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.
