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I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I am a senior at UNM with two semesters left before I finish up. I'm mostly unhappy and scared about this is because I wasn't hired by every job I applied for. I applied many times online and didn't even get called back for an interview; I just learned that online applications are useless. I'm desperate for a job soon because I am scared to move back home when I graduate this coming December, and I'm also scared to spend this coming summer at home. My hometown is Los Alamos, and I really dislike that place because there's nothing to do there, and also, it's generally impossible to get a girlfriend there because the women in Los Alamos are all taken (mostly married couples live there so it's NOT a place for single people).
I would like A LOT of help finding a job sometime this spring semester so I can at least stay in Albuquerque since I plan for it to be my ONLY choice of living if I stay in New Mexico for the rest of my life (my other dream places are Charlotte, Austin, Louisville, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville); Albuquerque is the easiest place to get a girlfriend compared to everywhere else in this state for college-aged men (especially since Albuquerque is one of only a FEW cities in the western United States where single women outnumber single men in my age bracket)
You don't say anything about what type of work you have been applying for, so it's hard to make very specific suggestions, not that I could necessarily. (I suggest being more specific when discussing your job hunt with people.) Here are some general suggestions.
Let everyone you know, know that you are looking for a job, and give them some idea of what type of work you are looking for, what your skill set is, etc. Is there anyone in Los Alamos that you know who might have connections in Albuquerque?
Go to whatever career placement or career-related advising exists at UNM, if you haven't already. Watch the events calendar closely for job searching workshops, job fairs (presumably you would already see those), etc.
Join any relevant professional organizations you think you can afford.
Read/skim the Business Outlook published in the Albuquerque Journal on Mondays, as well as the Albuquerque Business First: Albuquerque Business News - Albuquerque Business First. Look for articles and announcements of new businesses opening, or current businesses expanding. Then contact those business directly and tell them what you can do for them, before they have posted any job openings.
Pick up some books on job hunting (pinpointing potential employers, writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing, etc.).
University should have a placement office.
You should be asking the professors in your field if they have any leads to jobs or summer internships. Do you plan on graduate school?
If you have been studying geology and are not particular about living in North Dakota there should be jobs available.
I suggest sending letters to prospective employers. A letter indicates more care than an E-mail.
If you let us know your major we might be able to be more helpful.
I just learned that online applications are useless.
Where did you learn this because that is absolutely false. Most companies looking for professional entry level positions will not even talk to you unless you have filled out an online application. Networking will help but you will in most cases need to fill out an online application. It is very tough out there right now. Forget about the girlfriend. Meaning do not fixate on it. Fine a job, start your career and life and the gf will come.
I just learned that online applications are useless.
Where did you learn this because that is absolutely false. Most companies looking for professional entry level positions will not even talk to you unless you have filled out an online application. Networking will help but you will in most cases need to fill out an online application. It is very tough out there right now. Forget about the girlfriend. Meaning do not fixate on it. Fine a job, start your career and life and the gf will come.
Where did you learn this?
This is absolutely false.
Most companies looking for professional positions will disregard the vast majority of online applications and those that are in some way connected to the interviewer will be given interviews.
Networking is a much stronger way to enter into high quality job, while online applications without knowing anyone are largely only effective in "in demand" fields (nursing/engineer), or for low level positions, primarily ones for which the applicant is massively over qualified.
Applying online is a very effective way to find commission only out door (door to door) sales jobs. Calling these "jobs" is very generous, because the vast majority of people "hired" quit within a couple months after obtaining what would be less than the minimum wage.
Source: Degree and several years in HR, as well as owning a small business, before getting my MBA.
Advising people to apply online is really the same as telling them to pound sand.
PS. No disrespect meant lifehacker. You have a great deal of knowledgeable posts, however this is an area in which my experience and qualifications vastly exceeds that of most people. I've found jobs for many friends, and as you might imagine, there was a strong tie to talking to people with the organization before putting in an application.
Most companies looking for professional positions will disregard the vast majority of online applications and those that are in some way connected to the interviewer will be given interviews.
Networking is a much stronger way to enter into high quality job, while online applications without knowing anyone are largely only effective in "in demand" fields (nursing/engineer), or for low level positions, primarily ones for which the applicant is massively over qualified.
Applying online is a very effective way to find commission only out door (door to door) sales jobs. Calling these "jobs" is very generous, because the vast majority of people "hired" quit within a couple months after obtaining what would be less than the minimum wage.
Source: Degree and several years in HR, as well as owning a small business, before getting my MBA.
Advising people to apply online is really the same as telling them to pound sand.
PS. No disrespect meant lifehacker. You have a great deal of knowledgeable posts, however this is an area in which my experience and qualifications vastly exceeds that of most people. I've found jobs for many friends, and as you might imagine, there was a strong tie to talking to people with the organization before putting in an application.
18 years of System Analysis, Programmer, Data analysis and Business Intelligence in PeopleSoft, Lawson and SAP for large corporations. Currently BI and Data Analyst for one of NM largest employers. Previous position was also with one the largest employers in the state. Most of my time has been spent in HCM and Recruiting suites. Yes, networking is a highly effective way of getting a high quality/high level job. For someone just out of college and trying to get into an entry level professional position applying online is the first step into getting any org that is a large employer. At the last two companies mentioned above they will not even consider you without an application being submitted. It is many companies policy to not interview or even speak to someone regarding an open position without the application being vetted by a recruiting professional.
In most cases, a recent college grads network is minimal at best.
A good network takes years to build. As an example I was recently called about a position at another large organization from a friend of mine. Position fits me to a T. Though, if I was interested in the position I would have to fill out an application before my friends manager could speak to me. Company policy. And even then I had to go through recruiting to have an interview setup.
For a recent college grad, filling out applications online is an important step. At my current company you cannot even get through the front door to introduce yourself to even the security guard. This goes from entry level positions all the way up to Managers. If you are a recent grad with a small if not non existent network and do not know anyone in an org. How else do you get in?
It appears our disagreement may be based on the rather subjective terms of high quality, high level, entry level, and good.
It's true that a college grad often has a relatively small network, but the sheer volume of applicants for many positions can result in the most unqualified person in the HR department (and I think we both can identify that person after being there for a bit) being given the slush pile to sort through. I've often found that the slush pile is poorly sorted, and the wrong candidates end up at the top.
To be fair, in response to your last question, if you are a new grad with no network, you are unlikely to find a meaningful position there. The guy is likely to get it is the one whose friend, uncle, etc greets the security guard, signs in his friend, and takes him to meet the recruiting manager. Perhaps your organization doesn't work this way, but I've found what we tell people we do in recruiting, and how we actually make decisions, are two vastly different animals.
If we actually forced all applicants to go through the same slush pile and stripped names from resumes so that the slush pile worker was incapable of pulling out a name recommended by a manager because his friend said his cousin applied... we would end up with a better system, but it would still be heavily biased. Given the sheer volume of resumes that contain lies (I think it is over 50% now), picking the resume that best meets the criteria often means picking a resume that has been "doctored".
In all honesty, I've had friends that applied to hundreds of positions. They had no success. I rewrote their resume and they got tons responses. I adjusted titles for positions, adjusted dates to remove red flags, and poof, they were the perfect candidate. Having that experience in HR, I know what things that slush pile employee is looking for, and I know which things can be "doctored" to be more attractive. Theoretically, some day the company could do background checks. Realistically, if that happened, he would have already moved on and cut the older dates from his resume. The biggest problem for the OP in finding work is that the recession means competing with very qualified individuals in massive numbers, and creative individuals with doctored resumes that may be willing to work for less to get legitimate positions to replace their "creative" ones.
In re: networking, although I recommended it, I personally have never found a job that way. But I don't have a very "networky" personality, so going a conventional route and acquiring a career focused master's degree has worked out reasonably well for me. Every job I've had, even summer jobs, came through applying in response to advertized job openings.
My advice was largely based on advice I've heard from professionals with HR and/or career advising backgrounds (with some overlap between those two catgories). Some of it might be a bit pie in the sky, but I don't think it hurts to read local business news and be able to talk about what's going on. If there is no immediate pay off, it may still come in handy at some point during interviewing.
OP - What is your field of study? What do you want to do for a living? Have you joined that field's professional society as a student? Does the Federal Government have a department that hires people in your field?
BTW - Forget about the dating situation when you are looking for WORK! Unless you possess a completely toxic personality women will find you. It may take a while but they will. Just stay still and show up.
Go to whatever career placement or career-related advising exists at UNM, if you haven't already. Watch the events calendar closely for job searching workshops, job fairs (presumably you would already see those), etc.
This was many years ago and I assume that things have changed. But UNM would have several "job fairs", especially in the spring, where companies would interview. This would be announced about a month beforehand and one would have to sign up for interview slots. We would line up at 7 am that day to get in the career placement center to sign up. Usually the interview slots were earmarked for engineers, computer science. business majors, or those interested in sales. This is how most of my engineering class got their jobs - unless you were fortunate enough to know someone or have an "in." Your graduating in December could be a problem as there were less "job fairs" in the fall.
If you could get hired by LANL, you could afford to live in Santa Fe. Expensive but probably a fun place to live. Also have you done any summer internships? Sounds like you have one more summer before you graduate.
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