Job Fair Nonsense

Went to a job fair last night. Total waste of time. The giveaway should have been the fact they didn't list the companies that would be there. Nothing but outside commission sales. No wonder they didn't list them. Not everyone wants to sell siding and life insurance. They grossly underestimated the number of people who would attend and more than a few people, including myself, walked out. If nothing else, I learned that if you want to attend a job fair, check out the company or organization sponsoring it. If they don't (or won't) list the companies looking for people, there's a good chance it's for sales positions with a fairly high turnover rate. Live and learn.

Been Busy

Been a busy week, between workshops, meetings and support groups. Finally got my resume ready and have started sending it out. I've also been networking and am returning a couple of favors to people who have helped me. Have some ideas about where to apply that are a little out of what I originally thought of but you never know what might happen. Have to start applying and will probably go to some local job fairs. Could find something there and if nothing else, I'll make some connections that may pay off in the long run. Have to keep plugging and working at it. Also have to make time for some other projects and trying to get back up to speed on some software. Got a lot to do and have to make the best use of my time as possible. Whew!

It's Monday

Had another required workshop today for the group I belong to. Now I've finished the required workshops. There are some other ones I want to attend to get my resumé finished and to learn how to research companies. Job hunting is a lot of work. It's even harder with the economy in the state it's in. There's a lot of people out there looking. I hope to find something soon.

Progress

Well, I've pretty much gotten the resumé taken care of. I'm going to a support group tomorrow to meet some people and maybe get a resumé critique and put a final polish on it before I start sending it out. I'd like to find a job ASAP but it'll probably take a while. I'm also going to work on resumés to help me change careers. That's the hard part. These days, most companies won't even talk to someone looking to change a career, especially if it's a big change. If I can find a "day job" to pay the bills, then I can take the time to get ready to make a career change. Lots of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it. Story of my life. Always playing catch-up ball. Drives me crazy. But I'll work through it in the long run. I really don't have much of a choice.

Resumé Writing

God, I hate writing resumés. I know they're a necessity but I wish there was a better way to show an employer what you can offer. I'm working on a new one right now and I'm not quite done with it. I need to get some feedback on it from people who know more about writing them than I do. I hate that we've been reduced to a few words on a page to convey who we are. There are limitations to the written word and most employers look at resumés for an average of 15 - 30 seconds. You have to really grab their attention or they dump it in the slush pile. Even if they put it aside for further consideration, you still might not get the interview. It seems they've gotten extremely picky about who they call. Have to keep working at it and start applying to places. Good luck to anyone else out there who's looking, no matter where you are.

Work

Another day of job hunting. Looking for work is a full time job. Tried to apply to a company's website (no names) and it decided to freeze up and now I can't log on there at all. Oh, well, I'll try tomorrow. Have to get the resumé(s) ready. Going to the library tomorrow to get a book on resumés. Had a couple but I think I mistakenly threw them out in the recycling. D'oh! I'll make copies of what I need and make good use of the book. I also start with a group from unemployment that helps professionals find work. I used to belong and now I'm back again. I need all the help I can get. Right now I'll take just about any job, just to have some money coming in and then go after the big stuff. I'm sure I'm going to hear a lot of "No" before I hear any "Yes" so I'm in for a bit of a slog. Hope any of you who read this who are looking for work can take heart that there's a lot of us and we're all in the same boat. Good luck, everyone.