Help Everyone Find A Job In Their Field
Money cat can only do so much
All this ^^^^^
All true, and I’ve got some more for you.
1: Hiring managers who look at your resume and actually consider you are likely to google your name. If work-inappropriate or bad things come up, of course that’s a strike against you. But if nothing comes up, that not doing you any favors either. You don’t need to have a professional presence on every social media platform, but it’s good to have at least one account that is geared toward your career life, set to be public, and flagged with your name and relevant keywords and information. (LinkedIn is a good one for this, since its nature makes this less creepy and invasive, and you can use LinkedIn’s tools to create a whole work portfolio for yourself.) And actually use it, because this way they can get a better sense of who you are, what you do, and what you can bring to the table. Step into their shoes for a second: the job hunt is terrifying and miserable for you, but it’s not much more fun for them. They’re picking a stranger to spend thousands of dollars and the next several years of their professional lives on.
2: This is counter-intuitive for a lot of people, but BE PICKY in what you apply for. Applying for a job is an energy-intensive activity. Waiting fruitlessly to hear back is the PIT OF HELL. Don’t kill yourself applying to jobs you don’t even want. Before you file the application, do some research on the organization. Read their website. Check out glassdoor.com for company reviews. If you can find articles about them, read those. Creep on current employees on LinkedIn and Twitter (turn off LinkedIn’s tracking feature first) to get a better idea of who they are and what they do there. If the place looks like it sucks? Just backbutton out. If it looks crappy and exploitative on paper, it’ll probably be crappy and exploitative if you get the job. If they can’t get their shit together well enough to write up a position description that makes sense…well, that’s probably reflective of their company culture.
You can file dozens of more or less random job applications, or you can file 10 carefully chosen ones. Honestly my experience has been that you’ve got about equal chances of being hired either way, because you will vanish into the pit if you paper-mill your way through lots of job apps and you will stand out if you put in the work on a smaller number that are actually worthwhile to you. So save yourself the energy and be choosy. If you pick jobs you’re actually interested in, your enthusiasm WILL shine through, and you’ll be able to write better, more inspired resumes and cover letters which WILL have a better chance of getting noticed. Especially if you’re networking and getting bugs in peoples’ ears.
3: Okay, how the hell do you network and make contacts, though? THERE’S A WAY. It’s called the “informational interview.” You can google that term for more information. It’s an actual thing.
Most of the time, you’re not going to find somebody who can and will just take your resume and circumvent the online application system. You’ll probably still have to go through it. But if you can find somebody who’s willing to drop your name to the hiring manager, that’s what gets them to go peek into the system and find your application in there. How do you find them? Lots of ways. You can network in person, at conferences and conventions (yes, you can even network professionally with fellow fans), and online. If you’re a college graduate, go back to your college Career Office or Alumni Office and see if they can help put you in touch with people in your desired field or organization. Most colleges have your back even if you graduated years and years ago. Or steel yourself and fire off an email or message to someone you admire from afar to ask if they’d be willing to give you a little of their time, either in person or by email. Yes, if in person is impossible for you either practically or emotionally, you can do these by email.
If they agree, don’t ask them for a job, but do ask them for pointers. Plan out the questions you want to ask. Things like: how did YOU get to your position? What skills are desirable currently? What skills do not enough people possess? What do you like about this industry/organization, and what would you like to see improve? If you know of specific positions that are open, you can ask for more details about those: what do these positions do at the company? What career prospects open up for people in that position? Etc. You can learn things about how to refine your job-hunting approach: what stands out to them about you as a person? Do they have any suggestions for how you can appear more professional? If they’ve been in a position to hire anyone, what has worked and not worked for applicants seeking their attention? And an important one: could they refer you to anyone else you ought to interview (though still probably not in an active do-they-have-a-job-for me sense)?
An informational interview doesn’t get you a job directly, but it gets you insider info, and it gets you a contact. They’ll remember someone who made the effort to reach out and ask for advice. That’s a plus–that’s someone who’s willing to go the extra mile. (It’s also pretty darn flattering for most people, which doesn’t hurt.) DO NOT ask for a job; you’ll lose everything you’re trying to gain here. And don’t forget to follow up with a thank-you message, and if you do decide to apply for a job with their organization, let them know and thank them again for their great advice that led you to it. (After all, they can’t put in a good word for you if they don’t know you’re applying. 😉 )
Seriously. If nothing else, making a practice of this has gone SUCH a long way toward decreasing my job-hunting anxiety, which makes the whole thing worth it right there. Also, it got me a killer reference for grad school (you can do it for grad school too).
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