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Complete baloney. If you have ample savings to last you at least a full year or more, and move somewhere with low competition, you should be fine. I have done this multiple times and found suitable employment (with pay increases at that) always within 2-months of searching for work. If you do your diligence and research and make sure you move to a place that has plenty of jobs in your field, and you have plenty of savings, you should be fine. In fact, this is the only way I have ever found a job, and I'm doing it again in May. I know many friends who move with no job lined up all the time, and somehow make it work.
Lol, that's some caveat you have there: IF you have a full year's of expenses saved up AND moved somewhere where jobs are plentiful AND with low competition.
I agree ... IF you have all those things then it's good to move w/o a job lined up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
2. You need to build longer tenure at your jobs otherwise you will look like a weak candidate.
It's not uncommon to see people have as much as 10 jobs or more throughout their lifetime. I know plenty of people my age already on their fifth or SIXTH job and are still able to change jobs. That's just the way of the world now. Today, companies have no problem laying off employees, so why the heck should us millennials care about showing loyalty to a damn corporation?!
I haven't read any advice here that advocate staying with a company out of loyalty. The warnings are around not looking like a job hopper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
3. Networking is the only way to get a good job. It's all about who you know, not what you know.
Oh give me a damn break. Not a SINGLE job I ever got was obtained through networking. It's not like people in my network conveniently have a job waiting for me. Every single job I ever landed was either through direct application, or most importantly, professional recruitment. Do you realize that many, many companies these days actually pay recruitment agencies to find talent and place candidates in good positions with good companies? Obviously, an all-of-the-above approach is the best, but please do not limit your horizons to your network. Since when is building a network easy, anyway? And who the hell is going to keep in touch with old coworkers throughout their career later in life? Please.
I haven't read anything here that says networking is the ONLY way to get a job -- that would be silly.
Networking is yet another job search method people can/should use.
Your last sentence is the reason why you have not had any success in networking.
Every single one of the 7 jobs I've had was from networking/referral ... using your logic, does that mean your theory is debunked?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
4. You must work regular overtime and long hours in order to get ahead and move up the ladder or earn more money.
Just 9 years ago, my income was $52K. Today, it has soared to $94K. Yes, after job hopping, and yes, after working 40 hour weeks.
Again, I haven't seen that advice offered in this forum. Instead, many advocate moving on to a different company for bigger salary bumps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
5. Don't forget to send a thank you letter after your interviews.
NO! Do not do this. All of my recruiters have advised me against this, and I have noticed that it can actually backfire, big time. Nowadays, no one needs to send thank you letters. It's tacky and does nothing to change the mind of the hiring manager.
Again, I haven't seen that advice offered in this forum. The consensus is that, although it would not sway the HM's mind, it doesn't hurt to be polite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
6. A cover letter is essential to getting an interview.
You've gotta be KIDDDDDDING me! Not a single job I have ever landed has ever required or even asked for a stupid cover letter. I have even discussed this with my recruiters and they all say that a cover letter is a colossal waste of time and effort, and 99% of employers in the finance/accounting field are concerned with your resume and really don't are about what you have to say in your cover letter.
Some HM's read them, some don't.
Again, it doesn't take very much time to write a CL so why take the chance that it's not required?
The world is not as black and white as you make it out to be.
1. I'm a baby boomer and I'm pretty sure that politeness is still appreciated and, in fact, mandatory for good relationships in work and in life. Write the damn thank-you note. It will probably be thrown away, but not before the fact that it was written has registered at some level in the reader's brain.
2. Networking is very, very important. The really great jobs aren't usually posted, or if they are, they have a candidate in mind and they are just posting it to fulfill some requirement or regulation. Networking becomes more important as you get older and higher up in business.
3. Job hopping is a great strategy when you're young, to figure out who you are, what you're best at, and what you can make money doing. But if I see a financial services executive (my field) with eight jobs after the age of 30, I figure they are good at pissing people off. Trash bin.
4. $52K to $94K in nine years is a nice start. Keep trying.
The purpose of this thread is to debunk all the baloney advice given to ME, specifically to my profession/life in this forum, much of which seems to come from the baby boomer generation. I have found most of their advice to simply not apply to today's economy and millennial generation, and I am here to denounce ALL of it, one by one. I am a millennial (age 30) college graduate, for reference. This all comes from first hand experience and observation, too.
1.Never move anywhere without a job lined up.
Complete baloney. If you have ample savings to last you at least a full year or more, and move somewhere with low competition, you should be fine. I have done this multiple times and found suitable employment (with pay increases at that) always within 2-months of searching for work. If you do your diligence and research and make sure you move to a place that has plenty of jobs in your field, and you have plenty of savings, you should be fine. In fact, this is the only way I have ever found a job, and I'm doing it again in May. Applying for jobs remotely very much spoils your chances of getting the good opportunities, too. It's far more disadvantageous to be a nonlocal candidate (even if employed), than to be a local candidate (unemployed). I speak from experience, time and again. Nowadays, it's not all about staying near family and getting married by the age of 25. People like to move. I know many friends who move with no job lined up all the time, and somehow make it work.
2. You need to build longer tenure at your jobs otherwise you will look like a weak candidate.
No, honey, not really. I am 30 years old, already on my fourth job, and soon to get my fifth job. All of my jobs held were 1-3 years each, and I constantly get weekly recruiters reaching out to me so often, it's overwhelming. In today's world, people change jobs much faster than in the 1980's. It's not uncommon to see people have as much as 10 jobs or more throughout their lifetime. I know plenty of people my age already on their fifth or SIXTH job and are still able to change jobs. That's just the way of the world now. Today, companies have no problem laying off employees, so why the heck should us millennials care about showing loyalty to a damn corporation?!
3. Networking is the only way to get a good job. It's all about who you know, not what you know.
Oh give me a damn break. Not a SINGLE job I ever got was obtained through networking. It's not like people in my network conveniently have a job waiting for me. Every single job I ever landed was either through direct application, or most importantly, professional recruitment. Do you realize that many, many companies these days actually pay recruitment agencies to find talent and place candidates in good positions with good companies? Obviously, an all-of-the-above approach is the best, but please do not limit your horizons to your network. Since when is building a network easy, anyway? And who the hell is going to keep in touch with old coworkers throughout their career later in life? Please.
4. You must work regular overtime and long hours in order to get ahead and move up the ladder or earn more money.
Sorry, but I have simply not seen this to be true, although it may have worked for some. I know MANY white collar professionals who work their 40-45 hours a week and still get promoted for sheer quality performance or through attrition. I've even had some managers tell me that it's a turn off when they see their employees staying late in the office just for the sake of looking "good" to management. In the 21st century, managing your personal life as well as your professional life, is the.....professional thing to do. Just 9 years ago, my income was $52K. Today, it has soared to $94K. Yes, after job hopping, and yes, after working 40 hour weeks.
5. Don't forget to send a thank you letter after your interviews.
NO! Do not do this. All of my recruiters have advised me against this, and I have noticed that it can actually backfire, big time. Nowadays, no one needs to send thank you letters. It's tacky and does nothing to change the mind of the hiring manager.
6. A cover letter is essential to getting an interview.
You've gotta be KIDDDDDDING me! Not a single job I have ever landed has ever required or even asked for a stupid cover letter. I have even discussed this with my recruiters and they all say that a cover letter is a colossal waste of time and effort, and 99% of employers in the finance/accounting field are concerned with your resume and really don't are about what you have to say in your cover letter.
So there you have it. You baby boomers can say all you want, but this millennial is finding the working world to be starkly different and full of new dynamics that simply don't coincide with any of the advice given by baby boomers in this forum or outside of this forum.
Really? Well my husband and I wouldn't hire you without a cover letter.
All things being equal, and sometimes they are - the candidate who sent a hand written thank you note will get the job over the cocky kid who did not.
Also, we require at least a BA. You forgot that.
We have no plans to enter a retirement home in the near future. Nor do any of our peers.
Really? Well my husband and I wouldn't hire you without a cover letter.
All things being equal, and sometimes they are - the candidate who sent a hand written thank you note will get the job over the cocky kid who did not.
I do think that as baby boomers finally retire (which they're starting to do in droves), your responses will be less valid here.
1. Cover Letter - I am now a hiring manager and quite honestly, I don't read cover letters. I get so many applications for openings I have that all I have time to do is a quick scan over the resume (maybe 30 seconds) to determine if this is someone I want to have my recruiter screen or not.
2. Thank You Note - I do think this is outdated. Perhaps for some old timers, that is still a necessity. And I'd agree that you still have some of these people as hiring managers for the next 5-10 years. However, as a hiring manager, I can assure you that this typically does not make or break who I decide to hire. In addition, when I've been in the job market in the past, I've been rejected from jobs where I sent letters and have had job offers where I have not.
blah blah i do what i want and i don't need their approval lol. good enough for me. i'll listen to anyone's advice. its up to me what choices i make after that.
5. Don't forget to send a thank you letter after your interviews.
NO! Do not do this. All of my recruiters have advised me against this, and I have noticed that it can actually backfire, big time. Nowadays, no one needs to send thank you letters. It's tacky and does nothing to change the mind of the hiring manager.
I tend to agree. If a hiring manager is dumbstruck between two candidates and relies on a thank you note as the tie-breaker, then I have to question their ability to think on their feet when the going gets tough.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,140,525 times
Reputation: 2677
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
The purpose of this thread is to debunk all the baloney advice given to ME, specifically to my profession/life in this forum, much of which seems to come from the baby boomer generation. I have found most of their advice to simply not apply to today's economy and millennial generation, and I am here to denounce ALL of it, one by one. I am a millennial (age 30) college graduate, for reference. This all comes from first hand experience and observation, too.
In other words.... I don't like the boomers so . I just thanks heavens that you are the exception to the rule and that a great many millennial's have the intelligence to see that sometimes we're not always wrong. That we would like to help, and that we're not talking just to hear ourselves talk. I can almost guarantee that there will come a day when you will tell either your grandparents or mom and dad, "You were right." It's inevitable.
I do think that as baby boomers finally retire (which they're starting to do in droves), your responses will be less valid here.
1. Cover Letter - I am now a hiring manager and quite honestly, I don't read cover letters. I get so many applications for openings I have that all I have time to do is a quick scan over the resume (maybe 30 seconds) to determine if this is someone I want to have my recruiter screen or not.
2. Thank You Note - I do think this is outdated. Perhaps for some old timers, that is still a necessity. And I'd agree that you still have some of these people as hiring managers for the next 5-10 years. However, as a hiring manager, I can assure you that this typically does not make or break who I decide to hire. In addition, when I've been in the job market in the past, I've been rejected from jobs where I sent letters and have had job offers where I have not.
About myself, tail end of Gen X (late 30s).
RoadWarrior, that's okay that you think a thank you note is outdated, but that's not what the OP said. He stated:
Quote:
NO! Do not do this. All of my recruiters have advised me against this, and I have noticed that it can actually backfire, big time. Nowadays, no one needs to send thank you letters. It's tacky and does nothing to change the mind of the hiring manager.
All the jobs I've been rejected from, were after sending a thank you note. But the jobs that I got offers for, were from NOT sending a thank you note.
I have never been asked for a cover letter, not even once. Maybe it's just in the finance/accounting profession that's like this.
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