Comments on: Review: What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here?

By: Anthony Johnston

Anthony Johnston — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:23:45 +0000

Nice post.
I agree about checking out your on-line persona
I was asked in a recent interview which online social networks I use, as I listed them the guy furiously wrote down every one.
They do check, after all its easy to do.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:56:34 +0000

Why is it that people will not look at those they deem overqualified? I am currently looking for a job and am pretty flexible on the pay due to my husband’s salary covering most of our bills. I keep getting those emails that say “Your resume is impressive but we don’t think you would be a good fit.” How do they know? I have several years experience doing what they need. I am not looking for a high salary, but the median area just enough to cover our bills. Hubby gets extra bonus money during the summer/fall so we can use that to plan vacations.

It is just frustrating because you would think that they would be happy to find someone that is highly skilled and are obviously interested in that position.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:35:06 +0000

I’m a grad student in Speech Pathology right now. When I finish up my masters in about a year, I will be looking for a job. Something my supervisor told me about resume-writing for our field is to never include your GPA on your resume. She said that this would look stuck up and people would not want to hire you. This came as a complete surprise to me. I figured that when you’re a new grad, your GPA and references are the only way of knowing your strength as a candidate. I wonder if this is something specific to Speech Pathology, or maybe education in general?

By: Zingy

Zingy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:16:16 +0000

It’s so true about resumes. Every manager in my former workplace wouldn’t bother reading them, one manager had the gall to say that they only skimmed it.

By: Izabelle

Izabelle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:14:47 +0000

Lynoure: I see what you mean, but this is where a well-written cover letter would be crucial. Still, one thing I really look for in a new recruit is a certain thirst for challenge.

By: Anissa Stein

Anissa Stein — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:36:28 +0000

Sometimes, I wonder why so many people are trying to get onto or stay on the hamster wheel of corporate America, but I think that comes from not always knowing what you want to do. We start off thinking one thing, doing it and then realize it’s just not fulfilling.

Some suggestions that have worked with me are: 1) giving yourself some space to consider this question: what kind of job could bring me pride and pleasure? The answer is not going to come to you in a flash, just let it simmer. But keep asking yourself this question at least once a day. Eventually, your brain will answer you. 2) it also helps to ask those who do enjoy their jobs what are the aspects that makes them most happy? This will stimulate your own thought processes about working. Lastly 3) when you are bored, stuck, restless, etc. – look for those moments at work when you do have a moment of happiness or pleasure. Start compiling those moments in your head and you will begin to see patterns.

It is how I realized after being in operations and project management that I learned that what I like most about both jobs is guiding others in their careers and seeing them gain success. The aspect of coaching others is where I derived my professional fulfillment, not the actual job of managing, or running a project, etc. It took a while, but I used some of these steps and it helped a great deal. Good luck!

By: Jules

Jules — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:28:07 +0000

I want to turn your part about crafting a resume into a baseball bat and beat my counterpart over the head with it–he’s convinced that it doesn’t matter what it looks like; I KNOW it does.

By: BonzoGal

BonzoGal — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:41:17 +0000

Be careful with the negotiating part- my company just rejected a candidate because he was pushing WAY too hard for what he felt he deserved. He was coming from a large corporation and we’re a very small one, but he kept emphasizing what he was giving up to come work for us. After we told him “final offer”, he pushed again- and we told him thanks but no thanks after all. Now he’s calling and asking us to give him our original offer, but everyone here is convinced that he’s only interested in his finances, not our projects.

That being said, not accepting the very first offer is a good idea- because companies often low-ball people right off the bat.

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:15:32 +0000

This just reminds me (again) that I need to finally read Parachute, it’s been a while since I said I was going to read it and never did.

By: gr8whyte

gr8whyte — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:46:35 +0000

The most amazing resume I’ve ever seen had a long list of widgets with no description of what the applicant did with them. Turned out he had operated them but no flavor of “operate” appeared in his resume. His resume simply had no verbs.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:16:42 +0000

Hahaha… Office Space. Classic.

By: Lynoure

Lynoure — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:36:35 +0000

Izabelle: Why are over-qualified people wasting their time and yours? Sometimes people have burned out or for other reasons want a job they are 100% sure they can excel in. Sometimes they are so in love with your company that they want any job there, even an entry level one. Of course if they are also asking twice as much as the job should reasonably pay, then they are wasting their time.

By: tiffanie

tiffanie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:17:43 +0000

this is useful for me…being unemployed in the state with highest unemployment (Michigan) is a tough gig to get rid of. ugh. thanks for the tips :)

By: Red

Red — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:06:29 +0000

Having worked at a print shop, it always bothers me when resumes are submitted on shoddy paper.

Fortunately, it’s more and more likely I’ll get scans as opposed to actual resumes, so it’s less likely they’ll be subjected to my bias.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:40:17 +0000

I don’t think there’s ever a good reason to drink an entire bottle of orange flavored liqueur and consume a pre-made, frozen, pound cake. I’d hate to see what someone who mourns this way does to celebrate…

Good review, I will have to check out the book.

By: Izabelle

Izabelle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:32:36 +0000

I am currently in the middle of hiring somebody, sifting through the second round of resumes. Why do people mostly get rejected? My main reasons are:

- Spelling mistakes and/or sloppy layout (if you cannot apply yourself to your resume, how can I trust you to be thorough with your job?)

- Pompous statements with little or no meaning

- Vastly over-qualified (that people who have a lot of experience in their field apply for an entry-level job baffles me. Why waste their time and mine?)

- Whiny cover letter (if changing fields, do not diss the past one, keep it upbeat)

- Stating outrageous salary expectations (negotiating is nice, but asking for twice the starting average in an entry-level job may make the recruiter giggle)

By: Spending Smarts

Spending Smarts — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:50:03 +0000

As a current job-hunter, thanks for this review! While a lot of the advice isn’t particularly groundbreaking, there’s still good insight along with the stand-bys that bear repeating.

By: Kevin (ReturnToManliness)

Kevin (ReturnToManliness) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:31:06 +0000

I have an MBA and have been in corporate finance or a professional setting for over 15 years now. I have had a few jobs, but the same career. I am getting burned out. I'm NOT alone. I can't find someone my age that doesn't feel the same way. We all know we have to work and we have to put food on the table, but our generation (Gex-X) is getting tired...VERY tired. It is not being weak or being spoiled, we are just realizing that there is more to life to getting ahead in the cubicle world. The best advice I can give to anyone (including myself) is find out what you want to do first. If you don't know, put on the blue jeans and T-shirt and get a job that has NOTHING to do with what you are doing right now. Use TheSimpleDollar to figure out ways to limit the expenses while you take the hit on salary. The money will come, but nothing can replace your desire to be interested in what you are doing for a living.

By: Macinac

Macinac — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:26:01 +0000

Back when I used to read resumes occasionally, I found my self put off by too much bragging and too much slickness and the use of cliches. Perhaps that’s just my personality asserting itself. I was a worker bee who the boss would sometimes ask to participate in the hiring process.