Despair

Denerick

When you despair at the jobhunt, what do you do? I'm on my last legs here, sick of the job I have (Which was meant to be a stopgap) and every time you apply for a job online you are up against 000s of better qualified graduates. I want to quit my job and look for work in my field (For free, initially, but I can't afford to work for free as an intern as so many seem to be able to do)

Losing hope in the job situation at this stage, it seems that an entire generation of people are going to be left on the sidelines, marginalised either as unemployed or underemployed.

tenchi-fan

You won't find a job if you rely on jobs websites.

You're better off making professional friends in the area you want to work, and ask them to leave your cv in to their manager.

Boardsies can sometimes help. When I was looking for work in Toronto a few people told me they'd have a look at the internally advertised positions on their companies intranet. Like Ireland, Toronto firms usually have to advertise internally as a formality before they can advertise externally. By knowing what jobs are coming up including the job spec, you can apply for the job weeks before the employer even contacts an agency or advertises nationally.

Bluetonic

tenchi-fan wrote: »

You won't find a job if you rely on jobs websites.

I know plenty of people who got jobs through the use of job websites only.

tenchi-fan

Bluetonic wrote: »

I know plenty of people who got jobs through the use of job websites only.

I know people who got jobs through websites too. They're usually skilled and experience and generally in demand anyway.

I know other people who check fas.ie and irishjobs.ie 5 or 6 times a day. They might as well be banging their head against a wall.

My advice to the op is not to rely on jobs websites where, as he acknowledged, advertised positions attract 1000s of applicants.

It's a lot better to know about jobs before they are advertised, and to have friends who can refer you to their managers.

Denerick

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I know people who got jobs through websites too. They're usually skilled and experience and generally in demand anyway.

I know other people who check fas.ie and irishjobs.ie 5 or 6 times a day. They might as well be banging their head against a wall.

My advice to the op is not to rely on jobs websites where, as he acknowledged, advertised positions attract 1000s of applicants.

It's a lot better to know about jobs before they are advertised, and to have friends who can refer you to their managers.

So in this sense, would doing an internship make sense? I just want to get my foot in the door somewhere.

tenchi-fan

Denerick wrote: »

So in this sense, would doing an internship make sense? I just want to get my foot in the door somewhere.

Since you're "up against 000s of better qualified graduates" anything that can help you gain skills or experience is a good thing.

Denerick

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Since you're "up against 000s of better qualified graduates" anything that can help you gain skills or experience is a good thing.

Sickens my stomach though because its a catch 22. I can't afford to live for free. But live for free I must if I want to find something useful.

Absolutely disgraceful. How massively profitable companies can justify not paying even a minor contribution is an abomination.

Anonymous1987

Your field is history, correct? If you are looking for work in your field you could try contacting lecturers or your university department. Who knows, they might have a position as a teaching assistant or know of a relevant position elsewhere. Even if they don't know of an opportunity they are likely to know how best to find one.

When applying online, try to keep your CV to one page. Use a cover letter to flesh your CV out and project your enthusiasm for the job while spelling out for the person screening the CV's that you gained valuable communication skills in X, teamwork in Y etc. When people get ton's of CV's, a methodological approach helps working through the pile so you have to have them ticking the requirement box with trigger words.

Try a couple of methods of applying for jobs including a few speculative phone calls to employers you would really like to work for. Even when applying for a job online, a phone call might be a good way of finding out exactly what the job entails and tailoring your CV/Cover letter to this.

An internship would be very advantageous even if its only for a few weeks/months. If you don't have an opportunity for a full time position after it, it is still worth if for the experience.

Keep the spirits up and best of luck.

dan_d

Aw Denerick.I feel your pain. I don't have a job, but like you, feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall with every passing day on the job hunt...just seems like there's ALWAYS someone better - more qualified, more experienced, knows the right people, has the ONE extra little bit of something that you just don't have. It's incredibly disheartening.

At this stage I'm looking at internships aswell (to gain "experience"...never mind that I already have 5 years experience under my belt...), because anything is better than sitting at home all day long. Anything.

I feel the next few months will be crunch time - I'll either be going back to college full time to do a Masters for a year (opens up another set of agonising choices about the "best" Masters to do), or emigrating.

It's feels so incredibly hopeless, it's impossible to describe. From what I've seen, the advice given here is fairly spot on. But seriously feeling your pain here, it's so demoralising.

fguihen

dan_d wrote: »

Aw Denerick.I feel your pain. I don't have a job, but like you, feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall with every passing day on the job hunt...just seems like there's ALWAYS someone better - more qualified, more experienced, knows the right people, has the ONE extra little bit of something that you just don't have. It's incredibly disheartening.

I agree 100%, there is always someone better than you around the corner. Its up to you to convince a company your still better. even with a better candidate, you always will have something they dont. Experience, soft skills etc.

Perhaps work on your interview technique, learn how to sell yourself and show you ARE the best person for that job. The best engineer/developer/electrician in the world could go for a job but if they cant sell themselves they wont get anywhere.

Im not saying its easy to get a job, but learning to sell your assets/attibutes with confidence will go a long way.

Im of the opinion that if i get an interview, im in with a fighting chance of gettting that job, and its up to me to convince the prospective employer.

spend a few weeks honing your cv. Get friends to do interviews with you, plenty of good questions online. be prepared and you will get sorted.

dan_d

Problem is that I've done all that...it's good advice, but you're assuming I (or anyone!) gets called for interview.....

Sorry, had a very "down" day yesterday. I do appreciate the advice but somedays it just sucks.

syklops

There was a great book I bought a few years called something like "Hacking your career". Btw I work in the area of Information Security, so it was InfoSec-oriented, but I think a lot of its advice will work for any industry.

InfoSec is notoriously difficult to get into because even entry level jobs require 3-5+ years of experience. Its chicken in the egg territory. You cant get experience because you dont have that kind of job/You cant get that job because you dont have that experience. To sum the book up as succinctly as possible its advice was to build on your experience in your spare time as much as possible. From writing blogs, to attending community workshops and giving lectures, to writing articles, doing research. Then next time you apply for a job include some of the things you have done in an "Other experiences" section of your CV.

I don't know what area you want but I am sure there is some kind of volunteer work you can do which is somehow related to the field.

One idea it put forward was giving talks and lectures in old peoples homes. Believe it or not, most old peoples homes are crying out for people to do something with their residents, so do a couple of talks in them, and you can put "Public speaking" on your CV. Anyone asks you about it, tell them exactly what you do, and that you are educating the general public about your area, and most people will be impressed, both by your self-starter approach, and the fact you have the guts to stand up and speak.

Schools and libraries are other places where you can do talks or workshops.

Are there any magazines dedicated to your desired field? Could you write a couple of articles on a related subject? You dont actually need to get an article printed, to be able to say you write articles and contribute to a well known magazine, another thing which goes down well with the prospective employer.

Ill try and think of anything else which was in the book. Do you want to share what your preferred job role is, or what area at least?

P_1

Denerick you studied in Trinity right? Do they have a careers and development office like UCD do?

Might be worth your while popping into them for a chat?

baby and crumble

If you're based in academics, which I assume you are from the comment earlier about history being your field, make sure you have an academia.edu profile. There you can put up papers, presentations, interest groups, anything and everything. You can go to town there, and then make sure you include your personal link on your cv. It's kind of like Facebook for academia and research, so you can find the key people in your field nationally and internationally and link with them. It starts small, but after about 6 months on it, I have followers who are professors at major universities... Ok, I'm not looking for work right now (I'm finishing my PhD) but it's great to start this networking, and you'd be surprised what has come of it. Plus when people follow your page, or anything like that, you get a little notification, and it's a nice ego boost .

Like previous posters have said, spend your spare time maybe writing a blog related to something you're interested in in your field, or looking at free courses etc in any area roughly attuned to what you want to do. That way you can show off solid examples of tech knowledge, an ongoing interest, etc.

There is also a scheme as part of the dole which, if you have signed on for 3 months you can apply for 9 month internships, if you find a company that will take you on, they don't pay for you, but you get to keep all your benefits while you're working. I know you have a job, but it's something to think about.

Edit: I just re-read a reply above me that mentions old folks homes. If you're a historian, think about starting or volunteering to start up an oral history group at a home. that's the topic of my PhD and it really grabs peoples attention. It's easy to do, and shows good attitude.

Denerick

Just wanted to let people know that I'm despairing no longer. Was just offered a job half an hour ago for significantly better money and with better prospects :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Mr. Loverman

Denerick wrote: »

Just wanted to let people know that I'm despairing no longer. Was just offered a job half an hour ago for significantly better money and with better prospects

Wait until you find out it's actually door to door sales for commission only.

/Just kidding. Congratulations. :pac:

Shelga

That's brilliant Denerick! I was in a very similar situation to you and received similar news today, have been offered a graduate job with Jaguar in the UK! :D:D Don't want to hijack your thread but I'm so happy!

My advice to anyone who possibly can would be to leave Ireland. My mental health was deteriorating rapidly, and that's no exaggeration. Also, what you said about internships- I was able to talk about the one I'm currently doing at my interview, which I think helped a lot. They're completely demoralising and awful, but it could just be what clinched me the job, and that's the bottom line. Also, I can't 'afford' to do one either, but that's where social welfare comes in. I don't know if you're entitled to it if you leave a job of your own volition? Guess it's a moot point now anyway!

So yeah, it's a terrible position to be in to be forced to leave your home, but my self-esteem has gone up 100% since this morning. dan_d, I know you have a mortgage, but are you in a position to rent it out and move away? You could well spend another 6 months in the position you're in now, and have to leave anyway. Plus, I wasn't too keen on moving to the UK, but the feeling of being told you actually have a real, tangible job changes things- I'm incredibly relieved. And of course it doesn't have to be the UK.

Good luck to everyone looking for a job, I know how awful it is. I was starting to feel worthless, unemployable, like no company would ever want me etc, but I really believe that it is purely the fact that this is Ireland. Look abroad and you'll be amazed who'll want you. :P I know it's just not possible for many, but again, it's definitely my main advice.

I've had 2 good job offers in 2 months (the first one I agonised over but didn't take for a number of reasons) and neither of them were in this country.