they’re all against us
A lot of people are aware that I’m on the hunt for a new job. I feel like I’ve outgrown my current role and I can’t imagine myself fitting into a different role within the organisation, therefore I’ve made the decision to move on. But so far, it has been extremely frustrating. I started searching in June, applied to several positions, and received only one call back and subsequent interview - with a staffing agency. I’ve been reading some interesting articles on the whole job-search phenomenon and I’m beginning to agree with the general concensus that the job market, although operating under a labour shortage, is against us. Seriously.
I’m beginning to understand that the larger the company, the harder it is to infiltrate. It’s all the HR bureaucracy/red tape shite that is set up like an impenetrable fortress and the chances of my resume ever being handled by an actual human being? About as good as Paris Hilton becoming the next President of the United States. So in other words, nearly impossible (I say ” nearly” because really, you never know… the world is a crazy place).
Not only that, job search sites such as Monster or Workopolis are working against me too! There are hundreds, THOUSANDS, of jobs on these sites, but they do actually produce any results? I personally haven’t seen any, except for getting the occasional email about jobs that I have absolutely no interest in or am completely under-qualified for (Sales Manager? Really? Are you smoking something?).
Now, I think I’m a good employee. I’m technology-savvy, I have impeccable attention to detail, I’m able to work with a variety of personalities, and I get things done quickly. I can also pick up any inhouse software because I’m an ultra computer geek. I’m intelligent, I know how to fake it and put on a good face, even if I really, really, REALLY hate you and want to kick you in the shin, and I’m all about being the type of worker who saves company money. I also think my overseas work experience has added tremendous value. And I have to figure out a way to market myself, highlighting all of these good things without coming off as egotistical, on a piece of paper. That a computer scans through for keywords. That will never see the light of day. What’s the point, anyway?
I firmly believe, in today’s job market, it’s definitely not about what you know, but WHO you know. I’m at a great disadvantage since I’m still new to the city and haven’t figured out this who networking thing yet (a part of me feels that it’s such a superficial thing, that people would want to connect with others solely to gain something out of it). I’ve also learned that companies still post an opening for a job, even if it’s been filled, just to comply to the whole “equal opportunities” clause.
Okay, I think it’s pretty deceitful to post a job when it’s not even available. I understand that there are certain policies and procedures to adhere by, but think about the people who get so excited to see a job opening at a certain company that would be a great match. They busily put together a well-crafted resume and an equally well-crafted cover letter, send it off to HR, and wait anxiously for some kind of reply that isn’t the auto-reply, “Thank you for your interest in our company. Should an opportunity arise that matches your skills, we will contact you directly. Blahblahblahblah.. in actuality, your resume will end up in the depths of the Recycle Bin and never be seen by human eyes.” I feel really bad for these people, and I’m one of them, too. I don’t know how many times I’ve redone my resume so that it’s designed specifically with the job I’m apply for in mind. Not to mention cover letters. Ugh, cover letters.
So, are some of these companies just doing it to see what kind of response they’ll get? Kind of like testing out the market? I recently read in an article about a group of employees who decided to do a little experiment to see how their HR department was operating. There was a job posting for a role that these employees were currently in, and each of them sent their resumes to HR (with faked names of course). Now, obviously all of these employees were more than qualified for the position, but none of them were called. So the old ideal that if you’ve got the skills, you’ll get the job, is completely outdated and no longer applies.
So what is a person like me to do? I’ll just have to keep looking. People keep telling me that there are so many jobs out there. Really? Then why, in the last two months, have I only gotten one phone call? It’s not even that I’m applying for jobs I’m not qualified for.
Job hunting le major sucks.
major meltage
Wow, it is sweltering today, a record 33 degrees celcius (although reports on the The Weather Network say that it feels like 36… eeks). I’ve never been good with hot weather, or summertime for that matter. I reckon I’m the only person in the entire world who is an avid summer-hater. My porcelain white skin will attest to it. People often ask me how I survived living in Australia for a year. My response? It was so darn beautiful that I dealt with it the best I could, the worst being New Year’s Day, 2006, when it climbed to 45 degrees celcius. That was… special. Anyway, my final project is due tomorrow so I’m heading to the air-conditioned glory of the public library after work so I can concentrate on it. These past five weeks have been a true test, as my drawing skills had quietly declined in favour of me spending countless hours in front of the computer learning Photoshop and Illustrator. Some assignments have taken an upwards of 8 hours to complete - very labour-intensive. But it’s all been worth it. After Wednesday, it’s on to the next class, “Colour Theory for Print”, and back to Photoshop and Illustrator. But there’s some acrylic painting involved. Should be interesting.
content update
I’ve been working on incorporating a plugin that would allow me to imbed a gallery (or galleries) into this blog and so far, it’s been going pretty well. I installed the NextGEN Gallery, specifically designed as a WordPress plugin. The functionality is great and it’s easy to work with, but for some reason I’m unable to create albums - the drop-down function is not working (it may just be that I’m completely useless, but I digress). So, while I’m troubleshooting this issue, I’ve made a couple of galleries - Artwork and Graphics (links on the top right-hand side navigation area). Artwork is a collection of my school projects in the design/drawing classes and Graphics is independent work (stuff I’ve created for fun). Eventually, I’ll be incorporating my Photoblog back into this blog so that all images are together in one place for easier navigation. Stay tuned.