Officially unemployed

[RobertInOntario]

I just found this out and saw the updates to this thread -- a big CONGRATULATIONS, Kevin ! This is great news !

Rob

[ezdays]

That's great news Kevin, especially this close to the holidays. I remember many, many years ago when I was laid off around the first of December. It was a rough Christmas for sure, but I did find something about a month or so later, so I didn't have to go through what you did. You can now have a happy holiday.

[nachoman]

PS - I wanted to thank everyone here for their advice and support. If you know anyone unemployed, be sure to help them keep their head high and to stay active. I learned quite a few things about myself and the world over the past year. The worst thing you can do is get down on yourself and start thinking you are at fault. I had many friends and family offer to pay me a small amount to do odd jobs for them, stuff that I would normally do for free. All that support helped out.

[Russ Bellinis]

Congrats, Kevin. I was thinking of you the other day, and considered digging up this thread to ask how things were going. I just wasn't sure how to word it so that it would be an encouragement rather than discouraging you. I haven't looked in "Lower Berth" in a few days, so when I opened it this morning and saw your post, I was very happy for you.

[Bob C]

Congratulations, Kevin ! The timing seems appropriate, and the recognition of the value of your work has to feel extra good. If/when hard times grab me by the short hairs, I'll use your inspiration to help me through. WOW - what a Holiday present for you (and yours)!...and totally deserved. All the best. Bob C.

[shaygetz]

[iis612]

Congrats Kevin!!

[jglfan]

Great news Kevin. I too start work next week as a permanent employee, of the company which laid me off 12/08. I can tell you the first 7 or 8 months were hell. I had only one interview in that time, and it was, as has been noted above, with a company which had an employee I knew who got me thru the red tape. Starting around 8/09 things got better as far as landing interviews. I stopped responding to those internet offers on Monster, etc which did not give name and adress of the company. In addition to sending my resume by email or link to their site, I hand delivered one to the receptionist. I always asked, and was always refused, to see the personnel person to hand the resume to. But I expected that, they get overwhelmed with responses, you know. But I had perhaps 5 interviews between 8/09 and 10/09, all but one of which went really well. Yet I got no offers, and an article I read some months back may help explain that (I hope so!). It seems the premiums for a companies health care coverage are largely dependent on the median age of their employees. I am 58. My resume was crafted in such a way they could not tell my age. I only had my work history go back 15 years. I had received unanimous advise that history beyond 10 years was irrelevant in most cases. I had to go back further, as I had worked for my (present!) company for 13 years. Back in 10/09, my old company called me and asked if I was interested in working for 6 weeks to fill in for some people taking extended vacations, 3 weeks as a buyer, and 3 weeks as shipping dept supervisor. Both these functions had reported to me previously. Of course I did, as it rather stroked my ego! While there, I downloaded inventory information and presented a plan to reduce their excess inventory by 3 million, as no one had been looking at it! So I was kept as a temp since then, and now have been offerd a position as a production scheduler, new to me. And, at 3/4 my old salary, but heck, I wasn't having much luck and am getting no younger! It;ll be a new skill and who knows what that might help me land in the future. Best wished to all those still looking.

Gary

[P5se Camelback]

JGL Fan Gary -

Well! Congrats to you as well! May the New Year bring both you and Kevin new-found prosperity!

But, Gary, I read your post with great interest, as over the years, I have endured extended periods of unemployment (for some reason, when the financial going gets tough, the blinders-wearing, bottom-line-oriented corporate bean-counters lay off the people who develop new product first! How does that make any sense?)

Your positive attitude and methods for keeping it leaning in a positive direction are to be not merely commended, but applauded! And I learned a few things re: resume preparation that I hadn't thought about before! Unfortunately, too late to help me, but you young guys should read Gary's post again, slowly this time, letting some of its wisdom sink in! There's no reason to go back though history and list your first after-school-part-time job [... a bit of sarcasm, but you get the idea.] Unless it's germane to illustrate your knowledge or experience base, leave it out. You can always bring older work history up in the interview ... and that's all the resume really is, in truth ... a tool to get your face in front of the hiring decision-maker! Let me add ... try to keep the resume to one page ... I was guilty of that one, listing every job after graduation from design school (including a a rough period in the very beginning, with a number of jobs working a month or two for a few different consultant design offices, each of which was struggling to keep the doors open) ... it doesn't look very stable, even if it wasn't your fault.

So ... thinking positive thoughts ...

May January First bring the two of you, and all of us collectively, the beginnings of a more prosperous, happier, less-constrained, less overly-regulated future!

[nachoman]

Jglfan - all I can say is "yep". Your experiences sound similar to mine, and I felt the same way about resumes. 10 years employment history, or two companies max. If they are reading through hundreds of resumes, last thing they want to read is a narrative (unless the position they are hiring for is "kiss-up" ). I wish I could give everyone else advice that would get them all hired, so for anyone listening, this is what I came up with:

1) Put details on a resume, and ALWAYS include a cover letter. Make the cover letter catchy and enthusiastic and more broad. The cover letter should be one page (three paragraphs), and the resume less than two pages. Your goal for resumes and cover letters is to get them to contact you again, either for more info or an interview. A resume gets you an interview, and an interview gets you a job.
2) Stay in contact with people in your industry. I got two interviews by knowing people within the company. If it is your former co-worker's birthday party, or your college classmate's 2nd wedding - it may be worthwhile to attend.
3) If there are any events or meetings your industry is involved with, attend those meetings. Those are great places to network. For instance, I went to a public awareness meeting over a groundwater contamination issue.
4) Keep up on licenses and training. I took a mine safety training class just to stay current, and to network. If you have OSHA 40 hour training - KEEP IT CURRENT. Think about other registrations, memberships, and skills that you could learn quickly that look good on a resume. It may be a simple community college course in computer software that lands you a job.
5) whenever you have a job, DO A GOOD JOB. Don't burn bridges. And don't put junk on facebook that reflects negatively on yourself.
6) I think sending resumes as paper copies is best. If it is in a large 9x12 envelope delivered to their desk, they are forced to open it and at least look at it. Emails and electronic submissions are easily overlooked or deleted. It is best if you address the resume to a particular person, not just "HR director". Research the company and find a name of a person who is manager of the area you are applying to. The HR director may simply file the resume without forwarding it. But if the resume gets to the person who understands your skills, you are better off. Unfortunately, many companies only accept electronic submissions now, using their data entry form. I don't know how to make yourself stand out in those instances. Hand delivering a resume may help, especially for very small companies.
7) When you do interview, wear appropriate clothing. I have heard of interviewees wearing jeans, shorts, or flip flops, and getting rejected specifically for that reason. Act positive during the interview, smile, act like you have researched the company, ask detailed questions, and do your best to remember names. The more you sound interested in them, the more they will be interested in you.

[P5se Camelback]

All extremely sound advice!

[Charlie B]

One thing that everyone should remember to do and that is to get a letter of reference when you leave a company. I was lucky enough to have been told that years ago, and I was never refused, and the letters I had were instrumental in getting jobs later in life. Most places I had worked no longer existed so it was nice to place a copy with my resume. I'm sure it saves time for them when checking references too.
I also had references from my customers and regulatory people.
Charlie

[jglfan]

Another little tid bit I picked up from a headhunter: You can't have just one resume. Each resume you submit should be tailored to the requirements noted in the job offer. In my case, he had me ( I work mostly in material management) go thru the Apics ( a purchasing and inventory association I belong to) dictionary, selecting all the terms that applied to work I had done. Then you build and "inventory" of skill sets, using all the terms you selected. It was hard work and the resultant paragraphs were often run on type things you would never consider submitting. However, it did help to make me more comfortable during interviews, as I had a better grasp of terminology. After reading job requirements, etc, I tailored a resume to highlight those areas where I had experience, and did not bother mentioning other experience I had if it had nothing to do with what the company was looking for. The headhunters theory was that if you want a pepperoni pizza, you don't want someone selling you eggplant pizza too. I'm not sure I agree, but it does seem to work. After all, as has been stated, the goal is to get an interview, short and to the point gets you there. You can mention the other work experience at the interview, as appropriate.

Gary

[eightyeightfan1]

Another little tid bit I picked up from a headhunter: You can't have just one resume. Each resume you submit should be tailored to the requirements noted in the job offer.

Good point. Thats what they told us in the state run re-employment classes that I was required to take to keep getting unemployement.
Another hint is to keep the resumes seperate. And when going to apply, make sure you bring the right one with you. I made the mistake, though it worked out for the best, was when I went to the company I'm at now, I applied for one of the machine operators jobs. In a hurry to get to the shop to apply, I accidently grabbed the resume touting my twenty-five years of QA(Quality Assurance) experience, which I gave to the receptionist with my application. To make along story short, not only was the company looking for machine operators, but also a recieving inspector, as the one they had quit(This was last year..You have a job...Why quit?) that very morning I went to apply! Inetrview the next day...Drug test the day after that, and the next week, on Wednsday, November 18th, 2009...I started working again.

I guess my point is, that if the company hadn't been looking for a replacement inspector, and I handed in the wrong resume, I still might be looking today.

Congrats for you good fortune.

[P5se Camelback]

I think they call that a "serendipidous experience."