On-Line Job Listings

Seem to be a complete waste of time. I’ve spent hours upon hours of applying for jobs on-line. At first I thought I was being very productive, even if the process is often frustrating and riddled with website malfunctions. I just knew that any moment the e-mails and callbacks would start rolling in.

In the mean time I was working a “temp” job, months dragged on and nothing happened. I found myself doubting everything I had for experience and wondering if I had bad references. I felt very, very, low indeed.

But what I discovered is that the only offers I got from sites like “CareerBuilder” or “Monster” were scams and I went from one or two spam e-mails a week to over 20 a day. As soon as I pulled my profiles from the on-line job boards, the spam diminished to 1 or 2 a week, just like before.

I decided that the only way to go was paper. At least that way, I felt like I was doing something other then playing a video game in hell. Funny thing about it, the very same places I had applied to on-line and never heard from called me within days for interviews.

Talking to friends and doing some googling revealed the truth, on-line job sites are worthless. Worthless, unless you know how to get the automated system to spit your resume out at the HR person. How, you ask?

From what I have read, it’s all about keywords and phrases that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you’re not sure what those are, try spitting back words in the job description.

Here are some links of interest:

Prepare Your Resume for Email
and Online Posting
How To Fill Out Online Job Applications
Keyword Resumes
Understand Employers
Identifying Key Words for Your Resume & Cover Letter
If you want the job…follow directions

I have yet to put this into practice but stay tuned, if I get results I’ll be happy to share what works and what doesn’t.

Gustav go away.

It’s raining here, perfect sleeping weather.

When I was a boy, my dad tore down a shed that was made of old, old, oak planks. I took the planks and build a shack, I used old sheets of tin for the roof, which never seemed not to leak somewhere. I would hide out in my little shack and listen to the raindrops on the tin roof and read a book, just glad for the moment of peace.

Seems like today is a good day not to run around.

Hostas

Hosta, enjoying a light rain.

At least the garden is happy. After all the moles, beetles and cats, it’s a wonder anything survived.

Rain

It’s raining and I feel glum. Just another day of fruitless pavement pounding, watching my gas gauge go down with every red light.

You know, when I was working I always thought having nothing to do would be relaxing, but it’s just boring. I guess the ideal would be to have nothing to do and enough money to do it with.