Job searching

So I have been looking for another job for about 5 months now with little success. That culminated with a lovely rejection letter from my best and most interesting prospect yet. That brings me here. I have talking with a board member on how to improve your marketability as a prospective employee. He can chime in if he likes. Anyway, I am looking to set up an open discussion of how to search for a job in today's market and how to get that job. So if you have solid information on how to do this or are in the market, post what you are looking for and where. I will start.

Hi, my name is Jordan I have an MBA with a marketing background and currently am a marketing specialist for Hubbell Power Systems in Central Missouri. I am looking for a position with a small company doing marketing or sales. I cannot move but will travel and can telecommute.

Hope that wasn't too whorey.

indeed.com

tellicommute... needs spell check

Thanks, and I am aware of indeed.com. Still no luck.

I was at a recent planner conference and one of the speaker was talking about career for planners, but also how generational differences have affected the work force and employment outlook not just for my profession but for many of them.

It used to be that after highschool or college you would either get a job in your home town, or you'd move away to pursue that job your cousin would hook you up with. After a few years, you'd either move up in your job, or another company would steal you away because they wanted you more. The only way you'd bounce around for a job was if the job required that you move or be out of a job.

These days, college grad want a job where they want to live, but more than that, we want a job in the field that we went to school for, and its got to pay well, and its got to have upward mobility.

I think one challenge I've run into is that HR practices have really made getting a job outside your current field very difficult. "Please list how previous experience applies to this position." Additionally, old school hiring managers probably already have someone, locally, who they want to give the job to.

I'm starting to get to a point where I just want to move to where I want to be, and start from bottom up. Even if its flipping burgers, its better than trying to apply for jobs that hundreds of miles away against hundreds of other applicants who are more qualified for me.

I still like a job where I can go in and shake the hand of the guy who will be interviewing me, and after which will I give my resume to HR.

lower your expectations and do work that is "below" you until the right job comes along.

the job i took as a button pusher on a cnc machine that mass produced clutch sheeves for Polaris UTV's for not very much money wound up landing me a job at a different place where i get to do actual programming and operating of a 3 axis cnc machine for almost twice as much money. i'm still not getting rich, but i'm getting a lot of valuable experience and learn something new almost every day..

My financial expectations are not that high, but I still can't even get to that part of the interview process. Maybe Im just an idiot.

Perhaps more focus. Sales and marketing are 2 different things (often not recognized by small employers though). What's you're niche or interest - demand generation, funnel management, conversion, analytics, strategic planning/tactical implementation, pricing, distribution, media management, creative services, web/social media....Since moving is off the table, what services could you offer local businesses on the marketing front?

Well unfortunately, I am young and don't have much for specifics to offer. The mba provided a lot of analytical experience but a lot of the analyst jobs around here are technical.

What do you actually want to do for a profession - are you just biding time in Columbia waiting for something then to leave or really want to stay there?

I really want to stay here. This is where my wife and I are from, all our family is here, it is actually a really nice place to live with a growing startup community. The problem is that we have over 50% of people here have at lease a bachelors degree. We are extremely educated and it is hard to stand out.

As far as what I want to do, I haven't got a damn clue. I'm 26, love cars and technology, I have found I love small business (interned with one for a year) and that I have an ability to be flexible and fill many different roles at once. I think I want to be an entrepreneur but have no idea how to get that going.

I got a master's at MU, I get the appeal. Start talking to people around town. What do their start-ups need and figure out what you can do to help. A lot of people seem to underestimate what they are capable of. My experience in Midwestern schools also leads me to think they don't do a lot to encourage entrepreneurship but it's a big enough town for someone to create their own opportunities. As far as getting started - bus school contacts, other alums - at least out of the school of medicine the networking is pretty strong.

So you've got a good job and your happy where you live.

Do you want more money? Or your just not happy in the job? Is it boring?

How long have you worked there? How long have you been looking for a job? I'd say work there for 5-6 years and you'll be vastly more marketable than you are now.

I wanted to get another job because 1) I was underpaid 2) I had considerable college debt that limited my ability to save money, buy a house, a project car, new bicycle, or pursue additional education 3) the local government I worked for had limited growth opportunities 4) the area lacked an significant "trail" culture that I enjoy 5) I am 6 hours away from home and only briefly see friends and family that I miss 6) I am underpaid.

In reply to oldtin:

Cool, what is up fellow alumni. Anyway, Columbia has really changed in the last few years on the entrepreneurship front. There is a for profit incubator ( I am talking with this guy for something) in town now. It seems to be doing well. We have a number of INC 5000 companies and the guy with the incubator is #28 on the INC 500 list for fastest growing companies.

Unfortunately, everyone I knew in school was planning to move away when they were here and have already done so. If I went to STL or KC I would have a job in a few weeks, but that isn't something I can do unless I also want to be single again.

In reply to PHeller:

Basically, my boss has mentioned (like an idiot) a few times that I might get layed off if my product line doesn't improve in sales (I am not in sales and do everything I can to assist sales do their job but it isn't helping). I have been here a year and it has been OK. I like my coworkers, Clem works here, but the company sucks and management is causing more trouble than they fix. Basically, I am done here. I would love to stay somewhere 5+ years but I will probably end up divorced and living in my parents basement if I don't get out of here sometime soon.

I hate to say this, but I had more callbacks when I left the MBA off of the resume completely. I got tired of being told I was overqualified.

Yo, singleslammer! Listen to novaderrik.

novaderrik wrote: lower your expectations and do work that is "below" you until the right job comes along. the job i took as a button pusher on a cnc machine that mass produced clutch sheeves for Polaris UTV's for not very much money wound up landing me a job at a different place where i get to do actual programming and operating of a 3 axis cnc machine for almost twice as much money. i'm still not getting rich, but i'm getting a lot of valuable experience and learn something new almost every day..

This is a good idea, as long as you can do like novaderrik and find something "lower" in your own field. When I was laid off, I actually wanted out of my industry ("Honey Boo Boo" is half-way to "Ow! My Balls!"). I was applying in retail & food service, just wanting some income until I could decide what I wanted to do. That led to a couple of big discoveries..first, times are so tough right now that even those industries can be a lot more selective in their hiring. Second, bias against 50+yr old people for entry level positions may be technically illegal, but it's real, outside your own field.

I'm actually trying to get back into TV. It's not my first choice, but I have a lot of contacts and a great local reputation. Anything I could get would be a "lower" position, since it would be local instead of a national network. I guess I'd have to go into management to get back to the kind of salary I was making. Not something I ever really wanted to do, but it least it would get me out of the control room where I don't have to actually watch what's on the air anymore.