It's well-known that Americans today are earning less than their parents did. This number is not even adjusted for inflation (although reports boasting the opposite truth disclose that it is leveled by two-worker households and/or working more hours, so while Gross earnings before taxes is higher, they still earn less hourly). Were Americans overpaid in the '50s and '60s or is the Land of Opportunity drying up? I think the answers are "both, yet neither." These aren't mutually exclusive, and "Land of Opportunity" is a misnomer as it originally referred to the opportunity to start your own business and be successful.
Regardless, the American economy is nowhere as strong as it once was. Whether that is the result of a globalizing economy or our national class disparity is a matter of some conjecture, but most experiences are that college is not worth the investment of time or money, and many job hunting methods have become so structured and scientific that they are almost worthless.
The advances in technology come rapidly. Consider what that means to a four-year degree. If you started a degree four years ago, then how much of that information is valid by the end of the program? Then double it for eight-year degrees. Granted, professional degrees (especially in the medical field) require continuing education to keep practitioners informed of these advances, but if it took more than four years to complete the Bachelor's Degree, then that point is a serious issue.
Fortunately, most employers do not give weight to those considerations as they have been conditioned to only look for the fact that an applicant is a college graduate. The year matters less, even though there may be more relevance to the year than most other considerations. The bigger flaw exists in the methods of job hunting promoted these days.
As I have noted frequently, I left my job in April 2011 to start a Paralegal Studies Program at Phoenix College. I completed that program in August 2012, and then I spent most of the next two months hunting for a job. Although the job openings were numerous, the actual opportunities were minimal.
The way I figured, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com generate at least 200 applicants for every position (people "in-the-know" may scoff at that number as ridiculously low), and hiring managers probably read 50 of those resumes, then interview five people for each job opening. These websites are a glorified lottery, except you can tilt your chances by reusing keywords and overstating qualifications.
I borrowed "New Job, New You" from the local library, and the author referenced her own preference towards writing fiction so often that any critical mind could decipher the text to mean "I'm just releasing this book for the money." It was devoid of any genuine insight and the examples I read of successful job transitions (almost unanimously from public sectors to a private sector) were only useful to the people following identical paths. I think the book's target market was the actual people featured in the text, and of course, their friends & family.
My study partner texted me today, "it's a sad day when job placement companies cannot even find work."
Fortunately, I am a lucky one! I spent over six weeks sending out at least one application per day, and in that time, I only heard back from one employer (mainly because I forgot to attach my resume, but my cover letter sounded interesting enough that she wanted to know more). My results were both frustrating and depressing. A concerned friend asked me whether I thought I was being too hard on myself considering the current economy and that I was moving into a new career with no professional network to leverage. I defiantly said that I would push harder than expect less.
After turning my resume into a job placement company, I bolted across the street to Half Price Books to see what they had available. I realized that spending money was not something I could afford, but I did read a book by someone calling herself "The Job Whisperer." In lieu of purchasing her book, I decided to rent it from the library. Albeit, not before checking their DVD section and finding a Montreal Canadiens DVD set. It was priced at $25, but I decided that spending money was not something I could afford. But that DVD set certainly made a nice incentive!
The next day, I went to the library to check out that book, and I saw a computer set up specifically for job hunting. I inquired about it ("if something seems too good to be true, it usually is") and the rep told me that they had recently hired a job search specialist, and she set up the computer and loaded it with helpful programs. This specialist also hosted seminars and she was available for individual meetings. I figured that I could still do things myself, and anything the job search specialist had to offer could be found in books, but then, there was also the simplicity of it, so I requested her number and, a few days later (of no requests for interviews), I contacted her to schedule an appointment. If for no other reason than to ensure that my email would actually *receive* messages.
By that time, I had quantified my bullet points and related them to the paralegal requirements to show that they were transferable skills. Unfortunately, the job search specialist's first comment when we sat down was that my resume did not reflect a paralegal's resume one iota! She said the transferable skills are there, but they were too obliquely embedded in unrelated jobs. She introduced me to the Functional Resume. Contrariwise to a traditional resume, the Functional resume was a newfangled approach that focused on the skills required from the job application. In place of my job history, I needed to list the required skills with tasks I had done displaying those skills in the bullet points, and prospective employers would see exactly what they're looking for.
Rewriting my resume was the last thing I wanted to do, next to staying unemployed, so I did it. There was a company where I wanted to work that posted a job opening in August, but I never heard back from them. Then, they posted another job opening this last week of September and I wanted to reapply, but I didn't want to resend the same resume. If for no other reason, I created my Functional Resume for this job and I sent my application on Sunday.
More resumes were sent, but I heard nothing back on Monday and nothing back on Tuesday. Or so I thought. As it turned out, there was a message left for me on my voicemail on Tuesday afternoon, but I had been so wrapped up in submitting more resumes online and researching other ideas that I missed the call. It was from the company that I had not heard from the previous month. They were calling me in for a job interview, so I returned their call first thing Wednesday morning. Later that night, I heard back from another place where I had sent my resume on Wednesday morning (because the job posting was nearly identical to one I had replied to the day before, except this one sweetened the deal because the company practiced in civil litigation and family law in addition to bankruptcy).
I landed two interviews in the first week of switching to a Functional Resume. Was it the switch, or was it just these employers? Obviously we will never know, but I choose to credit the Functional Resume myself. If you read independently about Functional Resumes, there are a lot of criticisms about how they feel suspicious to employers.
Lots of a ideas on job hunting exist, from resumes to interview skills, but there's only one truism in all of it..... DO NOT BUY ANY OF IT!
To clarify, I literally mean "purchase" when I said "buy." Do not pay for a resume seminar. Do not pay for mock interviews with a self-proclaimed expert. Do not even buy books on the subject. The reason why not is that the information is already online. All of it! Also, visit the local library like I did for books and check its event calendar, because they may be running seminars on job hunting.
In job hunting, there's a why-not for every how-to. Sadly, both are usually correct. There is no science behind job hunting. There is no sure-fire success. There is only persistence, and trying harder instead of expecting less.
Recommended reading:
- The New Job Search: Break All The Rules. Get Connected. And Get Hired Faster For The Money You're Worth. (Molly Wendell)
- A Foot In The Door: Networking Your Way Into The Hidden Job Market! (Katherine Hansen)
- The Job Search Solution: The Ultimate System For Finding A Great Job Now! (Tony Beshara)
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