Re: Job Hunting Stories

["Randall Larson-Maynard" <RMAYNARD -at- INTERACTDEVICES -dot- COM>]

Kathy Frost

SNIP>
I'm interested in alternative ideas.  I'd like to hear from the list
(offline) about the most inventive or unusual way you found a job, or
suggestions for ideas you think might work in a down economy.  I'll write up
the answers as an article and submit it to Eric for the website, with a copy
to everyone who replies.
SNIP>

See below my signature line for a post I worked up for a the
sactechcommunicators discussion group. I wanted to add that Tom Murrell's
T-letter was a great tool (see post below).

--
Randall Larson-Maynard
Technical Writer/Communicator
Interact Devices, Inc.
randall -at- interactdevices -dot- com
--

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well, I finally found full-time work! I will be working in Folsom
at Interact Devices. I will have my own technical writing department
to get up-and-running. It's been quite a journey and sometimes it
seemed as if it would never end. In the process, I learned several
things about job hunting and I wanted to share them with you.

Let's start with some stats:

129 days, job hunting
84 resumes, sent
83 resumes sent via e-mail or Internet job site
1 resume sent via fax
80 resumes sent, from Internet finds
4 resumes sent, from networking finds
15 Internet job sites, used or registered/posted resumes on
1 job fair, attended
1 professional organization meeting, attended
5 phone interviews
4 in-person interviews
3 job offers
1 job offer declined (pay too low for position)
2 job offers accepted (one contract short-term, one full-time
permanent)
4.75 average hours hunting per day over 129 days, all days included
7 consulting/recruiting firms used
6 leads found by verbal and e-mail networking

Single Most Important Job Hunting Tool:
Handspring Visor Platinum PDA (any PDA would work)

The PDA allowed me to track and carry all my memos and reminders
regarding each contact, resume, e-mail, etc. This became invaluable
as the leads and resumes stacked up over time.

I made a memo for each contact and/or resume sent, in turn that
turned into a contact/follow-up reminder in my date book. There were
days when I had 18-20 contacts to make over the phone or by e-mail.
Having the reminders and having the ability to remember what each
contact was about made a huge difference in my sanity level. Contacts
that weren't made were simply moved to the next day. Contacts that
were rescheduled were moved to a date agreed on by the contact and
me. Alarms were very invaluable as well. With all the work that goes
into finding a job it was very easy to miss a contact appointment for
a certain time. Setting alarms in the date book made for no missed
chances.

Best Job Web Site:
Flipdog.com --> Seemed to have more jobs per day (I found my current
job on this site). I used 15 sites total. Some were specific to my
trade.

Best Salary Web Site:
Salary.com

Worst Mistake:
Sending a resume with the comapny nam missspeledd

Best Tips:
-- Network, network, network
-- Be persistent
-- Believe you will find work
-- Answer Internet Job Site leads from the actual corporate web site
-- Use a T-letter style cover letter
-- Use Word 97 for resumes

I had 6 solid leads from networking either verbally or by e-mail. Two
leads came from my wife's baby playgroup, one of which turned into an
offer I turned down. I've seen stats that say the Internet is worth
only 20 percent of actual job offers. I didn't work that way for me.
I found my job lead Flipdog.com. But, what made the difference was
having the one-on-one contact of an actual lead with a breathing
person. Sending resumes on the Internet is very impersonal and can be
very discouraging. Having "live" leads made my life more bearable. I
found several great resources by looking into area organizations. One
in particular was the Davis Area Technical Association. I got three
strong leads from one hour of networking at a monthly meeting.

Which leads me to being persistent and believing you will get work.
Stand tall and keep going. You will be turned-down, ignored, put-off,
led astray, and treated rudely on occasion. Remember, it's probably
not you that has the problem. You either don't fit into what the job
needs, the hiring person or HR person is having a bad day (or life!),
or fill-in-the-blank who knows what. You will find work. Believe in
that.

I used a ton of Internet Job Sites. It seemed if I sent a resume
through the Internet job web site the resume fell into limbo-land. I
almost never heard anything. Even phone and e-mail follow ups were
dead-ends. Two tricks here: always check the corporate web site to
see if the job is still listed (Sometimes it's not listed anymore,
but send in your resume anyway and explain in the cover letter where
you saw the listing) and follow the directions for on-line applying
exactly to-the-letter (This is your first contact and it can also be
a test to see how sharp you are at following rules and directions;
read carefully, sometimes they can be tricky!).

Use Word 97 for sending resumes as e-mail attachments (unless
otherwise stated). Most everyone can read your resume in 97. If you
have a newer version of Word, back save to 97. USE spell check and
have at least three people proof your resume.

Here's a great cover letter tip. I used this and it was very
effective. See this URL:
<http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/employmentarticles/tletter.html.> I
had several hiring people tell me that my cover letter was what made
the difference. It states in the article to not send a resume, I
disagree since most will ask for a resume and you had better follow
the rules! I made the cover letter on the first page, inserted a page
break and started the resume on page two.

One last thing about resumes, don't be too concerned about length.
Mine was three pages not including the cover letter. No one ever
complained. Did it cost me jobs? Who knows, but I felt better
representing myself properly.


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