Officially unemployed

[nachoman]

I'll mention what one of my friends felt about job applications: the personnel department may have little feel for what a company needs. He send applications out but didn't get an interview until someone he knew brought him together with his supervisor.
If you are specialized, you may have to find someone who works in a similar field.

Yes, that definitely helps. If you already know someone who works for someplace and can put in a good word - that is a huge leg up. Unfortunately, it is no guarantee. Right now, I am getting the could shoulder from a company a friend of mine works for. I was interviewed twice, I sent them a thank you and forwarded some additional information they requested, and haven't heard anything from them for 4 weeks. I called them the beginning of this week to see if they were still interested or not, and all I got was a voice mail and no return phone call. My friend has been working out of town this summer, and got back into town today. I asked her what was up, and she said she would ask around and find out for me. Unfortunately, it is not like a store that gives bad service - I have no option to take my business elsewhere. I worked for the state government for two years, and while the government is notorious for inefficiency and slow service - at least we had the courtesy to call people back. Sorry for the rant - but this situation is starting to tee me off.