How did you get your job?

[lostnotyetfound]

I have seen articles stating that the way people find jobs and the way employers actually look for employees are completely out of wack. People look to the classified ads first and employers look for people in their network. Don't know how true this actually is.

How did you land your job?

[wordsmith]

I work for a newspaper, and I learned about the job being open in a classified ad in the newspaper itself.

[JBoss]

I just applied for a bottom level position, got it, and a few days later got offered a mid level position, i accepted and worked it, as of Monday, i start a new upper level position. Sadly I think it's very political to get a decent job these days. It's more about who you know than what you know.

[awhitmer83]

My job was posted on the hospital's website. They only take out classified ads if a position has been vacant for 12 months; in other words, they never advertise. I never got a single interview from something I saw in the newspaper.

[pisces2473]

Oddly enough, monster.com.

[wordsmith]

I knew everyone at the paper I applied to, it was my hometown paper for all but a few years of my life. I was not a stranger, they knew me, too. I'm positive this factored in.

[shadeofgreen]

I was really bad in a past life.

Actually, I started as a long term temp. It was to pay the bills while I looked for something better. Then after a few months they hired me, and who am I to say no to benefits and paid holidays? I'm still looking for something better. I've been here for just over a year and a half.

Networking sounds about right, though. My previous job I got because I knew someone who knew someone who was looking for someone with my interest and experience. I've been doing some freelance stuff for a company because my mom's coworker's husband has a friend who knows a guy who works there and was looking for someone to help out (no joke.) And I'm writing some articles for a newspaper where a friend of mine from college is an editor (despite the fact that I write sentences like that one.)

If only networking could get me a full-time job...

[lostnotyetfound]

My therapist says that I should dress like I'm going in for an interview, be out of the house by 9am and should drive around to local business and physically give them my resume and inquire about positions. I'm thinking that this may have worked back in the day but people are so busy now that they would be annoyed by me showing up without an appointment. I'm assuming they will just tell me to turn around, go home, and apply online. I went to a career fair and all they said was nice to meet you, here's my card, apply online.

One of my jobs I got from a classified ad, the other was from craigslist which should've been a red flag immediately. Craigslist is extremely shady in my area.

[wordsmith]

People aren't any more or less busy than they ever were, they just don't necessarily WANT to take the time to meet with people inquiring face to face when they don't have to anymore.

Which is not to say it's a bad idea. Pounding the pavement still increases your chances of getting face time with people, which is def. a good thing. Don't get disheartened if you get stonewalled by a lot of receptionists/admins whose job it is to run interference for bosses, but it would still be worthwhile if you could talk to even some people in charge of making decisions.

In short, yes, they may tell you to go home and apply online, but in the meantime, they've met you, and may remember you more when your online app DOES pop up, in contrast to other applicants who have nothing to distinguish them as just names on a screen.

[pisces2473]

People aren't any more or less busy than they ever were, they just don't necessarily WANT to take the time to meet with people inquiring face to face when they don't have to anymore.

Which is not to say it's a bad idea. Pounding the pavement still increases your chances of getting face time with people, which is def. a good thing. Don't get disheartened if you get stonewalled by a lot of receptionists/admins, but it would still be worthwhile if you could talk to even some people in charge of making decisions.

In short, yes, they may tell you to go home and apply online, but in the meantime, they've met you, and may remember you more when your online app DOES pop up.
Happy 34,000th post!

[wordsmith]

Hah, have you been watching? I stopped after 20,000...

Wow, it only took me six years to get to this point. :p

[pisces2473]

Hah, have you been watching? I stopped after 20,000...

Wow, it only took me six years to get to this point. :p
No, I just happened to read your PP and saw it was 34,000. I'm not that detail-oriented, to actually track your posts! :p

[Bocheezu]

Mine was a little bit of good old-fashioned nepotism. Dad worked for the same company I work for now and passed my resume on to a department that uses chemical engineers. Got that critical first internship between junior and senior year in undergrad. Basically, once you get an internship, you have a job later on if you want it. Got internships at the company the next two summers till I was done with master's degree. Full-time offer after graduation.

Dad always said he had nothing to do with me getting hired for the first internship, but I think he was just being modest.

[crystal_dance]

New York's craigslist has worked very well for me... campus recruitment too...

[wordsmith]

Basically, once you get an internship, you have a job later on if you want it.

My sister was operating under the assumption that this is often true when she did her internship as a college senior, but in her case, at the end of the experience, she and all the other interns, all of whom had hoped to be hired on, were told that no hiring of ANY interns would be taking place, because they weren't hiring, period, at that point. So it doesn't always work out that way, but it's sure nice when it does.

My first job was semi-similar...I had been a stipended volunteer for a year, via a national volunteer corps, and when my year was up, they asked me to stay on in a salaried capacity.

[winneythepooh7]

My current job I found through a former boss at my last job. My last job I found on Craigslist. All of the jobs before that were advertised in the NY Times.

[arrow]

Craigslist here.

[pisces2473]

I already posted re: my current job. Previous job--the local paper. The one prior to that--I applied to any open jobs through their website.

[capella]

Oddly enough, monster.com.
Oddly enough, me too. I never would have thought I'd get a job off monster.com either. I didn't even write a cover letter for my current job. That's how little I thought I'd have a shot at it. It had already been open for a month by the time I applied and I thought, "What the hell. I'll send an email." And I was hired within the week. Craziness.

Jobs prior to that I got by emailing the principals directly (teaching... they sort of ask, "Do you have a pulse? You're hired!" around these parts). If you can find a direct line of communication to the hiring types it's almost as good as having a contact. But yeah, I'd say networking works very, very well.

I don't actually remember how I got my first real job. I think it was advertised on journalismjobs.com and I mailed in a resume packet with clips or something. I mailed out TONS of those things and got very little response. Journalism was a hard gig to break into unless you were able to work at some real tiny newspaper far out in the country. And even then you may run into competition. Since leaving journalism... I haven't had to hunt down work like that. And having some experience in the work world helps. Finding the first job is the hardest.

[spiritedaway]

I got mine from monster.com too.

First job out of college, I found the job on monster.com. After I resigned from that one, I found my next (and current) job on monster again. So I swear it works. But it's really a numbers game too since I had to send in a good many resumes before I even get an interview. The job market was really bad the year I graduated from college.

Networking didn't work since I wasn't friends with the people I worked with on the first job (except for 1 or 2), so I didn't keep in touch..nor did I wanted to. I had to rely heavily on newspapers and job searches online. At that time (for my first job anyway), I hate to ask people to see if they know places are hiring. I had the mentality that I should find and land my first job on my own...

Although I've never gone the networking route (yet), I'll bet that it would be easier if you know more people who could guide you on which places are hiring or could give you a referral, since most companies put a lot of weight into referrals.

[winneythepooh7]

For my current and last job I worked at, we advertised open positions on socialservice.com. (And the last job, Craigslist too). We just hired someone from socialservice.com. I've gotten interviews from that site before, as well as careerbuilder.com. For jobs in the human services field, I also recommend looking for those bi-weekly job magazines that come out and are in the entry-way of diners and chain pharmacies like CVS and Eckerds. I've gotten calls for interviews for places advertising in those as well. They also tend to advertise positions that someone with a BA or less and no working experience would qualify for. Once you get in these places, you gain the experience and can work your way up, either in that agency, or by applying somewhere else. I know the job magazines advertise for jobs other than human services, too.

[Adam Strange]

I have seen articles stating that the way people find jobs and the way employers actually look for employees are completely out of wack. People look to the classified ads first and employers look for people in their network. Don't know how true this actually is.

How did you land your job?

I found my current job on an industry-related website. I applied and then e-mailed the editor to say I’d be in the Northeast for vacation soon. He agreed to meet with me. I didn’t think I had a shot. Everything was very casual. But I felt like a long drive in the NE anyway. Anyway, I did the interview and everything went swimmingly after that.

The one before that: I continually e-mailed an official at a conglomerate with many papers across the U.S. every time a job opened and he finally said he found one that suited me. He encouraged me to apply and I did.

Looking at hiring practices at my old job, it seems they prefer to hire someone they know, but if the job gets posted in classifieds and on the web, they don’t know anyone to take it.

My therapist says that I should dress like I'm going in for an interview, be out of the house by 9am and should drive around to local business and physically give them my resume and inquire about positions.

Not necessarily a bad idea. But unless it’s a retail or food service job, you’d probably be better off spending an hour online hammering away at the problem than an hour on the street.

[PenforPrez]

I actually got my current job through QLC, indirectly. Is that a QLC first?

There's a lady from St. Louis who posted here a couple of times who was brought in to help organize a new company, and she looked for candidates here while she sought help with her dating life. She halfway offered me what was described as a sales job in February, which I politely declined; I hate sales, and I'm the worst at it.

I was working in a hotel at the time, and desperately wanted a change in my life, and in May, I put in two weeks notice and took a huge chance. At almost that exact moment, she came back and saw I was coming to loose ends and said she could get me a job at her place.

Shortly after that, the perfect position for me came open. I expressed great enthusiasm, she pitched me heavily to the supervisors, I did two perfunctory interviews, and that was it. Nobody else was ever considered, to my knowledge.

Paul

[aggiegrad05]

It was complete luck for me...I emailed my resume (blindly) to the PR firm that my company was using at the time. They had out feelers for my current position, saw that I sort of matched what my company was looking for and passed it along. My company was so desperate for someone to fill the position that they hired me on a 3 month trial basis even though I didn't have the experience that they were looking for. I busted my butt (even though I had no clue what I was doing most of the time) and was a salaried employee after the three months.

[redav]

I did my senior design project with my current company. Then, when I was using my school's career center, I noticed that they had a listing. Since I was already pretty familiar with them, I decided to interview. They were offering exactly what I was looking for, so it was a good fit.

I was actually surprised since this wasn't what I was originally looking for. I just did it more on a whim than anything, but when looking over all my options I realized it was the best one. Likewise, I think there are a lot of people who bypass many potentially great opportunities because it doesn't match what they have in mind.

[mahlerssecond]

My current job I got through word of mouth and nepotism. I had been fired at my job as a CSR/sales at a nationally known insurer's call center. Within a week, my old man comes home and tells me that the 2nd shift security job will be opening up at his place of work, they want to get rid of the guy. I go down to the security agency and apply and they ask me if I want to start at 4PM the next day. I said sure. I held this job for two years before I went to work in insurance. I have been moved to another positions since.

[wordsmith]

How was your experience working in insurance?

[mahlerssecond]

I felt like I was walking on eggshells the whole time I worked there. I was getting myself in trouble for things I didnt realize that were wrong. It was the first job where I didnt work for or with family and was a real eye opener. Insurance sales is a very cutthroat industry.

[SpaceMonkey]

I got my current job (my first full-time, post-college gig) by applying to an ad for an entry-level position posted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. I've been promoted once since I was originally hired. Other positions that I was offered around that time I applied for through Craigslist, local newspapers, and Idealist.org. When I got my job, it was at a point when I was applying for about 5 jobs per day, every day, for about 2 weeks.

The part-time jobs I had when I was in school I got mostly through family connections.