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Tips on starting up a science-themed blog

daisyk — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:16:18 -0800

I was convinced to start a blog under my real name, for the purposes of being visible on the internet in a positive light while applying for jobs. Unfortunately, now it's up, I hate it and never want to write anything there. Since my partner is sick of me wailing about it, I thought I'd ask you guys for tips on low-effort ways to post on a blog with a general theme of 'interesting science news'. I've been blogging under pseudonyms for about ten years so the concept itself is not new to me. My problem is a combination of the following:

Raging, lifelong imposter syndrome, or so I'm told. I say it can't be imposter syndrome if I'm right about my inadequacy! </logic> (Yes, I am in therapy.)

Not wanting to merely recycle news stories from elsewhere with one picture, a link and my name stamped on it. I feel this adds no value and dislike blogs that only do this.

If I write about news within my field, but have no useful insights or expert knowledge about it, this will look worse than not saying anything.

If I write about news outside of my field, I definitely won't have useful insights or expert knowledge, so why bother?

I've been told (by my partner) that curating interesting science news is also a useful service, even if I don't write much about it myself, because there's such a lot of information out there. Unfortunately, I don't want to spend hours and hours wading through all this information myself either. I should probably use that time to look for jobs, right?

I'm a slow writer. I second-guess myself, worry that I'm accidentally writing something incorrect or offensive, and have to read my source materials through several times to feel sure I understand them completely. This is the case for my pseudonymous blog; for this real-name blog, it's worse.

I would be happier just to delete this blog, but it's keeping a couple of annoying hits for my name off the top of my Google results. (I started a PhD eighteen months ago that didn't work out, and the year I spent there is listed on my CV as 'research assistant'. I'm searching for another position as a doctoral student. Some links have recently surfaced that still refer to me as a PhD student in my old department, and I don't want to have to explain this in interviews if I can help it.)

Is there a way to make short, non-labour-intensive posts about science news that won't make me feel I'm just making the internet worse? Quigley's Cabinet is an example of what I'd love to make if it were possible, but it would take me hours and hours a day to keep it up. On the other end of the scale, I do like Science You Can Love, which is only reblogs. I feel you can get away with that on Tumblr, though, and not so much with a 'real' blog.

I like the idea of a science news blog. Unfortunately, I've worried about it so much that even thinking about making an entry can push me into a panic. Some outside advice would be great—thank you!

I didn't used to be bad at this.

thereemix — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:41:15 -0800

Follow up to this question I asked a while back. Yes, another email verbiage question. There was a time when I was really good at crafting emails/memos/correspondence/etc. However, now that I've been unemployed for eight months, my brain is apparently atrophying.

Backstory: To summarize the question I linked to above the fold...back in December I got some intel about a job lead from an industry colleague. I emailed the contact at the company (with the help of many of you lovely folks) regarding the potential opportunity with my resume. The contact responded by saying that they weren't hiring at the moment, but did plan on bringing in someone new midway through the next year.

Seeing as it's coming upon midway through the next year, I sent her a follow-up email reiterating my interest in the company with an updated resume (I've been doing some freelancing). She replied saying that unfortunately they haven't been able to drum up as many projects as they would like so they still aren't hiring, but she will definitely keep me in mind once things get rolling for them.

I'd like to respond to her email thanking her for updating me and reiterating my desire to stay in touch/be considered once they have projects on deck. I've been staring at the compose screen in gmail for the last 30 minutes and my mind is completely empty. I don't want to come off like a sycophant, but I also don't want to seem rude or abrupt.

I've come up with:

Hi [name] - thanks for the update!

And then I get stuck. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm sorry to once again solicit the hive-mind to help me write a damn email; you'd think by now I'd be a pro at this after 8 months of pounding the payment looking for full-time work but no, somehow it just gets harder and harder. This is so humiliating.

I'm not so great at the unknown.

bookgirl18 — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:32:14 -0800

How do I do this "taking a breather" thing? Hey y'all,

As a look at my posting history will tell you, I have had one hell of a year. Despite injuring my back and THEN injuring my foot in the recovery process last year, I have managed to get through my incredibly intensive two-year MA program in the humanities (assuming I finish these final papers!) on time, with perfectly good grades and references from professors and supervisors. But both my head and body are a complete mess. I feel completely overwhelmed and drained from this entire process, and my back and foot, while a whole lot better, could definitely use some R&R.

Furthermore, this whole thing has unfortunately taken a very rough toll on my relationship with my live-in partner. The crippling physical pain of the injuries and the even more crippling depression I've been experiencing, along withe the more mundane stresses of living together and being in grad school, have been more difficult than either of us could possibly have imagined. He's accepted a tenure-track position for the fall in a different city, and, as sad as this makes me and as much as we love each other, neither one of us thinks that my following him there or our committing our lives to each other is a good idea right now. So basically, I am looking out at a great total unknown, in every single area of my life.

While I've done some networking and job applying, I have not been doing it as diligently as I know I need to. I could say it's because I haven't had time, but I know I am simply not in the right head space. When confronted with anxiety like this, my tendency is sometimes to avoid it and get stuck in paralysis mode. I am not even sure what I WANT to do now - academia is definitely not for me. What I WOULD like to do is take a bit of a breather. I definitely need a job of some kind, to feed myself and to have something to do to occupy my time and energy. (And to have health insurance!)
I haven't ruled out high school teaching - in fact, I think with more teaching practice, I might be quite good at it. But I have very little experience and no state certification (yet!), so getting a job like that for this coming fall seems unlikely. Would it be the worst thing in the world to look for some very mundane, unrelated job for next year, supplemented by tutoring or volunteering or whatever else I can cobble together, while I figure out what to do next?

Oddly enough, I feel optimistic about my prospects for the first time in a long time, though maybe this is just foolish naivete. I'm finally on medication that seems to be working, and I hope these experiences have made me stronger. I know that I have skills, networks, and resources - but I definitely don't want to slip back into depression while being unemployed. Will this be a resume gap that I'll be able to eventually explain to potential employers? How can I do this "taking a break" thing right, so that I get closer to figuring out what I actually want instead of further away and more depressed?

Thanks, as always.

Job hunting on the DL

jrichards — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:36:14 -0800

Is it possible to apply for a new job in the nonprofit world without my current job finding out? There must be some kind of protocol or professional courtesy about this kind of thing, right? I work at a small, but prominent, nonprofit arts organization in a large city. I'm ready for a new challenge and would like to respond to some interesting job openings, but my boss (the ED) is very well-connected and it would not be unusual for someone at another organization to mention to her that one of her staff has applied elsewhere. Is there something I can say in my cover letter to make it clear that I would like my application to be kept confidential? How do I respond to an application that requests references when I do not want to list my current employer as a reference?

I have done great work at my current position and I know that my current boss would give me a good recommendation when it comes down to it. In the past, I would have just told my boss outright that I was considering other positions to advance my career, but considering the job market, there's no guarantee that I will find something better and I don't want my current boss to hold this against me - or worse - start looking to replace me.

Any advice for successfully navigating this situation?

HR interview followup

stupidsexyFlanders — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:30:02 -0800

When a company invites you in to interview for a professional position, you spend half a day speaking with multiple people, and then they choose to not contact you in any way regarding the outcome of their search - - is that 100% douchebaggery, or are there legitimate HR/legal reasons they might behave this way? To be clear, I'm just talking about sending a quick email saying, thanks for coming in, we've made a decision, best of luck in future.

♫♫ What do you do with a BS in Physics? ♫♫

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:41:11 -0800

Three years ago, I graduated with a Physics degree. Since then, I've been working in a soul-crushing IT job. Realistically, what are my options to push my career forward? Help me find my passion. Lots of snowflake details inside. I graduated from a well-respected public university in 2009, with a GPA that was just a hair below 3.0. Although I completed a bunch of lab work and internships, I had neither the grades nor the ambition to pursue the PhD/Postdoc career path that's traditional to the field.

I stuck with my degree, with the promise that it could eventually lead to a career in engineering (which seemed a lot more interesting than the theoretical Physics stuff I was working on). This didn't really pan out, as no employers were even willing to look at a candidate that hadn't taken the EIT, and my grad school options seemed to be severely constrained by my mediocre GPA.

Since graduating, I've been working in an IT job for a huge government contractor in Washington, DC. My official title is "Systems Engineer," although "IT Polymath" might be a better description. I have a ridiculously broad array of job duties, ranging from low-level systems administration/helpdesk duties, writing code, media editing, server administration, and a bit of fairly high-level engineering work. Most of the systems that I oversee are highly proprietary and specific to our office's function. Unfortunately, this also means that most of the "typical" IT responsibilities (AD administration, NOC, etc) are delegated out to other departments within my client's organization. My client also tends to be relentlessly conservative with its IT practices, so I'm missing quite a few buzzwords (ie. anything with virtualization) from my resume. In other words, there are some gaps in my skills and experience that are making it very difficult for me to apply to similar jobs elsewhere -- every advertised IT vacancy seems to require a laundry list of incredibly specific experiences and skills.

Unfortunately, my job lacks a clear sense of direction, has no coherent management chain to speak of, and has no obvious path for advancement. I'm the youngest person in my office by about 15 years, and can't help shake the feeling that I'm often treated like a child. Even after 3 years on the job, I'm also still the newest "employee" (and only contractor and only non-union person) in the office. My coworkers still occasionally call me by the name of my predecessor.

Despite these numerous respect issues, my client seems incredibly satisfied with the work that I do. I've received three glowing performance reviews, but my pay ($50k) has not increased by a dime, and my benefits have gotten progressively more expensive (to say nothing about the cost of living in DC spiraling out of control). At my last review, I inquired about advancement opportunities, training, or opportunities elsewhere in my huge firm, and was told something along the lines of "Why would you want that? You have stability and the best job in our company." I know that I'm not making bad money, but I also get the distinct impression that my career isn't going to lead to anyplace good if I stay where I am.

I've recently been focusing a lot on the web development aspects of my job, and have gotten to the point where I feel extremely competent as a web developer. I've had a few interviews for full-time web development jobs with startup-y companies, all of which have progressed quite far until one interviewer sets out to prove that I don't have a CS degree or experience as a full-time developer on a big team. These setbacks have frequently been exhausting and humiliating. I'm trying to churn out a few personal projects to build a portfolio, although I've been finding this to be surprisingly difficult to accomplish while also holding down a full-time job and attempting to have a functioning social life.

I've contemplated going back to school to study engineering (probably Civil, but I really don't know), but my options seem to be constrained by my mediocre GPA, having few professors who would write me a favorable recommendation, and the cost of tuition (as a DC resident, I don't have any good 'in-state' options). Additionally, I'd rather have some experience in a particular discipline of engineering before committing to a degree. Urban planning's also caught my interest, but I also really don't know how I'd determine if I'd find that sort of career to be fulfilling (or even attainable). Although I don't mind having a desk job, I also do like that an Engineering career could potentially lead to something that doesn't result in my butt being stuck in the same chair every single day.

I apologize that this is rambling and somewhat open-ended, but what are my options to move my career forward? I'm feeling more and more like I'm going to be stuck here forever.

In-thread replies are appreciated, but I've also set up a throwaway email at quantumemployment@gmail.com

Reading to complete before a technical interview (CSS, JS, HTML)?

jsturgill — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:15:56 -0800

I'm scheduled for a technical interview after the weekend for a front-end development position. I'd like to spend some intensive time beforehand reading relevant blogs and books to prime the ol' noodle and supplement my existing knowledge. Could you recommend some resources? Are there questions you would ask an applicant in this situation, or that you have been asked? The interview will, in particular, cover "HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery." The company in question runs on WordPress, so items at the intersection of any and all of those technologies might be particularly helpful. Code will be discussed and produced as part of it.

Give me advice on my job search in the NYC area.

carolinecrane — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:37:14 -0800

I'm a librarian in the southern U.S. looking to relocate to NYC. The catch is that I can't move without a job offer. Am I hoping for the impossible? About me: I'm currently a professional librarian in the southern United States. I have management, reference, instruction, and interlibrary loan experience, mostly in a public library setting. My references are great (really) and I've got about a decade of experience under my belt. Currently I'm a mid-level manager at a public library system in a smallish southern city.

What I'm looking for: Ideally an academic position paying at least somewhere in the mid-40s in the greater NYC area. (I'm not opposed to staying in public librarianship, but it doesn't seem to pay a living wage in NYC.) I realize that I'm facing an uphill battle, especially since I'm trying to make the switch to academic librarianship while also breaking into one of the most competitive markets in the country.

I guess my question is this: Am I delusional? Is it even possible to land a library job while I'm so far away from the metro area? I recently had a phone interview with an academic library in New England, which is where I grew up, so I wouldn't *hate* going back there, but I'd really like to be in NYC. But am I expecting too much?

My experience is great, I'm well-rounded and extremely employable. But I fear that hiring committees aren't even considering me because I'm from out of town. I know the competition is stiff, to say the least.

Should I be focusing on finding a position up north in a less competitive area and doing time for a couple years before I make the move to the city? Or do I continue to hold out hope? I've been looking since October, and I recently turned 40. I also had a near-death experience this year which made me realize that I wasn't living the life I want to live, if that matters.

How to apply for a job when your licensure is pending your graduation?

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:17:43 -0800

I’ll be graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in a certain medical paraprofessional field, and will be sitting for my licensing exam in April. The state will recognize me as a licensed paraprofessional upon the date of my graduation. I’d like to start looking for jobs after I sit for my exam, which I am confident I will pass but am unsure how to proceed. Should I go ahead and start applying for jobs and sending out my resume before I graduate?
If I should, what's the best way to present that I'm 'license elligible' in my resume or coverletter?

How does on properly "network" when looking for a new job?

windbox — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:16:19 -0800

When job searching, how do you successfully network without looking tacky, blowing your cover at your current job, looking desperate - just general rules for avoiding acting in poor taste, whatever that would look like? I am currently employed in an industry that is very "networky" already, though I usually do not attend networking events because it is mostly just so buyers and vendors can all get together and find new business/new partners. I also never have anyone to go with me and get paranoid standing around by myself.

I am aggressively looking for a new job these days though, so I'm trying to think as outside the box as I can here. I've already contacted old coworkers to see if they know of anything and it's led to an interview, but the job wasn't a good fit. I also responded to a recruiter who reached out to me on LinkedIn which led to two interviews, but it didn't go anywhere afterward. In conclusion though - unsurprisingly - actually talking to people has gotten me interviews more than applying to places online and on linkedin which sort of just feels like sending my resume and cover letter into a black hole, no matter how carefully I tailor them. So - I am trying to talk to more people.

My question is, is there a way to go to these networking events and make it clear that I'm looking to change jobs? Is that desperate, tacky and off-putting? Is it wrong to go on behalf of my company without letting them know I am attending? Am I leading someone on (for instance, a vendor) if we connect at a networking event and they see that I was only interested in job opportunities, not doing business? Sorry, I've been working professionally for about 3 years now and still don't understand all the social norms around this so I'm paranoid about breaking them - would hate to tell people "well actually I'm here because I'm looking to see who might be hiring, I'm looking to change jobs - do you know of any openings?" and just looking really off-putting.

Any advice on this? Also, if anyone knows of more creative ways to job search while still employed, I'd love to know.

Help me navigate the modern job search

rhiannonstone — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:43:36 -0800

I'm actively looking for a job for the first time in awhile, and whenever I sit down to write a cover letter and update my resume it's like my job application skills stopped developing in 1985 (nevermind that I wasn't old enough to apply for jobs then). I know that customs and expectations for resumes and cover letters have changed, not least because so much is done via email rather than hard copy, but I don't know how to adapt the stale job-seeking skills I learned from people who learned them 25 years ago to the modern job search. I'm plenty comfortable with the online job search, and I've got an active LinkedIn profile, but when it comes to writing cover letters and resumes I fall back on being overly stiff and formal and relying on a lot of outdated formatting. Which I suppose is fine for some jobs, but doesn't seem to fit well with the sorts of modern, non-corporate companies and nonprofits I want to work for.

Do you have any good resources or advice for me?

explain finding and getting a job like Im a 5 year old

Mr. Papagiorgio — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:22:50 -0800

What are the must-have books on getting a job in addition to What Color is Your Parachute? I need a practical nuts-and-bolts book geared towards an engineer. One that addresses networking and phone interviews would be great. How exactly does one get an informational interview at a company 45 minutes away without getting the run around? Call and ask the secretary? One that will be useful for years to come.

Getting a job is a skill like any other, so what are the best resources to learn that skill? I graduated with bachelor's in biomedical engineering 3 years ago and have yet to land a real job. I am smart, capable, and know there are jobs out there for me. Help me make it happen, because I feel like I'm working in the dark.

How do I follow up with companies that accept resumes electronically?

Gin and Comics — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:33:33 -0800

I've been submitting applications for jobs in the retail sector, and most of the those applications are accepted electronically. If I follow up a resume submission, how should I make the approach? There is a particular retailer in the area that I'd love to work with in the near future. They also seem to post new openings on their website with some regularity. Unfortunately, I can't seem to convince them that I'm the right person for the job.

I thought I might help myself by making an in-person visit after a resume submission, something I've neglected to do in the past. The reason I've put it off until now is I'm not quite sure how(or if) I should do it. I've been brushed off in the past at other companies with a "Please apply using or website. Thank you," and that kind of shuts down a pro–Gin and Comics type conversation. Further, the company has an assessment/personality quiz as part of the hiring process ("How would you evaluate your sense of humour?" and similar) which I can't be sure I passed, and the thought of my resumes going straight into the circular file without even being told is a tad disheartening.

In brief:

Should I approach a hiring manager? And if I do, what should I say to promote myself?

Back on the workforce horse

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:37:42 -0800

I'm someone who's been struggling off and on with PTSD and depression for about 12 years. The last couple of years have been particularly challenging, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel and am looking at venturing back into the workforce. I'm a bit nervous about how it'll go and am hoping for advice! I lucked into an interview for an admin assistant job through a friend of a friend (which, yay! my poor rape-derailed resumé is a bit messy and episodic because my post-college years are only freelance projects in a totally different industry plus work-from-home internet stuff, and it's easier to explain in person than in advance in a cover letter; I've done admin stuff in a low-key office before, but not recently). I can't be the only person who basically had to hide at home trying to put themselves back together before setting out back into the world, and I'm looking for tips from others of you: what helped you get more confident about your own capability and competence when you were feeling very tentative about going back to work after a PTSD hiatus?

My current treatment situation is: no money for a therapist at the moment, but the last one set me loose with a lot of CBT skills and workbooks to keep practicing them; a robust peer support network; clonazepam to take on an as-needed basis if panic arises. It is feeling pretty stable for once, which is why I am looking at outside-the-house work again.

unemployed and floundering. sometimes i wonder if i'm a mistake.

thereemix — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:58:55 -0800

I am between jobs, looking for work, and am really struggling. Please help me figure out how to cope and keep moving forward. I am stuck and scared. TL;DR: Unemployed and floundering. Have fallen into a hole in the last month and don't know how to get out. Keep thinking I should just give up and stop looking for work altogether (even though that is not realistic). Need strategies to figure out how to soldier on.

-----

If you take a look at my posting history you'll get a sense of my backstory, but here are the highlights for context:

- Laid off from job January 2012, very suddenly, kind of felt like a betrayal but I got over it.
- In a stroke of luck, landed an 8-month contract position through a temp agency in February 2012.
- Contract position ended October 2012, have been unemployed and searching for work since.
- I had filed for unemployment insurance immediately after being laid off in January 2012, but landed the contract gig during my waiting week so didn't actually start collecting on the claim until the contract gig ended in October.
- I am in New York (work in NYC, live about an hour north).
- I have about 5 years' working experience (was consistently employed since graduating college until I was laid off).

So now it's February 2013. My unemployment insurance benefit year ends next week. I think I am eligible for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), which would give me about another year's worth of UI benefits, but I am not sure how EUC works. I am terrified that I won't receive EUC. I don't know if I should file another UI claim using the contract gig or not, and I find navigating the NY DOL website frustrating and intimidating, not to mention trying to get someone live on the phone to answer a question is nigh on impossible.

But the bigger problem is, I am terrified that I will not find another job, and this is causing me to freeze up when it comes to job hunting. For a while I was pretty good about applying to 2-3 jobs every day. I ended up almost accepting a job offer at the end of October but turns out the company had massively misrepresented the job to me and also wasn't able to make payroll (the current employees were all planning to quit (and have since quit) and warned me off the job), so that basically ended before it began. I landed one interview through a networking connection in December; unfortunately the job was one I was supremely unqualified for (it was for a director-level position requiring at least 10-15 years' experience and I can only assume they didn't really look at my resume as I was referred via a colleague). I heard about another job lead through this same colleague at the beginning of the year but it turns out the company wasn't hiring at the minute but might have a position open later in the year. Additionally, in January I applied for a job at the company where I had the contract gig last year - a different department than the one I was in, but the person I reported to when I was there put in a good word for me. Nonetheless, they passed on me.

Since then, nothing.

Applying for jobs at this point feels like an exercise in futility. I apply and for all I know my application just ends up in some black hole somewhere because I almost never hear back. It's making me feel hopeless and, for lack of a better word, blocked. Over the past three weeks I've gotten to the point where I find jobs online that I am qualified for, bookmark them intending to apply, but then cannot bring myself to actually go through with the application because I think why even bother? I recognize how unhelpful and silly that thinking is but I don't know how to overcome it. The thought of writing cover letters fills me with dread; I've never been very good at it and it ends up stressing me out, which contributes to my not being able to complete applications. I keep checking in with the temp agency that placed me last year but they don't have anything for me at the moment. I've submitted my resume to other temp agencies but no one ever contacts me back to set up an appointment. I wonder if my resume - the one that got me hired last year - actually secretly sucks. I wonder if my LinkedIn profile is lame. I wonder if my cover letters make me seem desperate. I wonder if I am just a hack. I feel worthless and stupid now, and I just want to give up.

I've applied to maybe one job a week in the last three weeks. For a while back in the fall I was pretty good about waking up at a consistent time, showering and dressing, and trying to keep a schedule, but Thanksgiving that had all fallen by the wayside. I signed up for an online course on basic accounting principles thinking it would be good to keep my brain engaged (and it's something I've been meaning to do for years since I'm interested in it) but have pretty much ignored the coursework since. I have managed to get a whole bunch of doctor and dentist appointments scheduled and taken care of, which I guess is a small accomplishment. But otherwise I spend my days dicking around online, looking at jobs that I then do not apply for, reading AskMetafilter, the Ask a Manager blog (where I get plenty of job searching advice that I then do not implement), and the AV Club. I don't eat meals consistently and it's been bitterly cold here so I can't go running or walking easily (running was/is typically my mode of exercise). I'm sure that doesn't help. Since October I've also been sicker than I've ever been in years; awful menstrual cramps (unusual for me), lots of migraines, a terrible bout of flu/bronchitis over Christmas, a lingering cough I've only just about managed to shake, and now I seem to be down with some sort of noxious stomach bug. I used to get maybe one cold per year; now I'm sick all the time.

Yesterday I read an article on the AV Club about Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and then spent the rest of the day watching Mr. Rogers clips on YouTube. You'd think watching Mr. Rogers would be encouraging because he was so good at making kids' feelings feel validated, but it ended up making me feel sadder. I ended up sobbing pathetically for two hours after watching one clip featuring the puppet Daniel Striped Tiger singing a song called "Sometimes I Wonder if I'm a Mistake". (I'm actually tearing up right now thinking about it, which is humiliating.) That's when I realized I'm really in trouble and I need to find a way out of this rut and get my head back in the game.

I don't have a terribly supportive family, but I do have a wonderful roommate/best friend who is trying to help. He suggested this morning that I need to come up with some sort of plan, on paper, about how to structure my time/job search. But I don't even know where to begin there. I feel completely blocked and the more I try to unblock myself the more scared I get and I really literally don't know what to do. I have no idea how to get beyond this. I really like working and I like what I do and I like feeling like a productive member of society. I was/am proud of the career accomplishments I've had in such a short time. But right now I feel like a leech and a loser, and like a fraud, because no one wants to hire me and now this is the third week where I'm in this vicious circle where I can't even bring myself to apply for jobs.

I am looking for suggestions for how to get my head back in the game and push through this feeling of being blocked, strategies for how to complete job applications without getting bogged down in fear and taking three hours to write cover letters, ways to structure my time, and maybe some ways to stop feeling like such a failure all the time, and stop being scared.

Please help.

In case anyone is concerned, my last question was about figuring out how to afford the medication I take for my bipolar II since my new health insurance doesn't cover it. I've since spoken with my psychiatrist about the issue and have enrolled in patient assistance programs through the drug companies, so that is no longer a worry for me. That is to say, I at least have my mental health concerns taken care of and I am in constant contact with a very supportive doctor, so I think this bout of depression is mostly situational, though at my next appointment with him we are going to discuss whether my dosages need to be adjusted.

Getting out of a job before getting out of a job

EmpressCallipygos — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:20:59 -0800

I'm an admin in a big corporate firm, but I'm secretly planning to hunt for a new job in a couple weeks. I've just been asked to take on new responsibilities here. Can I get out of this, and if so, how? The new US-head-of-something-or-other is coming to our office and the business manager has asked if I can take him on as one of the guys I take care of. I'm loath to do so, because with any luck I'll be out of here in a couple months and that would suck for him. But I don't want to tip my hand about the search.

I could claim it's because the new person they gave me to handle two months ago (the GLOBAL-head-of-something-or-other) is keeping me plenty busy (which is also true), but I don't know if this will look bad. My main boss hasn't said anything about this and may be totally unaware she's approaching me.

Do I apply for (nearly) the same job again?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:02:59 -0800

About five weeks ago, I applied for what seemed to be a great job at the university from which I recently graduated. (It's not a teaching/faculty position.) I applied about a week before the deadline and I think I'm a good candidate for it. The website, which is updated daily during the week, says that it has yet to be filled, that the selection is still in progress. However, I just saw a new job posting go up with the same title with a few small differences. I haven't been notified one way or the other as to the first job. How do I navigate applying for the newly-posted job? More specific information inside. Some details:

They are not the same job, but there are many, many similarities between them, including a lot of overlap in terms of responsibilities and requirements. Some of the key differences include:

Job 1 is a union job with a slightly lower salary range than Job 2.

Job 2 is a contract job that lasts for a couple of years and is probably something I'm slightly better suited for than Job 1, given my past experience.

I'm pretty sure that I want to apply for Job 2, but I'm stuck for two reasons:

1) The contact person is the same as for Job 1. I figure I should probably reference the fact that I've, in fact, applied for Job 1 and would enjoy the opportunity to work for them in either position, but I can't very well say "Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such outstanding job applications as Job 1!"

Nor do I feel that I can comfortably NOT address the fact that it's the same person fielding the applications. It's a person, not a random HR email address, and is the person to whom I should be addressing my cover letter.

I find myself uncharacteristically stuck on how to navigate this, because Job 1 is technically still not filled. Were it filled, I would apply without hesitation, since I could say that I was pleased to see another, similar position open up, giving me another chance to work in X position. But I can't really say that since it's not filled. (I could, but I think it would be clunky, and I'd rather not be clunky in an application/cover letter.)

2) Since they haven't gotten back to me for even an interview for Job 1, I feel a little awkward applying for what is almost the same job. Does their lack of contact mean they're not interested in me for Job 1 and, thus, they will not be interested in me for the very similar Job 2? This is also holding me back, although less so compared to the first issue I raised. However, the lack of interest on their part is somewhat demoralizing and probably adding to my general feeling of being stuck.

So what I'm looking for are some suggestions to help address the situation about my interest in Job 1 vs. Job 2, plus acknowledgement that it's the same person receiving both applications.

Please do share any similar situations that you might have encountered. I'd be really interested to see how people would or have handled this type of situation. Thanks!

LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium - worth the money?

windbox — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:42:40 -0800

Has anyone used LinkedIn premium for finding jobs? Did it expose you to more recruiters/hiring managers? And most importantly, can people besides recruiters see that you are using it (like...current coworkers)? I'll usually get contacted by a recruiter once every other month or so, sometimes with a formulaic message from some bunk text-crawl of my profile, but sometimes with legit opportunities from people who clearly read about my experience.

Does LinkedIn Premium attract more of the former or latter? Or does it attract anyone at all? Looking for people who have used it and what their experience is like. Other major concerns:

- Privacy regarding current coworkers being able to see whether I'm in the market or not.
- Whether using the service will actually *damage* my reputation to recruiters and employers ("Oh he's using premium, he must be having a rough time finding a job and therefore not actually marketable")

Looking for thoughts and experiences from people have used it, from your side and from the hiring/recruiting side. I have the 30 bucks to spare to try it for a month, easily, but is it being proactive or is it potentially harmful - or just a waste?

"We hired someone whose skills more closely match the position."

LSK — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:21:03 -0800

I've had multiple interviews recently after which I received a letter or e-mail to the effect of "You did very well in the interview process, but we hired someone whose skills more closely align with this position." This is very frustrating, because I feel that I am capable of doing these jobs, and it's kept me from applying for future jobs because I'm second-guessing myself. I have an undergraduate degree in economics with minors in psychology and sociology, as well as significant amounts of lab experience in survey-based market-type research. I've been applying to jobs in research marketing and other marketing-based fields, because jobs in economics require a master's degree (which I don't want to get until I have financial stability.)

What frustrates me about this situation is that it confirms that I'm doing the job application process right - I don't need a significantly better resume, I don't need a better cover letter, and I don't need interview practice. So what do I need? What am I doing wrong? Does an economics degree really disqualify me being able to perform real-world statistical analysis and research?

Two questions that are more direct:

- What should my next steps be to try to get a job in anything? I need a job in the next two months to be able to pay off student loans.

- What follow-up e-mails can I send when I get a letter like this?

How do I find a job in Toronto?

Gin and Comics — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:10:23 -0800

How do I search for a job in Toronto that fits my special snowflake(but relatively modest[I hope]) requirements? I need to find a job. Right now, my search feels scattered and mostly useless and that needs to change. I've tried a few things: re-applying at an old job, applying to places that I would like to work near my home and a job search with online tools. But that all amounts to maybe four submitted resumes with no callbacks and that is just not enough.

As I see it I have several problems:

1.) I have little useful work experience and few skills

My employment thus far been food service(Starbucks), retail(a comic book store), and an honorarium based internship with a publishing company. I've also done some very limited freelance proofreading, but it basically amounts to checking one file type against another to make sure no errors have cropped up in the conversion. Not exactly skill building, is what I'm saying.

I have a BA in history as well, but have been out of school for more than 4 years.

2.) I have no idea how or where to search for things

I've tried the Canada Job Bank and other job search websites, but they are so huge(and filled with spam) that I despair of ever finding anything without having a good keywords for a search. Since I can't exactly plug in "database administrator" or similar, I feel lost.

3.) I cannot take on work that will be overly disruptive to my partner's sleep schedule

My partner is in the middle of a PhD in the hard sciences. They are doing real, useful work toward a good career and I refuse to negatively impact that. This means no excessively early mornings, overnights or similarly erratic worktimes. This is one reason I think Starbucks will be reluctant to take me back(though I have applied there).

---

I do have a couple of things going for me. I have low rent and expenses(thanks to a shared living space with my partner) , no debts and about $3,000 in savings. This gives a little leverage in terms of time, and the job I do get could be part-time minimum wage and I'd still be doing okay. I don't need a career right now but I will need money for bills until I can figure things out.

Obviously, the better working conditions are(no early mornings, less or no contact with the public, flexible shifts) the happier I would be. I'd like to avoid fast food, having worked in it as a teenager. I am not totally averse to returning to barista-ing, but it would be less than ideal.

Brass tacks: What should I be looking for and where should I look?

how to approach potential 9-to-5 jobs if i'll frequently be absent?

windykites — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:30:52 -0800

I'm looking for full-time work that's more or less within standard business hours. The problem is that I see my therapist weekly and my psychiatrist monthly. I could decrease the therapy sessions, but i'd still be missing work regularly. How do I bring this up with potential employers, and at what point in the proceedings? Or should I refrain from mentioning it? I'm in toronto if that's relevant. My doctors are only available in regular business hours.

Fired. Helped me get hired again.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:43:51 -0800

How do I talk about being fired in future job interviews? Advice and encouragement needed. This was me. I was fired from my job of 11 years because of having too many absences. I was intermittently under the care of a psychiatrist and therapist, but I was not able to fight my way out of depression, social anxiety, ADD and a thyroid disorder enough to make it out of the house and to work every day. At the time I was fired I was on short term disability, but the employer had no choice but to let me go; I wasn’t there to do my job.

Prior to that, I had 10 years of work at this company, and an additional two years of work at another company. I excelled at my job, was promoted twice while working there, and had excellent working relationships with my coworkers and supervisors.

What I have been up to in the past year and a half:
- I worked with my GP, psychiatrist and therapist on a lot of the various issues that contributed to my debilitating condition. I am on new medication and I have made huge dietary and lifestyle changes. I am now in a place where I can honestly say that I feel more physically, mentally and emotionally stable than I have felt in my life.
- I have worked as a freelance writer for Textbroker and have been taking online courses to brush up on my Microsoft Office skills.
- In the last year, I have become a primary caregiver for my seriously ill mother.

Other data points:
- There is obviously no way to leave this job off my resume (I worked there for 11 years, my entire adult employed life so far). I cannot and would not lie or omit the fact that I was let go from my previous job. If it came to light that I lied on my application, I could be fired. I can’t say that I “needed a change” or that “I left to pursue other interests.” Employers are rightfully going to want a specific, truthful explanation.
- I am not sure of the policy of my former company regarding what they say when called for a reference. I am sure they would not say I was fired, but if asked if I was eligible for rehire they would most likely say no.

Questions:
- How do I talk about this to future employers? I know enough not to get into a long-winded explanation about my mental health, but how much do I say? Do I need to say it was from absences, or should I say something like “I was unable to perform my job."
- I think I need to showcase what I have learned and demonstrate why this will not happen again. Are there any “magic words” that those in a hiring position would look for? How much detail do I give when talking about what I have been doing during this time? Do I mention caring for my mother? Do I get into the areas I have improved upon in my personal life (which directly correlate to my working life)?
- How do I use my successes in the past to sell myself for future jobs? I know I can't rest on my laurels, but do they count for anything in this situation?
- Do I call an HR person at my former company and just straight up ask them what their policy is of confirming or denying eligibility for rehire? Do I really have to get a friend to call and pretend to be asking for a reference about me to see what they say?

I am looking for experience from others who have been in this situation, and opinions from those in hiring positions. I know the odds are stacked against me, and I know that I would be looked at as a risk for employers. I want to be real and honest, and I want to deal with what I experienced and move on. Thank you for any advice or encouragement you can give me.

Throwaway email still: nowork2011@gmail.com.

When a job description sounds more like a dating profile, what's the deal?

thesocietyfor — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:18:55 -0800

When a job description says you "must have a sense of humor", what's really being asked for and how do you get the right message across in a cover letter? This may seem obvious, but I have seen this crop up in a few job descriptions (in the graphic design field) lately for positions I believe I'd be a good fit for, and as a bonus I am indeed a funny person in real life. But mentioning the need for that in the job description gives me pause.

I'm concerned when a company says they need someone with a sense of humor that it will be a low performing company or that the work environment is more "funny uh-oh" [totally unorganized, horrible boss, etc.] than "funny ha ha". What quality is the company really looking for here?

Is it really going to ruin my chances of getting an interview/job if I don't address how funny I am in the cover letter? I feel like the cleverness and humor in some of the projects in my portfolio show that pretty well and my cover letters are generally conversational but professional. My plan at this point is to go for that, but I've been mulling it over and wondered what the more experienced folks here thought.

[Job Search Filter]: How much experience is too much?

TrishaLynn — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 06:07:26 -0800

When putting down professional experience on a resume, how much is too much? I'm moving to Minneapolis, MN at the end of this month and I've been applying for jobs as an administrative and/or executive assistant, as I have experience in both.

The problem is that my professional experience stretches all the way back to 1999 when I got my first taste of "white collar" work and was an assistant to two sales reps whose names I can't remember (and Google isn't helping). Almost every job I've had since then (minus the associate editor one, because it's not really relevant to the admin assistant/executive assistant track...or is it?) has helped increase my skills in various areas like event planning, special projects, Microsoft Access (a little), travel planning, etc.

If I only started doing the executive assistant/administrative assistant thing since 2008, do I stop there when listing my professional experience? Or do I really go all the way back to 1999?

I don't want to scare someone into not hiring me because I could be beyond their pay scale range by having 13 years of experience as an assistant, but I also want to beat out all those other applicants who may only have five years of experience.

Oh Hai, Gives Me Teh Job Plz, Kthxbai.

thereemix — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:41:30 -0800

Calling all Mefites who are good at composing emails! I am struggling with verbiage in an email I am sending to someone regarding a potential employment opportunity. Please help this nervous going-on-3 months-unemployed job seeker not screw this up. Tasty plate of beans inside. "Jane", a person I met at a networking event, has heard of a potential job opportunity with a firm I would be interested in working with - alas it's only part time work but it's in my industry and there is potential for growth. Not to mention part-time work is better than no work.

"Jane" has worked with this company before and has told me to use her name when I reach out to the contact person. Yay for name-dropping! The problem is that I have never written such an email before and everything I am coming up with sounds awkward. So far I have the following (with identifying details redacted):

Dear [person at company],

My name is thereemix and I am a [city-based person with skills you want]. Jane Smith from [company that does business with your company] mentioned that [your company] has a need for some part time work and suggested that I contact you.

I have a broad range of [relevant skills] as well as 3 years experience in [doing exactly the kind of work your company does].

Here's where I get stuck. How do I close this communication/open the door to a further conversation? I thought of "I would love to discuss any potential opportunities you might have - please let me know the best way to reach you, or you can contact me via [phone] or [email]. Best, thereemix." but that seems to be a simultaneously wishy-washy and presumptuous way to end the communication, not to mention a bit abrupt.

Also, do I attach my resume to this email, or wait to see if she responds asking for it? Again, worrying about coming off as presumptuous.

I'm also not sure about whether what I already have drafted is good enough.

I know I'm probably overthinking this, but the uncertainty of being unemployed is completely undermining my confidence. I am plagued with self-doubt. I don't want to reek of desperation and/or inadvertently be off-putting. I am very much at a loss and the longer I put off sending the email...the longer the email doesn't get sent. And that's not so good.

I'm kind of embarrassed by how hard this is proving to be for me. I guess being unemployed is causing my brain to atrophy. Can anyone help me out please?