Searching and Seeking
Today, I showed up in person at a prospective employer whose website suggested you download and complete an application, then mail it in. I decided the heck with it, I'm showing up in person. This current trend of applying online, with no personal interaction? I hate it. Hate it, hate it, HATE IT!
Showing up in person restored my faith in doing things the old fashioned way. The first person walking by me greeted me with a cheery hello, then when I asked where I could find Human Resources, she SHOWED me where the needed office was (or really, the person who would get me there.) When I got to the receptionist, well, I didn't have an appointment, so I wasn't getting to see the HR person. She warmly asked asked for my application packet and give me the HR director's card. The receptionist cheerily instructed me to call the HR contact directly if I hadn't heard back in a week's time.
The whole encounter? Exactly what I haven't experienced while job seeking and the lack of it has contributed heavily to my pessimism about the job prospects.
Today also brought a different encounter on the job search. Saturday night, a former boss pinged me on Facebook. In the course of the conversation, H asked if I was still without a job. Then, H asked me to email my resume, because her DM was looking for managers and the former boss had mentioned my name. A few minutes later, I emailed it. Soon afterwards, H sent an email that she'd forwarded to the DM.
This morning, my phone rang. I didn't get to it at the time, but called back. And thus began the phone tag. I suspect she'll call me back tomorrow, while I'm at the SSDI appointment! That's okay, based on the message, and the personal recommendation, I am sure we'll get to talk soon.
The more I think about it, the more I suspect that this is the way that hiring will occur in the future. If you had to fill a position, would you really want to spent the money on advertising, only to get 300 applications from people who don't meet the minimum job requirements? Or would you rather poll your existing workforce to ask them about former colleagues that would be a good fit for your company?
I think that saving thousands on ads as well as many hours sifting through the resumes mean that this networking situation is going to become more and more prevalent. This is good when you're well entrenched in your current locale, but it's going to make it harder for job seekers who want to relocate to an area with better employment rates.
In any event, it's a good feeling to know that a former coworker thought enough of me to seek me out and present me to her boss as a good candidate.
Maybe 2009 will turn out better, after all!
Showing up in person restored my faith in doing things the old fashioned way. The first person walking by me greeted me with a cheery hello, then when I asked where I could find Human Resources, she SHOWED me where the needed office was (or really, the person who would get me there.) When I got to the receptionist, well, I didn't have an appointment, so I wasn't getting to see the HR person. She warmly asked asked for my application packet and give me the HR director's card. The receptionist cheerily instructed me to call the HR contact directly if I hadn't heard back in a week's time.
The whole encounter? Exactly what I haven't experienced while job seeking and the lack of it has contributed heavily to my pessimism about the job prospects.
Today also brought a different encounter on the job search. Saturday night, a former boss pinged me on Facebook. In the course of the conversation, H asked if I was still without a job. Then, H asked me to email my resume, because her DM was looking for managers and the former boss had mentioned my name. A few minutes later, I emailed it. Soon afterwards, H sent an email that she'd forwarded to the DM.
This morning, my phone rang. I didn't get to it at the time, but called back. And thus began the phone tag. I suspect she'll call me back tomorrow, while I'm at the SSDI appointment! That's okay, based on the message, and the personal recommendation, I am sure we'll get to talk soon.
The more I think about it, the more I suspect that this is the way that hiring will occur in the future. If you had to fill a position, would you really want to spent the money on advertising, only to get 300 applications from people who don't meet the minimum job requirements? Or would you rather poll your existing workforce to ask them about former colleagues that would be a good fit for your company?
I think that saving thousands on ads as well as many hours sifting through the resumes mean that this networking situation is going to become more and more prevalent. This is good when you're well entrenched in your current locale, but it's going to make it harder for job seekers who want to relocate to an area with better employment rates.
In any event, it's a good feeling to know that a former coworker thought enough of me to seek me out and present me to her boss as a good candidate.
Maybe 2009 will turn out better, after all!
Comments
My dad is on the job search too!
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