The Job Hunt

The worst part about being laid off is looking for my next job.  It’s not fun at all.  The unpaid vacation time is nice and relaxing, but the job hunt is stressful.  Sifting through pages of job postings, filling out and endless number of applications, and waiting anxiously for that phone call to come with good news.  I guess it helps that I’m unemployed in Florida and it’s really nice out. (Sorry for the jab to anyone reading this in the great white north)  Here’s a little story from my job search.

The day after being laid off I was out picking up a couple of things and I stopped at Target.  On my way in I saw a sign on the door that said they were hiring, and to apply within.  Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to apply to Target (since 5 years in Minneapolis have solidified my loyalty to them) and see what positions they had available, I walked over to the customer service counter and asked about the sign in the window.  The guy told me that indeed they were hiring and that I could fill out an application on the computer terminal in the corner.  It was a 45 minute requiring all kinds of employment and residency history and a lengthy personality questionnaire.  A week later I received an e-mail telling me that the could not hire me at this time.  I can’t even get hired at Target.

I know there’s a good reason that things are done this way.  It saves paper, saves time, and the HR department doesn’t have all day to sit around and talk with every person that submits an application.  But this is true for seemingly every business these days, not just the big box retailers and fortune 500 companies.  Even smaller companies whose payroll doesn’t extend past a dozen people, require an e-mailed resume or online application to even be considered.  Gone are the days of filling out an application in person and talking with someone on the spot about the position.

Human beings are represented by a one page document stating education and work history along with a list of skills we believe ourselves to have.  That’s the one chance you get to stand out.  For someone like me who hasn’t been out of college for more than two years and has a potpourri of work experience, there’s not a lot to be impressed with so far.  But that’s all I get.  A less-than-one-minute glance at my professional life summarized on one piece of paper amongst hundreds of other pieces of paper. 

I would like to think that I am more than what can be stated on a resume.  You are judged on your technical skills at the tasks that pertain to the particular position you are applying for.  While the technical skills to perform the necessary functions of a job are incredibly important, people are more than interchangeable robots with a certain set of skills.  We have personalities and intangible qualities in addition to the competency to perform the duties assigned to us.  These are the kinds of things that differentiate people in the working world.  That is what makes us more than just bullet points on a piece of paper

The kind of qualities that make someone a good employee are the kind of things you can only determine by shaking their hand and talking with them for 30 minutes.  This is obviously what the purpose of a job interview is, but only a small percentage of applicants make it that far.  If your resume doesn’t stand out, then you never get the chance to show them you are more than just a one dimensional piece of paper. 

Now I understand why things work this way.  Companies would probably love to be able to sit down with every candidate that applied, but there isn’t the time or the resources to do so.  I understand that there are dozens upon dozens of qualified individuals that are capable of holding any number of jobs.  There are probably even people applying for jobs that will be better at that job than I would.   It’s just frustrating for someone like me, who doesn’t yet have the skills and experience that employers are looking for, to have my resume passed over time and time again, and never given the chance to show them I’m more than just a 24 year-old lacking a significant amount of experience in my field.  Instead I’ll most likely be forced into an entry level position making a low hourly wage for a few years until I have a few years of experience under my belt.  Fortunately I’m not buried under student loans as far as some people I know, because a decent salary is needed to even cover the monthly payment on 4 years of student loans. 

I don’t want you to misconstrue this as me whining and complaining about not being able to find a job.  I realize this is the reality of having being a recent college graduate with a communications degree in this economy, and it’s going to take a few years of hard work and struggling at the bottom of the corporate ladder before I make it to a good position.  I can grow from the experience and lucky for you guys, I can use the opportunity to do more blogging.