WaMuuMuu

I have an interview for next Wednesday.

It's with a newspaper in a town about 20-30 minutes away.
I know that originally I have said that I did not want to do journalism, even though I graduated with that degree. However, I have come to realize that in this economy, you have to get a job and then ride out this bad stretch.

I would estimate that this bad stretch will continue for at least one or two more years.
And clearly, the $1.50 that I've earned this month writing this blog is not going to be paying any bills. On the upside, I have had almost 500 hits. Google told me.

So, even though I did not want to get into journalism, I am going to give it another chance. Don't get me wrong, I like journalism, but sometimes it can be quite frustrating, such as when a source doesn't call back or when I'm having trouble with a story. That, fortunately, does not happen very often.

And, writing for a newspaper will give me the opportunity to continue writing, which is something I like to do. I'm planning on writing a variety of things. I've held off writing for myself (other than this blog, but hey, it's for you after all) since I've been searching for a job.

It's funny because after two months of searching I'm closest to having a job through doing none of the hard work that I've proclaimed. Well, sort of. Networking has worked the best. It's hard for me to say it.

I look at myself and I know quite a few people. It makes me wonder what people do when they do not know a whole lot of people. Oh, wait. I know what they do. They line up at the unemployment office and take my money.

I once watched a video in one of my classes from the '70s or '80s (well, maybe the '90s) that showed people who scammed the US government into getting welfare. I can't even imagine how many people do that now.

Especially in this economy.



If you try hard enough, eventually you'll catch a break. The odds will slowly be in your favor. It might take two months like it did for me or it might take six months like I heard about for one person. It might take two years.

That would suck big time.

So that's my final advice. (For today?)
Networking will pay dividends. Let people know you are searching for a job.
Don't be afraid to turn down job offers. It might be the greatest thing you ever do.

Oh, and a little anecdote:

I interviewed for this sales position. The guy told me if I wanted the job to call him. I called him a few days later. He didn't answer. I left a message and he called me back a couple days later. I told him I didn't want to take the job.

He acted all cool, saying "oh, well that works out for both of us. I wasn't sure you really wanted to do it." Now, when I was interviewing, he was super pumped to hire me. Like he wanted me to start the next day. But, not wanting to be too pushy he told me to call in the next couple days.

He also told me he wasn't good at sales and all that baloney. Too bad I'm not an idiot. Classic sales technique. (Seriously watch the video connected to "Classic") Always look like the bigger person.

So don't take jobs that you don't want to, just because you need a job.

Millions of people do that.

And now look where we are.

Why Craig, Why?

Craigslist. Where one man's trash is another man's garbage.
But hey, you can sell it!

There's jobs on craigslist. Actually, it might be where some of my most promising hits have occurred. I applied for this one job, a web design manager last week. As with every job that I apply for, I was under qualified for the position. But hey, they (advisers and such) tell you to just apply anyway. I did. It worked out. Well, sort of. About 10 minutes later I received a call scheduling an interview. I went, it was pretty laid back and a genuine interview. I'm actually still waiting to hear back from them. I called them today and they still hadn't made a decision.

But on to crapslist. (Yep.) Craigslist is also littered with scams. That's why a job-seeker has to be smart on "the list." You should try never to send an e-mail to the craigslist e-mail that is provided. Instead, you have to be smart and look for a specific website or e-mail address that goes straight to the company. Seriously, every e-mail that I send to the craigslist-supplied e-mail gives me an automated response telling me that I have to sign up at some ridiculous website for the position. Then, they never stop e-mailing you with useless "opportunities."

Actually, all you have to do is unsubscribe from the list, which is a requirement (for the automatic e-mail to have) by U.S. Congressional law.

Additionally, when searching for jobs on craigslist, never click on the links that have the little "img" (it means image) next to the title post. Those are scams. They won't work.

Craigslist, however, does have good sorting, and simple text-based posts so pages don't take long to load. I like this. Also good (well decent at least) is indeed.com. That website generates feeds from a variety of different sources. Unfortunately, some of them are dead links or for about the 1 billion heathcare jobs that exist currently. Use the search technique and you can find a few eggs in the rough.

The real question is, what should you do after you send your resume off into cyberspace, or to an e-mail. I read a yahoo job tips post today outlining bad things to do when you send off your resume. Number 8: Wait for them to call you. Then it goes on to explain that you shouldn't wait, you should go after them.

Say I'd like to apply to Comcast. I see that they are not hiring for my specific qualifications. Regardless, I'd like to call them to see if there's something else. Except I can't call. There is no phone number listed to call the local place, which is where I'd like to work. I literally searched for about 20 minutes, and granted, I'm pretty good with the Internet. I know tricks that you would never believe for searching random stuff.

Too bad, because I'd love to work for some of these companies. Some of them would love to have me as an employee, I'd be willing to bet. Pretty much every employer I've ever had has relied on me pretty heavily, which I don't mind one bit. I get bored easily and I like having things to do.

Which might be why I'm so annoyed that I don't have a job.

What The Flip, Internet

So there are jobs that are posted on the Internet.

They are not real. They are fake jobs, or scams.
Take, for example, monster.com or yahoo hotjobs.

What wonderful ideas these seem to be. Now, when I was first looking for a job, I thought that if I posted my resume on these sites, I would get some results. There would be people looking to hire me. I would be seen and had some eyebrows raised at.

Nope.


Most of the jobs posted on monster or hotjobs are scams or "career" opportunities that I am way over qualified for. My favorite jobs are the work-at-home jobs that say that there is unlimited potential. I have a tab open on hotjobs. The first available career opportunity is for an "International Diet Corporation Will Pay YOU $6000 Per Month To Process Weight Loss Orders From Home!"

Wow! That's so awesome! I can make some bank. Whoa there, cowboy. Actually you have to sign up for their service to find out how to make this kind of money. It's basically the people that got booted off of eBay for scams moved over to the job market. Now, the postings literally litter these sites. Which means that these sites are not actually resources at all. They are spam. They are ads. They are scams.


Also on these sites, there are employment staffing companies that flood the boards with job "opportunities." Instead of actually applying for the job that they post, you are forced to go over to the staffing company's website and register to send your resume. Then, after sending your resume, you never hear from them again. Or, they send you an e-mail that asks you to send your resume (again!) to them so they can "review it and get back to you."



They never get back to you.
They just send more e-mail asking for another resume.

Every time I see a job post that I like, or that I might be qualified for, it's not actually for that company. Instead, it's for some other random company that will never actually get your resume to the correct people.

The crazy thing is, I'm sure there are people making money off of these "services." I can't get a job and there are people scamming a genuine workforce out there. In a bad economy.

Go Internet!

Tomorrow: Other sites that are better. And worse. Monstrous.