#JobMarket #ResumeTips #CareerStruggles #JobHunting #CareerAdvice
Like many of you, I am another tired wanderer trying to get myself into a meaningful job. So it marks a full year of job hunting for me this April. And honestly, it’s crazy out there. Straight way crazy. There are some varieties of experiences that I stumbled upon and I would gladly share it and rant together,cause what else can I do. I am tired of people telling me “applying to 500 jobs is not enough, it must atleast be 10000”, why? Cause by the time I reach 10000 they would tell me that it ain’t enought either, try a million or a billion times.
## The Frustrating Job Hunt Journey
My background? Masters and a PhD in environmental engineering from one of my countries’ top 10 Universities. I am absolutely strong in my instrumental skills….any high grade chemical lab technology you tell me, I most probably know it. I am additionally skilled in writing, have tons of articles in peer reviewed Q1 international journals. I have internship in the environmental engineering department of a leading coal mining company. I am skilled in several softwares, strong in Python. Excellent communication skills. I also qualified for our national women’s swimming competition. This is not to brag about myself, but that is my faith in myself after all the years of hardwork I put in getting here. To fill my free time, I have done several certification courses as well. I have applied to job descriptions that fit word to word to my resume. I have sectioned my approach and applied to 3 different types of careers (research positions, sustainability positions, and academic positions).
## Resume Rejections and Lack of Results
I have shined and polished and glistened my resume by studying tons of advice portals from LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Got it checked by a professional who said it’s alright for the role. No results. I don’t even get called for interviews. I am not asking for a pound of someone’s flesh or a million dollars. I am asking for what I think I deserve. It’s okay that I am mad.
## Practical Solutions for Job Seekers
### 1. Diversify Your Job Search Approach
– Apply to a mix of research, sustainability, and academic positions to increase your chances of landing a job that suits your qualifications.
– Don’t limit yourself to a specific industry or role; broaden your search to explore different opportunities.
### 2. Network, Network, Network
– Leverage your connections and attend industry events to meet potential employers.
– Utilize professional networking platforms like LinkedIn to showcase your skills and connect with recruiters.
### 3. Tailor Your Resume for Each Job Application
– Customize your resume and cover letter for each job you apply to, highlighting relevant skills and experiences.
– Use keywords from the job description to ensure your application gets noticed by applicant tracking systems.
### 4. Seek Professional Help
– Consider seeking assistance from career coaches or resume writers to fine-tune your job search strategy.
– Get feedback on your resume and interview skills to improve your chances of securing a job offer.
P.S – Thank you for reading my rant. If you are also on this difficult journey, all the best, may the force be with you.
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Well, thank you for this. I really appreciate that you took the time to describe yourself on this matter because it seems that you will be a super desirable candidate (at least on my view)
I was actually feeling like sh*t about this job search thing. I have had zero calls….. ZERO!!! like my resume is being sent to the void. I am not as impressive as you are but I have my carrier and 10+ years of experience and………………….. no calls, nothing at all. It feels like I need to do more but seeing this makes me feel that it does not really matter anymore. I could be a star like you or a regular person like me and I will get nothing right now.
I am empathetic, you are competing with people who have real job experience and you don’t have any so it’s difficult. Someone will hire you, keep at it.
I’m a nurse seeking a mom bedside role and it’s awful! I’ve been looking for months.
Is anywhere from Ontario
I’m in the same boat. I work as an r&d for another industry and I’ve seen the following pattern: Stage 1: lay off some people, let the rest to their jobs. Stage 2: lay off more people (affecting your core science and product development staff). Function on skeleton crew. Advertise nonexistent positions (repeatedly) so that the public/investors don’t see you are struggling. Stage 3: Stop advertising even the fake job postings. There is no hope, especially for overachievers.
Having those qualifications/skills is all well and good but the main thing is that businesses only care about money, especially in this economy when everyone is looking at profitability and cutting costs. So not sure how you’re presenting yourself so far but perhaps you may consider how you can write your resume/present yourself to make it clear because not even getting interviews usually means resume.
When an employer looks at you, ideally you want to see “I’m free money idiot, pick me already” and beat them over the head with that until they say yes.
I don’t want to rain *too hard* on your parade, but your resume is everything.
The major factor that affects your success is what career field you are in. Federal contracting in my field? They are BEGGING for folks.
I had 5 job offers on 6 applications last summer, all but one job offer was well over $100k. I spent less than 50 hours total on writing a resume, applying, talking to recruiters, and interviews, all while I was at my previous job.
I truly feel for OP, as I can imagine the frustration of “doing everything right” and still struggling.
For other folks, be wise and thoughtful as to what job fields you get into.
I have a bachelor’s in environmental science. I have had interviews but no offers so far. I work part-time and I have been searching for about a year now. I have also been struggling with anxiety and I worry when I have interviews that the job may not be the right path for me. You’re not alone.
It’s a bullshit market, man. I’ve also been searching since April. I’m kind of glad to hear your story because it tells me doing certificates does not give you an edge. All we can do is keep trekking on, right? It should not take this long giving our education and experience but I get the impression over this past year it comes down to blind, dumb fucking luck. That is, finding that job posting and having an interview with the hiring manager on their ‘good day’. It’s stupid and disgusting to think about it but here we are. fucked up.
“I am tired of people telling me “applying to 500 jobs is not enough, it must at least be 10000″”.
Let me be that one dissenting voice.
Applying for 100’s or 1000’s of jobs is hurting your chances.
There’s nothing wrong with having multiple irons in the fire, but you’re smothering it.
Forbes had an article out about how companies are now posting jobs that aren’t even really positions to fill to make their companies appear like they are doing better than they are and to also get a feel for how easily they could fill a role and for what salary. I don’t think it said what percentage of posts are like that but it’s not an insignificant amount. On top of that, you have to deal with ATS filters a lot of companies use that reject you automatically for some types of formatting and not having enough keywords. Basically, it’s almost impossible to get a job right now unless you apply to hundreds of applications and have a super strong ATS compliant resume. I had my resume redone by KantanHQ and it did help in getting more interviews. Still took several months but finally landed a good job.