Work is work - or why job application forms and CVs are bullsh!t

[T_Bone]

KennyR wrote:
Well, another promising placement turned down without even requesting an interview. The most promising in a long while in fact. It only took them a day to refuse it.

Funny how your home changes from a castle to a prison when you've been unemployed for a long time. This is really, really starting to get me down.

Come to North Carolina, plenty of jobs here, despite what you hear. (unless you're looking for an IT job.) Hell, you could walk right in to one of our evil Pharmecuitical companies and be working tomorrow. ;-)

(Then we can work on converting you into a moneygrubbing Republican ;-))

[iamaboringperson]

Work is work - or why job application forms and CVs are bullsh!t

But people aint people. And IMO, that's the whole thing you have to remember here.

[that_punk_guy]

iamaboringperson wrote:
But people aint people.

:-?

@KennyR

Are you getting outside enough? Trust me, as soon as you have work you'll be so annoyed at yourself if you haven't been making the most of the spare time you have right now. :-)

And try being happy. Being open to it is half the battle. And that's not game-playing if it's genuine. ;-)

Of course you know all this, but you have to believe it too. Or something. Ummm.... Go to sleep, I must.

[smithy]

This is really, really starting to get me down.

Have you considered applying for jobs outside of your field?  For example in a call centre, doing data entry, or maybe in a shop or a bar?

It might not be what you want, but:

a. it'd only be temporary while you find something in your field
b. the experience will look good on your CV & applications
c. it'll provide a bit of a confidence boost in the world of work and will help you with future applications
d. it's easier to find work when in work
e. it'll provide you with some cash

[KennyR]

T_Bone wrote:
Hell, you could walk right in to one of our evil Pharmecuitical companies and be working tomorrow.

No I couldn't. American chemistry standards are fundamentally different from European ones. I'd need to be retrained and re-educated. Why would any company in America do that when they could just hire an American?

[KennyR]

tpg wrote:
Are you getting outside enough?

I go to the jobcentre for ten minutes every two weeks.

[KennyR]

Smithy wrote:
Have you considered applying for jobs outside of your field? For example in a call centre, doing data entry, or maybe in a shop or a bar?

There's no way I would work in a call centre or shop/bar. That's not that I disrespect people who do, but they're like teaching - jobs that clash with me so much that I'd rather starve even than think about them. Talk to people constantly? Not for me.

a. it'd only be temporary while you find something in your field
b. the experience will look good on your CV & applications
c. it'll provide a bit of a confidence boost in the world of work and will help you with future applications
d. it's easier to find work when in work
e. it'll provide you with some cash

I agree with all these apart from b. The experience will make me look less like a total layabout, but it's not relevant to my field and will hardly make me look great compared to other graduates.

[mikeymike]

KennyR wrote:

tpg wrote:
Are you getting outside enough?

I go to the jobcentre for ten minutes every two weeks.

So that would be 'no' :-)

I think you need to decide on a different career KennyR.  You must have been looking for a job as a lab tech for at least a year and no interviews?  Wake up and smell the coffee...

[KennyR]

Why, what other job field do you recommend me to search for for half a year and get no interviews for next?

[smithy]

There's no way I would work in a call centre or shop/bar. That's not that I disrespect people who do, but they're like teaching - jobs that clash with me so much that I'd rather starve even than think about them. Talk to people constantly? Not for me.

What about a job in data entry, say?  You don't have to talk to anyone, the money's reasonable and it's very easy.

I agree with all these apart from b. The experience will make me look less like a total layabout, but it's not relevant to my field and will hardly make me look great compared to other graduates.

I don't think it would.  There is a small danger of appearing to de-skill yourself in front of an employer yuo want to work for if you take a job in an another area, but this'll only happen if you play it wrong on your applications.  Rather than just listing the (say) data-entry job on CV, you can also mention on your covering letter that you are particularly enthusiastic to become involved in and make it clear that you don't consider your current job's field as a long term thing, although don't say that - say you're keen to apply to the skills you learned at uni.  You can also extract a whole load of Good Things out of any job.  Even with data-entry you can talk about self-motivation, attention to accuracy/detail, etc, etc..

By the way... you've mentioned working on your CV and application forms in the past - have you got a decent covering letter too?  It seems to be "good form" at the moment to write about 3 or 4 paragraphs and pull out the highlights of your CV.

[Methuselas]

@ KennyR

I know how you feel, Mate. I'm almost 31 and I've been unemployed for a year now. I've been living off the kindness of friends and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here writing this message.  

There's nothing wrong at all with having pride. My last two jobs I lost, due to pride. The first one, I was a manager at a pet store and my store manager locked an abandoned cat in a cat carrier for over 18 hours, without access to food, water, or a litter box. Upon discovering the animal, I informed our groomer that she was to bathe the animal (who had defficated all over itself). She refused and I took it upon myself to take care of the animal after we closed the store. Needless to  say, some customers found the cat, who I had then placed in a 'cat cage' in the front of the store. They accused me of abusing animals, took the cat from my store and to a vet, who called me and informed me that the cat had a respitory and urinary infection. If I didn't take care of the animal, I would be charged with animal cruelty. I called my manager and confronted him about it, who informed me 'he didn't think it was a problem'. I filed a complaint with the corporate office and was fired two days later.

The last job I had, I was being harassed by my supervisor. I filed a complaint against him and even had proof of the fact. After HIS boss blew me off, I went to human resources and filed a complaint against my supervisor and his boss. I went to lunch one day, only to come back and get fired because I was 'viewing pornography'. Their proof was someone logging into my machine, while I was at lunch who 'found' it. I took legal action against the company and prepared a 30 page deposition against them. What was their proof against me? Nothing. In fact, they didn't even have PICTURES of what they accused me of 'looking' at. The judge decided in favor of me, but guess what? I still lost. I didn't get my job back (not that I wanted it), I didn't get severance pay, I didn't get anything. In fact, all I got out of it was difficulty finding a job out of it. I'm classified as a troublemaker now. Oh, and a month after I was fired, the said supervisor was terminated for sexual harassment.

I have 3 years of college as a commercial artist, but I made the mistake of moving to Texas, where there is NO demand for  graphic arts. I have YEARS of IT experience, but I don't have my MCSE, so I'm not considered for hiring. I have tech support experience, but most companies are outsourcing now, thanks to Bush.

The only job I had ANY security in was with the military, but I was a sniper and quite frankly, I don't feel like killing anymore. It leaves a nasty taste in your mouth and it's one that will never go away. I could go back to the Army, but then I get sent to Iraq to do what I told myself I'd never do again.

You have to have hope. It's all we've got. If you lose that, you lose everything and none of us have that much to give.


-M

@MikeyMike

Thanks Mate! For the first time, in a long time, I feel alot better. Thanks for the second wind.

[mikeymike]

KennyR wrote:
Why, what other job field do you recommend me to search for for half a year and get no interviews for next?

Fine KennyR.  Wallow in your own pit of misery.  As an Amiga.org user, I'd prefer it if you didn't do it here.

But to clue you in on something, I'm in much the same position as you are, as are my brothers and sister, but none of us are whining about it on forums.  We all have jobs of some sort, and we're all trying to get better employment.  I could tell you my sob story, which I can guarantee is ten times worse than yours, but that would be missing the point.

Methuselas wrote:
@MikeyMike

Thanks Mate! For the first time, in a long time, I feel alot better. Thanks for the second wind.

You mean Desiderata?  Yeah, I read it from time to time when I need it :-)

[sumner7]

I'm going to apply for a job at my local Spar shop soon. :-D

[that_punk_guy]

There goes the neighbourhood.

[macto]

There's no way I would work in a call centre or shop/bar. [...] Talk to people constantly? Not for me.

I worked in a call centre for several months.  I had a physics degree, another chap had a math degree, another chap was also doing web design for a local university (he needed the money to support a budding family).  I was working with people.  The people we called were almost always disrespectful.  They were not people.

I agree with all these apart from b. The experience will make me look less like a total layabout, but it's not relevant to my field and will hardly make me look great compared to other graduates.

I never put the call center on my CV.  There was no need to because I was employed every calendar year.  On the other hand, you mentioned that you haven't held a job.  You may need to put down any job experience to show that you are employable.

There is nothing wrong with looking for work outside of your field.  I only agreed with you about misrepresenting yourself on a job application.

[sir_inferno]

Methuselas wrote:

The only job I had ANY security in was with the military, but I was a sniper and quite frankly, I don't feel like killing anymore. It leaves a nasty taste in your mouth and it's one that will never go away. I could go back to the Army, but then I get sent to Iraq to do what I told myself I'd never do again.

WOAH, dude, i have 50 tonnes of respect for you...snipers are cool.......anyway


i've havn't even gone to uni, and i'm going to pass a microsoft certified proffesional exam...to get some easy job with high pay position as a network administrator someplace...  :-D