Job hunting sucks

I haven't blogged for a while, huh, who knew it had been this long? It has been an interesting and fairly difficult year thus far. I got laid off in February and then found a contract with a competitor and was then promptly laid off from that 6 weeks into it. I am sending out about 12 resumes a day, adjusting each one to match my strengths with the job, sending a cover letter along with it and then waiting, just waiting. I often can't see the point in all this resume emailing I do, it's easy to get down about it so I just don't let myself.

I spend about 4 hours at night and 2 hours a day searching for jobs and sending out emails, and mostly some computer at the other end will filter out 99% of the resumes before a human even looks at the pile that's left. Most of the time these days unless you have an MBA the computer will throw you in the trash pile. I'm kind of at a loss to explain what the HR departments do in some companies now? I mean seriously, computers seem to do all the sorting now and not nearly as well as it could be done by a human actually talking to someone and using that little known and seldom used skill and commodity - intuition.

I remember the old days when you saw a job you liked the look of in the newspaper and you called the number in the ad. You spoke briefly to the HR person, they either liked you or didn't and they would then ask you to send in a resume or they'd say thanks but no thanks. You'd mail it in, you'd then get scheduled for an interview, you'd go in and meet someone. You'd talk and one of the candidates would get offered a job. Not so anymore. Now unless you know someone in the company you more than likely will not get a look in. Which is great if you have been a networker but sucky if you haven't. I am lucky enough to have spent most of my career networking, i consider myself very good at it. Not very good locally in Utah, mine has been all national and international. Even if you have you have to hope the economy doesn't suck - it does. Most people are worried about their own jobs.

Case in point.

I applied for a job at a large broadcast network, I know dozens of people at the network and so 8 of them put a good word in for me. I even got to speak to the hiring manager. He was honest with me, he said 'Here's the thing, I like you, people say good things about you, I think you'd be great for the job, really I do. But I'm nervous about my own job, I need to keep the money for this job in my budget, just in case they change their minds and tell me to lay someone else off, this money will allow me to keep my own job or someone in my department. I can keep my current team doing all kinds of extra work because they know things are tight right now, they are all worried for their own jobs, so they are willing to work any amount of hours I ask and not complain. Sorry.'

Yeah, that kind of sums it up. There is so much fear out there and sometimes unjustified (this hiring manager still hasn't hired someone 6 months later and still has the budget there 'just in case') that no one wants to make a decision. In the meantime his team are burning out fast and at some point it will backfire in his face and the network will suffer as they are starting to see now, terrible morale problems and much more sickness in the ranks.

We have a government that couldn't care less, as long as they are seen to be doing something, anything, they are happy. Of course in the meantime bills pile up and life goes on.

As it happens I got an interview notice today - from South Africa, I think that tells you a lot about the way different countries and companies deal with the current times. A real person looked at my resume, emailed me and I now look forward to speaking with the hiring team.

One thing is certain - looking for a job is a full time job.

The other thing that is certain - I'm going to get a job and I'm going to make myself invaluable to them, nothing like a stint of unemployment to motivate you to be the best damn employee ever.