, although at times my career development have been much more scattershot than it would be in another company. The people have been great and I have enjoyed working with them.

Finding a job in City B should not be a problem as I am working in a technical and highly-specialized field that is in great demand. However, finding the perfect fit could take several months to a year. This is fine.

Main problem: Last year, several people in my company left. One of them joined my Dream Company in City B - let's call her Sarah. I would really like to work there and additionally now I have contacts within Dream Company. I believe my chances at Dream Company will be competitive, but by no means a sure thing.

However, Sarah is also best friends with my manager, and they keep in close contact. Even if I don't submit my resume to Sarah directly, chances are HR will ask Sarah of her opinion of me (as we used to be former coworkers). Then Sarah will let my manager know that I am looking for a new job.

Should I let my manager know upfront, as she would find out from Sarah regardless? how should I phrase this? I think my manager would understand and handle it well, but I'm afraid that the entire process will take longer than I expect and it'll be awkward in the company for a long, long time.

Additional complications:
I will be going on two very expensive overseas "work-research holidays" in June and November. I will almost definitely go on the June holiday, but would like to change jobs before the November holiday comes up and they would be paying for someone who will be leaving the company.

I'll be smart, experienced, and missing ALL the buzzwords

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:25:16 -0800

I'm trying to choose between two programming jobs. One company is very, very unusual for its field, and the features which attract me to that company are rare or even unique within its field. I'm worried about how taking my first job there will limit me in terms of experience, stereotypes, and networking if/when I have to change jobs and/or fields. Are my fears valid? Company A is a geeky newcomer to a very old field. It hires smart people from outside the field, the sort of people who are recruited by Google but won't leave. It uses a particular technology stack that interests me, releases parts of it as free software, and employs or collaborates with the principal contributors of relevant open-source projects. It encourages continuing education by hosting in-house talks, reimbursing for tuition and books, and letting people move around internally to new projects for the experience.

I've heard from multiple sources, including my own experience being interviewed by competitors, that all of these features are rare or unique in the field. When I change jobs I may also need to change fields, at which point all my professional experience will be writing very domain-specific code in a functional language that appears more often in academic papers than in blog posts. I'll have no object-oriented or agile experience on my resume, and there is a non-negligible chance the interviewer will think that the world would be improved if I and all my ilk were removed from it.

Company B is a pretty standard web-2.0, not-a-startup place. I'd be writing C++ back-ends on a pretty standard stack, accruing much more readily transferrable experience. There would be no formal educational benefits, but my daily work would probably expose me to the framework du jour. My coworkers would be similarly top-notch and also more connected to the field where I expect to find my second job. And, of course, instead of being tarred with the same brush as insurance salemen and high frequency traders, I'd be working at a glamorous company whose name you almost certainly know.

I should emphasize that both these companies are great, and I consider myself very lucky to be offered a position at either one of them. I'm worried only about how Company A would look to future employers, about the perceptions and prejudices I would have to overcome. I am not worried I won't be able to teach myself C++ or agile or object-oriented when I need it; learning new skills is actually a strength of mine. I am worried that I won't be able to convince future employers to give me that chance.

And, of course, there's always the siren song of Company C, which is a century-old player in a millennia-old field and sounds like it would be the best culture fit I'm likely to find anywhere. Formal mentorship programs, full tuition reimbursement for any class at all, a culture of aggressive and evidence-based optimization in every aspect of their operation, and incredibly smart coworkers from all backgrounds, from medieval studies majors to mainframe hackers with decades of experience just in this one company. Of course, they have hardcore mainframe hackers because they develop in COBOL and VB.NET because technologically speaking they're still ambivalent about the nineties...

I can't go home again, but can you help me get to Portland?

easy, lucky, free — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:19:22 -0800

Please help me devise a feasible plan for relocating to Portland from Los Angeles. Level of difficulty: pretty desperate. I've been living in the Los Angeles area with a friend since September, and for myriad reasons, will not be able to do so for much longer. I've had no luck with the job search at all, despite applying for 60+ positions.

I am college-educated, though I majored in a pretty niche social science field which hasn't proven very useful as far as employment is concerned. I have a little bit of work experience in a fairly diverse selection of fields (MeMail me for specifics), and I can write a decent cover letter spinning that experience into something relevant to a posting.

I am originally from the Midwest but no longer have family to return to there. As a matter of fact, I have no real support system at all, which is making this process fairly difficult (and really, really contributing to my stress level, which at this point is pretty unbearable - not eating or sleeping unbearable).

I've been emailing with various employment agencies in the PDX metro, and while it sounds like the market there is pretty bad, I think it's likely a bit better than here in Los Angeles.

Here is my tentative plan. Please feel free to critique or make suggestions:

I have a friend in PDX who will allow me to stay on his couch for a week or so while I do an in-person job hunt. At the moment, my plan is to go to every temp agency in town and see what is available. Hopefully, by the end of the week, I'll have something lined up, and I can return to Los Angeles for the weekend, pack up my stuff, and be back in Portland to start work the following Monday. I don't have a lease, and I don't own more than a single bag's worth of clothing, so the moving process itself won't be difficult.

I've also been applying to every Craigslist posting I'm qualified for, which amounts to about 30 applications this week. Nothing is below me at this point, so if you have any other suggestions as to where I should be looking for work, they'd be appreciated.

Finally, I've begun applying for jobs in Salem, as well, with the thought that the market there is probably much better, and I could live there for a few months while saving money for a move to Portland.

So, does this plan sound realistic, or am I letting a mentally draining situation get to me? Am I going to be able to find a job, any job, by spending a week visiting temp agencies? I don't want to do anything rash or unwise.

Also, if anyone would like to take a look at my resume or cover letter(s) to see if there's anything I might improve, let me know.

Thank you so much.

Should I temporarily relocate 70 miles from home to find a good job?

Val_E_Yum — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:43:53 -0800

I have a house and a husband I'd like to keep. However, it seems like the only way to do this is to temporarily relocate myself 70 miles away where the job market is better. Is this a good idea? Relevant Details:
Me: 30-something female, sans degree, using my sockpuppet account
Mr. Yum: 40-something male with chronic pain (3+ years)
We've been married almost 12 years and are self-employed.
Location: Southern California

Due to my husband's health issues, he hasn't been able to work as much as he used to. Our tiny rural community's job market isn't that great. I have a very casual housekeeping gig for a friend, but it's not going to turn into something full-time.

My Dad's my landlord, and has been VERY understanding about my husband's illness. However, we owe oodles of back rent. Dad doesn't like to nag me about it, but I know Dad could use the money back.

As Mr. Yum and my Dad have been taking care of me for pretty much my whole life, I'd like to do what I can personally to become the main breadwinner in this family. I'd also like to keep this house, as Mr. Yum and I love it up here. Besides, moving isn't a realistic option for many reasons.

It seems that the majority of jobs available right now are around Downtown LA, which would be the Commute From Hell for me (.75 hr drive to train station, 1.75 hr train ride, ~.5 hr subway or bus ride each way, five days a week). My car is old and probably won't handle that kind of commute too well (doubly so driving into LA daily), and I have no money for major repairs.

However, a dear friend of mine has a spare room that he'd let me use, rent-free. He's a mile from a Metrolink station, a couple miles from a light rail station, and lives in the area where most of my family does. Commuting to Downtown LA from his place would take an hour or less each way. I've found a temp agency or two that seems to list most of the jobs available in that area, and I'll most likely sign up with one or both of them if I do this.

When I've brought this idea to Mr. Yum, he says, "What about us?"
I've told him I feel I owe it to him and our marriage to try this. It will be hard adjusting to me being gone a lot, but thanks to technology, we'll be able to keep in touch. Plus, when Mr. Yum is well enough to work, he prefers me out of the house anyway. We could also use health insurance, as that seems to be what will get doctors to treat him properly (long story not relevant to this post).

So, is this a good idea? Am I being short-sighted by thinking the only way to keep my house is to move away from it temporarily?

Should my husband take a job with a very low salary?

KathrynT — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:31:01 -0800

Should you take a job that doesn't pay enough to live on, or continue on unemployment -- which is even less? My husband's contract ended just before Thanksgiving, and he's been looking for work ever since. While he's getting unemployment, it isn't enough money to cover our expenses, and we're drawing about $2K a month from his IRA every month to cover the gap. (I'm a SAHM, and in this economy, I can't earn enough to cover child care for our two children.) He has over a decade of experience, and he's been interviewing a lot, but it is a tough market out there -- he's lost out on 3 jobs in "very difficult decisions between two highly qualified candidates."

Well, he was just offered a (contract) job. . . at half his previous hourly rate. Half. It would absolutely not cover our expenses, and we live fairly frugally; we'd still have to draw about a thousand dollars a month out of the IRA. On the other hand, that's less than we're drawing now. On the OTHER other hand, couldn't that screw him in terms of future earnings if people ask for a salary history?

He replied to the contract agency, saying he is very interested but really needs a higher rate. He's also a little grumpy because he told them his rate, and said he could maybe go a little lower for the right job, but half is not a little lower! What should he do? Is the bird in the hand really worth two in the bush, or should he regretfully turn them down and keep interviewing?

Customer service ---> Gainful employment

WeekendJen — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:45:16 -0800

Help me transition out of my customer service "career" I'm in need of any and all tips to transition out of my customer service career. I believe my main issue is that I lack a clear understanding of my options since I don't "know what I want to be."

I have worked for the same company for about 4 years now. Initially I was hired to handle customer service for one large business account and while that job was decent, it was a bit boring most of the time and there was no room for advancement or even exposure to other opportunities in the company since I worked on-site at the large account rather than at a site belonging to my company. This job was also a long commute for me and the price of getting to and from work took up a lot of my budget (about $400 per month). The job site was in an area were I couldn't afford to live closer to. The things I liked most about the job were the freedom to make my own schedule and being able to do the majority of my work unsupervised.

About 5 months ago I applied and got a new position in the same company. I now work in one of their offices a lot closer to my home. However, I hate this job with the fire of a thousand suns. I was brought into the office to handle increased customer service volume due to another location closing and now being handled out of the location I am in. The workflow is far too much for the 5 of us in the office to handle and we are consistently 2 weeks behind. WE have been working 10 hours on our shortest days and also asked to come in on weekends. I usually work with no break at all. I feel like there is nothing being done to address our concerns with the volume of work we are getting. I feel like there is no room for advancement in my position and that I will get "stuck" if I stay too long, burnt out and unable to pool my energies to find another job.

That is all on top of the fact that I don't want to be stuck doing customer service forever. My most recent job searching has yielded a few instances of the catch 22 of needing experience, but not finding any employment to gain experience. I currently make around $16 per hour and would need to make at least that much (working at least a 40 hour week). I am in Philadelphia and will need to stay in the area. I've exhausted my strong references, but I suppose I could try to network with new people.

My previous jobs have been in retail stores, temp service jobs (such as "sales assistant") and waitressing. I have a BA in English. I'm moderately handy with tools. I'm fluent in the MS Office Suite.

What position titles should I be looking for to apply? ARe there any companies known for taking on people with a generic skillset so they can gain experience in a particular field? I just don't really know where to go from here and my current job is so miserable that the only option I can really think of is to go back to waitressing for a while. The only thing I want to be is not in my current job. Help!

Help me manage a long-distance job hunt!

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:16:22 -0800

I'm a 2L at a third tier law school in one part of the middle of nowhere. My same-sex partner is from a very different middle of nowhere that has distinguished itself as one of the sorts of middles of nowhere that we can actually get married in. We are provisionally considering moving. The job market's bad enough already, so... help! Maybe it's not quite as bad as it sounds. I'm top 10%, moot court and law review. And money is almost no object; what I really really want, no matter where, is small firm work and I'm willing to do the time at relatively low salary until I can can prove I bill enough to earn more. (I'd take $30k from somewhere I really liked, $40k would be preferable given the move, anything over that as far as my lifestyle is concerned is just gravy.)

Ideally I want to be doing bankruptcy and estate planning and other small transactional work, although I'm not against litigation or honestly anything but criminal work. My internships so far have been in health care and bankruptcy and I have good references. I am not worried about my prospects where I live now on that score; with recent trends, however, we're going to have to move somewhere out of state to get married, and this seems like our best bet.

My school has no alumni in that general area. I'm thinking about just putting together a massive mailing of resumes and just trying to tailor them by whatever I can find on the internet. But I don't know how to handle the timing. Should I send stuff now and mention that I'm available next summer? Wait until later and say that I'm available permanently starting summer 2013? (We can just go out for next summer, family living there have offered to help out if we do. Sadly, they don't seem to know any attorneys themselves.) And in doing so, how do I explain why I'm looking so far from 'home', how do I handle interview requests since I can't exactly afford to fly out weekly, etc?

If it doesn't happen, I don't consider this to be the biggest disaster, but it would be very nice if it did.

Networking for the Desperate

aintthattheway — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:26:57 -0800

With very little to offer, how can I network more effectively? A little background: I'm a 2010 college grad with only a little freelancing experience, a couple of internships, and half a year's work at a bookstore under my belt. I'm interested and have the most experience in writing and editorial work, with some basic administrative and research skills. My target industries are either publishing or nonprofits. (Would like to do journalism, too, but I'm too depressed by the chances at getting something there that I've shied away.)

I've been applying like crazy to different entry-level jobs, and have gotten a few interviews, but I fear I can no longer avoid the bear that is networking. I have networked moderately over the past year, mainly through friends or occasionally contacts of friends. But I think, since I recently quit my job to focus on applying full-time, it's time I go for broke.

My primary resource is my university's alumni networking database, which people opt into, implying that they want to network. When I try to contact people in my target industries, however, I get depressingly minimal results. Having been coached by career advisers from my school in the etiquette of networking, I feel okay about the style and approach I am using. I would guess that I haven't gotten responses because: (1) people are busy, (2) they don't know me personally and won't really be held accountable for ignoring my attempts to reach out, and (3) as a recent grad, I have very little to offer in return for help... just appreciation. Despite experience that I'm proud of, I feel a bit like a charity case.

How can I better make myself someone people are interested in helping? People with jobs, on the other side of the river -- what makes you want to help people that may be younger and less experienced in your specific industry? What sort of approaches appeal to you, and what annoys the hell out of you?

I'm already a bit awkward in a business-y social setting, given that I typically rely on self-deprecation and humor to attract people and feel automatically a little disingenuous with the song-and-dance of networking when the reality is that I pretty urgently need a job. I'm running out of preliminary questions to ask about industries that I now know a fair amount about.

I managed to have some success last week with a friend of one of my acquaintances, a woman who immediately agreed to meet with me for coffee, looked at my resume, and said she would help me make several introductions with other people she knows in nonprofit fields. It was so direct and helpful, I nearly cried with gratitude.

This was the result of an introduction from our mutual friend, but how can I get this kind of response more frequently? Should I completely give up on contacting people I don't know, even if they've opted into a networking system?

LinkedIn Endorsements - Trim to the few "best" or show them all?

meinvt — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:37:03 -0800

I've often called my career in architecture glorified itinerant work. The fact is that I need to go where the jobs are. So, despite having confidence in my position for the next six months to two years, I recently decided to start brushing up my public facing networking tools. In particular this means LinkedIn, and I decided to send a request for recommendations to many folks I have worked with over the past decade and a half at several positions. The result has been pretty gratifying to my ego, but now I realize I need to better understand the etiquette and strategy of how best to post them. The endorsements vary from simple two sentence, very positive, notes from individuals of significant influence, to more detailed pieces from a few direct and indirect managers. I'm just not sure if I should be trying to choose the top three or five overall, two or three for each of the four positions I've had since college, or whether I just list them all despite the number approaching fifteen, with more coming in every few days.

I'm definitely in an industry where it is up to me to hustle to find great quality work, but I also don't want my profile to come off as overly boastful or like I'm just "trying to impress". Honestly, one of my challenges in editing the list down is how much regard I hold for some of the people who did endorse me. Which is why I can really use the third party input on approach.

Right now I'm showing 2/3 of them which feels a bit like an unsatisfying compromise.

Also potentially relevant is that whenever I wrap up this job I may consider a lateral move into something more like facilities/campus planning. That would mean dealing with more corporate structured HR at larger organizations that may not be as familiar with what the specifics of my job experience mean. So, advice to tune for those viewers is particularly appreciated.

Job hunt fallout - is this situation recoverable or do I need to move on?

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:02:34 -0800

How do you ask for a job after rejecting it the first time? Is this situation recoverable or do I need to move on? I am a senior engineer, and started strong in my job hunt two months ago. My experience opened a lot of doors, and I have had a lot of interest from employers. One in particular was an attractive position at a small company that would have required uprooting, moving to another city, in a different industry.

To make a long story short, I turned down this company as there were other prospects that looked more attractive. Unfortunately, the other prospects have fizzled out, and I'm rueing my early rejection of the first company. I'm having an informal conversation with the hiring manager today, to discuss something unrelated.

In retrospect, I should have handled the process more elegantly, but didn't, and am afraid that I've lost some credibility in the way I handled it. For example, I took extra time to consider the offer, then told them that it just wasn't the right fit, and rejected the offer hastily. This was met with an icy reception by senior members of the team, and they've since moved on in looking at other candidates. I have a good relationship with the CEO, but can't think of a way of re-introducing my interest that won't get blocked. I realize I lost a lot of leverage in negotiation as well. I think it will be tougher for me in my day-to-day work because people will wonder about why I rejected the company in the first place.

What do you think, Mefites? Is there a way to pitch my interest that will mend bridges? How do you convince people that you've had a change of heart, that doesn't make people questioning your judgment? On another note, the company culture is a bit more cutthroat than I'd prefer, and should I take their handling of my rejection as a signal that it's probably best to have walked away from it all?

When to start job hunting

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:59:05 -0800

I am going to quit my job and move back home to Canada with my husband. My targeted quit date is 12/16. When do I start looking for a new job? Our stay in the USA is on my work visa, so I can't leave early. My husband needs to stay in the USA until the work on the house is done.

I was thinking I would postpone job hunting until closer to a potential start date, probably 10/1. Should I start earlier?