For the next three weeks, we will share stories of job seekers who have applied for a scholarship (see the application form here), so you can see how important it is that we get them the help they want and deserve, but can’t afford. Meet Steve. who's tired of being led on by employers. Q: What’s the hardest part about unemployed long-term?A: The hardest part about being unemployed is how futile I feel my efforts have been and how confusing and possibly manipulative the relationship with employers has become. I feel as if I'm always being led on by employers. I started this journey, after completing graduate school, by working at an early stage tech start-up company. Thrilled to at least have a job given the recessionary economic climate, I started as a contract employee with an low hourly wage and no benefits-- clearly underemployed by definition-- but with the promise of evolving with the company's growth. I liked what the company was doing, it was relevant to my academic studies, and the idea of being entrepreneurial was largely attractive. Over the following six months, I continued to be "strung along", while adding value to the company (I created the essential content, devise performance metrics to inform strategic planning, and even got the company's product launched after two years of stalemate), and ultimately my experience culminated in being laid off. The work I had done, with the promise of a living wage and essential health coverage, was all for naught: The company was successfully acquired and C-level received a nice payout and I got a pink slip.Not to be discouraged, I was focusing on the silver lining and looking forward to seeing how my recent M.S. degree and new relevant technology skills would help my latest attempt to start a career. Unfortunately, the (just about) eight months to follow has yielded nothing but frustration. There were interviews that lead no where-- meaning weeks of frequent communication via phone calls, e-mails, in-person interviews, only to completely cease out of nowhere without any explanation-- a situation that has lead me to believe that employers view me more as an interchangeable and disposable widget in their machine, rather than human capital to benefit and grow with their organization. My latest experience has been a five week long hiring process with a local government agency I am-- or should I say was-- very excited to be a part of. They responded to my application within ten minutes of sending, I was phone screened and called in for an interview, I completed and successfully passed a two-hour exam on the quantitative skills the job required, and lastly was asked to provide two professional references and meet the agency's chief of staff. My interview with the chief of staff was perplexing as it was exactly the same questions I was asked in the first round of interviews. No offer was made and I was told they would "be in touch." I became even more confused when I noticed on the job boards I frequent that they had reposted the job notice for the position I had been interviewing for the day before I came in for what was supposed to be the final round of interviews-- and lead to believe they would offer me the job.An additional element of frustration in my job search has been the fact that wages are clearly decreasing while current students and recent graduates are saddled with excessive debts. I was told that making the investment in a graduate degree would allow me to earn a higher salary, but this is an absolute farce. It's unbelievable for me to reconcile that most of the positions I have been applying to offer the same salary range I earned almost seven years ago at my first job right out of college with zero work experience, except now I have almost fifty thousand dollars in student-related loans to pay back. These loans are in forbearance, continuing to accrue interest, and will be capitalized into the principal because I can't make payments being unemployed. I was even forced recently to give up my apartment and move back in to my parent's house. I was lead to believe that the type of work I would be doing after graduate school would be more fulfilling and offer a living wage and quality benefit programs, but these opportunities are few and far between in today's labor market.Q: What have you been doing to look for work so far?A: I have been networking through my personal connections, have attended workshops and used job boards through the career services at my graduate school, used internet resources like craigslist, idealist.org, nyc.gov/jobs, workforcenewyork.org, thejobnetwork.com. I read job search related articles in newspapers, magazines, and blogs.Q: Why do you feel our Job Search Accelerator Program can help you?A: I am just so desperate at this point I feel like I cannot leave any stone unturned. Steve* is one of the 30+ scholarship applicants we have received since launching Allies to the Out-of-Work. Want to know how you can help job seekers like Steve? Harnessing the power of the micro-fundraising site, Indiegogo.com, we launched a campaign to raise $10,000 that will give 100 long-term unemployed people a full scholarship to our Job Search Accelerator Program (JSAP). This program is helping hundreds of people find work. However, it’s not something we can give away for free. So, we are hoping to get donations from those of you out there who: A) Have been out of work recently and know how hard the job search really is. B) Know somebody long-term unemployed and want to sponsor them. C) Care about getting Americans back to work and on their feet.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.