<p>I found xiggi’s advice very sound, but want to add:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>It is possible to find jobs online. You should apply to every appropriate job you can find, and this is one important source.</p></li>
<li><p>You wrote that your University reviewed your cover letter. You shouldn’t have “a” cover letter. You should craft a specific cover letter for every job to which you apply. This is very important and should help you stand out in the crowd.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>My husband has been looking for work for some months. He (and I) have days when we feel optimistic, and days when we do not. I think of it as a bit of a numbers game – “n” is the number of jobs to which you’ve applied, and you need to make that number as big as possible. Every application puts you closer to finding a job.</p>
<p>Over the years (I know I am one of those “people who looked for jobs more than a decade ago”) I have found the best way to look for a job is through network, more specifically people you know personally. It is great there a lot of internet postings, but at the same time, every posting would get hundreds of applicants. The reason is online application has become so easy for everyone, no different than common application. What you want to do is to have your application make it to the top of the pile. The only way to do that is to have a hook or someone who could help to make you be noticed. </p>
<p>I would contact your friends who already have a job to let them know you are still looking. Who knows, maybe a position could open up later (someone didn’t take the job last minute, someone resigned), and they could let you know before the job is even posted. I know I have hired a lot of people through referral - I trust people who did the referral and it saved a lot of recruiting fees. I would also contact some older alumni who are more established at their profession to ask for some guidance, sometimes they may know of someone who is hiring. If you see an online posting you are interested in, try to find out if you know of anyone who is already working there. Contact the person to find out more about the position and at the same time ask if he/she could recommend you for the position.</p>
<p>To be honest, unless you are a highly skilled, experienced person, most companies do not want to pay recruiter’s fee to hire. </p>
<p>I’m feeling MUCH better about things today. I just applied to a job that I’m REALLY REALLY excited about (at Vanderbilt University!!!) so I’m hoping something good will come out of that. </p>
<p>I’m talking with my dad’s recruiter connection later this afternoon.</p>
<p>I reached out to a few old supervisors and got connected with some Facebook groups (yay networking!) that way. Also got sent a few open positions that way.</p>
<p>This may sound odd for someone going into education, but I have zero interest in volunteering with younger kids. I’m not good with kids…like, at all. (as in younger than high school.)</p>
<p>If I don’t have a job by mid-late June, I’m planning to take the CBEST so that I can do some substitute teaching and have some income and something to put on my resume.</p>
<p>Wish me luck! I’m hoping that now that it’s summer on most campuses things will start moving a little faster.</p>
<p>So volunteer with HS kids. There are mentoring programs, for example. (And having that on your resume would be advantageous if you want to get hired for jobs involving adolescents…which you might want to do if the perfect position doesn’t appear.)</p>
<p>You dont need to work with kids at all.
I volunteer to clean up the Duwamish.
It involves being outside & ripping out blackberry, ampngst other things.
I am also a citizen scientist & track wildlife in the winter., counting wolves for instqnce.
These groups also do their hiring from past volunteers.</p>
<p>Good luck
Would you feel comfortable contacting any of the people who interviewed you at one of the jobs you didn’t get? Sometimes you can get valuable feedback. </p>
<p>Target the places you want to work. Most of them will be hiring sometime over the next two years. Two years?! Yes, finding the best professional job could take that long. So, in the meantime, work pro bono, freelance, intern, job shadow, info interview. So many jobs get filled by the person the staff already knows via such routes. Work LinkedIn like a master.</p>
<p>Things have improved over the last couple of weeks. I spoke with a recruiter who works with my dad at IBM and got some invaluable advice and tips from him. I also have three, yes, THREE interviews this week with schools that I would LOVE to work for! Two are via Skype and one is via phone.</p>
<p>Keep your fingers crossed for me! I’ll continue to post updates as the job search trudges along.</p>
<p>If you think you might get nervous on interviews, write yourself some notes about points you want to make. Have some situations, actions you took and results you acheived that demonstrate traits you want to convey. Think of it like stories about you. Put the cards where the camera can’t see them and glance at them if you need to remind yourself of what you wanted to say. Practice answering some questions with the stories. This worked like a charm for my brother. And it made him think about the kinds of things an interviewer would want to know about what he could do. Good luck!</p>
<p>Wonderful news about the interviews! One piece of advice, as someone who his a hiring manager, is go into the phone screens prepared. Try and find out what the area is they are hiring for, and put together in your head how you think you will fit the position in question. I realize it isn’t easy, but for example, let’s say they were hiring in a student area involving foreign students, then do research on the numbers of foreign students, and do some research on issues with foreign students,for example acclimatizing to the difference in culture and such. Friend of mine when I went to the school was head of one of the larger student affairs groups, and he told me that when he interviewed for his first job at the school (big school in NYC), that he talked about being this blue collar kid from a small town in Pennsylvania and feeling lost in the big school, and about what he wished had been there for him. Another person in student affairs I got to know told me how she grew up in a very conservative family from a town down south, and how when she went to school at a big school in the northeast having to adjust to people who were very different than she grew up with, kids from all over the world, openly gay kids, just the pace of life…and again, talked about how on the interview she talked about what she wished she had…</p>
<p>The other hint is do your research and be prepared to ask questions. Besides the obvious, asking them for what the position does, go deeper, ask them about the challenges in that area, things they see they think need addressing, or ask them how the issues in that particular area are related to other challenges the school faces…I have been interviewed enough, and interviewed enough people, that on a phone screen someone showing they have done their homework, has tried to figure out what the job is about, and asks intelligent questions will be a lot more likely IMO to get offered a full interview. Try and make it as not boilerplate as possible, combine what you learned in school with your own personal take on things. Again speaking at myself, but someone who can only basically re-iterate what is on their resume, or tell me “I am interested in a challenging job” won’t get far. Basically, you have a short period of time to show them a)you are interested in the school and the job and b)to show why you are worth taking the time to interview. The resume gets you in the door, but far too many people have great resumes and you realize that is all they have, so take it beyond that:)</p>
<p>I’ve done probably about 30 interviews in the last few months, so I’ve had plenty of practice. </p>
<p>Singersmom, I actually have a full page on MS Word so far of topics, questions, etc. Usually I put the job description and that document on both sides of my screen so I can look either at those or at the camera and am not tempted to stare at the interviewers.</p>
<p>musicprnt, I’ve spent at least an hour today doing all my research and coming up with questions! The nice part with this position is I already know which hall I would be working in, so I can ask questions specifically about the population in that hall, the students who live there, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you all! One down, two to go. It wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t great either. There were a LOT of people doing the interview (6 total), and it was very formal, which I don’t really care for. But we’ll see! Excited for the other two :)</p>
<p>Just keep plugging away, and you will nail it, I promise:). Job hunting is tough, and at time it looks like the good job won’t come through, I know only too well. I was out for a while after my prior job ended (pencil pushers, may they all die of lead poisoning, thank you, Bob Hoskins/Eddie Valiant), and it was tough…but I found a job that has done well for me eventually, and basically it is all about persevering and pushing forward.</p>
<p>That’s the plan! I’m very excited especially for the interview I have on Friday. It will work out the way it’s supposed to, just as it always has.</p>
<p>Just be positive. People like to work with happy people who give off a vibe that says “Give me the work and I’ll get it done quickly and competently”. When hiring, they’re leery of candidates who have their own ideas about how things ought to be done, or how much work is appropriate, or how much vacation, time off, etc,etc. Friendliness and earnestness are highly valued…maybe moreso than technical competence.</p>
One down, two to go. It wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t great either. There were a LOT of people doing the interview (6 total), and it was very formal, which I don’t really care for. But we’ll see! Excited for the other two :)</p>