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Old 03-10-2017, 06:22 PM
 
9 posts, read 7,287 times
Reputation: 10

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I'm getting really frustrated and it is really hard to stay positive. I'm trying to get another job outside of my current organization and I can't even seem to get anyone to respond. I'm only applying to jobs where I have at least the minimum qualifications. I have been applying for 2 years now and have only had 2 interviews, 1 that ended up being a second interview in person. I typically apply to at least 20 jobs a month at a minimum. I'm thankful to be employed, but it scares me that if I were to have lost my job 2 years ago I would still be unemployed. I am also currently pursuing my masters. I also have management experience. My field is in Educational Technology. What am I doing wrong?
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Old 03-10-2017, 07:39 PM
 
Location: Northern California
269 posts, read 245,900 times
Reputation: 548
I have no idea what is going on. It's hard to know without seeing your resume and knowing what jobs you are applying to.
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Old 03-10-2017, 09:10 PM
 
Location: NYC
16,061 posts, read 26,684,271 times
Reputation: 24848
If you aren't getting interviews it's your resume. Have someone take a look at it and update it.
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Old 03-10-2017, 09:17 PM
 
724 posts, read 445,668 times
Reputation: 283
What about sites like this topresume.com. anyone have experience with them?
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:51 AM
 
179 posts, read 155,133 times
Reputation: 232
Quote:
Originally Posted by LX77 View Post
I'm getting really frustrated and it is really hard to stay positive. I'm trying to get another job outside of my current organization and I can't even seem to get anyone to respond. I'm only applying to jobs where I have at least the minimum qualifications. I have been applying for 2 years now and have only had 2 interviews, 1 that ended up being a second interview in person. I typically apply to at least 20 jobs a month at a minimum. I'm thankful to be employed, but it scares me that if I were to have lost my job 2 years ago I would still be unemployed. I am also currently pursuing my masters. I also have management experience. My field is in Educational Technology. What am I doing wrong?
Probably nothing. Two interviews in two years is not bad. Really, it isn't. You may find out though, that having multiple degrees is a no-no now (that's what has been said on this forum). I don't know why. Just keep applying, it takes a LONNNNNGGGGGG time to land a job nowadays. It just does.
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:02 AM
 
9,952 posts, read 6,616,818 times
Reputation: 19655
I agree that you might not be doing anything wrong. These days many openings get 50+ applications for one open position, if not hundreds. I wouldn't say that I applied to as many places as you did in the past year, but I was only able to land a total of 4 interviews last year applying to at least 4-8 jobs per month with a high of about 12. One of those jobs actually an artificial limit of 200 applications!

I know sometimes I've seen situations where they'll interview 5-6 internal candidates and 5-6 external candidates for a single slot, and you know of those candidates the internal ones have the edge.

Add in the fact that some of the postings may not even be real postings, some of the interviews may not even be real interviews (they may have already selected the internal candidate, but have a policy of interviewing at least 3 people to appear objective), and sometimes they review who they get with the posting and decide it didn't include what they wanted... it's just challenging to have a real shot.

That said, you do need make sure you are doing a tailored resume/cover letter (if requested for the latter). If you are just sending in the same one for everything, you'll have no luck.
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Old 03-11-2017, 08:06 AM
 
486 posts, read 988,373 times
Reputation: 1078
Quote:
Originally Posted by LX77 View Post
I'm getting really frustrated and it is really hard to stay positive. I'm trying to get another job outside of my current organization and I can't even seem to get anyone to respond. I'm only applying to jobs where I have at least the minimum qualifications. I have been applying for 2 years now and have only had 2 interviews, 1 that ended up being a second interview in person. I typically apply to at least 20 jobs a month at a minimum. I'm thankful to be employed, but it scares me that if I were to have lost my job 2 years ago I would still be unemployed. I am also currently pursuing my masters. I also have management experience. My field is in Educational Technology. What am I doing wrong?
Preaching to the choir...

You will never know what you are doing wrong, right, sideways, upside down etc. It is a free-for-all out in the job searching world. Anything you do or say, be it on your resume or in interviews, can be right or wrong depending on the person who is screening resumes or interviewing you. It is frustrating and downright insane. You can blame your lack of job offers/interviews totally on yourself or take a more moderate view and realize it is not ALL your fault. The job market is just not there. There are not enough *real*jobs for people who are seeking them. There may be job openings but I can guarantee you not all the job openings/ads are for real jobs that actually hire people.

As to tailoring resumes to each job you apply to, I have heard that advice for years. Last year when I began my job search in March 2016, I had 6 different resumes (all one page concise resumes), tailored for the jobs I applied to. I also had 15 different cover letters that I tailored for the jobs I applied to.

Didn't make one ounce of difference for me. I am still unemployed a year later. Now I use one resume which highlights my work experience (last 10 years, but I guess that is too much), my work skills, and education. It is a 2 page resume (oh the horror!). Sorry, I have determined that I have done too much and have too much experience for a one page resume.

It is all about luck. Right place, right time, right person. Just my humble opinion. Which is worth nothing.
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:39 AM
 
3,852 posts, read 4,138,345 times
Reputation: 7866
Quote:
Originally Posted by LX77 View Post
I'm getting really frustrated and it is really hard to stay positive. I'm trying to get another job outside of my current organization and I can't even seem to get anyone to respond. I'm only applying to jobs where I have at least the minimum qualifications. I have been applying for 2 years now and have only had 2 interviews, 1 that ended up being a second interview in person. I typically apply to at least 20 jobs a month at a minimum. I'm thankful to be employed, but it scares me that if I were to have lost my job 2 years ago I would still be unemployed. I am also currently pursuing my masters. I also have management experience. My field is in Educational Technology. What am I doing wrong?
Do you send customized cover letters each time?
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:41 AM
 
738 posts, read 582,863 times
Reputation: 631
Quote:
Originally Posted by CapsChick View Post
Do you send customized cover letters each time?

I do. I have three paragraphs, I modify the middle one.
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:31 PM
 
3,070 posts, read 5,218,907 times
Reputation: 6578
I work in educational technology. In this field, mulple degrees is the norm. This field is growing, but are you keeping up with it? It changes so rapidly, are you up to date with latest LMS and other tools? How is your cover letter and resume? Has it been critiqued to the last detail? You're dealing with a field where writing and layout matters 100% and reflects your skills - there's no room for error.
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