Seeking advice on job-hunting strategies in the Triangle (Raleigh: find a job, college)

[pacman23]

Hi

Does anyone have recommendations for the most optimal ways to go about finding a job?

I've sent out about 200 resumes now to various companies in response to their ads in the Independent, Craigslist, Careerbuilder and other company websites and nothing has clicked so far. Clearly, this is not working out and I have to try something else.

But what?

I've cold-called companies and I get to their HR dept. and it's all downhill from there. I have cold-emailed them, tried to talk directly to hiring managers, nothing has worked. Sadly, my friends are mostly employed at low-wage blue collar jobs and so they don't have any useful contacts. I don't have any relatives in the area either.

My resume is not very impressive. Some tragedies and crises fell on my family and I have been the one in charge of taking care of things which took up most of my time and energy. I have only been able to work full-time twice for a few months at a time in the last eight years. I have an economics degree from eight years ago. While I might be a hero and all, it matters very little when I send someone my resume and the HR person discards it because of the large gaps, short stints and overall lack of experience.

I'd be very grateful if someone could tell me their ideas on how to land a job when you look quite bad on paper.

[solarity]

I've always found that working with a temp/contracting agency is the fastest way to find a job. Many companies only hire their employees through this avenue so they can check them out without obligation before offering the full package to them.

[fester600]

What kind of work are you looking for? City-Data is always a good start...

[RaleighBoundGeek]

You might also consider using one of those services that review your resume: people are being VERY picky, so you might have something on there that's getting you "tossed", and the right service should identify what that is. I had the same issue earlier this year, until I bit the bullet and had it reviewed. It took a little more time and a LOT more money than I would have hoped (it was about 250$), but I had calls for interviews within 3 three weeks after I switched, and got a job shortly thereafter.

[fester600]

Check out -> Capital Area JobLink Centers

My wife worked for the one off of Swinburne. They do resume review, mock interviews, help with job searches, etc. Best of all, the service is FREE...

Good Luck!

[pacman23]

Originally Posted by RaleighBoundGeek

You might also consider using one of those services that review your resume: people are being VERY picky, so you might have something on there that's getting you "tossed", and the right service should identify what that is. I had the same issue earlier this year, until I bit the bullet and had it reviewed. It took a little more time and a LOT more money than I would have hoped (it was about 250$), but I had calls for interviews within 3 three weeks after I switched, and got a job shortly thereafter.

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

Could you tell me the name of the service you used? My resume has mostly been a DIY thing cobbled together with lots of online tips and some free help from a nice lady at the Employment Security Commission who was extremely busy with her other clients. Since I have sent out the current version to over 75 different jobs with no luck, I think something on it needs to change.

[askinsurance]

I think you should try to ofind a way to incorporate what you have been doing the past few years into your resume, or try making up more of a "Mission statement" in lieu of a traditional resumes. There are many companies out there that have their attention grabbed the most when you are "out of the box"

Take a look at your resume again and think on what you can change that will get you noticed as an individual and not necessarily just by job experience.

Personally I get bored reding a ton of resumes that look like cookie cutter post college memos.

Also try the employment agencies in the area.

What type of job are you looking for??

[RaleighBoundGeek]

Originally Posted by pacman23

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

Could you tell me the name of the service you used? My resume has mostly been a DIY thing cobbled together with lots of online tips and some free help from a nice lady at the Employment Security Commission who was extremely busy with her other clients. Since I have sent out the current version to over 75 different jobs with no luck, I think something on it needs to change.

I don't use DM's much - so in case it didn't work - I dropped the name into your box on here.

[PumasInNC]

Originally Posted by pacman23

Hi

Does anyone have recommendations for the most optimal ways to go about finding a job?

I've sent out about 200 resumes now to various companies in response to their ads in the Independent, Craigslist, Careerbuilder and other company websites and nothing has clicked so far. Clearly, this is not working out and I have to try something else.

But what?

I've cold-called companies and I get to their HR dept. and it's all downhill from there. I have cold-emailed them, tried to talk directly to hiring managers, nothing has worked. Sadly, my friends are mostly employed at low-wage blue collar jobs and so they don't have any useful contacts. I don't have any relatives in the area either.

My resume is not very impressive. Some tragedies and crises fell on my family and I have been the one in charge of taking care of things which took up most of my time and energy. I have only been able to work full-time twice for a few months at a time in the last eight years. I have an economics degree from eight years ago. While I might be a hero and all, it matters very little when I send someone my resume and the HR person discards it because of the large gaps, short stints and overall lack of experience.

I'd be very grateful if someone could tell me their ideas on how to land a job when you look quite bad on paper.

Pacman23, you must be incredibly frustrated with the whole job search process. And understandably so! A couple people have asked what kind of job you're looking for. Do you have some ideas? It is possible that your resume and your verbal "sell" isn't targeted enough. Even if you're at a point where you would accept anything, it helps if you can tell people "I'm looking for a position in... Do you have any ideas of who I should talk to?"

In preparation for re-doing your resume, do some research on what skills and qualities your targeted employers are seeking and make sure that your resume highlights these particular skills. A professional resume writer can help, as can many career counselors. A good book can too. You may want to check out "Expert Resumes for People Returning to Work" by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark. It addresses how to best present gaps in your professional history and highlight the skills that are most relevant to the targeted employer.

Also (and I'm sure you already know this), networking is by far the #1 strategy for successfully securing a job. Lots of good books out on this too. Take an afternoon to sit at Borders or Barnes and Noble and page through their books on the subject to find the one that best suits you, or do an Amazon search on "networking AND job search."

Speaking of networking, consider heading to one of the job fairs in the area. Although not an end all to the job search, these at least get you face-to-face with recruiters from various companies. Before you go, though, it's important to prepare - and make sure you have your networking spiel down.

Keep us updated!

[s-jdoherty]

I completely agree with the previous suggestion to work with an employment agency. I don't have one to recommend because I'm in MA, but I used to work at one up here and remember countless examples of getting "non-traditional" candidates (meaning someone whose background does not fit what the company THINKS they are looking for) into a company because we at the agency had established a good relationsip with the employer and when we asked them to give a candidate a shot they trusted us enough to at least interview the person. And usually an agency will work on your resume as well. An agency may also have some temp-to-perm oppotunities or even straight temp opportunities that will help you build you experience, network and contacts. If your doing a great job as a temp somewhere and they have a job come open, guess who they may well think of first? YOU! Good luck!