Drowning in my job search -- help and staffing agency recs? (Pittsburgh: how much, job market)

[NiceGal]

Hi City Data,

I am a recent transplant to Pittsburgh, where I relocated with my fiance who started a great job at one of your wonderful universities. The problem is that almost a year later, I am still job searching. The economy is not the greatest but I keep hearing good things about Pittsburgh's job market so it's frustrating and depressing that I seem to be struggling so much.

I went to a great school, I have 5 years of experience in marketing and publicity, and I think I should be able to land a great job. My past experience is within smaller companies (in Minneapolis/St. Paul where we lived previously) and in the arts/book publishing industry -- both of which are things I am trying to break out of. I would love to try and get a job at a larger corporation in town where I can learn more and perhaps add some more advanced skills to my resume, but I think my experience in out of state places no one has heard of and in an industry that isn't taken seriously is hurting me a lot. I am not having much luck getting past the machines to have my resume read by a person. I am about to have a new friend who works in HR try and help me, but in the meantime, I wanted to reach out to you all.

As a young professional in this city, where is a good staffing agency that might actually help me get the kind of work I am looking for (in marketing operations, digital marketing, social media, copywriting, public relations, marketing/ad agencies, etc) and/or what else should I be doing to network here in town? Do you know of any people that can help me?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. I have reached out to some alumni and other networking contacts but their leads didn't really go anywhere useful.

Thanks,
NiceGal

[Hopes]

As you suspect, your experience is holding you back. That happens to marketing professionals because their work experience causes them to be viewed as specialized in a field. It's similar to how human resource professionals get stuck in benefits if they start in the benefits department. Big corporations are viewing you someone with experience in publishing. They have no use for that. Advertising agencies feel the same way.

You have two choices. You can capitalize on your experience in the publishing industry and target the few jobs available in the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh's economy is doing well. It just doesn't have a strong publishing economy. You'll need to focus on the trade publications. They're here. You just have to find them. Your other option is to pursue an entry level position in another industry.

Revisit your resume. Create a few different versions that focus on specific marketing experience you have. What did you do specifically for the publishing industry? Did you do trade shows and events? Did you do circulation? Once you have identified the categories of experience, you can create targeted resumes to send to jobs for specific types of marketing positions.

If you want in a big corporation, seriously consider applying for an administrative position in the marketing department---just to get your foot in the door. Advertising agencies will require taking a similar ground floor type position. Do whatever you need to do to get back into the game soon since you've been out for a year.

Good luck to you!

[okaydorothy]

I went to accounting principles. Like you, I filled on lots of apps online but didn't even get an interview. Two weeks after I signed with the agency, I had a job. Three months later I was hired full time.

That was in nov and I am still there. I think that agency is in the frick building. Jason is the guy I dealt with.
Good luck. Btdt and its very frustrating but I would recommend an agency at this point.

[NiceGal]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

I went to accounting principles. Like you, I filled on lots of apps online but didn't even get an interview. Two weeks after I signed with the agency, I had a job. Three months later I was hired full time.

That was in nov and I am still there. I think that agency is in the frick building. Jason is the guy I dealt with.
Good luck. Btdt and its very frustrating but I would recommend an agency at this point.

Thanks for this recommendation. I'm planning on contacting them but I'm concerned that they seem to be very heavy on accounting and finance, which is not my forte. This is where I get confused when it comes to staffing agencies -- how much do you have to adhere to their particular specialization? Did you have a focus in finance/accounting?

[okaydorothy]

When I went there, I did a few tests: mainly word, excel and some basic math. That was all. They redid my resume and I did go in two interviews from them. I got one of the jobs. My logic is that it will give me some local experience. I don't know what other kinds of jobs they have, but even to get your foot in will be a big help

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by NiceGal

Thanks for this recommendation. I'm planning on contacting them but I'm concerned that they seem to be very heavy on accounting and finance, which is not my forte. This is where I get confused when it comes to staffing agencies -- how much do you have to adhere to their particular specialization? Did you have a focus in finance/accounting?

It won't hurt to contact the finance/accounting agency, but they will have very few marketing positions. There is no Pittsburgh staffing agency that focuses specifically on marketing and advertising. My girlfriend is in marketing, and her husband is a successful IT headhunter. He sometimes gets leads on marketing jobs but very rarely. She does her employment searches the old fashioned way by researching the names of managers to send her resume directly to them instead of filling out online applications. She's in marketing, after all, so she knows how to market herself.

As I said, if you want in a big corporation, you're best bet is to accept an entry level position in a marketing department. You're most likely to find that through a general staffing agency, Since most large corporations do their own hiring and only use staffing agencies for temporary workers, seriously consider temping. At the very least, you will get some recent experience to put on your resume since you haven't been working for a year.