Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Part-Time Two-Step

I start my new part-time job on Monday, the training portion of it anyway. I will be working customer service, mostly calling to set up appointments for people. The pay is good for the work involved, and it leaves the majority of my days open because I'll be working in the evenings, so I'll still be able to work on gathering data for my thesis.

However, a part-time job, no matter how nice, is not a way to make ends meet in the long-run. Looking for full-time work in my field is the goal, and the part-time job is a stepping stone to get me closer to that goal. This doesn't mean that I will shirk any responsibility while working at the part-time job; it just means that I need to remind myself not to get comfortable, since I have a laundry-list of things to do in order to obtain my goal.

The one perk of having employment is that suddenly a lot of people see you as more employable. I already have one or two people waiting to hear from their bosses before they hire me for short gigs in contract work for proofreading and whatnot. Dad also says that companies love to poach workers from other companies as well; so being able to state that I'm currently working is a definite plus on a resume.

I'll be staying in Fort Collins for the next couple of months, at any rate, and I won't have to move back to Michigan now that I'm employed. I'm looking forward to finally working again and being in an office setting. I'll be able to stay long enough to finish my data collection, write the rest of my thesis and defend it, so I'll be graduating officially in Spring 2012. After that, I'll see where the job offers take me (and if they take me early...well, at least I'll have my data collected by the end of this year).

-AMW

Monday, November 14, 2011

Unacknowledged Blues

Twenty years ago, if you applied for a job and didn't get it, the company would send you a letter that acknowledged your attempt for employment, but they weren't going to pick you at this time. Of course getting these letters in the mail wasn't fun, but at least the company took the time to acknowledge your efforts and your existence.

This year, I've noticed a trend in people trying to get a job: they're happy getting rejection letters or emails. I know why this is as well: a lot of companies have stopped sending rejection letters because they cost time and money (even more so if the letters are mailed rather than emailed). I am here to state that it is bad enough to be rejected for the jobs you apply for; it is somehow infinitely worse to never hear from the company in response. A written "no, but thank you for applying" is polite and at least acknowledges you exist. A wall of silence not only says "no", but also says "you're not worth acknowledging".

I understand that in this economy, we must tighten our belts and cut things that seem to just waste money. I understand the silent "no" to the initial application for a job. However, I can say from experience, for the people who get interviews and follow up by contacting the company a week afterward, that wall of silence is deafening. It is one thing to ignore the existence of a person via their application; it is completely another to ignore their existence after having met them.

We wait for a phone call or email to validate our attempts to gain work, but we also wait for somebody to acknowledge our existence is more than our resume. We are people who are actively seeking employment; we have bills and pets and families to take care of by working to earn our keep. It seems cruel to ignore a population that wants to work and has garnered enough attention from a company to get an interview.

Like I said before, I understand the monetary reasons for it...however, I don't agree with it. How does a company expect to keep good public relations when it won't relate to a section of the public and what they're going through? It doesn't make sense from a public relations/human resources perspective.

I'm interested in hearing from others, either about their own job search, or if they're employed, then on this scenario:
You interviewed with two companies, and Company A gave you a wall of silence, and Company B sent you a rejection email/letter. Two months later, they each call you up and offer you a job; same pay, same benefits. Who would you work for, and why?

-AMW

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Relocation Jitters

More and more, I've been applying to jobs that are not in Colorado. While I'd love to stay in Fort Collins or Colorado in general, I've realized that if I'm going to get a technical writing or public communications job, I have to be more than just willing to move; I have to be ready to move in order to work.

I know that a lot of people are not willing to move in order to get a job. I understand that it's daunting and scary and really unsettling in general to move several hundred miles in order to work, removing yourself from everything familiar. I did the same thing to go to graduate school; picked up and moved over 1,200 miles from the town I grew up and lived in for 25 years, just for a chance to better myself. It was terrifying at first, but then I met some amazing people and the fear left just as quickly as it came.

I do not fear moving for a job; at this point, I think it would be a new kind of adventure. I would welcome the challenge of going to a new place and getting into a new city-culture. I can always keep up with old friends online, and make new friends wherever I land. I'm not scared of new people anymore (and for the record, I used to be painfully shy when it came to parties and meeting groups of new people).

What do you dear readers think of relocating?

-AMW

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know

The title of this particular blog is about something that has irked me for quite some time: using relatives/friends/acquaintances to gain your dream job.

The adage of "It's not what you know, it's who you know" has always bugged me, because it should be the other way around. Do you want the guy with a degree in accounting to be doing your PR, just because he's LinkedIn buddies with ten contacts you happen to have in common?

Short answer: No.
Long answer: Nooooooooo.

You want somebody who has trained to do a job to do that job. The guy with an accounting degree should be in the accounting department, and the person you find with either a degree and/or sufficient experience in PR should be doing your PR.

My dad and I had a pretty good conversation about this bizarre turn of events where people have gotten jobs through friends/acquaintances/networking, turned said jobs into careers, and never used the degrees they worked to obtain. I understand getting a job through acquaintances/friends if you need a stopgap to pay the bills, and networking to attain that dream job. But when I earn my Master's Degree in Public Communication & Technology, I don't want to be wasting my time flipping burgers! I want to use what I learned to help the business I'm working for, in a marketing, journalism, PR or technical writing capacity (since all are under the umbrella of the degree).

I would love to start my career by getting in with a company in a low-level job and working for a Marketing Director or a Lead Technical Writer. I would prove my worth and my skills, climb the ladder to a higher position, help the company with marketing strategies or better written/formatted user guides. That is where I would be happy, because I'd be right in the thick of things and taking on challenges.

I do admit that networking is useful, and I'm not bagging it entirely because it has helped a lot of my friends get good jobs/internships. However, I'd like HR departments and Hiring Managers to consider that while the whole six-degrees-of-separation thing is a way to meet people who could be qualified, it's the people who are qualified who should be getting the jobs, regardless of who they know on Facebook and/or LinkedIn. Doing a job right means it's what you know, not who you know, that matters in the end.

That's my two cents, at any rate.
-AMW

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Organization & Order

Today, I feel on top of things. I worked off a lot of stress in my kitchen, between baking, cooking and cleaning. Some days I do wonder if maybe I should open a bakery, but knowing how fickle customers are when it comes to food and such, I don't think I could risk it. Plus, if my stress-reliever became my job, what would I do for stress relief when running a business inevitably becomes stressful?

Being organized is important when looking for work. Keeping a schedule, making sure all the paperwork you need is in order for interviews, checking your wardrobe to make certain that your interview clothes are nicely maintained; it all matters.

When it comes to my home life, I don't think that complete orderliness is the way to go; life is messy and complicated, and sometimes having a little corner of the house that isn't tidy is a good thing. My bookshelves in my personal three bookcase library is a mess. No Dewey Decimal System, no fiction vs. non-fiction...I don't even have things stacked/shelved by genre with any real consistency, and it's kind of a fluke if all the books by the same author are together! However, despite the supposed chaos, you better believe that I know where every single book I own is on those shelves. Order without order, in a sense.

Organization and order are good things; especially since the time is getting shorter and shorter to the time when I either have a job and stay in Fort Collins, or I will have to move back to Michigan. If I fail to get a job here, I'm sure packing up everything I own won't be too much of a bother; it might take me two days at most. Erasing the pencil art on my walls is going to be interesting; that might take a while.

Dad always told me to think of my life as playing chess, not checkers. Plan for the worst, but look for a way to acquire the best outcome.  I'm looking, and I'm going to keep looking, even up to the last day I possibly can. I was never one of those players who would let their king be toppled easily when they saw defeat laying ominous ahead of them, and I don't plan on ever being one of those players, either. I just have to get my foot in the door.

-AMW

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Appearance vs. Confidence

Appearance vs. Confidence, which one matters more?

I am starting to wonder, honestly. I go in well dressed (hair tied back and up off the collar, minimal jewelry [stud earrings, no danglies, and a choker necklace, no watch, no bracelets], very light lip gloss [it's the most makeup I wear, honestly], dress shirt, black slacks, black leather shoes with dress socks, and I wear my black blazer if it is weather appropriate). I speak professionally and politely (never interrupting the person who is interviewing me). I always start and end the interview with a firm (but not hand-crippling) handshake. I smile and exude confidence in my abilities the entire time.

I am overweight, even though I've lost 35 lbs. in the past year or so (and I'm working on losing more). I wear glasses and quite frankly, I'm rather plain looking. Brown hair, hazel eyes that are far more on the brown side than the green. I'm worried that my outward appearance, despite my professional dress, is hindering my chances of getting a job.

So my question, dear readers, is when you go on an interview, what do you think is more important, exuding confidence in yourself or your overall appearance? I'm interested in your opinions; state your cases in the comments section below!

-AMW

Friday, October 7, 2011

Timelines and Obligations

I was given an ultimatum yesterday: either I get a job within the next two months, or I will be forced to move back to Michigan at the end of the year. Dad gave me the autonomy to go get a job using my own brain/resources, and I haven't landed a job yet. To say he is displeased by this is a huge understatement, right up there with saying "the sun is hot".

So now that my timelines for, well, just about everything are cut down to the end of the year. This wouldn't be a problem, except I've been averaging maybe one interview for my thesis a month, and I still have to schedule three interviews. This could go either really well (I get them all done by the end of this month), or really badly (I do my last interview, and then have to move a week later). With this new timeline I've been handed, I don't know when/if I'll ever be able to get back to CSU to defend my thesis, so in actuality, I'll have to be defended by the end of the year.

However, if I can get a job, even a part-time job that's steady, I can stay in Fort Collins for another couple of months past the end of the year, and that would help me out immensely. So even though I was sending out, on average, 30+ resumes/filled applications a week, I need to knuckle down and do twice that many.

There is still hope; two months may go by pretty quickly, but I can make the best of it and try everything I can to extend my stay in Fort Collins.

-AMW

Saturday, October 1, 2011

'Tis the Season(al Help Time)

Over the past two days, I've filled out over a dozen applications for part-time and/or seasonal help. I have another two paper applications on my desk that I'm taking a break from filling out so I can get this post up (a day late, sorry, I was filling out applications all day yesterday and it slipped my mind). I also have business cards from three places, because they only take online applications.

I had been worried about how I was going to pay to get to Michigan for Christmas, so I could see my parents, but now I don't have to worry about it, because I won't be going. To my benefit, though, if I'm employed I'll at least be able to give them gifts this year.

So as we go out and start shopping for presents for our loved ones, I would like to entreat everybody to be nice to the people in the stores. Some of them may be a little slow at the cash register, or they might not know the layout of the store as well as some, but that's probably because it's their first week on the job, after being unemployed for several months. They're going to try really hard to help you, because sometimes getting in during the seasonal help time is the only chance these people have to getting a steady part-time (or possibly full-time) job. Give them a little hope by giving them a thank you and a smile; it doesn't take anything away from you and it gives them a brighter day.

Trust me when I say that the bright days are worth more than you know.

-AMW

Friday, September 23, 2011

A Reality Check for Undergrads

I have been walking around campus and hearing bits and pieces of conversation as I pass by people, as well as seeing some different students on campus, and so these notes are to them, because there are some very, very delusional undergrads out there.
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To Students In General, Looking At Your Life Post-Undergrad: A standard "Entry Level" job starts somewhere around $25K, not $40K, unless you're in a field where you need to have a very specialized skill set, or you need to have a Master's Degree (and even then, starting below $40K is the norm). Prepare to keep eating ramen noodles while you start to pay back all those lovely student loans you took out, because after you graduate, you're going to be getting a regular bill for them.

To The Students Who Think It'll Be Easy to Get Their Dream Job As Soon As They Graduate: The economy is still mostly tanked, so please understand that you are not just competing for a job against your age group in your field, you're also competing against every person who has been laid off/fired in the past year or more who needs a new job. Those people will have lots of experience that you don't have, making it much more likely that they'll be getting the job before you will. Also, do not send out your resume to just the companies you always wanted to work for; that is, quite frankly, a stupid thing to do in this economy. Getting a job is more important than getting your dream job, because bills do not magically pay themselves. Plus, any job you have can be put on your resume to show that you are willing to do a less glamorous job in your search for your dream job, which will garner you points in the long run. Quantity over quality in this case is key.

To the Students with Their Hair in Dreadlocks, Who Talk About Getting a Corporate Job to "fight the power from the inside": Yes, employers are going to judge your hair during interviews (even though they would never admit it), and it will not be in your favor. Sorry to spoil your hopes of being the first whistle-blowing corporation killer with waist-long dreads, but it's not gonna happen. You can't fight the power from the inside unless you look like you belong in the corporation, and that means the dreads have to go. Dreadlocks, to an employer, say you're quirky and dedicated to your lifestyle, but not dedicated to the company vision.

To the Students Who Show Up to Class/Meetings with Professors/TAs in Their PJs: So far I have seen a group of you who apparently do not own actual clothes, or if you do, you prefer to look like you rolled out of bed and just wore your PJs to class. I have even seen some of you who think it's okay to wear this type of clothing when you're meeting your Professors or Teaching Assistants to discuss your classwork/grades. This is troubling, and I would like to point out that there are several very affordable second-hand stores where you can buy clothes that are appropriate to wear outside of your bedroom. Please start dressing like you're an adult instead of a bratty four-year-old that wants to keep his PJs on when he goes to daycare. How do you expect to get a letter of recommendation from a professor in the future (either for a job or for getting into graduate school) if you dress like you don't care?

Finally, to the Students Who Think They Know More than the Professor/TA Who is There to Help Educate Them: No, you really don't, and you're being disrespectful to your educators. Every Teaching Assistant on campus already has their Bachelor's Degree, which means they've already been where you are, and have succeeded where you have yet to do so. They may also have several years of job experience in the field they're teaching in, which means that they have something valuable to bring to the table. Every Professor on campus has either a Master's Degree, a Ph.D. or about 15+ years job experience in the field where they teach. That puts them lightyears of understanding ahead of you in the topics they're bringing up in class, and you need to respect them for it. Your attitude towards your Professors and TAs is indicative of how you will act with employers (subconsciously or not), and no employer likes to feel disrespected, especially after they've taken time out of their day to interview you.

Sincerely,
AMW

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P.S.: For those of you who have never seen this blog before, this advice comes from somebody who has a B.S. in Written Communications and is attaining a M.S. in Public Communications & Technology, and has worked as a TA, so take this with a grain of salt if you need to. -amw

Saturday, September 17, 2011

If you can't be an Intern, you can always Volunteer

Scenario: You've done all the paperwork, sometimes months in advance, and you have sent in everything a company has asked for...but you still didn't get the internship. Getting an actual job doesn't seem to be in the works, because your resume is a little flat. So how do you fill it up so hiring managers take a good look at you?

One of the best ways to beef up a resume is through volunteer work. This is something I've been told by, well, lots of people through the years. It's a way for your resume to look current, and a lot of volunteers who do really good work can get their supervisors to write recommendations for them.

I think if I don't get a job soon, I'm going to start volunteering at a couple places in town. I know there is a cat rescue that can always use an extra pair of hands (and my previous vet experience should really work well there). There is also the LAMBDA center, which I'm going to look into a bit more before making a decision.

Hooray for backup plans!
-AMW

Friday, September 9, 2011

Nice & Reliable Transportation

I have a car; her name is Stacy. She's a 1999 Chevy Malibu, and despite being well over a decade old, runs pretty well. In a world where one of the most important questions on a pre-interview application is "Do you have reliable transportation/your own car?", I have always been glad that my car runs well.

Sure, she has a rust spot, and the back seat windows won't roll down anymore, and because I have to park outside it seems like her natural taupe color is perpetually a little darker because of the dirt, but I try to keep her nice. For the majority of the time, she looks good, and that's pretty important if a potential employer sees your ride.

However, from the driver's side, Stacy doesn't look good today. I was running errands and had the front windows down because it was finally warm enough again to have them open. When I got back home, I rolled up the windows. The passenger side window went up just fine...the driver's side did until I heard a horrid *chunk-chunk*, which I think might have been the motor for the window giving up the ghost, because the window stopped moving...an inch to inch-and-a-half before it would have closed.

I just got back inside after cellophaning/taping the gap so bugs and rain (but mostly bugs) don't get into my car. Thankfully I had some heavy-duty clear packing tape (I refuse to duct-tape my car), so Stacy doesn't look too much like a reject. I probably shouldn't worry about it, because the gap is so small compared to what it could be, and from several angles looking at Stacy it doesn't even show, but I can't shake the feeling that if an employer sees Stacy as she looks now, I'm going to be judged negatively for it.

In brighter news, my writer's block is gone, I have complete outlines for both a children's book and a young-adult humor/parody book, I have conducted one more interview for my thesis, and I have a job interview this Monday with the city I live in! *crosses fingers* It's for an actual technical writing job, which makes me all sorts of happy; this could be my foot in the door to a great job for a great city.

-AMW

Monday, September 5, 2011

Obligatory Ironic Labor Day Post

Well, it's time to celebrate having a job by taking the day off again here in America, so with that in mind, I skipped my Friday post in order to post today.

What will I be doing this Labor Day? Well, since I am still unemployed, I will be filling out applications and sending in my resume for a good chunk of the day. Then I will be working on my thesis and getting it ready to go through the IRB again, since I am taking out a portion of the methods section that deals with a data collection technique that has ultimately failed to come through. The good news is that by refocusing my thesis, I should be able to look at the data I do get more closely, which will help me overall when it comes time to defend my work.

So really, I'm going to be doing more work than most people (except for those who have to go to their jobs today, of course). To the people who do actually have to go in to work today: I salute you.

-AMW

Friday, August 26, 2011

When Prospects Don't Pan Out

Update on the multiple prospects I had last week. The receptionist job at the medical center: I have heard nothing after my initial interview from them. The editor position for the student centered paper turns out to be a super-part-time job, instead of the full-time position that I was led to believe it was when I applied. The fiction writing I was doing? Massive writer's block.

This has also been the first week of classes for the fall semester, so I have been staying busy meeting with professors and fellow grad students. It was good to be on campus again, though I'm going to miss teaching.

Of course I'm still applying to jobs; I want to work and earn my keep. Trying to stay positive is difficult when the vast majority of the answers (if they're not a silent dismissal) is "no", but it's important to keep my head up and my eyes out for an opportunity.

-AMW

Friday, August 19, 2011

Delay Due to Multiple Prospects

So after months and months of hearing "no", or hearing nothing at all, I am suddenly faced with having people calling me for interviews or writing samples. This is why I neglected my weekly update last week (sorry to those of you who were looking forward to it).

I thought I had a good chance of working in a software company/IT firm as their office assistant, but even after the obligatory call to show interest a week after the initial interview, I have heard nothing. I still may have a shot as a receptionist at a medical center, or at a publication aimed at college students. I would love to work at either place, honestly.

As always, I am still sending out my resume with industry appropriate cover letters. I always have to remind myself that even though it may feel like I'm close to getting a job, I shouldn't count my money before I earn it. This thought keeps me humble and grounded, and motivated to find the right job for me.

In addition to all of this job hunting, I have hit a snag with my thesis, and so I have to do a major revision. I'll have less work to do in the long run when it comes to data gathering, but having to do a revision that takes out a component of the thesis is just as time consuming as adding a component.

Finally, I've been doing a bit of fiction writing. At first it was just to relieve stress from the Rambler Debacle, as I've been referring to it, but then it started to take on a life of its own. I have almost an entire book mapped out, which is good, and a few short stories as well.

That's it for the update; I will resume my once-a-week blog from here on out.
-AMW

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Rambler Internet Holdings Scam

Hi All,

I come to you a very sad person, who is completely unemployed. None of my money has been taken, but I would like to let you all know that Rambler Internet Holdings is a scam. I do not mean that the company as a whole is a scam, but I am saying that there are people who are masquerading as representatives of the company and are trying to phish for bank information/make you unwitting accomplices to fraud.

I will give you all this piece of advice:

If you get an email from anybody with an email address ending in @rambler.ru (peter-chukin_05@rambler.ru), or from a Yahoo! account (davidsnow11hipew@yahoo.com) that advertises a job available at Rambler, copy-paste the contents into the "recognize a scam/report a scam" section of ConsumerFraudReporting.org, along with the email address it was sent from.

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/index.php

Also, if the email says they found your resume on any particular job search website, report it to the website they mentioned as being part of a scam. It’s a little bit of genius, really, because Rambler is a search engine in Russia that is a lot like Google, and like Google, you can get a free email address that ends in @rambler.ru, which I didn’t know about until I looked deeper into it.

Now that I have smacked myself in the head for being stupid and falling for this in the first place, here is what basically happens, and I will go over it for hindsight Red Flags (RF#), like I did in the Insurance Agency post:

For those of you who’d like to know, the scammers like to say that while Rambler is an Internet company (true), it also happens to branch out into helping people make travel arrangements to Russia for business or for extended vacations (RF1 & 2). They say they want to open up offices in the US, so they have a lot of English correspondence that needs to be read and edited so that it sounds better. Apparently they can translate the Russian to English, but they don’t have a native English speaker on staff. Their emails are always very professional sounding, even the ones that I was proofreading/editing, and if you have any questions they will answer them in the same professional manner.

The scammers say that in order to help the customers, accepting travel plans and processing payments through Chase Quick-Pay and email is how they work best (RF3 & 4). They also promise to pay you through Chase Quick-Pay (RF5). It sounds safe enough, since they won’t need your actual bank information, just an email address to send a payment/paycheck. If you do payment processing, you’ll be able to get 5% commission for every payment (and considering that most of the payments will be in the $2K to $5K range each, that can be a lot of money and enticing to people down on their luck), plus a base salary.

That's the set-up; here’s the scam:

When it comes time to pay you (or if you try to do the payment processing), they will send a payment to your Chase Quick-Pay. The only thing is, they get this money through fraud/hacking accounts, so the money they’re sending you is bad. If you do payment processing, the simple act of accepting this payment and then sending the money elsewhere makes you an accessory to fraud. If they pay you, they will overpay you, and ask you to send back the difference. It’s the same scam, but on a smaller scale since they won’t be asking for the lion’s share of the payment.

However, if Chase realizes the money is fraudulent, it will ban you from going online and cancel the payment to you. When this happens, the scammers will tell you they can quick deposit your pay into your bank account, and not to worry about the Chase Quick-Pay thing, because “it happens occasionally”. Check/call in to Chase first and see what is going on. If they ask you to walk into a branch of Chase Bank, do so and stay until you have everything sorted. Do not be surprised if you are permanently banned from Chase Online, even if you are the victim of this scam. They will consider you an online fraud risk regardless.

So that's the scam in a nutshell.

I am not in danger of losing any of my money, and because I never actually received any money from the scammers, I am not in trouble with the law, which is a plus. However, if you have been taken in by these scammers and find out after you’ve given your bank info, go to your bank immediately and tell a banker about it. They will be more than willing to assist you. Also, if somebody tries to clean out your account, call/go to your bank and dispute the withdrawal, and file a report with the police.  They may not be able to do anything about it if the scammers are out of the country, but if it turns out they are in the USA, your report will help.

-AMW

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A Little Success Goes A Long Way

I have gotten a freelance type job with a Russian company by the name of Rambler Internet Holdings. They've started corresponding more with native English speakers, and even though they've been able to translate their messages from Russian to English, they hired me to proofread and edit their emails for grammar and spelling before they're sent to the appropriate parties. The pay is good for what work there is to do, so I'm happy that I'm going to be able to earn my living again.

I'm still going to be looking for a bigger job with more hours, and I would welcome any freelance job that involves proofreading/editing. For today, however, I think I'll be happy knowing that I have a job thanks to my academic achievements in English, and work on my thesis.

-AMW

Monday, July 18, 2011

Backwards Applications Online

I have found something of an interesting trend while applying online to jobs. I posted a little snippet of what I was seeing on my Facebook, but now I want to blog about it. Online applications seem to be a bit backwards to me.

Here is an example, given in two scenarios:

Scenario One:
I apply to a really nice, full-time job; great pay and benefits, I wouldn't need to do hardly any training because I have most (if not all) of the experience necessary for the job and I can start right away. I make a cover letter and send it along with my resume, and depending on the employer, my transcripts from my graduate school as well.

This takes all of 15 to 20 minutes, and then I can go looking for another really nice, full-time job.

Scenario Two:
I apply to a slightly-more-than-minimum-wage, full-time job; it will pay my bills until I finish my degree and/or I get that really nice, full-time job. I may need a bit of training because they have "proprietary software", but the rest of the job I could do blindfolded while simultaneously juggling flaming chainsaws with one hand [WARNING: Do NOT try this at home, even if you think you're a really, really good juggler].

I can't just send in a resume and cover letter; I must fill in an online application. So I click on the appropriate boxes and start filling things in...and filling things in...and filling things in. Usually after I've manually put in all of my work and academic experience, and listed all of my referral contacts, there is a place where I can upload my resume if I choose (this is one of the few places that it is optional to input data, rather than mandatory). My resume has all of my work and academic experience on it. Oh well, I'll upload it anyway, then click for the next page.

I have to take a competency and/or personality test next. It takes at least another 20 to 30 minutes, and if I have to do both, it will of course take twice as long. By the time I'm done, I've checked about five or six boxes confirming that I am not a felon and there are no warrants out for my arrest. I've also checked at least two or three boxes confirming that my name really is Alice Malia Weaver, and I do not have a nefarious alias under which I've worked to take over the world.

The entirety of the application takes a little over two hours, give or take 15 minutes.

[End of Scenarios]

So now that I have given these scenarios, here is my question: when did it become harder to apply for a minimum wage job than it would to apply for a really nice, higher paying job? One would think that it would be the other way around, since people should be willing to jump through more hoops of red tape to get a better paying job than a minimum wage job.

I would like to hear feedback and reader opinions on this subject. Don't be shy! I would love to talk to some people about this and their view on the subject of online applications.

Now if you all will excuse me, I have some more jobs to apply to today.

-AMW

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Career Advising

I went to the Career Center at my university today. I had already had a Liberal Arts Career Counselor look over my resume, but I wanted to get a second opinion from a Business Career Counselor. The counselor was very nice and looked over my resume, noting where I could improve my resume and giving me a lot of helpful hints and advise. He even got me to laugh a couple times, which was great and improved the overall experience. He also liked my business card and said it was a good tactic to use to help my employment chances.

I had been doubting my resume's ability to grab attention because I had been getting so few calls about my applications to work in different fields, and I was right to worry. My professional profile at the top is lacking in several aspects, so I will be rewriting it, as well as replacing my "Relevant Coursework" section with something else.

I also cleaned out my box at the Graduate Teaching Assistant Office today, since I was on campus. That was a little sad, but I am looking to the future, where I will finish my thesis and finally acquire my MS in Public Communications and Technology.

I guess today has been all about looking over what I have done in order to look towards what I can accomplish, and that always puts a smile on my face.

-AMW

Monday, June 27, 2011

Time Management Blues

I think that, for the most part, I do really well with time management. I can schedule things and be on time and very rarely have I ever needed to ask a professor or boss for extra time to finish a project. In fact, I can not remember in recent history when I have had to ask for extra time to finish a project, so I would say my time management is really good.

However, I am having a bit of an issue at this point regarding my duties to finish my thesis and my need to get a job. There are several businesses who are interested in me at this point, but I wouldn't be working a nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday job with the weekends free. I would be working a job that, while a full-time 40-hours-a-week position, would be run over the course of six days a week, not five. I would have one day off a week, sometime in the middle of the week.

As for my thesis, volunteer participation has trickled to a standstill. I posted flyers all over town, and yet I did not receive one serious inquiry. Thankfully my friends have rallied and offered alternative solutions to acquiring volunteers, so I will still be able to get my thesis done the way my professors want it to be done. However, the scheduling for this makes it imperative that as long as I still need data for my thesis, I have to have the weekends open.

So now the real question is: how quickly can I get everybody together for my data collection, so that I can get in on one of these jobs and have gainful employment? Once I have the data, all I have to do is break it down and analyze it, then write the last chapters of my thesis and defend it. If I'm working, I can work on it an hour a night after my job, and then dedicate several hours to it on my one day off. I would also have to schedule my defense on my one day off from my job, which may be a bit tricky because one of the professors on my thesis panel travels a lot and he's usually only in town sporadically at best if class is not in session.

In a nutshell, scheduling far future events in the hopes that things will work out okay has been giving me problems. Also, predicting the future is not something I'm noted for, so trying to schedule aforementioned far future events is becoming very hit or miss for me, and I do not like it one bit.

-AMW

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Red Flags and Interviews

The interview I had today was a learning experience; namely, be wary of anyplace that sells life insurance and helps with overall investment finances, unless you already have a license to sell insurance. Also, being Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accredited apparently isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Here is a rundown of what happened. For everything that is a red flag to the situation not being as straightforward as it should be, I will put (RF#). For those of you who do not know what a red flag is, it's a point in a situation that should make your inner self say "oh really?" or "warning" or "Danger, Will Robinson!".

It started out by my walking into the building, finding the right office and then being greeted by an employee of the company. He took my resume, references and one of my new business cards (he complimented the design and color).

I was then escorted into a conference room (RF1), to wait with other potential hires before the presentation about the company began (RF2 & 3). I still have a folder full of informational material, which I read over before the presentation began, and I found three very obvious typos in a letter from one of the Executive Directors (RF4), as well as various other typos in the rest of the material, ranging from format to misuse of punctuation (RF5).

The presentation began and it all seemed to be very interesting; a go-getter attitude and a personable nature would apparently take a person a long way in this company. Then came the slide that talked about how, since this was a company that sold life insurance, we as potential hires would have to be accredited (RF6, since this was not mentioned in the placement ad on CareerBuilder). How is this done? Well, the company was willing to pay for the educational materials so we could learn what we needed before taking the exam for the insurance license, but some of the costs would have to come out of our own pocket (RF7 - This was also not mentioned in the CareerBuilder placement). The cost to us? A whopping $489 (RF8 -That much money covers about 75% of my bills for a month, and now that I don't have any money coming in from CSU, that's a lot of money to throw around).

But, the presenter assured us, that it would take us three months or less to get promoted to the next level within the company, and with that promotion we'll get a $500 bonus. So really, it wouldn't be spending $489 and never seeing it again; rather, it would just be back in our pockets at the most three-and-a-half months after we'd given it to the company, with $11 worth of interest (RF9)!

The presenter never explained how we could be promoted so quickly, or what we would have to do for those first three months (RF 10 & 11). In fact, other than promising quick promotions, she was incredibly vague about a number of things pertaining to our actual jobs (RF12).

Once the presentation was over, we were called one or two at a time for one-on-one interviews (there were three employees of the firm at the office this morning; one stayed in the conference room with us, and the other two held the one-on-one interviews). I was called relatively early, and I told the employee about the typos. She acknowledged them and agreed that they bugged her, but that looked like all she was going to do about it (though to be fair, I know that when you mass produce some literature, it's costly to go back and fix it and print everything again, and they can only do so much with what the head offices send them).

I also told her that I wasn't going to be able to swing the $489, because of my financial situation. She asked me if I could swing $250, because that was as low as she was allowed to go to help potential hires. I told her I would have to look at my financial situation before giving her an answer, and I would call her later today. After that, she was even more guarded and edgy about the answers she gave me (RF13). I asked her to describe what a normal day at the office would be like, after she asked me a series of questions about my resume; she never answered me, but told me that was something she would get into if I was called back for a second interview (RF14 - what kind of cloak and dagger operation are you running if you can't even describe a normal day at the office? Honestly). I didn't bother asking about pay and benefits; if she wasn't going to answer a simple, fairly non-invasive question, there was no way I was going to get an answer for those type of questions.

In the end, I shook her hand, thanked her for her time, and left. I came home, looked up my finances (yep, still poor), and called the company's office, leaving a message that I wouldn't be able to come up with the money, and thanked them again for their time.

I have to say it: for a place that is BBB Accredited, their hiring practices leave quite a bit to be desired. Also, I will reiterate from above: in their placement ads on CareerBuilder, it said nothing about needing an insurance license or giving the company money as part of the hiring process.

I think I'll be sticking to advertising agencies from now on, or any other field that doesn't have to do with finance or insurance; this experience actually left a bad taste in my mouth, and I thought that was just an expression.

-AMW

Monday, June 20, 2011

Interviews & Business Cards

My interview on Friday went well, and I feel really good about it. The manager was friendly and answered all of my questions, and seemed impressed with the detailed description of my past experience. The business itself seems really solid, and I look forward to another interview with their company. For privacy purposes, I've decided not to post the names of the companies with which I am interviewing on my job search; maybe at the end of the blog I'll put in a list of businesses that are really nice to their potential hires and have open information policies regarding their positions (in other words, answer all questions and don't seem to hide information from potential hires).

Today I checked the mail and my "Wordsmith for Hire" free business cards from Vistaprint were there! They actually look better in person than they did online, which I didn't think was possible. Now I can finally put my business card holder to proper use (I had been using it as a fancy wallet for when I had to dress up a bit more than usual). I can hand them out at job fairs along with my resume, or attach them to applications. I'm going to see how long it takes me to go through 250 of them, just to see how fast I can get some exposure.

Tomorrow morning I have an interview with another company for another management position. I'm hoping that this one goes just as well as the one on Friday did; I already have my outfit picked out and a copy of my resume ready. Things are looking up!

-AMW

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Getting an Interview and Getting Ready: Fretting About Wardrobe

I have applied for every manager position I could find on CareerBuilder.com within a 25-mile radius of my town that didn't require a very specific degree or set of skills that would take me 10 years to acquire. It took about nine to 10 hours to fill out all the forms and send my resume to the appropriate businesses.

The bad news? Massive, massive eye strain (I am thankful for eye drops).

The good news? I have already had one business call me and schedule an interview for tomorrow!

Now here is the conundrum: I lack some fashion sense as a woman, especially when it comes to professional attire. I own a business suit and several nice tops that can theoretically match said suit, even though I have no idea which one I should wear tomorrow. I have a really nice pair of comfortable shoes to match as well. I do own nice, simple, elegant jewelry that will hopefully compliment what I wear. The only makeup I own is lip gloss in varying shades of pink and plum, so it is easy to both put on and remove, and in all honesty, it's the only kind of makeup that makes sense and that I can stand to have on my face.

Many people would tell me to go buy makeup. Why? For the most part my skin is unblemished, so I don't need concealer. I have a naturally rosy complexion, so I don't need rouge. I can't wear mascara without it streaking my glasses. I have issues putting pointy things near my eyes so I don't like to use eye liner (because that would be putting a pointy thing full of chemicals near my eyes), and putting eye shadow on without eye liner looks ridiculous (as I found out when I tried it). I know that there is an expectation for women to wear makeup, but I honestly don't see the point of it.

One little other thing of note is that my business cards have not come in yet, and I was hoping to hand them out at interviews. However, I'd much have the interview without the business cards than no interview at all.

-AMW

Monday, June 13, 2011

Application Forms and the Joys of Being Labeled as Over-Qualified & Under-Experienced

I understand the need to get as much pertinent information as needed from an applicant. I do, really. However, the excessive amount of forms that everybody wants me to fill out for something as simple as a cash register position is ludicrous. Yes, I know that part of the whole application process is for legal purposes so everybody is on a level playing field. Yes, I also know that one's ability to fill out the application is also an indicator of how well an applicant can follow direction. My question against all the extraneous paperwork is this: how is it any easier on the Hiring Manager to look through a hand written application when the same information is right on my nicely typed and well formatted resume? I am annoyed by this particular set of hoops and red tape, it is true.

I have also been told by several people that I am in the interesting position of being over-qualified and under-experienced for pretty much everything I apply for, due to the fact that I am currently in the process of attaining my Master of Science degree, but my writing portfolio is not as large as it ought to be.

The above statement annoys me greatly, because I do have a great amount of experience. I have about five years worth of retail experience, over two of which I was also in a management position that handled the schedules of other people and oversaw inventory (including working with vendors and ordering supplies). Also during those two-plus years I was in charge of creating pamphlets and other advertising-type things, including a website (it was these PR type things that got me into graduate school in the first place). I also have a year-and-a-half of teaching and grading experience, which means I am willing and able to be friendly with lots of people and share information in an easy-to-understand manner, as well as being able to proofread/edit lots of paperwork (which any teaching assistant can tell you, because nobody can have 50 to 100 students per semester and then tell you s/he isn't a great editor/proofreader). So technically, I do in fact have the experience, but a lot of people do not view it as valid experience for the jobs to which I'm applying.

I have applied thus far to be everything from a manager of an EZ Loan office to a cashier at Barnes & Noble and have received no word back from any hiring entity. I have also attempted to get contract work for technical writing, but getting my foot in the door has proven to be a bit tougher than anticipated.

A foot in the door is all I need, but apparently all I have to show for trying at this point are stubbed toes. I guess now I need to invest in some (metaphorical) steel-toed boots.

-AMW

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The First Post

Well here I am, creating another blog...only this time, it's to help myself gain employment.

My name is Alice Malia Weaver, and I am currently in my last steps to acquiring my Master of Science in Public Communications & Technology. The last steps include finishing my thesis, as I have already finished all my coursework. However, as my attempts to get outside input that I need for my thesis have garnered little in the way of participation, I find myself looking for a job to help me pay my bills.

I am on CareerBuilder.com, as well as a few other sites. The reason I am making this blog is because of the following:
1) It is free and I need the exposure
2) I have been given 250 free business cards, and whilst designing them, I wanted to put a website on the cards
3) A blog chronicling my adventures in job searching will help me keep my spirits up as well as keep me organized

Hopefully I will gain employment sooner rather than later, but I have found that my well of patience is deep and abiding in all things, so if I have to wait to find a good job, I will wait.

So ends the first post.
-AMW