Job hunting

[jas]

I have long since come to the conclusion that this particular activity was invented by Satan to make people feel sh*t about themselves. If there's anything that does this more successfully I've yet to find it. And then you have to be able to big yourself up to another potential employer afterwards. After eight bazillion rejections, this isn't easy. Well, three rejections, but that doesn't count the people who can't deign to give you an answer at all. These people are the epitome of evil.

Is anyone else going through the nightmare that is job hunting at the moment? Or does anyone have any advice/stories/whatever about it? Go on, cheer me up.

[thalbergmad]

In my experience, it is necessary to tell a complete pack of lies on your CV to get an interview. This is becuase everybody else does and you need to in order to compete.

CV writing is an art in itself, and you need to spend a lot of time getting it right. The firm i work for recently advertised for a position, and i went through the 85 CV's that came in. The secret is to keep it short, blow your own trumpet (most things will not be checked) and try to make sure it will stand out in a pile of others.

Interview technique again, is a complete art form and something that needs to be practised, perhaps in front of friends and family.

I honestly feel, that if you do your homework, you can get just about any job you want.

I got my last position by playing clever, and i am just about unemployable.

Hope this cheers you up.

Thal

PS If you are in England, just say you are an Albanian crack addict. You will get a good job instantly as many companies need to fulfill ethnic quotas.

[jas]

In my experience, it is necessary to tell a complete pack of lies on your CV to get an interview. This is becuase everybody else does and you need to in order to compete.

CV writing is an art in itself, and you need to spend a lot of time getting it right. The firm i work for recently advertised for a position, and i went through the 85 CV's that came in. The secret is to keep it short, blow your own trumpet (most things will not be checked) and try to make sure it will stand out in a pile of others.

Interview technique again, is a complete art form and something that needs to be practised, perhaps in front of friends and family.

I honestly feel, that if you do your homework, you can get just about any job you want.

I got my last position by playing clever, and i am just about unemployable.

Hope this cheers you up.

Thal

It does a bit, actually, so thank you! Ok, so lies, homework, practice. One out of three isn't bad, I suppose. Well, the fact that it's "lies" probably isn't a good sign, but I did at least make the effort to make them true. But suddenly becoming an intermediate French speaker was maybe a tad optimistic...

PS If you are in England, just say you are an Albanian crack addict. You will get a good job instantly as many companies need to fulfill ethnic quotas.

Well, Scotland, but you're completely right. My French accent is seriously dodgy, anyway, it could probably pass for Albanian!

[pianistimo]

being positive is probably the best thing.  of course, who can be positive after a few rejections.  i think God's saving the best for last.  that's the way it worked for my hubby.  8 mos of searching and putting resume's on the internet (you might not stay in scotland that way!).  searching nationally and internationally puts you in a greater range of job possibilities if you are willing to travel.  in fact, i think i saw one job that was totally about travelling for this one company.  i almost applied myself. 

jas, if you are young - TAKE a test for what you are most adept at.  if you went job searching like me - i was taking a different career path at every job.  i've tried waitressing (was actually fired for being too slow), accounting (whew, that was an ugly job), filing, gardening (i really liked that one - out in the parking lot making things look nice - but it didn't pay much, insurance company (that one hit the big bucks and they MADE me take breaks), and finally decided that music was really IT and worked at a piano store.  they loved me.  i loved them.  they gave me the money to take to the bank every thursday.  i liked that part, too.  then, i also taught more and more students.  and, played for a few restaurants.  overall, i like music jobs.  but, again - payment doesn't include health insurance.  that's the bad part over here. 

 

[thalbergmad]

  i think God's saving the best for last.  

Well i never, good old God has made it into the job hunting thread.

I am amazed.

Thal

[pianistimo]

she brought Him up.

[ada]

Hi jas

what line of work are you in? Is it something where you can freelance or run your own business? If it is maybe you should consider  it.

I was a wage slave for a fairly long time (working for a news organisation) but for the last couple of years I've been working freelance and combining this with casual work, some part time and commissioned jobs.

I'm never short of work, I can run my own show and I never have to go begging to employers, the work comes to  me and I say yes or no, though occasionally I'll pitch but I don't do stuff on spec.

I'm sure a lot of piano teachers here are in a similar situation.

The downside of freelancing is you don't get super, sick leave or holidays and if you don't put money aside you can be faced with a big tax bill. You can work out of home in your pyjamas if you want but I prefer to rent an office.

But it does help to be established if you want to fly solo, and it may be harder if you're just starting out in a career.

Good luck!

[jas]

she brought Him up.

She's right. It was my fault this time.

jas, if you are young - TAKE a test for what you are most adept at.  if you went job searching like me - i was taking a different career path at every job.  i've tried waitressing (was actually fired for being too slow), accounting (whew, that was an ugly job), filing, gardening (i really liked that one - out in the parking lot making things look nice - but it didn't pay much, insurance company (that one hit the big bucks and they MADE me take breaks), and finally decided that music was really IT and worked at a piano store.  they loved me.  i loved them.  they gave me the money to take to the bank every thursday.  i liked that part, too.  then, i also taught more and more students.  and, played for a few restaurants.  overall, i like music jobs.  but, again - payment doesn't include health insurance.  that's the bad part over here.

Well, about the test thing, there's this UK graduate website that I registered with, and you fill in your likes, dislike, personality traits etc. and they email you with job openings they think would be suitable. My first email was for a waste company. A WASTE COMPANY. How depressing... I don't even want to think about what that job involved. I stopped the emails pretty quickly!
I've also tried the waitressing thing, but I couldn't carry more than two plates at once, so I didn't stay long! It sounds like you've tried a bit of everything. That seems like a good idea to me, because I suppose even if you don't find your perfect job, you'll at least find some that you know you never want to do again!

Hi jas

what line of work are you in? Is it something where you can freelance or run your own business? If it is maybe you should consider  it.

I was a wage slave for a fairly long time (working for a news organisation) but for the last couple of years I've been working freelance and combining this with casual work, some part time and commissioned jobs.

I'm never short of work, I can run my own show and I never have to go begging to employers, the work comes to  me and I say yes or no, though occasionally I'll pitch but I don't do stuff on spec.

I'm sure a lot of piano teachers here are in a similar situation.

The downside of freelancing is you don't get super, sick leave or holidays and if you don't put money aside you can be faced with a big tax bill. You can work out of home in your pyjamas if you want but I prefer to rent an office.

But it does help to be established if you want to fly solo, and it may be harder if you're just starting out in a career.

Good luck!

Well, I graduated recently with a music degree so I'm not really in any line of work yet. I'm doing masters next year, so all I'm really after at the moment is something admin-ish that I can do until then, because almost every job that I've looked at that I thought sounded interesting requires, or at least prefers, admin experience. But the thing is, seemingly in order to get an admin-type job, you need admin experience, so it's a very annoying cycle!
Once I've finished all my studying I'd love the kind of freedom you have. Your post has definitely got me thinking... Since I'm going to be working until I'm about 99, I think I'd be best off picking job satisfaction over money. The thought of working 9-5 day in day out for the next 500 years is a bit depressing!

Thanks to all of you for the advice!

Jas

[quasimodo]

Why don't you try teaching music?

[jas]

Why don't you try teaching music?

I thought about that, actually, but I don't know if I'd be a very good teacher. Maybe I could teach piano, I'd probably be better at that. The thing is, I was self-taught up until about grade 4, so I don't have any experience with completely beginner piano teaching at all. But I suppose it would be easy enough if I bought a few books! I might have a look and see what's what next time I'm in a music shop...

Jas