Don’t sabotage your job hunt: 6 tips

Does anyone ever just get weary? Weary of the whole game? I do. And it is that–don’t kid yourself. The bad news is regardless of your education, resume etc. most of the time it boils down to if the people you work for and most closely with like and respect you. Shoddy work, laziness and downright incompetence are often overlooked if people like you or think you are a “good guy” or “good person”.

Resumes are one of the biggest socially accepted “untruths” around—and everyone knows it. That’s why they are a dime a dozen and barely worth the paper they’re printed on. The ideal scenario is to have a nice blend of experience, education and an innate ability to adapt to the work environment and power structures that exist within it.

I was going to be laid off from a job but was offered a position that was an additional 20 miles away, and doing work that I hated. I accepted the job so that I could stay in the company and pay my bills. 3 months later I found my dream job within the company and was able to move right into it.

Sometimes you have to put up with stuff for a while to keep afloat until your next boat arrives.

I’ve been out of work since the beginning of Oct. Before being laid off, I went on 3 interviews all of which were going to exceed my current salary. Since then I’ve turned down several offers that were offering 10K less than what I was previously making.

In the meantime, this is the perfect time for me to conduct a career change. I found that I do not see myself working in the field I am experienced in going foward.

That most important thing is to keep your hopes up. Confidence is key. Don’t give up on searching.

Have an open mind!!!

I had the experience of working outside of my field for an extended period. One of the best pieces of advice I’d like to share is that people should really concentrate on what they’re resume is saying about them. Even if an outplacement firm has assisted you, they’re probably overwhelmed and your resume’ may not “pop”.

Unfortunately, even your closest professional allies aren’t always 1) going to be your first choice to review such a personal statment or 2) willing to give you the unadulterated feedback and pay the attention to detail that will really be helpful.

I’d reviewed resume’s for years (and still do up to the CEO/COO level) as a past-time talent, and I just couldn’t seem to get mine into shape. People are flooded with paper and the internet has created a candidate swamp.

Make sure you represent yourself with an exciting, active, strategically key-worded resume that doesn’t sound like a jargon dictionary. And if you take a lesser position, you will still be utilizing excellent skill sets that have probably been lying dormant. Speak to those positively.

Blessings to all.

Two years ago, my husband and I accepted a transfer with his company to an area that we have both always loved. I did not realize that the job market was bad here until I started looking for a position. After two months of looking, I accepted a position that would not require long commutes but that was very low-paying and that I was extremely over-qualified for. I ended up being with a company that I do not respect for two years and I had very little time to interview for other positions due to micro-management and attendance policies. As of yesterday, I am out of even that low-paying job and my age is a problem in finding the kind of position I want. I do not really have an answer. I would recommend that you not get comfortable or lower your expectations if you are in an “interim” job. Find a way to keep your options open.

You are so right in advising people not to take the first job offer after they have been laid off or their company outsourced their job overseas. A company that I had five years of service with decided to outsource my job and several others overseas. Being displaced workers, we were not able to draw unemployment as the company stated that if we wanted to move to India, we could have kept our jobs. I ended up taking the first job offer I had, and in the first week I knew I had made a tremendous mistake, but tried to make the best of the job as I could. The companies finances were already in deep trouble and as the economy worsened their finances became worse. So they decided to lay off 10 employees and I was one of them, which was fine with me. I am able to draw unemployment this time, which is only a fourth of what I use to make, but at least it is some income.

I’ve been sending out resumes to selected companies and have had three phone interviews which have gone very bad. The HR people that have called me, act as if they just called to start an argument with someone. They were so rude and unprofessional. This time around I want to make sure that my employer and I are a good fit for one another. If their HR people are acting like that, then how is the management acting?

A couple of years ago I went through a brutal interviewing process over the course of three weeks that included 6 hours worth of face-to-face and panel interviews and a battery of online and written tests.

It made me second-guess the organization, because many of their interview questions seemed wandering and none too relevant.

Finally, I was offered the job, complete with the promises of decent salary, private office, supervisory responsibilities and all the rest. Something in my gut told me that all was not as it appeared to be, but I put that down to “new-guy” nerves.

Alas, my gut was right.

The agreed-upon salary and vacation time was conveniently changed (without my input), the promise of a private office vanished and my supervisory responsibilities were all imaginary.

When I met with the principals to outline my concerns, I was told, “Business changes. We’ve had to make adjustments. Deal with it.”

I was not unhappy to leave.

I agree with the article that we should accept any available job offer that comes along in order to pay the bills even if the interviewer sucks simply because one needs to survive and eat first before one can do something about the future. I joined the workforce when my business venture failed, my first 3 bosses were all morons but I tried my best to learn as much as I can to become a more effective worker because I believe one must be fully prepared when the rite job comes along. I continued to hunt for better offers until I found my current job which more or less meets my expectations. However, I still continue to better myself through continue learning so as to equipped myself for even better and bigger offer in future.

A bad job experience can hurt more than you can possibly imagine. And today’s work environmet is more corrupt than you can possibly imagine – unless you happen to work on Wall Street or in the mortgage industry.

Unfortunately, the lies and excesses of the last decade have left no room for genuine honest work. Genuine honest work is boring, pedestrian, and of no interest. Unless you can match the returns provided by the lies that created the current financial mess – no one’s interested.

(Correction: That’s PRETEND to match the PRETENSES of the last decade as they were all lies to begin with).

A good question to ask yourself is this one: If the Post Office around the corner from your house was hiring, for full-time permanent staff, would you be interested? Why or why not? It’s tedious honest work with a decent salary, predictable hours, government benefits and a goverment pension.

And do the math – can you really do better than that – overall?

If you think you can, then work out exactly HOW (not vaguely but exactly HOW?), what are the trade-offs and why are they acceptable to you? Is 90% travel o.k.? Is 4 hrs of commute – every day – o.k.? What are your personal ethical boundaries? If someone put a contract in front you that clearly screamed “this family obviously doesn’t even speak english and signed wtih an X … ANOTHER GREAT SALE FOR OUR FIRM” … would you sign noting that their costs would quickly escalate to levels you’d be hard-pressed to pay?

Just someone who has chased the brass ring – won – and seen the dark underside.

Think hard and do the math.

To RULES OF WORK

I wish I had seen that 5 months ago after I resigned my position. I have been looking for a job since April. Finally received an offer two weeks ago. I decided to counter the offer because I was not eligible for insurance benefits for six months. Company gave the offer to next candidate within 3 hours of my counter. (I called them back to say I would take initial offer) It was gone.

I found you have to do the best job for its own reward. Then if let go, you have the personal satisfaction that you did the best you could. Layoffs are more about who gets funding into their department and not always about whats best for the company and who is the best worker. So dont take it personal. Your coworkers know what you did and will become part of your future network. Once laid off, if you have to take a job as a stepping stone perhaps you can find something that has early hours, so you can continue to look in the afternoon. Last time I was laid off, I took a road department job, then applied to a second shift job in a large company. Once I got in, I used my time to move internally to the job I really wanted.

I completely agree with this article. After having had the experiences of being layed off more than once, you are tempted to grab any job! Don’t! That will backfire on you. I grabbed a job in a small office with only 3 people and the boss was a nightmare! She seemed great on the interview but she turned out to be a nasty, miserable, manager who thought I was going to be her maid! I left after 2 months without having anything lined up and did not regret my decision! A week later, I found the best job of my life. It was suitable for my personality and my schedule. I do say if you’re looking for work, don’t panic, just know in the end, it will all work out if you just persevere.

I agree completely – especially with the if you won’t get along with the boss/coworker at the interview – you won’t get along with them ever comment. I have taken jobs where I knew I was going to not like the boss and a few of my co-workers (took it for the $) – I hated my job so much I wound up quitting 4 months later

The rules of work

Always do what you are told, never less, never a lot more. Wildly overperforming will incur resentment from both co-workers and supervisors.

Always keep your mouth shut. Don’t offer critques on the way the company is run, even if your intention is to make it a better company. It’s not your company and not your place to say.
If you want to work at a better run company, go find one.

Find friends and romantic relationships outside of work. Do go to company social functions, but think of them as still being on the job. Keep the mask on.

My recommendation is to live in a place where there are more job opportunities. In case you are laid off because company decided to “restructure” at least you will have opportunity to find another job. The lesson I learned is to always have your resume and references ready just in case and look for warning signs of potential reorganization in the company. Also look at company’s history of layoffs. I noticed that some companies do a restructuring every couple of years to make their cash flow looks good. So, check the companies history of past layoffs. You might also get a job offer in a lone company in a rural area but ask yourself what if the company decide to restructure and layoff people, what are your options. So think twice before moving to an area where there are not too many job opportunities.

I probably made all the mistakes, plus another one was letting too many recruiters have my resume. When I finally got to interviews, at times the prospective employer had also had at least one other approach. But hey, getting a role is the priority. After 4 months, I have landed a role that is about 3 levels below what I was doing previously and $50k per annum less, but it is a good (better) business and I can rebuild a career.

I have lucked out in the fact that the current industry that I work in (mining) is going through a huge positive cycle and experienced “bodies” are in short supply. Eventually there will come a time when the growth of an industry ceases and begins to bottom.
I have always lived by 1 rule (and Scott from Tampa has partially confirmed that): The best time to look for work is when you have work… Don’t get me wrong in some cases the terminations and layoffs come out of the blue but in most situations that I have seen, there is more than ample warning of impending downsizing or “restructuring”, as most operations like to call it.
Take a look at your current position in the company, take a look at your colleagues. Are they and you getting a little too sedate or comfortable in their work surroundings? Regardless of position, ask yourself, “…what have I learned in the last 3 months on the job?” If you have answered “yes” and then answered “not much” I would suggest spending a little time on the resume and see what else is actually out there before you end up scrambling and accepting a job that you don’t want. I never hurts to look ahead…

Based on the information that was available to me at the time, I don’t think I made any bad decisions. There are one or two ‘wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then’ situations in my past career, but I still have lots of career left. The bottom line is that you have to play with the cards that you’re dealt, not the hand that you wish you had.

This column was very informative, and it covered all of the general cases. It is a good way for anyone to land on their feet their company has been hit by layoffs, and there are a lot of these happening right now. The only things that I would add are specifics:
– Assume that the job/company are a turnaround until you can be certain that they are not, whether or not the interviewer tells you;
– Be extremely careful of family businesses (that have at least two relatives by blood or marriage);
– If the interviewer says that there are problems, assume that they are really worse or much worse;
– Prior to joining a company, think/ask about how long they will need you and your services and conceptualize an appropriate plan for this job and the next one after it.

It’s hard to get the above information from companies. They tend to lie, hedge, or bu!!$&!t because they need you and fear that you won’t join if you know the truth. For them, it’s all about the money. So should it be for you. Forewarned is forearmed.

Last year the tiny start-up I had been working for saw one of the key investors leave, leaving me unemployed less than six months after accepting this dream job. I landed a high-end sales position three weeks later – which lasted two weeks, as the employer felt I was not a perfect fit. Being only a few years out of college, I had little in savings and eventually moved back in with my mother as I drove 100 miles round-trip to interview over and over. I turned down a few offers before accepting one as unemployment ran out. It was not my dream job, but it’s been a good year with them and I may stay another few years. The key was my mother (and life-consultant) not letting me take a position just to get a paycheck again. It really was important to take a position I felt there was a decent chance I would enjoy and succeed at, and weighing out each potential employer helped me go somewhere I have a future at without getting stuck.

I lost my job at the beginning of the credit crisis in 2007 and was out of work for 4 months. I did have ample savings and therefore the luxury to stay in the credit field and take a little time job searching but it was still nerve racking. The advice that I found landed me interviews was to find the job listing on an internet site, for example, and then go directly to the company website and apply for that job. Then I would email or call the prospective employer to make them aware my resume/application was on the way. This seemed to get me a lot of intitial interviews and then I would weed out the lower tier jobs. When I was offered 2 jobs that both required relocation out of state, I contacted my preferred employer and notified them of the 2nd job offer. That prospective employer in turn agreed to pay to relocate my family.

I left my previous job without anything lined up in advance. The first couple times I went deep into the interview process, I didn’t end up receiving an offer. In one case, I simply didn’t ‘click’ with the top manager. In the other case, the corporate culture seemed a little too at odds with my personality. At the time, it was disappointing to come close but not receive an offer. I comforted myself with the fact that I knew that I had been myself in the interviews and if it wasn’t a match, it was probably better for both parties that I didn’t work there. In the end, I found some really great positions at companies which really fit with who I am. I ended up fielding four offers simultaneously before finally deciding on a position. It worked out great, but I still remember the ups and downs of the process.

I was working in my dream job 5 months ago.While working in companyA, I was offered a position at company B. Better company, nice pay , interview went well no flaws at all. I took the job. Now its been 5 months and I am stuck, my boss mentally harasses me, micromanages me, evetyhing is wrong in front of him. Bottom line , I am going through hell. I have been looking for new job for over 2 months nothing has come up. I need advise, I dont want to break down. Please help me Annie

I was out of work once and took a job that I knew was not right for me. They even told me I was overqualified. I spent 14 years there in misery but the money kept me there because I had a family to support.

The good thing it accomplished was to help me realize that I would never improve my lot until I completed my education. At that time, I had not completed a bachelor’s degree and had been out of school for 15 years. Now, I’m nearing completion of my doctorate and work in higher ed. I love my work and my colleagues. My boss is hardly around but expresses appreciation for my work. I could probably make more money in the private sector but here, I really feel like my work makes a difference.

Life is too short to be miserable in a job!

After being out of work for three months, and having deposited my final severence check, reality set in. It was truly scary wondering where my next paycheck would come from. Car payment, mortgage, food, gas?!?!?!? Finally I got that job offer…not the job I wanted, not the money I wanted, not the workspace I wanted (a counter against a wall). But it was a job that would pay the bills. I continued to interview for the next week knowing that “if all else fails”, I still had a job. I could not believe how comfortable and at ease I felt during those interviews. I honestly belive they were the best interviews I ever had. Consequently, within a week of accepting the job I didn’t want, I got a job offer…the exact job I was looking for…more money and a beautiful view from my new office.