The Job Hunt rant

[Numbers]

So, in a month I graduate with an MBA, but I've been looking for a job for the past two months. Right now I'm only taking one online course, the last of my core requirements to graduate, so I'm pretty much available to work immediately, which is what I've been including on every job application I'm sending in.

The problem is, I'm not hearing back from any of the places I've submitted a resume to. I've applied to nearly 30 different companies, got rejected flat out by two of them (one was my first choice,) and the rest I just never hear back from. I've also had my resume on monster.com for a couple of months, but it's only gotten around 12 views, and the only companies that have contacted me through monster have been placement services or life insurance companies.

It's beginning to get very frustrating and very irritating. I've started to go to career fairs in the Boston area, but I absolutely detest them. They're pretty much just one big orgy of desperate people in nice clothes struggling to whore themselves out. But I guess for me they're becoming necessary, since applying online to all these companies doesn't seem to be doing the trick. And I've tried calling a few of the places to follow through, but got the same response. "Just submit your application online, and if it seems you're qualified, we'll contact you." Of course, they don't give me any sort of timeframe as to when they'll decide yes or no.

I keep reading and hearing about how the job market is booming, especially for MBA's, but I feel like I'm living in some sort of bizarro world where none of these companies want an MBA.

Did anyone else experience something like this when you were trying to find a job out of college? And if so, what did you end up having to do?

[Warriorbird]

Maybe your resume isn't written very well, your cover letter is not written well, you have grammatical errors, or you are applying to the wrong places.

[Numbers]

Everyone I've passed my resume by says it's fine. One of the problems, though, is that it's not very full. Through college and some of high school I've been doing computer consulting part-time with my step-father, so that ends up being about 9 years of part-time work experience. Then I have a few summer internships at different companies. So, under work experience, there's only five entries.

My cover letter is pretty standard, I think. No grammar errors or typos.

I might be applying to the wrong places, I'm not sure. A lot of the places I've been applying to are known for hiring recent graduates, especially MBA's.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Hmm.. my only other suggestion is to call these places. To go in, in person to these places, and fill out a resume.

If you get an interview, send a thank-you card, hand-written.

If you take the time in person to go out, get dressed up, and go fill out resumes it could impress your potential employers.

Dunno what else to say :(

[Apotheosis]

Here's what MBA's are going up against in the workplace:

#1, people do not want to hire someone without much relevant professional experience.

#2, people are more likely going to hire someone they know. if you haven't been networking, better get started.

#3, depending on your specialty/focus, you might have to move to a different state

#4, there have been recent articles in certain business magazines that put MBA's in a negative spotlight. IE: studies showing the failure rate of MBA's who specialize in marketing (study shows they actually suck at it).

#5, you might be aiming for a job that frankly, you really are not (in the opinion of the recruiters) qualified for. You may also be considered overqualified

#6, sounds like you need to hone your pitch

#7, focus on 5 companies at a time, get to know them, research them, put in some effort to understand their issues, then approach them

[Jennaen]

Another suggestion... update your Monster listing. It falls to the bottom of the pack rather quickly. So, even if you just 'edit' and resave, it makes your list 'new' again, and you'll get more hits.

[HarmNone]

Have you checked with your college or university placement office? Sometimes, they have some good ideas as to where you might apply.

[Wezas]

I had my resume on monster.com and didn't get much of a response.

The day after I put it on CareerBuilder.com I got 4 responses, and basically 5 or so responses per week. If your resume is up to snuff, I'd suggest throwing it on that site. Just be aware that many of the jobs are actually employment agencies looking for people to fill the jobs of their clients.

For some reason I received most of my responses on Tuesdays.

[Skeeter]

Hmm.. my only other suggestion is to call these places. To go in, in person to these places, and fill out a resume.

If you get an interview, send a thank-you card, hand-written.

If you take the time in person to go out, get dressed up, and go fill out resumes it could impress your potential employers.

Dunno what else to say :(

WTF are you talking about? Go fill out a resume? I assume you mean in application, but the kind of jobs ASSHOLE is applying for you don't just roll in and grab an app, and fill it out while you munch on their fries.


ASSHOLE: I never had any luck with any of the online companies. (Monster etc.)

Be available to move, everyone lives in Boston, Chicaco, New York, etc.. Look for jobs in smaller "big" cities. See what Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Lousiville, Indianapolis, etc. have to offer. May be that less competition in these markets = better chances for you.

When filling out your cover letter, make it very specific for the company. do some research and find out what they specialize in, and reference this in your cover letter. I'm so excited to work for a company that does blah blah blah...

If your work exp isn't quite up to snuff, make sure that you accentuate other areas that may help. further qualifications, trainings you have, things you volunteered for etc.

You want to draw attention to yourself in a positive way quickly. I can tell you from experience, if I'm looking at 30 resumes, I quickly pass by the form letter ones, that appear you are applying to 60 different companies at the same time.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll be able to land something if you really apply yourself to it. I remember reading something once, that on average you look for 1 month for every 10k of salary you hope to earn.

[Tromp]

Network network network.... oh and network then when you thought you networked enough.... network some more.

Every decent job I received came from the concept of "who you know" not "what you know". People in the corps you want to work for know about jobs before Monster does. They will let their friends know about them plus recommend them for the job which will usually does the trick to get you in door. The rest is up to you on how well you "sell" yourself.

[Daniel]

That's really the big thing. See if your school has an alumna program that lets you see who works for where and what. Try and contact these people to sit down and get some information about their company and try and use that to get a job. It may just be to get the email of someone who may be looking for information or you may come in contact with someone who is looking for someone themselves

[Sean]

You could always take the Kuyuk approach and just send out random job interest letters/e-mails begging for whatever job.

[Apathy]

Be more aggressive. An interview is a sales pitch with you as the product. Just getting an interview is like trying to get someone to sit down and take a look at your product. It's frustrating as hell but that's the way it is.

Also, they say the job market is booming but I don't see it either. It seems like very few companies are in an expansion mode right now.

[DeV]

Forget monster, careerbuilder, and the other online engines for now. At the very least, don't completely rely on a response from one while you could be out hard selling/marketing yourself in the mean time. Job fairs, though I personally despise them, offer a nice chance to sell yourself by talking to an actual represenative from a number of reputable companies. That may get one foot in the door if nothing else.

Networking is key and cannot be said enough. Word of mouth travels fast. Also, if you don't already have them, get some letters of recommendation from former professors.

[Warriorbird]

All my best jobs have been from job fairs. It works good for me because I have a bunch of door to door sales experience. Sounds like you aren't making the best contacts online.

[Soulpieced]

I've found that you have to send out resumes to individual companies. Do NOT let them find you. I got 3 interviews within' 1 week of sending my resume out.

[xtc]

I obtained my MBA a few years and didn't have much trouble finding a job however I had relevant experience for the jobs I was applying for before I got my MBA. I think monster and the like are a long shot. Your best bet is contacts or placement agencies. A few of my friends have had great success with placement agencies.

Didn't your University have any companies doing on-campus recruiting? Does your University have a competent career department?

If you are the aggressive type the other thing you can do is call line management in companies you would like to work for. Don't call HR they are useless.

[Soulpieced]

Forgot to add to my post, I had much much much better experience through the actual companies' career website, as well as HotJobs and CareerBuilder than Monster. Monster is definitely the worst out of all the resume websites.

[Numbers]

One of the problems I'm running into is that I'm underqualified and overqualified at the same time. I went directly from undergraduate to graduate school, since when I got my bachelor in IT, the entire tech sector was in the crapper. Out of my graduating class of 100, only TWO people got a job in that field. So, given that situation, I could either work at the mall, or give grad school a shot. I took my GMAT's, applied, got in, and obviously took the opportunity. I'm not sure if I regret it yet or not, but I worked my ass off to graduate (during a very serious illness,) and am starting to feel shafted.

So, when companies are looking at my resume, they see my part-time work in a family company, but nothing but internships at the big companies. When I'm at job fairs, whenever it's brought up, they say that I probably wouldn't fit in an entry-level job, as those are generally given to recently graduating college seniors. The double-edged sword of that, though, is that they don't feel I'm qualified for any of the experienced positions.

Unfortunately, the career center at my school is absolute crap. I attended Syracuse University, so the extent of their career services is telling us to go to the Big East career fair when it stops in the Carrier Dome. Which, I can't do this semester, as I've just got the one distance learning class online and am currently 400 miles away from campus. When it comes to American students in graduate school, they don't do shit for us... they pretty much throw us to the wind. When it comes to foreign students, particularly Indians, they do handstands and backflips to get them a job, putting them in touch with several contacts in large companies. I understand that it's critical for the Indian students to get a job in America (otherwise they go back to India and get paid 1/4 of what they're worth,) and I'm friends with a bunch of them, but they shouldn't get better treatment in the career center because of that. This may have something to do with the fact that the dean of the MBA program is, in fact, an Indian. In any case, there was a big controversy about it a few months ago, and I think they're actually planning on shutting the center down and instead giving each student a stipend they can use to travel to career fairs across the country.

Super-shitty.

I have a lot of contacts within the family, but I can't use any of them at the moment, as there's a major family crisis at the moment and now is definitely not the time to ask for that sort of help. I regret that I didn't spend more time networking with classmates and former employers, but c'est la vie, can't do anything about that now.

My hesitance in directly calling the company after submitting my resume is that many of them say, "Don't call us, we'll call you," and I don't want to give them the wrong impression (not following the directions, being too pushy, etc..) I'm good at what I do and have full confidence in my abilities, but it's hard to convey that through a resume and a cover letter or from three minutes at a career fair talking to the bottom-ladder recruiters.

[Hulkein]

WTF are you talking about? Go fill out a resume? I assume you mean in application, but the kind of jobs ASSHOLE is applying for you don't just roll in and grab an app, and fill it out while you munch on their fries.

hahahahahahahaaa

[Soulpieced]

I'm good at what I do and have full confidence in my abilities, but it's hard to convey that through a resume and a cover letter...

.

That's bullshit. Your JOB is to be able to convey your skills in a resume and cover letter. First off, the problem is you are probably too narrow in your area search. Where do you live, and where might you be willing to work? Virginia/DC/MD is probably the biggest market in the country for IT professionals. Second, if you can't convey your skills properly, then you need to have someone help you with your resume to make it stand out. Last, like I said in my previous post, you need to go on individual company websites and submit resumes through their own career databases. You will have to do this for a LOT of companies, but all it takes is one.

[Daniel]

My hesitance in directly calling the company after submitting my resume is that many of them say, "Don't call us, we'll call you," and I don't want to give them the wrong impression (not following the directions, being too pushy, etc..) I'm good at what I do and have full confidence in my abilities, but it's hard to convey that through a resume and a cover letter or from three minutes at a career fair talking to the bottom-ladder recruiters.

^

What do you have to lose?

[Numbers]

I have been submitting my resume through the company websites; I'm certainly not just relying on the resume databases like monster. I've sent in around 30 of them so far, which I realize is a small number, but right now I'm focusing on jobs I WANT to do rather than jobs I CAN do. For instance, I CAN do IT work, but it's not something I'd want to be stuck with. I really don't want to be stuck in a job for a year or two that I don't enjoy doing. At this point, I'm mostly looking to be a business consultant, strategic/business analyst, or possibly something in marketing.

As for region, the northeast, preferably Boston. I'm not willing, at this point, to relocate. That may change the more desperate I get.

[Jorddyn]

At this point, I'm mostly looking to be a business consultant, strategic/business analyst, or possibly something in marketing.

Business consulting is a tough gig for someone with little to no business experience. I'd highly recommend you get some experience first. Business analysis or marketing is a much more likely possibility. Either way, take any job in your field. Any experience looks better than a long, unexplainable period of no or part-time work.


As for region, the northeast, preferably Boston. I'm not willing, at this point, to relocate. That may change the more desperate I get.

Easy enough. Just don't apply for jobs that require relocation.

Good luck.

Jorddyn

[Hog]

I work at Cold Stone after school. We're hiring all the time.

[Apotheosis]

Ok,

#1, fuck the "don't call us...". Call them. It shows "interest" in the position

#2, Look for opportunities outside of the state.

#3, Volunteer with some local non-profit organizations

#4, join some professional organizations in an industry of your interest..

[Kuyuk]

<You could always take the Kuyuk approach and just send out random job interest letters/e-mails begging for whatever job.>


Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt.


K.

[Sean of the Thread]

Recently I sent out about 15 resumes to "jobs I want" in a certain area and got 7 replies. If you lack experience and resume fodder you could send out 300 and you would still get zero responses. The last batch of resumes I sent out were to another region of the country and I got 2 responses out of at least 75. (that sucked)

Just keep at it. Don't be afraid to lie a little either :)

[Wezas]

What Xyelin is trying to say is, "be creative".

When I put my resume together to get my previous job, I put down that I had MS Access experience. My experience was opening up a shortcut to a form someone had already made and basically entering data into it.

However having MS Access on my resume is what helped me get the analyst job. While I was there I learned from people (and classes) all the aspects of Access, behind the scenes, got into Visual Basic, moved over to the development side to be a programmer, and so on.

And once you get a nice office job, install AIM and join us in playerscornerchat so you can slack off with the rest of us while getting paid.

[Kuyuk]

<<And once you get a nice office job, install AIM and join us in playerscornerchat so you can slack off with the rest of us while getting paid.>>

rofl.


Dont fuck up like I did about 5 minutes ago.

I called a place regarding a job offer they gave me (assistant pastry chef), and I had to leave a voicemail... I left them my girlfriends phone number on accident. Evidently I dont call my own enough. Good-bye offer.

Also, I've put out I think 6 resumes, and have heard back from 3. So far all 3 have been positive, until I screwed them up.


K.

[Wezas]

Just tell your girlfriend about it. I'm sure she can accomodate.