Supply and demand. It’s the cornerstone of our economy and it’s an amazing thing. The problem is when you’re in the demand column and that demand is a job.
Over the past year I have been passively job searching. Maybe I find myself with a spare minute or two and I will browse the classifieds. If I find something I think could be interesting I’ll maybe apply; if I don’t get it then no big deal, I currently have a job. To my understanding most people do this and it is no special thing until you break down the numbers. I figure I have averaged three applications/resume submissions a week for the last ten months. That’s roughly 120 job inquiries. Five have informed me that I am no longer being considered, two have given phone interviews, and one has given an in person interview.
Now I feel I should bullet point my work history for those of you thinking I am out of my league. I have my associates from Parkland and am working on my Bachelors through Eastern. I have been unemployed for a total of a week since turning 17 and I have only been fired once. I have done Shipping, receiving, maintenance, driving, and retail in that time. I have had the same job for the last 3.5+ years and have called in sick a total of 4 times in that time frame. Also, I have assistant supervisor experience along with forklift and also employee training experience. Couple that with great references, and an awesome personality and I think I should have gotten more than just 3 interviews. I also have a feeling I’m not the only one with a decent work history that is in my position.
The time has come for me to stop being passive and start being proactive. Over the coming weeks I hope to lead you on a journey through the hell that is job hunting in this college town of ours. Not only that, but I would also like to use this as a forum for helping other people on their job hunting endeavor. This will not be limited to just saying where to look of what jobs I have seen. I would like to approach differing topics related to job hunting such as cover letters (I hate these), emailing resumes, job hunting sites, and so on. Feel free to pose questions yourself on the comments section and I will do my best to hunt out the answer and talk about it on here. And of course, if you have the inside line on a job then feel free to post it also.
The first topic I would personally like to address is what are the best ways to find a job in this town? What have you had success with?
I look forward to seeing you all on the comment board below, Until next week…