Transplant Looking for Job Advice (Jacksonville: sales, 2014, insurance)

[Marcyprojects]

Good morning all. Im posting here again in the hopes of finding some information about how to make a career change in the Jacksonville area. I transplanted here from Connecticut in 2008, I guess now I some would say ive been here long enough to be considered a local. I have made a TON of friends and relationships with people here, my kids were even born here. With that said my professional career has not flourished well over the past several years. Ive endured everything from firings, to layoffs and everything in between. The company that I thought I would have for the long run laid me off along with about 50% of the staff. That job was in education as my last 2 employers have been as well, and at this point I have become very frustrated with the industry and I am seriously ready to make a change.

I would like to find somewhere that can pair my professional experience in sales, marketing, and client service with my creative background. I have not been able to actively use my creative training much over the years but I do take some freelance work when I can. My ideal job would be some sort of field marketing position or field representative role.

My main question with all this is, are there any agencies or individuals who's job it is to analyze resume and professional experience to provide direction toward what jobs or companies would be most interested? I have had experience with "staffing agencies" in the past, none of which was productive at all. Most of them also only deal with super entry level positions. Any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[cfbs2691]

[quote=Marcyprojects;49106378 I have had experience with "staffing agencies" in the past, none of which was productive at all. Most of them also only deal with super entry level positions.[/quote]

Have you considered how much you'd be willing to spend for that direction?

Staffing agencies make their money filling job orders for their clients.
(People getting jobs out of the transaction is really just a by-product.)
Job candidates don't pay anything, so I can't see an agency being of any help to you.

Did you look on LinkedIn?

[Marcyprojects]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

Have you considered how much you'd be willing to spend for that direction?

Staffing agencies make their money filling job orders for their clients.
(People getting jobs out of the transaction is really just a bi-product.)
Job candidates don't pay anything, so I can't see an agency being of any help to you.

Did you look on LinkedIn?

I agree with you on that. I honestly only tried the staffing agency route out of desperation and just general lack of options. My thought was that if the agent is paid to fill the job than at least there was someone legitimately trying to get me in just as hard as I wanted the job. What end up happening last time, was that the agency had me to believe I was a lock for a job. The truth was that me and my resume were just there to give the company a secondary option next to the person they really wanted to get the job. The rep eventually stopped answering my calls and emails too.

I guess I never considered what I would pay for the direction but at this point I would consider it. My only hope with paying for these kinds of services is that I would hope to be paying for someone who could actually connect me with employers. Paying someone outside of that , Im not sure about yet but im open to ideas.

[Marcyprojects]

I am also on linked in and I have been applying to positions through there daily, as well as indeed and careerbuilder. I also read through information on some Facebook job groups, its mostly entry level stuff but still good information. Linked in has yet to lead to any callbacks for interviews for me in the couple years I have been using it so I'm somewhat skeptical. Indeed has been the most productive for me thus far.

[Marcyprojects]

Bump.

Pardon in advance as this might come across as somewhat of a rant. So, as mentioned I am still hunting for a new job in a different industry. I recently attended a local job fair and had 1 interview since my last post. The job fair was a total waste of time first of all. The information provided by the company running the fair was very misleading in my opionion. There was a long list of potential positions advertised and a long list of companies represented. When I got there and finally got in to the fair, I saw maybe 10 tables total. All the companies were looking for was entry level positions and sales people. No disrespect to the other people in the room but it took 5 minutes for me to realize that I did not belong there. I am so tired of reading information on BS companies hiring sales people to sell life insurance or mortages and fronting them as marketing jobs which is what I intended to find out about. Why are there no job fairs for positions just above entry level customer service or "sales"?

The job interview I went on was for a more marketing and service related job, great right? It seems like quite a bit of work and travel involved but I am more than willing. However, the interviewer kind of told on herself when she admitted that the job has been vacant for over 2 months as they have not been able to find the right person. I later looked online into the salary advterised in their job description and I belive that is where the trouble lies. The advertised salary is much too low for what the job asks (just 36K), and I was also told there would be no benefits offered either. WTF?

Is there something about our local job market that I dont get? Is my resume really not worth anything more than 40k yr? My resume has no traction with companies and jobs I know I am qualified for and capable of. I realize I have been here for 9 years but I wonder if I would have these kinds of issues back home in Connecticut. Many of my friends that stayed home after finishing school have had 1 job since graduation. I just want a real job I can be proud of that doesnt involve sales quotas and weekly numbers.

[Florida2014]

I think your priority should be to nail down what, exactly, it is you want to do. You previously listed a "field marketing" and "field representative" roles. Just about anything in the field is going to be sales and those sound like sales/commission roles. Then you say you don't want a sales role that involves quotas (they nearly all at least have sales goals).

Do you have a college degree? That can go a long way for someone here as Jacksonville is not known as being a very "educated" city.

You also mentioned a firing and that is going to follow you everywhere. I would recommend spinning that story in your favor for the eventuality that it's brought up in a job interview.

Google the largest employers in Jacksonville/St Augustine and then go to those company's websites and do your job searching there. That way, if it's not posted to Indeed or Linkedin you won't be competing against 500+ other candidates.

[Marcyprojects]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

I think your priority should be to nail down what, exactly, it is you want to do. You previously listed a "field marketing" and "field representative" roles. Just about anything in the field is going to be sales and those sound like sales/commission roles. Then you say you don't want a sales role that involves quotas (they nearly all at least have sales goals).

Do you have a college degree? That can go a long way for someone here as Jacksonville is not known as being a very "educated" city.

You also mentioned a firing and that is going to follow you everywhere. I would recommend spinning that story in your favor for the eventuality that it's brought up in a job interview.

Google the largest employers in Jacksonville/St Augustine and then go to those company's websites and do your job searching there. That way, if it's not posted to Indeed or Linkedin you won't be competing against 500+ other candidates.

Its soo funny to hear you talk about college degrees in this city. What you said is exactly why I thought coming down here would be beneficial with my bachelors degree. Has not panned out at all which adds to my confusion. Ive never been fired, not sure where that came from btw. My ideal job would be a role that represents a product or a service and then being responsible for related marketing and customer service, attending trade shows and events efforts in the role. Still using sales "skills" and knowledge but not actually being the person responsible for closing the sale so to speak. There are also jobs I see that do this sort of thing via social media or a combination of both. I wish there was someone here whos job it is to meet with me, look at my resume experience, and direct me toward areas that my resume could get more traction here in Jax.

[thelma123]

Have you tried posting your resume on indeed or the other job sites?

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by Marcyprojects

Ive never been fired, not sure where that came from btw.

You stated that you've endured firings:

Originally Posted by Marcyprojects

Ive endured everything from firings, to layoffs and everything in between.

Look to health insurer websites. Those roles exist but they are in limited quantity and you'd be on the road most of the time, not in an office. Anthem and Aetna both have a presence in Jax. Another industry would be financial services. Those firms are always on the road doing trade shows, but you'll likely need applicable experience.

[843904]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

Do you have a college degree? That can go a long way for someone here as Jacksonville is not known as being a very "educated" city.

The center of banking, Insurance and commerce for the entire state and you claim Jax lacks education? There's much more here than folks in trailers listening to Skynard.