Job Hunting Chronicles

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you while you're searching for your next full-time role. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: hit pause before giving out any personal info (including your resume) ⏸️ For some reason, I've had an uptick in "recruiter" messages lately. At first glance, they seem legitimate but when I've said I'll get back to them tomorrow (or later in the week), the messages are gone by the next day. That means the accounts were most likely fake and LinkedIn got rid of them (I didn't have time to verify their legitimacy which was why I said I'd get back to them). That's why it's always smart to hit the pause button before you give recruiters any personal information (including your resume). I know, it's hard, you think "finally, some...

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you while you're searching for your next full-time role. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: minimize the job search complaints online 🚫 I get that the job search is frustrating but continually complaining about it on LinkedIn isn't doing you any favors. And while I do believe bad behavior sometimes needs to be called out, you need to remember that potential employers may come across your rant and decide not to interview you because of it. I recently saw a post that an OP started with "Another interview fail". Curiosity got the better of me so I looked at their profile and sure enough, most of their recent posts were complaints about interviewers. If I were a recruiter or a hiring manager, I can tell you that definitely would have been a put off ...

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you while you're searching for your next full-time role. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: follow your work routine (as much as possible) 🔄 Some people let the lack of having a job take over their life. They go to bed when they want and get up when they want - they essentially live like they're in college but don't go to classes. That's fine in the beginning, maybe you're navigating an unexpected layoff and need to take a little time to digest that. But at some point, you need to take the job search seriously and treat it like a job. Living like you have no responsibilities can quickly lead to a loss of control of your time. You can't control time but you can control how you spend it. I know someone who missed an in-person interview becau...

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you while you're searching for your next full-time job. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: think outside the box 📦 🔹️it's ok to take a temporary job to make ends meet  🔹️ it's ok to take a part-time job (some income is better than no income) 🔹️ it's ok to take a job that has nothing to do with your career (cat sitting helped me keep my condo when I was looking for a job) Whether you sign up with an employment agency, take a part-time job, or start doing gig work like driving for Uber, you never know who you may meet in one of these roles, be open to what may come from them. Bottom line: it's ok to take something that doesn't check all the boxes while you continue to look for your next full-time job. It doesn't have to be all or noth...

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you get a job, or at least an interview. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: stop being so picky 🤨 I've seen quite a few posts from job seekers who complain they can't find a job and I get it, the disappointment is real. But then I look at their headline and see "remote only". Look, I get that you want a remote job, but so do thousands of other people and unfortunately, more companies are implementing RTO policies so the chances of you finding a remote position aren't that great.  If you're serious about finding a job you need to broaden your horizons. Keep looking for that remote role but also look for roles that are close enough for you to commute to. You may find a job faster that way. I used remote as an example because it's the o...

Happy Sunday 📰  Welcome to another edition of Sunday Snippets. As someone who spent more than 2.5 years looking for a job, I'm offering some tips that may help you get a job, or at least an interview. This is not professional advice, just some things you may want to think about. Today's tip: set a schedule for your job search and (try to) follow it 🧭 When I was looking for a job, I tended to start early in the morning and tried to get it wrapped up by lunchtime. That way, I could leave time for other things that needed to be done: appointments (doctor, dentist, vet, etc.), grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, the list goes on. If I was thinking about my job search all the time (scrolling through job ads and continually refreshing my email, to name two somewhat mindless activities), I felt like nothing was getting done - I wasn't getting interviews AND life around the house needed attention.  Setting job search hours helped create boundaries between my professional and per...

Happy Sunday 📰  Last week, I started a series called Sunday Snippets where I share tips that may help job seekers in their job search. This is not professional advice, just some things that I did that may help others find a job (or at least get an interview). Today's tip: Apply thoughtfully - think quality over quantity 💎/🔢 For me, it was more important to apply to jobs that both interested me and that I was well qualified for, not log a certain number of applications each week. Some weeks were slow but that was ok, other weeks usually made up for the lag. Hang in there job seekers 🧗‍♀️ #TodaysTip #SundaySnippets #JobHuntingChronicles

Happy Thursday 📰 If you know me well, you know I'm a big believer in the gratitude jar. I've kept one for more than a decade and I know it's helped change the way I think (and see things) for the better. I get the current job market is brutal. As a Gen X-er who had been looking for a job for more than 2.5 years, there were definitely times that I doubted I would ever find anything. But I kept freelancing, kept thoughtfully applying to jobs (not mass-applying), and kept writing down one thing each night before I went to bed that I was thankful for (or one good thing that happened that day). And finally, I found a job. Did my gratitude jar make a job appear? Of course not, but it did help me keep a positive mindset even in the face of adversity. I've seen quite a few job seekers on LinkedIn ranting about not being able to find a job. Ranting about companies that don't know what they're looking for. Ranting about interviewers who don't know what they're...

Happy Sunday 📰  An acquaintance asked if I could give him some tips on how to get a job and the truth is, I really can't. I can tell you some things that I did that may or may not have helped, but this job market is brutal and what worked for me, may not work for you. But with his request in mind, I decided to start a series called Sunday Snippets. As time permits, each Sunday I'll post one short tip that may help in your job search. This is not professional advice, just some things I did that you may find helpful. Today's tip: have a strong resume 📄 I never tailored my resume to a job description that I was applying to, 1) because I had no evidence that it worked, and 2) I didn't feel it was worth spending the time doing that. Plenty of people will tell you the opposite and in the end, it comes down to each person's choice. But here's the thing about rewriting your resume for each job you apply to: you have to remember which resume you submitted so that if yo...

Happy Tuesday (night) 📰 Tonight I was messaging with a friend who's been looking for a job for a couple of years and like many others, she's having no luck 🫤 I wish I had the answer to finding a job in this market but I don't (at some point I may post how I got my current job, I haven't decided yet). Some advice I can offer is this: 🔹️ apply thoughtfully (I know it seems like it's a numbers game and eventually yours has to come up, but applying to positions you're not qualified for is a waste of your time) 🔹️ have a strong resume, but don't rewrite it for every position you apply for (somewhere along the way, job seekers were convinced that their resume had to match the job description in order to get past AI - I have no idea if that's true but I do know if you change your resume to match a JD, you're going to have trouble talking about the work you've done because it's not genuine) 🔹️ set a schedule for your job search and follow it (do...

#MerryMonday 📰  One of my page-a-day calendars usually has a gratitude prompt on the last day of the month. I'm a big believer in the gratitude jar and I like to post these kinds of things to help others see the good they have. Yes, I know it's tough right now, especially if you're looking for a job, but if you start to look for the good, you may find it 🌸 What's one good thing that happened to you in August? I'll go first: I started a new W-2 job 💻 #DailyGratitude

Happy Friday 📰 I debated sharing this (including the "recruiter's" name and email address) and ultimately decided to because THIS HAS TO STOP. I have no idea how this "recruiter" got my personal email address but look at the job she's trying to fill - she clearly pulled information from my LinkedIn profile to make it seem like this job was PERFECT for me (seriously, the only thing she left out was cat sitting 😹). No company is looking for "someone who can manage accounting functions, create compelling written content, and support social media and administrative tasks—aligning closely with your expertise in accounting, cash management, bank reconciliation, and social media.", at least not on a global level. Maybe a start up but come on, how dumb do you think I am? I was tempted to reply back to see how far I could get with Brandy but decided it wasn't worth wasting my time. Job seekers, please be careful. If an opportunity seems too good ...

Happy Friday 📰 I'm holding off on the details for right now but I start a new W-2 job on Monday (the laptop 💻 was delivered yesterday), so I bought a new notebook 📓 for the occasion 🎉 Yes, I'm definitely a #WorkGeek 🤓 Hang in there job seekers, your new job may be just around the corner 🔜 #RemoteWork #WorkFromHome #JobHuntingChronicles 

Happy Wednesday 📰  I know things are tough for a lot of people right now, but I also know from experience that having an attitude of gratitude is infinitely more rewarding than complaining about what you don't have. If things aren't working out for you, try changing your mindset. Try being thankful for what you have today. Sure, you could always have more but you could always have less, too. I've been in a season of want for over 2.5 years and it's been challenging at times, but I'm currently waiting on a laptop to be delivered for a job I'm set to start on Monday.  Job seekers: your next job is out there, it just may not be where you're looking. Be open to all opportunities and maybe you'll find something you weren't even looking for... #gratitude #AttitudeOfGratitude #JobHuntingChronicles  #gratitude #JobHuntingChronicles

Happy Friday 📰  If you know me well, you know I'm a big believer in the gratitude jar. I've kept one for years and I credit it with helping me see the good in my life, even if I'm in a season of want. I'm working 2 freelance jobs right now and then I'm scheduled to start a W-2 job in just over a week. So maybe ~ just maybe ~ my season of want is coming to an end. I certainly hope so... Today's calendar page offers a place to write your own gratitude list for the month of July. Whatever season you're currently in, I hope you find something to be thankful for. #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #WorkLifeBalance #JobHuntingChronicles #gratitude #DailyGratitude #GratitudeJar

Happy Wednesday 📰  I'm seeing a lot of job seekers on LinkedIn posting about recruiter scams they fell for or almost fell for. I think it's great that people are sharing to warn others, I really do. The more people talk about it, the better prepared others can be when deciding whether or not to proceed when approached by one of these "recruiters". But I've noticed something - almost everyone posting about scam recruiters or resume writers has one thing in common: they have the "open to work" banner on their profile. That is like chum to a shark (it's Shark 🦈 Week, I had to toss that in 😂).  For those who don't know, there is a place in your profile where you can let recruiters know that you're open to work without using the public banner on your profile. Legitimate recruiters pay for LinkedIn Recruiter (I'm not sure if that's the name of it) and can search for candidates who have indicated that they are open to work. LinkedIn Recru...

Happy Tuesday 📰  Job seekers, this is a reminder to be cautious when a *recruiter* reaches out to you. I recently had one that seemed legitimate but something just didn't sit right with me. They were being evasive to questions that I shouldn't have had to ask, so I opted to do a little digging. I went to the hiring company's website and couldn't find the job they were recruiting for. I did, however, find an HR contact and a person with the title who the job reported to. I emailed both explaining that a recruiter had reached out to me and while I would 100% respect their hiring process, I was trying to verify if the job/recruiter was legitimate. The HR person emailed me back (thank you!) indicating that they had no such opening and they did their own recruiting. In short, they were not working with any outside recruiters. If you think something's off, stop. I got lucky in that the *recruiter* mentioned the company they were supposedly working for, most don't giv...

#MerryMonday  📰 I was supposed to have an interview with HR this morning at 8:00. I received this email about 10 minutes before the interview was supposed to start 🙄 I get that things come up, but this is the third time this interview has been postponed and honestly, if it's this hard to get through the first interview, what would working there be like? I haven't replied yet but I'm leaning towards the "thanks but no thanks" route... #JobHuntingChronicles #KnowYourWorth

Happy Thursday 📰 Success looks different for everyone. If you're looking for a job right now, success may seem far off. Keep going. #freelancer #FreelanceWork #FreelanceLife #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #CatSitting #CatSitter #WorkLifeBalance #JobHuntingChronicles

Happy Wednesday 📰 I've mentioned that someone in my family has been trolling my job search lately and she ramped it up yesterday via text with what I call a "but apology". You know what I'm talking about, "I'm sorry, but...". They start to apologize then add "but" and proceed to state their opinion as to why they really shouldn't apologize because they're right. It's not an apology at all and everyone knows it. I've been told by several people that I should just block this particular family member, not only on Facebook but in my phone as well. Truth be told, I'd have every right to do that but at this point, I'm just trying to ignore her. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ok with what she's doing, and despite my trying to let them roll off my back, her words do hurt. My instinct is to defend myself and list everything I've done to try to find a job: outline every job I've applied for, give her my list o...