The fun thing about needing a job is that all the advice is either incredibly demeaning or incredibly futile. Usually both

i saw someone on twitter saying to "leverage your network" i'd sooner leverage a shotgun into my mouth jesus fucking christ

plus all this is meant to be done at a time when you're likely at your lowest confidence, most insecure, and most desperate.

just the idea that it's my job to sell myself to these sorts of business goons who ENJOY seeing people desperate and on edge is so sick. i have nothing to sell, i am not a commodity, i am a human being. and everything's ran thru some shitty AI now i'm sure. like the applications weren't demeaning enough.

can't we all just be assigned jobs by the government? it'd build social cohesion. like the hunger games. maybe you can opt out but I'd rather take my chances than answer these fucking personality tests or get so hopeless i'm actually applying for something with hours I hate with a miserable commute with a terrible wage which ALSO won't hire me

Crystal_Shards64 ,

I'm sorry you're in this position. I hope things improve for you soon. I hope things improve for all of us soon because it feels like most people are getting shafted hard.

A coworker I really enjoyed working with is leaving in two weeks and it made me realize how I'm being severely underpaid. But the stress of job hunting has my stomach in knots.

Noodle07 ,

So funny to read, I'm just here looking for a beginner office job like receptionist over here lol

Nomecks ,

Go to networking events. Shake people's hands and talk to them. Fuck Linkedin and doing anything other than in-person communications.

i_stole_ur_taco ,

“Leverage your network” is just corporate word salad for an otherwise good idea.

Throughout your life, you’ve studied, been friends with, or worked with people who knew you and you had respect for their sensibilities. That might mean as little as texting or emailing a couple of people and saying you’re looking for work and asking if they have any suggestions for you.

I’ve been working for over 20 years and in my experience, the type of people who are doing the gross version of “working their network” by pretending on LinkedIn are NOT any of the people I would ever want to work with again. They’re either fakers, insane, selling something, or never learned how to properly interact with people. Once you can smell them from their online activities you can learn to avoid them.

I’d say most quality job opportunities come from people you know, and it happens quietly. Nobody’s posting public garbage on social media - they’re having direct conversations with people who are able to connect them with a single person who needs to hire somebody and also doesn’t want to sift through thousands of resumes submitted by bots.

All that doesn’t really address your frustration, though. The game is gross, and it sucks that we have to play it.

d00phy ,

It’s important to remember you are not looking for a family to join, you’re literally marketing your skillset to employers looking to hire. It feels dehumanizing because it is. Before hiring you, companies don’t really care about your personality. If they decide to hire you, good companies consider how your personality will fit in with the current team. Also, who you know can be a big part of finding a job. Always has been, in fact. Marketing yourself is really nothing new. The particulars have changed, but the core process is basically the same.

Assman ,
@Assman@sh.itjust.works avatar

can't we all just be assigned jobs by the government

Careful, a military recruiter might hear you

EtherWhack ,
@EtherWhack@lemmy.world avatar

They don't want me

andyburke ,
@andyburke@fedia.io avatar

The same advice works for job seeking that works for dating: you are looking for somewhere (vs. someone) that is compatible with you.

Many, many places (or people) are not going to be what you need, or you aren't what they need. So the quest to find the right one is always going to take a while.

The more desperate you become, thinking you are the problem, the more you become the problem. Just breathe and realize you are who you are and it just takes time.

If any interview ever makes you feel bad or too desperate, just get up and walk out. You can, you're a free person. There is some job somewhere that is right for you, it just takes time to find it.

circuitfarmer ,
@circuitfarmer@lemmy.world avatar

just the idea that it's my job to sell myself to these sorts of business goons who ENJOY seeing people desperate and on edge is so sick. i have nothing to sell, i am not a commodity, i am a human being.

This hit me hard. I'm in a similar boat. All I can say is do your damndest to stay positive friend. It's a fucked up game that only some are forced to play.

surewhynotlem ,

Sell yourself! Create a brand! Research companies!

No, fuck all that. Create one good resume and shotgun that into every open role you see. If you really like a role, put in some time to tweak the resume.

Play the numbers game. They are.

fubbernuckin ,

Also, they're using ai to weed out applicants, use ai to generate applicable content. They lie about the job description, you lie on your resume. You're allowed to play the game with any tools at your disposal.

andyburke ,
@andyburke@fedia.io avatar

BAD COMPANIES do this.

why would you want to work at a bad company? I know you want the paycheck, but that kind of company is gonna wage theft your ass, anyway.

fubbernuckin ,

oh yeah? And how easy is it to find a good company that can actually pay you? You think all the bad ones have a tag on their front page that says "hey, we comb through your resume with an ai"? If i had the option to only apply to companies who don't do this, that'd be my first choice, but as it stands, the only way to find them is to play the numbers game.

Besides, this is against the point anyway. You want us to all play by the rules when they don't have to? At that point you're cheating yourself on the basis of "not all companies".

surewhynotlem ,

why would you want to work at a bad company

Paycheck until you find a good one.

metaStatic ,

You don't need a job you need to acquire currency. A job is just the easiest way to do it.

otp ,

i saw someone on twitter saying to "leverage your network" i'd sooner leverage a shotgun into my mouth jesus fucking christ

...why?

Isn't that the most reliable (and arguably easiest) way to find a new job?

force ,

assuming you have a "network", yes. the way the person here words it, it sounds like they do have connections but just refuse to take advantage of them. in which case that seems a bit absurd, most people don't even have that to their disposal.

but of course the comment has no context so it's not my place to make assumptions. maybe that's not what they meant.

TheOneCurly ,

I love helping my friends if I can. If I know a place looking and someone I know is at least vaguely reliable it's an easy win win.

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

not everyone is a social butterfly.

otp ,

There is a huge gap between "social butterfly" and "I'd rather commit suicide than asking my friend if their workplace is hiring".

Signtist ,
@Signtist@lemm.ee avatar

I'm currently working the best job I've ever had by far, and I got it because I had a friend who worked there. Not even in a high position, he was just a regular employee. I'd spent months sending out resumes for positions I was qualified for, but one resume handed to my friend to be put directly into the hands of the hiring manager got me a better-paying job that I wasn't even qualified for. It was 2 weeks between printing the resume and showing up for my first shift.

It's annoying, but, these days, any resume submitted online to be added to the pile is just a waste of your time. Find a way to get it directly to the hiring person - even if it's just physically going there and handing it to the person at the front desk. If you submit it the normal way, it'll never be seen.

pixxelkick ,

It mostly sounds like you are trying to justify inaction.

Posting on lemmy certainly isn't going to help.

There's countless jobs, it's not that bad. Typically if you aren't getting at least some emails back it means your resume has some serious issues and needs fixing.

Pretty much everytime this comes up, the persons resume is very poorly setup and it's obviously why they aren't getting callbacks. Wrong formatting, not parseable, not straight to the point, not scannable, meanders, skips over critical information...

That or the person admits they haven't been putting cover letters on the applications.

Dagwood222 ,

Apply for any and all Civil Service jobs. It might take you a long time to get called, but you get a good union and a pension.

YaksDC ,

It took me 3 months of waiting for my federal job, that was 22 years ago.

Dagwood222 ,

That's pretty fast. I know people who waited for years to get hired in the Fire Department.

Blackout ,

Have you tried lying on the floor, curling up into a ball, and giving up all hope? Always worked for me

Rentlar , (edited )

As @Humana said, a lot of "career advice" is or can seem contradictory.

Being a recruiter itself sounds like hell as much as looking for a job. Having to be the one who communicates bad news to so many people all the time, having to go through reams of resumes and bullshit, your career being specifically tied to whether firms are hiring or not, which leads to being laid off followed by employers rushing to find people to hire with again...

Looking for jobs takes practice and a whole lot of luck. "Leverage your network" is just bullshit speak for talk to people you know who might know where a job for you is. Firms hire at random times during the year, some months no bites, others you'll get multiple.

Remember this variance is not your fault whatsoever and has nothing to do with your abilities.

The best time to look is while you have work but the second best time is now.

I know it is daunting, and the search feels endless. It might take you hundreds of rejections and 10 tries of getting very close but not making it but you only need 1 offer at minimum.

Like a "Continue?" screen at the arcade, you only lose if you give up.

Gold_E_Lox ,

i think I'll just give up

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

Having to be the one who communicates bad news to so many people all the time

I mean, they're just automated emails. You click a button

i_stole_ur_taco ,

The good ones click the button. The shitty ones don’t even do that much.

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