Ginevra Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 How do people find jobs now? Other than having a friend, who has a friend, whose brother's girlfriend's aunt is in XYZ business? What it looks like to me is, there's Craigslist, but nobody ever posts the salary range and there are bogus scams you need to look out for, and maybe there's Monster.com if you want to subscribe to something like that. Is there any such thing as newspaper classifieds anymore? What resources do people use now to find employment? And how do you know what salaries can be expected if nobody says anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 LinkedIn. Dh has had several people contact him (even though he isn't currently looking) to see if he'd be interested in interviewing for something they have open. He uses it to look for people to solicit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 It probably depends on the line of work. In my husband's line of work, another option is recruiters. You don't pay them. The hiring company will pay them a "finder's fee" if they present you as a candidate for an opening and are hired. A recruiting company he went through several years ago still calls him occasionally if something opens up that he would be suited for. He has gotten call-backs and interviews in the last few years from applications submitted on sites like Monster. Not listing a salary is a bit annoying. He went through a total of three interviews with one company before they admitted that their maximum base salary for his position was substantially lower than what he was currently making. They called back a few months later to see if he was interested in a slightly different job that could support a higher salary, but it was too far away. Another problem with the sites like that is the huge lag time most companies have between posting a job and actually contacting you if they are interested. He has submitted applications and resumes for job postings, and not heard anything for a few months. Then he will get a call that the company is looking to fill a certain position and would like to interview him. If you are just looking to switch companies that lag time isn't a huge deal. If you are out of work, you can't afford to wait three months for a company to decide they really can't go any longer without hiring someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) I agree with LinkedIn, using job search engines to find jobs, and applying on company websites. When DH started searching for a new job, we checked out resume books from the library, which helped a lot. Things have changed so much in the last 10 years. We made a standard resume to attach to e-mails, but the most important factor was to make a searchable resume to submit online. Many companies receive hundreds of resumes each day, so the only likelihood of getting an interview is if your resume is closely tailored to match the job description in their post. It was a lot of work, but he had at least 10 interviews and received four solid job offers. For example, if the job posting says they are looking for an energetic individual with strong communication skills, your husband may have those qualities, but may not have them in his resume, or may have phrased it differently in his resume. With just a bit of tweaking to the resume itself, or the search tags, you can increase the odds of his resume being seen. We both had solid resumes with job offers out of college, but things have changed so much, it felt like we had never written one before! DH also took hard copies of his standard and searchable resumes to job fairs. That way, if they were interested right away, they looked at the standard (pretty) resume. If they wanted them in their system for later, they scanned the searchable resume into their database. Edited July 31, 2012 by besroma Written from the perspective info is for DH job search, though it might not be exactly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 My friend recently found a very professional job through Craigslist. It is with a very, very large financial company. She was quite surprised herself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I think it depends on the job. I hired my office manager ( the most incredible office manager I could ever hope for! ) because she asked me to hire her. She was selling ads for the local paper and handled our account. One day she just brought her resume and left it on my desk. I didn't need her right away but she was the first person who popped into my head whence did need her. I would never have advertised to fill the position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 My husband has his resume permanently on Monster.com. He has had quite a few calls and emails with offers to interview. He isn't even looking right now. For my job, Monster.com is fairly useless. I would need to submit my resume and cover and application to the school districts directly. I can find job openings on the school districts' websites. It just depends on what you can/want to do. DH's work has a mandatory posting of all jobs available clause. They post all of their openings on their master website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 It's all about networking. Monster.com and Linked-In are huge, but personal contacts are still the most helpful. My Dh was going to accept a contract position, but they ended up doing a direct-hire because he knew several people within the company who gave him stellar references. Applications, resumes, references, etc. are almost all online now, so it is really important that a person be somewhat computer/tech savvy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I got my new job through the local newspaper: not the one for my small town, but the one for the next city over. It took me seven months of replying to ads and getting precious little response. Other things I did: keep an eye on the websites of large local employers - the NHS, local government, universities, etc. I also went onto the website of the government job-searching agency. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Just wanted to add that we did not post his resume on a job search engine site.....only direct applications at company websites. I read several articles cautioning against posting resumes where your personal info might be used for identity theft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 IMany companies receive hundreds of resumes each day, so the only likelihood of getting an interview is if your resume is closely tailored to match the job description in their post. It's a sales tool - you need to make it seem that you are the answer to the company's problems. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Just wanted to add that we did not post his resume on a job search engine site.....only direct applications at company websites. I read several articles cautioning against posting resumes where your personal info might be used for identity theft. Yes, this is true. Also, some job listings are just phishing for personal info - for sales purposes. I can tell you exactly how my husband got his current job. It took him almost a year to get this job - I think 9 months (?). He had to interview twice. We actually lived in an RV for several months while we were waiting for this job...and then we had to pick up and move cross-country. He had his resume done professionally (this is very important). He contacted every person he knew and told them that he was looking for a job. He made a list of companies that he was interested in working for and wrote formal letters to a number of Vice-Presidents at these companies. I was stunned that he actually got call-backs from this. One job offer came from a company that had used a recruiter to contact him. My husband didn't pay for the recruiter or solicit the recruiter. It was a complete cold-call (and how they got his info, I have no idea). He ended up with 2 job offers at the end of this process and we had to choose between the 2. One of them was kinda his dream job and something he was really good at, so he took that one (it actually paid a little less than the other one, but it had more potential). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thanks to all the replies so far! Great ideas here. Keep 'em coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I am trying to find the title of the book we checked out for resume writing. It was exceptional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 My husband has found most of his jobs through Monster, by applying to jobs listed there. My daughter of course was just putting in applications at stores, but even those are almost all on line these days. She'd been looking on and off for 3 years in two states, when I ran to Staples (to get a filing cabinet!) and saw that they were hiring. She moaned that she'd already applied there in two states, but she did apply - and got hired! Minimum wage, but its her first job. I'm really dreading going back to work. Honestly, i've had a few calls from a contract agency, about 1-2/year, but i keep having to tell them i'm not in the market again yet. It'll be at LEAST 3 more years, possibly 5 or 8 . . . sigh. Really wonder if i can possibly get a job at 55 . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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