Re: Employment history low points

["Jeff Hanvey" <jewahe -at- lycos -dot- co -dot- uk>]

I second Diane's anecdotal experience. I was out of work for over a year,
and didn't have the resources to do traditional networking (No STC group
within reasonable driving distance, no "job fairs" for professionals, and
*very* limited funds).

I ended up taking a temp gig, and because it was on per-hour basis and I was
commuting 1 1/2 one-way to the low-paying job (We're talking about Alabama,
after all - even in "good" times, the market is depressed there), my options
were limited.

My only recourse was to use Monster, et cetera. However, I wouldn't reply to
jobs that didn't offer "the personal touch" - an email address, phone
number, and name of a contact person. I also culled a list of "good"
recruiters from STC databases in the area and kept them up-to-date with my
resume and availability. I'd also contact people I'd worked with in the
past - I bet a went though three or four reams of paper over the course of
the year.

Upon advice, I also changed my cover letter so that *I* remained in control
of contacting people - and I did, following up within a week of initial
contact with a telephone call or email.

The only point I'd refute is the necessity of the T-letter. I had a a job
counsellor look at different versions of the letter (one was was in a
bulletted format, the other used a table), and he was very, very critical.
These letters, he said, looked too much like a resume. He suggested that the
while the resume should sell the *hard* skills of past employement, the
cover letter should sell my personality and work ethic.

So I revised the cover letter, focusing on my philosophy of technical
writing. The response was immediate - more call backs, a few more
interviews, and, within two months, my current (non-contract!) position.
After being hired, the manager told me that the only reason I got the job
was because of my cover letter. <tooting my own horn>She thought it was more
interesting, showed more reflection and thought, and together with my
resume, presented a professional, skilled writer who couldn't help but be an
asset to the company</tooting>.

The things I learned during this long vacation is that getting a job is
about chance and timing - but you control both by 1) constantly revising
your resume and cover letter; 2) Contacting people - In fact, be aggressive
in contacting them; 3) Keeping faith in your self (this was the hardest for
me to learn: after six months, rejection turned personal, so I had given up
on myself and technical writing - I didn't send out a single resume for over
three months. I decided to go back to school, and my successes there gave me
back my hope - and encouraged me to begin sending resumes out again).

Jeff Hanvey
Augusta, GA
jewahe -at- lycos -dot- co -dot- uk


----- Original Message -----
From: "Diane Evans" <diane_evans -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Cc: <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 3:43 PM
Subject: Re: Employment history low points


>
> I thought I would add my 2 cents worth..
>
> >No, I think recruiters are gasping for life and will do just about
anything
> >to close a deal. So, avoid recruiters. Work your own contacts
>
>
> Recruiters have a place in the greater scheme of things.  I don't avoid
> recruiters, but I do choose carefully
>
>
> >It never ceases to amaze me how bent out of shape people get when they
feel
> >a company isn't doing things according to some universal rule book
>
> There is a rule book out there, but I haven't found it yet.  Life in
general
> is a game -- figure out the rules, play the game, and you win.  Buck the
> system (at least in public), and you lose
>
> >The reason most people don't get interviewed for jobs is not because of
> >some global conspiracy to oppress the little guy but because those people
> >are TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED for the job
>
> I've collected resumes for several positions in the last couple of years.
I
> agree that many totally unqualified people apply for jobs.  Often, though,
> the very qualified ones don't know how to write an effective resume and/or
> cover letter.  Why should I spend time reformatting a resume that has been
> "dumped" off of monster.com when another tech writer who cared enough to
> format a resume is available?
>
> > > In reality though, the odds of getting a job through a national
> > > database are probably lower than getting hit by lightning
>
> I strongly disagree with this statement.  Every job I ever obtained in the
> high tech industry was found through a national database.  I've said it
> before, and will say it many more times:  the secret to getting a job is
> having a top-notch resume, a T-letter-based cover letter, and putting up
> with a lot of rejection
>
> (Mathematical factoid:  If 100 people apply for a job, only 1 can be
chosen.
>   So, if you apply for 100 jobs, the chances are you will be chosen for
one
> of them)




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