Some encouraging comments from a reader

Thanks, Jen!

Jen gave us some encouraging comments recently:

I just wanted to commend the creators on a wonderful job with this blog. I graduated from a prestigious university in 2003, spent 6 months job searching before I finally found something that I was content with. Unfortunately that was temporary, and then I ended up with another temp job, and the owner turned out to be a complete psycho (i filed harassment against him, and he hasn't paid me for the last month that I worked -- and it's been 2 months now). Anyways, to the person who just completed their 500th resume... I feel your pain. Unemployment is awful -- especially when you're not eligible for unemployment benefits and you can't pay your rent. *sigh* Alright I'm ending it here... feel free to visit my blog-- there's been a lot of job-search related frustrations lately. :) GoodLuck!

Hi Bert, I saw your blog note.

500 jobs.

Wow, that's a lot.

What kind of job are you looking for?

What methods are you using to find a job?

How much time per day do you spend on finding a new job?

Are you currently employed?

On another note: noone responded yet to my questions below. Feel free to jump in!

Best,

Rita

A Major Milestone

I just wanted to drop by with a quick announcement of a major milestone that I have reached in my personal job search, although I'm not sure how pleased I am to have reached it... today I logged my 500th job that I've applied to in JobFiler.

Now, granted my job search has been on and off for about a year and a half now (with time off for good behavior of course, and contracts here and there). And I have turned down a few jobs to date that were not a good fit for me, either organizationally, economically, or idealogically. Nontheless, 500 jobs is an awful lot of jobs to be applying to, even when the economy is somewhat depressed. And speaking of depressed...

Hi Everyone, I wanted to jump in and introduce myself and kick everything off with a couple of questions:

My name is Rita Fisher and I guess I don't really have to introduce myself any further because Dan has already done that for me. Thanks Dan! And thanks for having me!!!

Maybe just a couple of more things about me: I’m from Hungary and have been in the US for 10 years now. I became a US citizen in 1999. I have a husband and two little boys, ages 2 and 5.

Now for the question:

On an average, what percentage of resumes received by human resources personnel do you think end up in the circular file?

Let me know your answers. Just post them on the blog. I will tell you my answer after I see your responses.

Best,
Rita

Let's welcome a new contributor...

Rita Fisher, a Certified Professional Resume Writer, has received publicity for her work with job seekers on the Oprah Winfrey Show, in McCall's magazine and in many other media sources. Her professional resume writing work has been featured in Gallery of Best Resumes (Gallery), a book by Jist Publishing. You can reach her at http://www.CareerChangeResumes.com.

To find out how you can contribute to this blog, head over to the Archive page.

Crew Worker in the Midst

"If you have a job without aggravation, you don't have a job." -- Malcolm Forbes

I've begun to settle in at work, it seems. There are some aspects of it that I enjoy, that are really good for the "high stimulus" craving I have. Other aspects I could do without; namely, the politics, the inconsistencies in following procedures.

The inconsistencies in following procedures is something I'm figuring out how to live with. I liken my behavior to a detective who doesn't always "go by the book" on things and yet still accomplishes the organization's overall goal.

I don't consider this to be a long-term assignment, but it works for right now.
[cross-posted to Journey Inside My Mind]

Here's a job board for technical support professionals... insutry associations can be a good source of job leads that you may not find on the big commercial boards.

Association of Support Professionals: Jobs