Underemployment and Practical Job Search Advice

Whether you’re looking for a better job than the one you have or are unemployed and job searching, the act of looking for a job can be exhausting. There are so many choices for job searchers, it can be tough to know where to start. You have to be focused, diligent, and committed if your intent is to find the “right” job.

Pre-­internet, most people looking for a job scoured the classified ads in the newspaper or went to employment agencies. There were occasional local career fairs, and some people simply went business to business handing in their resume. This is back when people rode dinosaurs to work.

The internet changed how we look for work. It made it easier. More efficient. Wake up, roll out of bed, send a few emails, your work day is over now. Good job. Go ahead and crack open a cold one. You deserve it. Of course, it isn’t really that uncomplicated, but it doesn’t have to eat up so much of your time now.

There are those who are excellent at finding a new job. It’s not a problem for them. They know how to cultivate a network of business contacts through websites like Linkedin, Facebook or Buttkissing.com. They’re type A personalities. Driven, ambitious, go getters. I hate them. Grrr. It takes them relatively little time landing a new job due to their connections. Others who are not as savvy or as good at self promoting through bullshit social groups, have to depend on the kindness of strangers. Strangers who are hiring managers. That makes finding a job a little trickier.

By the way­, if you’re well connected, you can bail out now on this post. It’s o.k. I forgive you. Plus, I’ve already insulted you, so you probably aren’t reading at this point anyway. For those of you out there who aren’t connected to a thousand social media groups, the following advice should make your job search easier.

1. Limit your searches to at most, twenty minute bursts. After twenty minutes, the ads all start to look the same. Plus, it depletes your energy. It’s essential to be optimistic, and reading job ads for longer than twenty minutes will have you screaming in the streets tearing your hair out. Don’t get me wrong, that’s good cardio for you, but it won’t be good for your hair, which has been looking much better lately by the way.
2. Don’t fill out an online assessment unless you really want to work for the company. Companies use the online assessments to weed out the people they feel may give them problems by “thinking.” True story­-I filled out an online application with a company for a job I did successfully with another company for ten years. I then took, and failed, their 90 minute assessment test. I received an email from the company telling me they weren’t interested. Del Taco lost a good fry cook that day.
3. Be prepared to get frustrated with online applications. They take time to fill out properly. Some will autofill for you, but one issue I continually ran into was uploading my resume, and then a few pages later being prompted to fill out my work history manually. This is breathtakingly stupid, inefficient, and aggravating. It caused me to throw several computers to their deaths from my apartment on the fifth floor.
4. Don’t expect a quick reply. If you get a reply within hours of sending your resume, you have been duped. You applied for a bad job without knowing it. It took me some time and a few humiliating experiences to learn this lesson. Like the time I answered an ad where the headline was something like­-Marketing Executive Wanted for Growing Company. Base plus Commission. Earn Between 50 and $100,000 in the First Year. I submitted my resume and was called thirty minutes after they got my application. They brought me in for an interview that same day. I got ready for the interview; dressed up in a nice suit, formal shoes, and newly dry cleaned pants. I was eager to impress the hiring manager that I was the right candidate for their growing company. When I got there, what I found was a small office, and what I came to shortly find out, was a job…..wait for it…….. selling silverware door to door. Dream job here I come.

Last bit of advice for your job search. Hang in there, and be strong. Don’t cede control to the employer or sell yourself short. You’re more in charge than you realize. They need you if you’re good at what you do. It may be a cliche, but there is a lot of truth to the adage that nothing good comes easy. However, it’ll be worth it when you get an interview for a job you really want instead of taking an earlier job offer that was merely “good enough.”