South Bay Rock Music Examiner: Getting personal with Jade of Days - Part Two
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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A dark phase.....
I think I am entering a dark phase in my job search.
In just under two weeks, I will have been unemployed for a solid three months. In that space of time, I have tried to remain as upbeat as possible, going to the Lee Hecht Harrison meetings to help me refine my materials and learn how to network, etc. In three months, I have had two interviews, both of the jobs going to other candidates. I research the companies in the area, I apply to them directly and through job search sites, I have uploaded my information and resume countless times, I have even cold faxed cover letters and my resume to companies. I have pestered my friends and networking contacts probably about as much as I can without pushing the envelope of their patience too much. And maybe some over the edge.
Nothing. Nada. Ka-Put.
There is literally nothing out there. The few jobs I have found have so many people clamoring for them that it almost makes no sense to even bother. And the companies are not helping. They are taking their sweet-ass time, filtering resumes out based on any number of things, and doing their absolute best to low-ball salary offers. In my own field, I honestly do not think companies even know what they are looking for or how to pay. I found one job listing on indeed.com (which pulls from other job search sites) which had a brief salary description as being "a great opportunity, paying up to $52K per year!" Anyone living in Silicon Valley knows that while anything above $50K is not to be completely scoffed at, it is difficult to support a family on. This area requires almost a minimum of $100K per year per household to live. One of the companies I interviewed with had a salary range whose high end was pretty much exactly my low end of acceptance. Now, one could conceivably argue that "beggars can't be choosers", right? But at what point do you sell off your skills, your integrity, your experience? Companies need to do more research on their own end and understand the acceptable ranges for various positions; I just don't think they are bothering to care right now, knowing how many people are currently out of work.
And it doesn't seem to help that most have no real clue as to what to call what I do. Is it marketing communications, technical publications, technical editing, corporate communications, marketing coordinator.....they have a million different titles for the same singular job description. No wonder they don't have a clue as to what they should realistically pay!
And then there is the level of professionalism to consider. If someone does not meet your needs, take the time to call them and thank them for coming in. No phone calls or even emails to candidates who didn't make the cut is just plain rude and unprofessional. At least one of my prospective companies sent me an email thanking me for coming in; the other has been hiding from me, not even responding to my sent email thanking them for giving me the opportunity to come in.
Its enough to make one doubt themselves and their own skills.
I know there are a great many out there in my same position and it kills me because I hear about more and more entering what seems to now be the norm: unemployment. When I interviewed Barb Rocks for the (unpaid) column I write at examiner.com, we were wrapping things up and she noted she still had to go to the bank that day to deposit her unemployment check. Guess what? So did I. Here we had had a great lunch chat-fest, talking about the current state of the music scene in San Jose, what is upcoming, etc......and we are both out of "regular" work. And as I write this, I see that my friend Andrea's fiance was just laid off himself a couple of weeks ago......
So much talent being thrown over the side of ships that are not even remotely in danger of sinking, but that remain clutched in that spinning vertigo of fear that is our national (and international) situation. I can't blame Bush (as much as I would love to) and I can't blame Obama; this whole thing was years in the making, and we are paying the cost right now. I wish people would call it what it is: a depression. That's how I feel. That's how others feel. Depressed.
It is telling when I hear from those (namely my grandfather) who actually lived through The Great Depression, to have them look at the current state of things and say "Hell, this is worse than what we had to deal with." Think about that for a second. Go ahead. It ain't pretty.....
Ok. I have now vented a bit. I now need to go back to my marketing plan and see if I can target some companies to level my sights at and get my resume to. Because no matter how much I bitch, moan, and complain.....I still need to find a damn job.
In just under two weeks, I will have been unemployed for a solid three months. In that space of time, I have tried to remain as upbeat as possible, going to the Lee Hecht Harrison meetings to help me refine my materials and learn how to network, etc. In three months, I have had two interviews, both of the jobs going to other candidates. I research the companies in the area, I apply to them directly and through job search sites, I have uploaded my information and resume countless times, I have even cold faxed cover letters and my resume to companies. I have pestered my friends and networking contacts probably about as much as I can without pushing the envelope of their patience too much. And maybe some over the edge.
Nothing. Nada. Ka-Put.
There is literally nothing out there. The few jobs I have found have so many people clamoring for them that it almost makes no sense to even bother. And the companies are not helping. They are taking their sweet-ass time, filtering resumes out based on any number of things, and doing their absolute best to low-ball salary offers. In my own field, I honestly do not think companies even know what they are looking for or how to pay. I found one job listing on indeed.com (which pulls from other job search sites) which had a brief salary description as being "a great opportunity, paying up to $52K per year!" Anyone living in Silicon Valley knows that while anything above $50K is not to be completely scoffed at, it is difficult to support a family on. This area requires almost a minimum of $100K per year per household to live. One of the companies I interviewed with had a salary range whose high end was pretty much exactly my low end of acceptance. Now, one could conceivably argue that "beggars can't be choosers", right? But at what point do you sell off your skills, your integrity, your experience? Companies need to do more research on their own end and understand the acceptable ranges for various positions; I just don't think they are bothering to care right now, knowing how many people are currently out of work.
And it doesn't seem to help that most have no real clue as to what to call what I do. Is it marketing communications, technical publications, technical editing, corporate communications, marketing coordinator.....they have a million different titles for the same singular job description. No wonder they don't have a clue as to what they should realistically pay!
And then there is the level of professionalism to consider. If someone does not meet your needs, take the time to call them and thank them for coming in. No phone calls or even emails to candidates who didn't make the cut is just plain rude and unprofessional. At least one of my prospective companies sent me an email thanking me for coming in; the other has been hiding from me, not even responding to my sent email thanking them for giving me the opportunity to come in.
Its enough to make one doubt themselves and their own skills.
I know there are a great many out there in my same position and it kills me because I hear about more and more entering what seems to now be the norm: unemployment. When I interviewed Barb Rocks for the (unpaid) column I write at examiner.com, we were wrapping things up and she noted she still had to go to the bank that day to deposit her unemployment check. Guess what? So did I. Here we had had a great lunch chat-fest, talking about the current state of the music scene in San Jose, what is upcoming, etc......and we are both out of "regular" work. And as I write this, I see that my friend Andrea's fiance was just laid off himself a couple of weeks ago......
So much talent being thrown over the side of ships that are not even remotely in danger of sinking, but that remain clutched in that spinning vertigo of fear that is our national (and international) situation. I can't blame Bush (as much as I would love to) and I can't blame Obama; this whole thing was years in the making, and we are paying the cost right now. I wish people would call it what it is: a depression. That's how I feel. That's how others feel. Depressed.
It is telling when I hear from those (namely my grandfather) who actually lived through The Great Depression, to have them look at the current state of things and say "Hell, this is worse than what we had to deal with." Think about that for a second. Go ahead. It ain't pretty.....
Ok. I have now vented a bit. I now need to go back to my marketing plan and see if I can target some companies to level my sights at and get my resume to. Because no matter how much I bitch, moan, and complain.....I still need to find a damn job.
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