I'm "Inbetween" Jobs

Ah - job hunting. Never has there been a task so full of desperation, rejection and disappointment. While I'm sure there are folks out there who can fire off one or two resumes and manage to get an interview and a job within a few days, I'm not one of them.

I've used a number of strategies this time round that seem to be working quite well for me (meaning, yes, I have interviews, hooray!).

1.      It's a numbers game - the more applications you send and people you meet, then, quite obviously, you will manage to land more interviews. As this is quite time consuming, prioritizing applications you plan to spend a lot of time on, and ones you just want to fire off without much more than a spell check, is important. If nothing else, writing, writing and re-writing all those applications could always land you a job as cover letter writer… for other unemployed people… who can only pay you in dandelions and G.I. Joe figurines they’ve kept since they were kids…

2.      Do your research – while some say this isn’t important until you actually land an interview, I say otherwise. Being able to entice the HR Manager by showing you have more than a little knowledge on the industry and their company is a great way to have them put you in the “contact” pile. Again, time consuming, so pick and choose which jobs you think will actually care that you went out of your way to learn more and which ones will think you are a little too keen (i.e., the supervisor at Burger Barn probably doesn’t even know that the company has invested $2.5million dollars in research to determine why everyone who eats their onion rings has flatulence that smells of dryer lint.)

3.      Don’t limit yourself – why just apply for one industry? With the market the way it is (Canada isn’t as bad as other places, but still), it’s not as though there is a ton of jobs to choose from in any one industry. And who knows, the industry you are looking in could have 30 other people sitting online desperately applying for all the same jobs you are. More than likely your past career options have supplied you with transferable skills to other job fields. Hunt through some of your recent work experiences for tasks and skills that are commonly seen in other jobs and display those prominently on your cover letter and resume, even if this means using some extracurricular or volunteer experiences you have (why not? It’s still experience). I mean, if you’ve been a plumber your entire life, acting might be a bit out of your league, but try modeling for one of those Coppertone Sunscreen ads!

4.      Put your pride aside – while setting standards and salary ranges is important, when you’re living off your savings, having some income is better than no income. Applying for little odd jobs that won’t really pay the bills, or aren’t really what you are looking for, come in handy, especially if you end up unemployed for some time; you’ll be thankful you can still say you work for a company when you need to apply for a rental apartment, cell phone, etc. Not to mention, it fills in blank spots on your resume that employers generally don’t like to see? “So, what were you doing all of summer 2010?” “Oh, you know, just the same old, same old. Researching Burger Barn and starting my G.I. Joe collection.”