Half of a brag ... my path to finding employement

[heatherbassoon]

I think this is a great post. I've been out of work for just over two months now and it was very unexpected; I just graduated from my Masters program in April, took two months to land a 3-month contract, and now have been without a job for over two months. I have applied to over 300 positions since January and been interviewed for over a dozen positions. While I haven't been particularly positive for the months I haven't had a job, the things I found that have helped include:

1) We adopted a dog that is SO grateful to be in our home. She keeps me company during the lonely days, encourages me to go for walks and meet people at the dog park (hello networking!).
2) Fancy up that resume & online profile. I'm quite proud of the visual impact and content of my resume and have received a lot of positive feedback that it's what has got me the interview. I've also spent time developing a business card to hand out to people I end up talking to about how hard it is to find a job (was a fun crafty-like project) and a LinkedIn profile.
3) Rant on your favourite discussion boards and realize that you're not alone. I've met a few people through LinkedIn groups that are all looking for jobs in my field, and I'm keeping an ear out for them.
4) Clean house. My house has never been so clean and tidy. Taking pride in the things you own, and learning that using up all those little samples of xyz that have been in your closet forever is more fun than touring around the stores with no money in your pocket.

Hope that helps! Best of luck in your search.

[Mystic]

One possibility is to create your own employment, ie daycare, elder care, delivering newspapers, I would love to find a part-time job, where I could work on the internet, doing data entry or something. Not really sure how to find a reputable company to work for online? Does anyone know of any online company that pays you to do data entry from home?

[hollyquaiscer]

I'm so sorry you didn't get the job, try and keep your spirits up. You are a great person and any company would be happy to have you, you will get a job.

And to Marlene the bean, I am not meaning to be rude or sound mean, but if you want a job, you should be getting up early and getting those resumes out in the mornings. If one of my children ever got up at 1pm and said they were going to apply for jobs, I would tell them to forget it. Employers look for eager people. JMO and like I said, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything like that, but you should be up early looking for jobs and sending out resumes over the net.

[cheekysaver]

I have my own way of job searching that always works for me... inside 1 week i have several job offers and i have to pick. It is called faxing... i go to employment places that allow for free faxing of resume's and will fax off to 80 companies a day... end of the week 400 companies have my resume and it is companies that are not listed in the paper. I get the numbers out of the phone book... it is job hunting by numbers and i do it that way because i can always afford to be more fussy later. This is a incredibly effective method and it is free. You end up having your resume at potential employers before they put up a add... hunting for a employee is such a pain very often if your the one they got in their hot little hands at just the right time... you will get the call and with 800 companies... your going to get a few.... remember every job you don't get is just on the path to the one you do get....good luck and look for numbers on the internet too... you can totally do this!

[boldjack]

Please do take the time to listen to this video this would change your life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAx9os1KxN0

[Ciel]

Look for a Hidden Job Market/Cold Calling session at your area employment centre. I attended one today to give my job search a needed confidence boost and the session leader talked attendees out of reasons why not to call, how to schedule the day's calls and plan for next day's calls, plus other useful things. I had missed earlier sessions (transportation issues...) but managed to get this month's session done! Hurrah for me.

See if any library branches in your system carry the 2011-12 Contact Toronto directory in its reference area that can be useful for choosing companies (some names listed, along with phone/fax/address info plus NAIC reference and other company information) in the GTA for your cold-calling campaign. I saw but did not peruse the new Dun & Bradstreet Who Owns Whom directory (for determining parent company/subsidary company connections).

Networking idea-look at events/club listings in your area (college/university/business associations/community groups)-never know where you'll find a speaker or event that aligns with your industry interests.