Job Ideas

Have you considered your state/local government? They take all types and usually have great benefits.
 
tspear said:
I have been considering looking for a new position, so I have reached out to a few head hunters I know and received some advice since the job search industry has gone through some fairly radical changes the past few years.
1. Resumes are screened by rule engines and AI based systems now. You need to spend the time and money to work with a firm that helps you get the interview. Look for one with a "success guarantee". They should be gathering the raw data on the terms and phrases used in the open job pool, and updating this on a regular basis.
2. Just for grins and giggles, two of them ran my existing resume through which has landed me multiple interviews, and I failed to make the short list, or even the flagged for review list. I was effectively blocked. e.g. The rule engine and/or the AI based system kicked me out. I would not be surprised if you are running into this type of issue.
3. You public profile, such as LinkedIn, for many industries is critical. It will need the same attention as your resume.
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I've always customized resumes to the job that I'm applying for, because I have a wide variety of skills and I've always stuck to the one-page philosophy.

That said, these days with pretty much everyone using an ATS, it's an absolute necessity to not only do a custom resume and cover letter for each job, but you need to use a computer tool, AI or otherwise, to ensure that your resume has all the right keywords to get a good score in the ATS so that a human actually looks at it.

It's a chicken-and-egg problem for the HR world - They got lots of resumes so software was developed to help sift through them, so software was created to get around that and hey while we're at it let's let you auto-apply for hundreds of jobs all at once, so now there's more software that sifts through the ever-increasing pile of applicants... And on and on we go.

BTW, one thing that might be causing you trouble is that the ATS systems are now tracking how many jobs you apply to across ALL of their clients, and downgrading people who are applying to more jobs!

The worst part is that there are also a lot of jobs out there that the companies have no intention of filling. They'll promote someone to "manager" at the same salary to hang on to them, and say they'll hire people to work "on their team" but then they don't hire anyone. Or, they're telling an overworked team "We're trying to hire more people..." Or they list a job after they've effectively hired someone just to make it seem like they weren't just handing the job to the person they already knew they wanted...

I'm in the same boat as you right now, and it sucks. I feel bad for anyone trying to find a job, and it's not just the bad economy but the entire process. It has seemingly become acceptable to "ghost" candidates, even after being interviewed! (Like, at least click the button that sends me a form thanks-but-no-thanks email...)

I think that networking is more important now than ever - I doubt a whole lot of candidates make it past the computer screening process without knowing someone on the inside who will get a human to look at them.

Ironically, one of the interviews I got was because I started using an AI program to auto-apply to things and it was BAD... I got an email asking for my flight times, and it was for a rotor-wing medevac job. I sent them an email apologizing for wasting their time and admitting that it was an automated AI thing and that I only had fixed-wing time, and they said "Well, we do also have some fixed-wing positions available..." So it never hurts to be nice!
 
jsstevens said:
THAT makes me eager to fly with your airline...
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I know you're joking... But air carrier operations aren't about having the most awesome pilots in the world. They're about hiring pilots with the right combination of experience and professionalism and then training, training, training them until they've got the procedures ingrained - And anything where a procedure exists should be done the same way by every single pilot at the entire airline, because a crew needs to know what to expect from the other pilot. That's why the operating manuals are in the high hundreds to low thousands of pages, and they are frequently updated to keep up with safety improvements.
 
Filling out applications is not how you get a job. You need to make a personal connection and have someone vouch for you... expecially when trying to get past the HR/AI filters. Sounds hard to do and it can be but that's how it works.

The connection could be something as benign as have veterans status.... that alone got me two good jobs... both in IT.

After the first 100 dead end apps you someone shouod have mentioned this to you.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I know you're joking... But air carrier operations aren't about having the most awesome pilots in the world. They're about hiring pilots with the right combination of experience and professionalism and then training, training, training them until they've got the procedures ingrained - And anything where a procedure exists should be done the same way by every single pilot at the entire airline, because a crew needs to know what to expect from the other pilot. That's why the operating manuals are in the high hundreds to low thousands of pages, and they are frequently updated to keep up with safety improvements.
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Which is a big part of why they have the extraordinary safety record they do.

And yes, I was joking. And I’m reasonably sure so was Brian about mediocrity. .
 
Half Fast said:
Were the other two because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
:biggrin:
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Pretty much.

1 company chained and locked the doors and left a note saying ''Out Of Business".

Good thing they left a window ''open'' so we could get our personal belongings out...
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
I've always customized resumes to the job that I'm applying for, because I have a wide variety of skills and I've always stuck to the one-page philosophy.

That said, these days with pretty much everyone using an ATS, it's an absolute necessity to not only do a custom resume and cover letter for each job, but you need to use a computer tool, AI or otherwise, to ensure that your resume has all the right keywords to get a good score in the ATS so that a human actually looks at it.

It's a chicken-and-egg problem for the HR world - They got lots of resumes so software was developed to help sift through them, so software was created to get around that and hey while we're at it let's let you auto-apply for hundreds of jobs all at once, so now there's more software that sifts through the ever-increasing pile of applicants... And on and on we go.

BTW, one thing that might be causing you trouble is that the ATS systems are now tracking how many jobs you apply to across ALL of their clients, and downgrading people who are applying to more jobs!

The worst part is that there are also a lot of jobs out there that the companies have no intention of filling. They'll promote someone to "manager" at the same salary to hang on to them, and say they'll hire people to work "on their team" but then they don't hire anyone. Or, they're telling an overworked team "We're trying to hire more people..." Or they list a job after they've effectively hired someone just to make it seem like they weren't just handing the job to the person they already knew they wanted...

I'm in the same boat as you right now, and it sucks. I feel bad for anyone trying to find a job, and it's not just the bad economy but the entire process. It has seemingly become acceptable to "ghost" candidates, even after being interviewed! (Like, at least click the button that sends me a form thanks-but-no-thanks email...)

I think that networking is more important now than ever - I doubt a whole lot of candidates make it past the computer screening process without knowing someone on the inside who will get a human to look at them.

Ironically, one of the interviews I got was because I started using an AI program to auto-apply to things and it was BAD... I got an email asking for my flight times, and it was for a rotor-wing medevac job. I sent them an email apologizing for wasting their time and admitting that it was an automated AI thing and that I only had fixed-wing time, and they said "Well, we do also have some fixed-wing positions available..." So it never hurts to be nice!
Click to expand...
took me awhile but I am using simplify.jobs to help automate and also recognize key words and whether their in my resume and then cater from there. I have noticed a difference in getting past initial filters. It kills me though how many ways different companies can write the same exact job in different words so when I apply to an apples to apples job, I have to re-cater it to how they typed their specific job description.

Networking has definitely been the best way to get in front of someone, but have been met with not hiring currently a few too many times now. Only thing I know to do is keep trying/swimming.
 
At the risk of asking too personal of questions, how old are you? Is going back to school for a different career something you would consider? Given that you quit your previous job without another job lined up, one might surmise you weren't happy in your chosen field.
 
FORANE said:
At the risk of asking too personal of questions, how old are you? Is going back to school for a different career something you would consider? Given that you quit your previous job without another job lined up, one might surmise you weren't happy in your chosen field.
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At the risk of giving too much info, too early in a career to change. While I didn't absolutely love what I did at my last job, I left because of leadership (effectively reported to entire c-suite on a daily, or hourly :(, basis), so I'd like to give what I was doing another chance at a company that's more normal.
 
I'm just trying to see if I understand. You left a job before you had another job lined up?

Re "normal" and "company", I'm not sure those things go together. That's not meant as a smart ass statement. Work is challenging, that's why it's work.
 
Albany Tom said:
I'm just trying to see if I understand. You left a job before you had another job lined up?

Re "normal" and "company", I'm not sure those things go together. That's not meant as a smart ass statement. Work is challenging, that's why it's work.
Click to expand...
there's always more to the story than can be shared online, thus me italicizing "normal". Didn't mean for this thread to get into that (perhaps foolish of me to underestimate that potential), was meant to figure out what's next.
 
Matthew K said:
there's always more to the story than can be shared online, thus me italicizing "normal". Didn't mean for this thread to get into that, was meant to figure out what's next.
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I get that. I'll often ask people in interviews why they're looking to leave their current position for the one they're interviewing for. Be aware that a resume where the last job doesn't have a date that goes from X/x/x - present is going to be a hurdle. Be ready for that question, and be able to honestly answer the question if the answer is "I made a mistake". The ability to admit error, especially with technical people, is pretty rare and that could work out in your favor.
 
Is there a local university or community college? Go apply for a teaching gig. Part-time and the money probably isn't great but it gets you out of the house, gives you something to do, and you never know who you'll run into. Plus you get all the advantages of the school - job hunting, resume help, etc.

My one class every semester pays the hangar, insurance and almost the entire annual inspection.
 
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