It Takes So Long

Since I've been looking for a new opportunity, I've been doing a lot of research and reading.  My classes start up again next week, so I'm catching up on my reading before I really get into a position and into classes again.  My goal this year is to read ahead of time.  I have three books I have to read.  I started reading one of them and will be picking up the other one today or tomorrow.

Some of the things I've been looking at online are job search tips.  Others are goals in life concerning finances, organizing, better health, and career.

The blog post I'm going to write about is from BusinessWorkforce called, "Why finding a job can take so long."

I know that one of the main reasons that finding a job is so difficult is because so many people are looking for a position.  At this time, it is considered an employer's arena where employers have the pick of who they want and what they want.  Even job descriptions do not necessarily tell you everything about the company and what they want.  I have been to interviews where I made sure I knew everything about the job description, the company, and answered all the questions concerning the jobs, and yet the interviewer asked questions that were not really necessary.  I don't mean the, "if you were a tree," type of questions. 

According to a few of the websites and blogs I've been reading, the tide is slowly turning.  I remember when I could just fill out an application and be hired.  There were very few positions that I did not get when I was starting college.  When I came back from Brazil, I have a really hard time trying to find a job for some odd reason.  It was only through a connection of my brothers, that I was able to get a job.  In fact, the majority of positions I have had, came through connections.  But the jobs were just a job, not what I really wanted to do.

Really pushing forward of what I want to do in my career direction, the process has been all in my hands.  My friends and connections have such diverse employment that it has been really difficult to find a position through connections.  And on the other side, many of my connections do not work or are retired as I previously mentioned.

So going back to the blog that I was looking at, the first idea that was mentioned was that it takes at least one month for every $10,000 salary to find a job.  If only that were really true.  If I consider when I really started looking for a full-time position after I got my bachelors degree, I should be already halfway through the first six-figure salary.  I had to laugh at that.  Granted, I was working for a month so that might cut into my six-figure pretend goal.

Another reason for job searches taking so long is that a company wants to go through all the opportunities to find the right person.  Some timelines will be a few weeks.  Some timelines will be a couple months.  It depends on what type of employment a company wants.  If it is a temporary position, it can be filled within a few days to couple weeks.  If it's a permanent, full-time position, hiring managers will take the time to find the right person for the right culture who will excel in the position.

One of the things the blog mentions is that it is still easier to find a job if you are hired.  I have to disagree with that at the moment.  Granted, you cannot be doing nothing.  But since I believe I am not connected to my previous job since the beginning of the year, and I really have not worked in a position since the end of October, it actually has been easier.  Temporary agencies can get a hold of me and I can start work right away.  It really depends what you are looking for.  If you are looking for full-time position and you are working already, that is a good basis.  If you are looking for a temporary position, companies will the want you right away.  At least, that is what I have seen in my own job search.  If you are available right away you can get hired right away.  But if you are looking for permanent positions, a company will want to make sure that you are already connected and will want that two week notice available.

No matter how badly you want the job, always give a two-week notice.  A company that does not allow you to give to give a two-week notice is probably the company you do not want to work for; at least in my own personal life.

The advice the blog mentions is to apply for as many positions as possible.  I have to agree with that.  One of the things I did learning career counseling classes is that you do not want to do that.  Your chances of getting a job really depends on how much you put yourself out there.   But you need to know why you applied for position.  Was it the job description?  Was it the company?  Was it the type of business?  I look at all of those.  The first thing I do is look at the job description.  If I can fit 90% or more of the description then that is one of my major push for applying.  Another thing is I decide is where the position is located.  I am pretty much open to any place within 100 mile radius of where I live.  I am even open to moving down south.  The next thing I look at is what the company does, if it is available.  I like to work for companies that I do not have  experienced.  Sometimes the interviewer will ask why I applied for the company.  I do not think that is necessarily a fair question to someone who is not working.  Maybe if you are working at the time, there is a reason why you do not want to work for the company anymore.  But if you are not working, the most important reason you apply for position is because you need a job.  

I do have to say, when someone actually told me that they needed a job, I would look at them and say, "Everyone needs a job.  Why would I hire you?"  So even if you need a job, you do not want to give that reason as an explanation.  Be creative.

I was just asked that and I looked for the company's name and it was not available unless it is a really generic name.  The name did not catch me.  The position and the description caught my eye.

If I knew the name of every company out there, it would be a lot easier to say, hey I want to work for this company.  At times, job descriptions do not have the company's name or even what they do.  It is not that I do not want to be part of the culture and not work for a company.  I feel that there are so many companies out there, it is really difficult to define what I want to work in, when my career choice is something that can be used in all areas of business.  If I were a scientist, there may be certain companies that want to work for.  If I was in health and medical, there would be positions in companies I would specifically work for.  If I wanted to work in retail, there would be specific companies that want to work for.  But in human resources, I really do not have a particular area or business that I want to work.  I am open to all sorts of things because I want to have a nice variety of experience.