English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Getting a job is hard work. It can be one of the most frustrating and time consuming endeavors you ever undertake. Many people say that getting a job is as difficult and time consuming as having a job. We wish great job searches on all of you throughout your lives (as you'll probably have to undertake many, according to labor statistics), but if you have a rough job search experience, know you're not alone. When you look for a job, you are competing against hundreds, sometimes thousands of other candidates. Some of those candidates are more experienced, more qualified, better workers, better people, and more deserving of the job than you are. You are almost guaranteed to be competing with people better than you are in every imaginable way.

Furthermore, job searches are often unfair. We recently read a little anecdote in the Reader's Digest "All In a Day's Work" section which recounted how a boss, in a rush to hire someone, ordered his secretary to throw away 200 of 250 resumes sight unseen. When the secretary protested, the boss said "Well, I don't want to hire anybody who's that unlucky." Even if you get a fair shake, your resume will only get about 10-30 seconds of review, and if you can't generate interest in that time, you're gone. Sometimes companies make very arbitrary decisions about who they hire. Before one of our colleagues came to graduate school, he worked at a company that offers continuing education for lawyers, and he's almost positive that he got the job because the owner of the company is German and he studied overseas in Germany—not because of his qualifications, or his resume. He got the job because of a random, arbitrary fluke. But they had 600 people apply for an entry level position. They had to sort them out somehow.

We tell you that job searches are hard work because no one told us before we graduated from college (and we know some of you have already successfully transitioned to the work force and probably know how hard it can sometimes be.) There is a new idea emerging in the 21st century of the "quarter life crisis"—the depression recent college grads feel when hitting the work world. Their jobs aren't what they'd hoped, life is hard, they don't have much money, all their friends are gone, they get depressed. If this happens to you, you're not alone.

But just because job searching is hard work doesn't mean that you can't do it well, and this next unit is designed to prepare you to secure a great job someday. We'll cover resumes, cover letters, and interviews in forthcoming blogs. Today, we'd like to give you some general thoughts about the job hunt as you start finding your positions.

First off, be thorough but strategic. You can't expect to get a job if you apply to two or three. But you also aren't very well served by just popping generic resumes and letters into envelopes and sending them to everyone in the phone book. You are better off sending 50 focused, catered, specific letters to companies with positions well suited to you than sending 200 resumes out at random. So as you are searching for a job, don't go too narrow and don't go too broad. Be strategic, and cater your employment packages to a specific company by including references to job ad keywords and company information. So pay attention to keywords in job ads. Do some research on the company before you send your materials out.

As you are conducting this thorough but strategic search, think about all the resources available to you. There are several different methods for finding out about jobs. One is to use generic job search engines—such as Monster, Career Builder or the newspaper want ads—that give job listings throughout an area, field, or both. Another is to use industry-specific job search engines that post jobs only in your relavant field. A third is to search the employment section on websites of companies that pique your interest. A fourth is to ask people you know in relevant fields if they know of any job openings. (Though this can be annoying to people, it is often the best way to get a job, so if you have connections, use them. Everybody else is.) A good job search will combine all four of these approaches to find as many jobs as possible. Cast a wide net in the beginning, and then narrow down from there. The more places you look, the more jobs you'll find.

As you are searching, be realistic. Everyone wants that power job, but getting that power job often entails taking some crap jobs until you can work your way up. If a job ad says "10 years experience" and you don't have any, you are almost certainly not going to get it. Someone with 10 years experience will. In your real job search, you are welcome to apply to jobs beyond your experience, even if you are better off targeting ones in your range. For the Employment Project, however, we insist that you apply for something within your reach. If you are not close to graduation, you can choose a summer internship for the project.

Lastly, as you are looking, be persistent. It takes a long time to find a job. Don't just send out 10 resumes and then sit on your hands. Keep at it until you get calls for interviews. It is often a good idea to follow up on application materials politely, when possible, especially when you have a name or contact to speak with. No one is going to come knocking down your door to give you a job. You have to knock down theirs.
Good luck in all your job searches. We hope the next few weeks help prepare you for the future.