Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Memetrics
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktGood morning, everyone! I apologize for being absent for solong. Currently, am still job-hunting,and not focused much on politics at all. I miss it! I miss y’all! Even QB.
Kevin and Michi: Thank you for contacting me. You have no idea how good it feels! I am stuck here in Manassas, and don’t darego out anywhere to spend anything. Won’teven go the pool hall, damnit!
All of which leads me to the following:
The job market has changed so much in justa few years, literally! It is drastically different from what it was just 10years ago, and at THAT time, it didn’t have much in common with the way that Iwas taught to job hunt waaaaay back in the 80’s. Now it feels like I am on aroller coaster ride taking the long way around to the Black Hole of Resumes.
It used to be that with some good oldpavement pounding, you could find a job. In the mid-90’s, I took the yellow pages, and just started cold-callingevery business that had an interesting name. I found a job in a week. I usedthe Sunday newspaper (you know, actual PAPER?)
Today, I go to Careerbuilder andMonster. I’m trying to figure out LinkedIn. Gadblummit, I am NOT going to signup to Facebook! Enough already!! Besides, I have NO CLUE where any pictures ofme are. I have nothing to post. I’m looking for employment, ‘k? I don’t wanta date. Unless they’re paying for everything.
So where am I going with this? Why does this rant belong here, on this blog?Well.
In job-hunting today, on one hand, you areexpected to hand out all kinds of information about yourself to the generalpublic, in sites such as LinkedIn and FB.
On the other hand, be very carefulregarding identity theft, and pick your friends carefully, as some employersnow routinely run searches on social networks and Google about you before theyhire, and they check your friends as well.
It is these searches that are the cause ofmy ire. I am looking for a job, youknow, that stuff that you do all day in order to collect a paycheck? I am not looking to date you. It really isn’t your business that my brotherhas mental issues. They don’t affect MYjob! It isn’t your business that myex-fiancee is still my friend, and that his daughter had a baby out of wedlock(how quaint!) a month ago. It isn’t your business that my old friend fromcollege, that I haven’t seen for 10 years, may have a drinking problem. He lives in Atlanta. I am looking for a job in the DC area. Yes, I play pool. I love to play pool! What does that have todo with fixing workstations? If you wantme to dedicate every waking hour to YOU, Pay me!
And now we move on to finances. Don’t you think, that if I am job-hunting,that I then may have a cash-flow issue? Isn’t that part of the whole situation that I am job-hunting to get outof? Steady paychecks have a way of clearing those things up pretty quick. So, why are you denying me a job because Ihave been slow paying a couple bills? Doyou really think that I am going to pay them faster now?
All of the above though, is just theinsult to the injury. The injury:
I found your job listing. I went to your website, I spent an hourfilling out an application with all the same info as the resume that yourequested I upload/cut’n’paste, I spent another 30 minutes browsing your site,and running searches on you. Theresponse from you? Nothing. Black Hole. Nothing.
Oh, I might get one that says, “We gotyour resume.” That’s it. No other follow up. (more on this in a bit).
What happened to etiquette and manners? Afterspending all of that time, I expect a response. Something that says “Thank you for applying, position is filled”, or theone that says “Thank you for applying, we are not accepting apps now”. You can’t be bothered for a little courtesywhen your job description clearly stated that “Friendly and prompt customerservice is a must”?
Or, if you are going to send a cannedresponse like “We got your resume”, do you mind following up on that? I have responded to a job ad where thedescription also stated “track issues and follow up on all tickets promptly”. Obviously, you need to hire me, because I neverhear from you again.
Worse. You apply to a position, and amonth later, and two months later, the SAME JOB IS STILL BEING ADVERTISED. Youknow what? They were just fishing. Trying to compare salary requirements, is all. They have no job. Theynever did. Arseholes.
So, we have rudeness inside the workplace,and outside the workplace, and in our politics, and in our blogs. Is it anywonder there is such random violence, or that there is protesting going on?Really?
Ok. My rant is done.
Filed under: Uncategorized |
All Things in Moderation 
Welcome back TaroyaThat was, hands-down, the best rant I've read in a really really long time.Our oldest daughter is still looking for work as well and your experience matches hers to a T. She's submitted resume after resume with applications, letters of reference, and cover letters, nada, no response whatsoever. She even had one of the junior colleges out here put her through hell and back collecting transcripts, letters of recommendation, tax paper work and all sorts of other rigamarole, along with a lengthy letter of intent. She happened to be sitting at the other desk in my office when she submitted the package and, I kid you not, she had a rejection notice within about five seconds. And it was a perfect fit. She's resorted to contract work when she can get it.Good luck, I guess you just keep trying.
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My son is graduating from college and the employment world is just so totally different. I got my last job through a recruiter cold-calling me, so I really don't know what it's like to pound the pavement. Hang in there and something is bound to turn up. Networking and just letting all your cybercontacts know you are looking is so important nowadays too.
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Taroya! There you are. 😉I found your job listing. I went to your website, I spent an hour filling out an application with all the same info as the resume that you requested I upload/cut’n’paste, I spent another 30 minutes browsing your site, and running searches on you. The response from you? Nothing. Black Hole. Nothing.Yeah, that always drives me nuts. And what is the system doesn't work right–you end up wasting a ton of time for nothing. Or you get to the end and it says it won't submit unless you submit the phone# of your current employer for employment verification. If I am currently employed, that could be awkward. I got in under the window for the school system I work with, and submitted the old way. And the job I have–the most awesome job I have ever had–came to me via a magical confluence of circumstances. It was the last year my oldest daughter wanted me to walk her into school, so I happened to run into the STS at that school, who had worked with me at my current job, before the economy went south and people started getting laid off. So, I chatted him up, mentioned I was looking for a better gig, and he mentioned that a position had opened up in the school system (how he even knew, I don't know), but the jobs were only posted on the website. So, I went to the website, drafted 5 resumes and cover letters per instructions, sent them in, thinking nothing was going to happen–the whole system of applying seemed clunky and unreliable. Then I got a call to come interview! Interviewed, and could tell I aced it. I also guessed correctly that I'd be the only applicant with over 10 years of Filemaker experience, something extremely important in the position. Which it was also luck of the draw that (a) I knew so much about Filemaker and that (b) Filemaker is not a common expertise, making me much more attractive. Could have never have planned it that way. Point being, you never know. You do all the necessary hard work, and the great job you end up with comes from a chance meeting at the grocery store. 😉 Best of luck. Be comforted that despite the facts it's a soft job market, IT and college graduates are both good things to be, when looking for employment. Something will come up, sooner rather than later (but never soon enough!). I've had to look for jobs several times in the last decade, and I always do the Monster and Dice and they've never worked out for me. It's always serendipity. But I still do it–because you never do know.
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I miss it! I miss y’all! Even QB.Thanks for that! Awesome. We missed you as well.Excellent rant, and substantive. Not much to disagree with. Most importantly, hopes and prayers are with you. I don't know whether I didn't know or whether I forgot that you are looking for work, but I'm sure everyone here is pulling for you.One could analyze how the new world of technology and jobs has created these cons to all the pros (you can apply for 1000 jobs! but unfortunately you won't hear back from most!), but I just hope you find something good. Most of us could be in the same boat with some bad luck.
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Great post! And I know so many now who are feeling the frustration.BroJS lost his sales mgmt. job at the end of June. For his kind of work the high-tech job search isn't very effective, so he's been pavement pounding and networking and calling and chatting and interviewing pretty much non-stop since then. He's been among the top three five times since Labor Day and has yet to get an offer. And so he's still at it.I know a recent college grad who's been doing much the same thing. She has a freelance job that pays the bills for now, but is still out there nearly every day networking.It is a very different world out there.
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Taroya, thanx for that post.Have you considered Houston? Austin? Dallas?
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I think you ought to send some excerpts of that as a letter to the CEO or head of HR of some of those companies. My wife is in HR & they get inundated with resumes; a followup that demonstrates you're paying attention might get your foot in the door.
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Houston's a pretty good job market, just to second Mark. Good luck and glad to hear from you!
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Hi, Taroya [waving]!!!Great rant. . . if you go on LinkedIn, send me a friend request (you've got my real name if you've still got my e-mail–otherwise just look me up with your magic ATiM Administrator privileges on the "settings" page). I don't know anybody doing what you do, but I do know several people in the greater D.C. area who might know somebody who's hiring.Good to see you!
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Hey Taroya!Best of luck with a job hunt in tough times. I might be joining you within the coming year. I remember my last job hunt. I took a shot at getting a faculty position while applying for a position at a govt research lab. I wound up with an interview at the University of Missouri. I didn't hear back from them and eventually told them I'd taken the job at NRL. I checked the department roster later and discovered that the winning candidate had been a PhD student of the chair of the search committee. So much for an "open" search.The most amusing result was from the University of Illinois. The chair of the department was clueless and should never be let near a computer. Ironic given that it's a physics department. An email was sent out to all of the unsuccessful candidates thank them for their interest. Note: the chair didn't use blind CC, so about 100 or so scientists just had it publicly revealed they were looking for another job. Even more amusing was an odd fund raising email I received from UI that fall. I eventually realized that somebody had mixed lists and added all the unsuccessful candidates to the fundraising list.BB
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Okay, now maybe I can finally post a reply. Tried it yesterday, lost it, had to log back in, said never mind.Thank you everybody for your support!bsimon, I may very well do just that. What do I have to lose? An interview from the place that didn't even acknowledge me?Fair, that is funny! Um…I might get my liberal butt kicked in Texas..?Something will come around. The sooner the better, but it will happen.Michi, I am glad that the connection worked. After filling out apps, and logging into site after site, I was pretty burned out by then.Anyway, I have a LOT of reading to catch up on.Thank you guys!
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You are permitted to be a conservative D in Houston and Dallas and a liberal D in Austin.:-) All three cities vote D. San Antonio votes D, too, and while you are checking out TX you should consider the massive military infrastructure in San Antonio, the large University of Texas presence, and the number of private companies like USAA and AT&T that need IT. The cost of living is much lower than in metro DC in all four cities.I am under the impression you are an IT pro, right? Do you have experience in the medical records area? The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest in the world and TMW can correct me but I think there are 120k employees there.Houston's humidity is ridiculous – like DC on its worst days, but all the time. Still, it has always been the closest thing to a self sustaining boom city in America. Obviously, petrochemicals and shipping have a lot to do with that, but Houston is diverse. Until you have been to Sharpstown you cannot imagine a "Chinatown" as a sprawl of miles of strip malls with signs in Chinese attended by more than 100K Asian-Americans, who live within a 5 mi. radius. TMW, do I exaggerate?Austin grew by 50K+ last year. They found jobs. We are not as cheap as we used to be because there is a definite crunch on rental housing. We have a huge installed tech base. If you are really interested, email me your resume and I will check out my contacts.Use mark_in_austin@operamail.com
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I am an IT pro, correct.I will consider this for a couple of days. I have lived in the DC area for 20 years, and the thought of trying to figure out how to get me and two cats across country is a little daunting.As nasty as this situation is, it is still a little precipitous for me to leave the place and people that I know, and also, I would only be interested in a desktop support position. Those DO NOT give relocation allowances!I will give this serious consideration, though. Thank you, Mark!
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Mark:Until you have been to Sharpstown you cannot imagine a "Chinatown" as a sprawl of miles of strip malls with signs in Chinese attended by more than 100K Asian-Americans, who live within a 5 mi. radius. Like Monterey Park/Alhambra. Right, lms?Sharpstown must be near Sugar Land, no?
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Makes me think of Annandale in Fairfax County, VA. A great area to pick up Korean food. I made it out to Honey Pig once on the back end of a drive back from Rhode Island. Too tired to cook and too wired to sleep.BB
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