Best way to land an entry-level job in Chicago? (headhunters, unemployment)

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by chris0681

I can draw unemployment because i work for a construction company office, and they can lay me off and I can draw unemployment, and move if I want to. Anyway my question was, should I move or try to interview for a business job 6 hours away? Seems like I pretty much have to move first..its hard to network and land a job without being there.

I have a buddy who currently lives in IL and is trying to move out to AZ and get a job. It's tough to do b/c unless you have a unique skill or a lot of experience in upper level management nobody will even call you when they see your resume is out of state. If put down a friend or family members address and try to act as if your local then you run into the problem of traveling a long distance for an interview that could be a waste of time.

Prime example is what Bobby G in the post below you says, he invited you to an open interview/orientation type thing. He may be trying to be helpful so don't mean to knock him but Primerica is a "multi-tier" marketing company basically aka pyramid scheme.

I'm not really all that knowledgable about them but I'd be willing to bet money they either ask you to invest your own money or have you hitting up solely friends and family for business with no leads aside from your own friends and family.

That's the tough part about interviewing out of state. So much stuff you interview for winds up being 100% commission, a pyramid scheme, not what you thought the job was. I get annoyed when I get dressed up and drive out to Oak Brook from Naperville for an interview and its a waste of time so imagine comming 6 hours to find out something is a waste of time. It's also tought b/c usually when something does wind up being 100% commission or near it when you ask about compensation they are really vague or say only the hiring manageer can talk to you about it, then you show up and its exactly what you thought.

[Bardot]

I'm experiencing the exact same situation right now with my husband, only we saved slightly more $$. Guess what, that money goes faster than you think. We're already almost out of it (taking into account CTA passes, move-in fees, first 2 months rent, etc).

It's an absolutely terrifying situation to be in as we signed a year long lease. We have 3 degrees between us and we're still struggling. The fact of the matter is - and absolutely no one is willing to admit this - but degrees aren't worth SH** anymore, especially when every Moe, Dick and Harry can obtain one from a city college. There are way too many degree-holders and not enough jobs. My husband is the smartest person I know, and has 2 degrees from the most prestigious school in Chicago (and one of the top in the country) and he's been unemployed since 2008. His only flaw is that he's not particularly good at networking b/c he simply doesn't know a whole lot of professionals. If we had known it was all about nepotism and ass kissing we would have saved ourselves the $500,000+ in education fees/loans!

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Bardot

I'm experiencing the exact same situation right now with my husband, only we saved slightly more $$. Guess what, that money goes faster than you think. We're already almost out of it (taking into account CTA passes, move-in fees, first 2 months rent, etc).

It's an absolutely terrifying situation to be in as we signed a year long lease. We have 3 degrees between us and we're still struggling. The fact of the matter is - and absolutely no one is willing to admit this - but degrees aren't worth SH** anymore, especially when every Moe, Dick and Harry can obtain one from a city college. There are way too many degree-holders and not enough jobs. My husband is the smartest person I know, and has 2 degrees from the most prestigious school in Chicago (and one of the top in the country) and he's been unemployed since 2008. His only flaw is that he's not particularly good at networking b/c he simply doesn't know a whole lot of professionals. If we had known it was all about nepotism and ass kissing we would have saved ourselves the $500,000+ in education fees/loans!

I too have a liberal arts degree. Thinking back, I wish I would have gotten a B.S. in something else more useful. I had a great time in college, but I can do without all loan repayments.

And degrees aren't particularly useless, but the market is saturated to some extent. Having the degree opens up the door for more opportunity; that's for sure. For all the debt I'm in, there is no way in hell I would go back and skip out on school.

I'm just lucky to have a job. Although it was programmed in my head to go back and get an MBA, I think I'm going to focus on something more tangible and useful like APICS certification. In the grand scheme of things, vocational schools and trade schools have got the absolutely right idea - train people how to be USEFUL and PRODUCE something of value.

[Jesse69]

Bardot - what degrees do you and your husband have?

I graduated with one of those useful degrees from the 6th best college in the nation - Mechanical Engineer from the Univ of IL at Urbana - Champaign. But this college did not teach me enough to be a successful Product Design Engineer. I had to go to community college, self train, and pick up work experience that got me skills to be a Product Design Engineer.

But even with my "useful degree" and 5.75 years of experience I had not even got an interview for a job since moving to Chicago on Feb 11, 2009. I wonder at age 41 if age discrimination is keeping me from being hired.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by chris0681

I can draw unemployment because i work for a construction company office, and they can lay me off and I can draw unemployment, and move if I want to. Anyway my question was, should I move or try to interview for a business job 6 hours away? Seems like I pretty much have to move first..its hard to network and land a job without being there.

Why would they lay you off just because you ask them to? Does your dad own the company?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

...I wonder at age 41 if age discrimination is keeping me from being hired.

That is possible. Of course you dressing in drag could be the problem too.

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by Bardot

I'm experiencing the exact same situation right now with my husband, only we saved slightly more $$. Guess what, that money goes faster than you think. We're already almost out of it (taking into account CTA passes, move-in fees, first 2 months rent, etc).

It's an absolutely terrifying situation to be in as we signed a year long lease. We have 3 degrees between us and we're still struggling. The fact of the matter is - and absolutely no one is willing to admit this - but degrees aren't worth SH** anymore, especially when every Moe, Dick and Harry can obtain one from a city college. There are way too many degree-holders and not enough jobs. My husband is the smartest person I know, and has 2 degrees from the most prestigious school in Chicago (and one of the top in the country) and he's been unemployed since 2008. His only flaw is that he's not particularly good at networking b/c he simply doesn't know a whole lot of professionals. If we had known it was all about nepotism and ass kissing we would have saved ourselves the $500,000+ in education fees/loans!

I totally agree with you about college degrees being a dime a dozen these days. That said we are really stupid about the type of degrees we get.

Myself and many friends went and wasted time and money getting liberal arts degrees. It's nice b/c you leave yourself open to anything but at the same time your not specifically geared towards anything and don't have a specific skill set like say a nurse or accountant.

I also know lots of people who went and got stupid music producer degrees and spent 100k at columbia hoping to be the next producer to snoop dog but in reality will probably wind up being the AV guy at some high school.

Also, getting degrees on top of degrees in my opinion isn't smart unless your employer is paying for those degrees. I got a buddy who's on his 2nd accounting masters but has little actual work experience whch employers don't like plus they see all the schooling and think he's too overqualified for those entry level thins for someone with no job experience need to get.

As for your husband networking. Saying he doesn't know professionals isn't an excuse thats even more reason to network. There are all types of networking clubs/groups. Look at meetups websites on the internet or maybe even craigslist. That will be his best help getting a job.

[hxcobd]

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

I have a buddy who currently lives in IL and is trying to move out to AZ and get a job. It's tough to do b/c unless you have a unique skill or a lot of experience in upper level management nobody will even call you when they see your resume is out of state. If put down a friend or family members address and try to act as if your local then you run into the problem of traveling a long distance for an interview that could be a waste of time.

Though I can understand the concept behind putting a "fake" address to try to get a job, I don't know if I'd recommend doing that.

I've been in charge of the hiring for a position at my work recently, and my boss is absolutely rabid about a short/prompt hiring process, and doesn't like to waste time. If I give an applicant a callback who put a local address and whom ACTUALLY lives in, say, Michigan, they're probably not even getting an interview anyway, because they're not going to be able to come in for one on short notice.

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by hxcobd

Though I can understand the concept behind putting a "fake" address to try to get a job, I don't know if I'd recommend doing that.

I've been in charge of the hiring for a position at my work recently, and my boss is absolutely rabid about a short/prompt hiring process, and doesn't like to waste time. If I give an applicant a callback who put a local address and whom ACTUALLY lives in, say, Michigan, they're probably not even getting an interview anyway, because they're not going to be able to come in for one on short notice.

I agree putting an in state relatives address on a resume isn't idea but let's be honest if you don't your not going to get a call back. Like you said your employer wants to hire quickly and with someone out of state there are a bunch of things which could slow down the process, they gotta move outta their old place, gotta find a new place, they may decide not to move, 6 months into the job they may decide they hate the new town, etc.

My buddy is giving a fake address to go across the country to Phoenix, however most of these types of questions on these citydata boards are Michigan people wanting to move to Chicago. There's a ton of Michigan transplants moving here so that's why I mention it. Someone from Michigan could get a call and be here on a halfdays notice if need be, if they are near New Buffalo as soon as like an hour.

[chris0681]

Sounds very competitive in Chicagoland for business jobs if people with good degrees are still unemployed.. and the problem is you cant get called for an interview unless you actually move there in some cases, and if you move without a job you could be unemployed for years, and burn away your savings.. guess my other option to transfer within my company is a better option, although who knows what state I may end up in. Ideally Id like to be closer to home, which would be Illinois, but I realize Chicagoland isnt doing that great, just like the rest of the county for jobs right now, the only state that actually has jobs is North Dakota it seems like, but who wants to move there? Not me.. Maybe I will just apply on places like careerbuilder for jobs, hoping to get called from 6 hours away, and if not Ill just try other states right now or transfer within my company. And yeah commission jobs are useless.. people should beware of those.