Job Hunt Thread

[Chisoxfn]

100% agreed.

 

Organizations give you a network of alumni that can help you, while providing resources to help build yourself and your resume. Most internships that I have seen are not just for extra work to be done for the company, but are an investment in you by the company. Almost every friend I have that has obtained an internship has walked away from it with at least a pitch to work for the company, if not a hard offer. The big 4 accounting firms basically guarantee a full time position to it's interns as long as they don't mess up terribly (they even hold get togethers at the end of the internship with all the interns present to tell them of their offers at some locations).

 

Also, for future interviews, organizations and internships give great material to draw from. When you are able to show in your answers that you have experience within areas of leadership, communication, teamwork, time management, etc while actually being able to pull specific real life examples. It also can give confidence to an interviewer that someone had faith in you earlier to elect you into a position or to assign you a project.

I agree 100%. I did Beta Alpha Psi and Accounting Society and it set me up with a huge network. I know people in all the big 4 firms, plus mid-tier firms and as those people go into private industry I still know them and than have connections within a lot of finance/accounting departments. In addition, as you work, your network continues to grow as you work with lots of different people who also go on to do their seperate things.

 

In the professional world, you can only go as far as your network. Yes, you need to have smarts, but you also need to know people because that relationship can open to the door to new avenues and opportunities which wouldn't have been available to you without the network (or at least much more difficult to get in).

[The Beast]

I agree 100%. I did Beta Alpha Psi and Accounting Society and it set me up with a huge network. I know people in all the big 4 firms, plus mid-tier firms and as those people go into private industry I still know them and than have connections within a lot of finance/accounting departments. In addition, as you work, your network continues to grow as you work with lots of different people who also go on to do their seperate things.

 

In the professional world, you can only go as far as your network. Yes, you need to have smarts, but you also need to know people because that relationship can open to the door to new avenues and opportunities which wouldn't have been available to you without the network (or at least much more difficult to get in).

Okay, but for someone who finished his undergraduate degree at a school that didn't have PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) and was a small private liberal arts college, contacts were limited. I'm thinking of the only way to get into an organization that is close to where I want to work/be is at DePaul, where they have the Master's in Public Relations degree. Otherwise I am not sure of what organizations to join since all I did in school was work for a radio station and newspaper for the first two years and then the sports information department at my institution. This isn't exactly applicable to what I want to do in the business world (PR), so I am going to have to find the limited paid internships out there.

[Kyyle23]

Okay, but for someone who finished his undergraduate degree at a school that didn't have PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) and was a small private liberal arts college, contacts were limited. I'm thinking of the only way to get into an organization that is close to where I want to work/be is at DePaul, where they have the Master's in Public Relations degree. Otherwise I am not sure of what organizations to join since all I did in school was work for a radio station and newspaper for the first two years and then the sports information department at my institution. This isn't exactly applicable to what I want to do in the business world (PR), so I am going to have to find the limited paid internships out there.

 

 

Good lord man, all you ever see and talk about is what you DONT have and CANNOT get. People who want it, get it. End of story. Sometimes you gotta muck around in the s*** before you sit in first class. no pun intended.

 

 

Just because a door is closed doesnt mean you cannot open it.

[The Beast]

Good lord man, all you ever see and talk about is what you DONT have and CANNOT get. People who want it, get it. End of story. Sometimes you gotta muck around in the s*** before you sit in first class. no pun intended.

 

Just because a door is closed doesnt mean you cannot open it.

That may have been one of the better comments I have seen you post - thanks.

[kjshoe04]

Okay, but for someone who finished his undergraduate degree at a school that didn't have PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) and was a small private liberal arts college, contacts were limited. I'm thinking of the only way to get into an organization that is close to where I want to work/be is at DePaul, where they have the Master's in Public Relations degree. Otherwise I am not sure of what organizations to join since all I did in school was work for a radio station and newspaper for the first two years and then the sports information department at my institution. This isn't exactly applicable to what I want to do in the business world (PR), so I am going to have to find the limited paid internships out there.

I'm in the same situation as you. Except you haven't even graduated. I've been done for a year now and still have nothing. I blame myself though. I have no idea what I want to do and find it hard to work at getting something when I don't have a desire for any field out there. You should be glad that you at least have some sort of notion of what you are interested in. At least you can get out there and start trying to make connections that will lead you in the direction you want to go. It really sucks when you have no desire for any job out there.

[The Beast]

I'm in the same situation as you. Except you haven't even graduated. I've been done for a year now and still have nothing. I blame myself though. I have no idea what I want to do and find it hard to work at getting something when I don't have a desire for any field out there. You should be glad that you at least have some sort of notion of what you are interested in. At least you can get out there and start trying to make connections that will lead you in the direction you want to go. It really sucks when you have no desire for any job out there.

You have no interest in anything? What was your undergraduate degree? What did you want to do as a kid? What are your skills in?

[Y2HH]

You have no interest in anything? What was your undergraduate degree? What did you want to do as a kid? What are your skills in?

 

Sometimes, the things we think we like, we find out after long years of study, that when doing then professionally, they lose the luster they once held. Growing up, I loved computer programming...the idea of being able to command a machine to do what you want, and being able to stretch it's abilities was beyond comprehension to me...I followed this into my college career, earning a bachelors degree in computer science, focusing on programming. Needless to say, three months before graduation, sitting in the computer lab, I looked up at the screen and the Visual C++ code on the screen and laughed aloud, and swore at that moment...I'll never program professionally...I hate it.

 

Fast forward over 13 years into my career in computers, and I've never programmed once since graduation.

 

I consider myself lucky, I figured out what I didn't want to do in the computer field early on, and also accidentally led my way into what I did want to do, which ended up bring computer security...which at the time I had never even heard of.

Edited March 16, 2011 by Y2HH

[kjshoe04]

You have no interest in anything? What was your undergraduate degree? What did you want to do as a kid? What are your skills in?

I have a degree in business. Figured it was pretty general so that I could try and find something that would suit me. I'm pretty good with numbers and good with people but not very good at talking on the phone.

[iamshack]

Sometimes, the things we think we like, we find out after long years of study, that when doing then professionally, they lose the luster they once held. Growing up, I loved computer programming...the idea of being able to command a machine to do what you want, and being able to stretch it's abilities was beyond comprehension to me...I followed this into my college career, earning a bachelors degree in computer science, focusing on programming. Needless to say, three months before graduation, sitting in the computer lab, I looked up at the screen and the Visual C++ code on the screen and laughed aloud, and swore at that moment...I'll never program professionally...I hate it.

 

Fast forward over 13 years into my career in computers, and I've never programmed once since graduation.

 

I consider myself lucky, I figured out what I didn't want to do in the computer field early on, and also accidentally led my way into what I did want to do, which ended up bring computer security...which at the time I had never even heard of.

I second this notion. I went to law school, and as I was completing my exams in my final semester, I realized I had no desire to practice law. I just didn't care much for the culture at all. I adored my experience in law school, but didn't feel the same way about my work in law firms. I have no intention of practicing law, although I certainly utilize the skills I learned in law school every day in my current job.

 

The key is to parlay the skills you have learned, the relationships you have developed, and the things you do well and enjoy doing into a job you can be happy with, both professionally and personally.

[witesoxfan]

After 3 months of applying for jobs, things are finally starting to look up a little bit. There's nothing sexy about them, but I have a meeting with Aflac next Tuesday to, I believe, be an independent insurance salesperson. I talked to a woman today about a chance to cook sample food products at places like Sam's Club and Wal-Mart, which is not a sexy job in the least but pays $11/hr and is generally very easy work and would also allow me to further develop my customer service and verbal communication skills. There are also a couple of other jobs - washing windows ($12/hr, but it's an all summer job and I'd like to move in the middle of the summer...my brother-in-law knows the owner of the business so I don't want to screw him over in the middle of the summer) and possibly filling fertilizer trucks as well (though that would be temporary). I also still have several other applications outstanding, but I'm feeling pretty good at this point. Just need to make enough money to get on my feet, and then I'm going to get up and go.

[iamshack]

After 3 months of applying for jobs, things are finally starting to look up a little bit. There's nothing sexy about them, but I have a meeting with Aflac next Tuesday to, I believe, be an independent insurance salesperson. I talked to a woman today about a chance to cook sample food products at places like Sam's Club and Wal-Mart, which is not a sexy job in the least but pays $11/hr and is generally very easy work and would also allow me to further develop my customer service and verbal communication skills. There are also a couple of other jobs - washing windows ($12/hr, but it's an all summer job and I'd like to move in the middle of the summer...my brother-in-law knows the owner of the business so I don't want to screw him over in the middle of the summer) and possibly filling fertilizer trucks as well (though that would be temporary). I also still have several other applications outstanding, but I'm feeling pretty good at this point. Just need to make enough money to get on my feet, and then I'm going to get up and go.

Perhaps you could mention to AFLAC that you'd like to take Gilbert Godfrey's role as the voice of the duck

 

I kid...good stuff though Blake...have to be willing to take what is there for the taking!

[witesoxfan]

Perhaps you could mention to AFLAC that you'd like to take Gilbert Godfrey's role as the voice of the duck

 

I kid...good stuff though Blake...have to be willing to take what is there for the taking!

 

AFFFFFFFLACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

[southsider2k5]

AFFFFFFFLACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

 

I love that duck...

[The Beast]

For anyone pursuing graduate school, this link guides you to the new general GRE exam. Evidently some graduate schools will be accepting this exam as a substitute for the GMAT when the test gets revised (August 1st, 2011). They are also offering a 50% discount for taking this exam...lucky for me, they won't be able to screw me on having to take two exams to have options for business or graduate school.

[kapkomet]

Does anyone on here have a ME background? And then, to be more specific, have any metal work experience?

 

If so, tell me... have I got the job for you.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

The people who put expert on their resume for a subject matter that they have maybe seen once or twice in their life. I had a person put expert in F5 load balancers. I asked them a basic F5 question about persistence, and I get the well I didn't actually install it. I just logged into the gui a few times. WTF. Really. You apply for a senior engineering position and every product you put on your resume is something you just maybe have logged into once or twice. Or people who are supposed networking people that can't explain the TCP 3 way handshake. How do you put stuff on your resume that you haven't the slightest idea how to install it, configure it, or work with it. I am sure this is the same across other industries.

I don't think I ever use the word expert on my resume, and if I see it on a candidate's resume, I make sure that someone who knows that area really pounds them on it. If you call yourself an expert on something, you'd better come ready, or your interview will be very short. This is a big issue in tech, people tend to just smatter tech skills all over their resume mixed in with words like "expert", so that you can't really tell what they are actually expert in, if anything.

 

 

[Y2HH]

I don't think I ever use the word expert on my resume, and if I see it on a candidate's resume, I make sure that someone who knows that area really pounds them on it. If you call yourself an expert on something, you'd better come ready, or your interview will be very short. This is a big issue in tech, people tend to just smatter tech skills all over their resume mixed in with words like "expert", so that you can't really tell what they are actually expert in, if anything.

 

The problem with this sort of thing, especially in the computer industry, is that claiming to be an "expert" in say, an F5 Load Balancer, would also mean you are an expert in Linux, since they run on top of Linux kernels...

 

And claiming to be an "expert" in an operating system, is just stupid...because it means you know practically everything about that operating system...and operating systems are VERY deep.

[bigruss]

I had a friend send me his resume to look over and he put words like "fluent" and "expert" (it wasn't expert but something very similar) to describe not only his secondary language skills but also his technical skills. I then asked him if he could easily hold his interview in Spanish, and he said he could not, or if he could show his technical skills in the area he described himself as skilled and he said he probably couldn't. He would've been dead in the water if an interviewer asked about those details of his resume. Semantics is huge in resumes, and it is highly important that you do not over extend how you portray yourself in an interview.

 

I also really wish there was more education on resume writing, especially starting with college freshman. I know U of Illinois has implemented a BUS 101 class that is supposed to cover this area among many others, but I don't feel that what they are teaching students is really what recruiters and interviewers want. Of course every recruiter will have a different idea of what they want to see in a resume but their are many key parts that many students don't know, for example, don't just put down what your title meant, but how you improved the organization or team during your tenure. It is expected that a Philanthropy Chair held events to raise money, but did you really do better than your predecessor, what skills did you use to improve your position.

[Iwritecode]

Of course every recruiter will have a different idea of what they want to see in a resume but their are many key parts that many students don't know, for example, don't just put down what your title meant, but how you improved the organization or team during your tenure. It is expected that a Philanthropy Chair held events to raise money, but did you really do better than your predecessor, what skills did you use to improve your position.

 

 

I’ve always had trouble doing this. I was with my previous employer for 11 years but when I sat down to write out my resume I really had to ask myself, what the hell did I actually *DO* in those 11 years?

 

I’ve never been about to actually quantify my work into numbers besides the number of projects I worked on. I can’t say that any of them saved the company X number of dollars or allowed them to sell X amount of product. Typically the stuff I did was to make the job of somebody else slightly easier.

 

[bigruss]

I’ve always had trouble doing this. I was with my previous employer for 11 years but when I sat down to write out my resume I really had to ask myself, what the hell did I actually *DO* in those 11 years?

 

I’ve never been about to actually quantify my work into numbers besides the number of projects I worked on. I can’t say that any of them saved the company X number of dollars or allowed them to sell X amount of product. Typically the stuff I did was to make the job of somebody else slightly easier.

Which can be a great selling point to recruiters too. I do see your point though, it can be harder to quantify how one improved the company, org, etc in some jobs that they are given.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Oh yes. They can and do check length of employment. If it's an honest mistake, call them back and tell them.

 

 

How do they do this? like i said my manager at the job i claimed to work at for 4 years(when it was only 2) was a lifelong friend and already knows about my mistake and has my back so if they called him hed tell him i was there from the times stated on the app

[NorthSideSox72]

How do they do this? like i said my manager at the job i claimed to work at for 4 years(when it was only 2) was a lifelong friend and already knows about my mistake and has my back so if they called him hed tell him i was there from the times stated on the app

They may not talk to your manager, they may ask to talk with HR.

 

[nitetrain8601]

They may not talk to your manager, they may ask to talk with HR.

 

Which is what happens most time. Nowadays, it's done through fax too, so you'll never know.

[Whitewashed in '05]

So I have started looking for a job as I'm graduating with a BS in the IT field in May.

 

I've been following this thread for the last few pages now. There's some good info here, thanks guys.

 

With that said I've got a few questions.

 

I've heard it is important to tailor a cover letter specific to the company/position one is applying for. How much customizing are we talking here? "Insert Company Name Here" or rewrite a new cover letter per job?

 

I've also heard the same for a resume, however seeing as how I'm a new graduate with a variety of experience in the IT field, how much customizing is needed for my resume?

[bigruss]

So I have started looking for a job as I'm graduating with a BS in the IT field in May.

 

I've been following this thread for the last few pages now. There's some good info here, thanks guys.

 

With that said I've got a few questions.

 

I've heard it is important to tailor a cover letter specific to the company/position one is applying for. How much customizing are we talking here? "Insert Company Name Here" or rewrite a new cover letter per job?

 

I've also heard the same for a resume, however seeing as how I'm a new graduate with a variety of experience in the IT field, how much customizing is needed for my resume?

For your resume you may want to highlight more technical experience that you may have, or project experience, etc. If you are going for a consulting position you may want to include a section based on that, such as case competitions etc.