What's Next?!

It's been hard enough as it is trying to find positions to apply to that I'm actually qualified for but then I find out this: job-search scammers have been on the rise due to the economic recession. According to an article in Time Magazine (link below), authorities have seen a surge in new cases of scam artists advertising fake jobs in order to steal personal information from innocent job seekers. Are you kidding me?What kind of cruel person takes advantage of those who are already unemployed? Websites like craigslist are particularly vulnerable to fraudulent postings. However, there are a number of ways to spot job scams. Check out the list below, and the article from Time Magazine and make sure to be a cautious searcher. No experience required and starting salary of 100,000 IS too good to be true. Time Article

20 Sure Signs that a Job Post could be one of the Craig's List Job Scams

1. It has a generic, over-used or vague job title. Admin Assistant or Customer Service Rep are popular ones.
2. The jobs that indicate that "Telecommuting is Ok". This attracts many people and gives them more responses.
3. They fail to list a specific location for the job - i.e. they list no location under the city or area that you are searching.
4. They list a salary or hourly wage that seems too good to be true or too specific like $13.64 - 34.23 / hour. What the...?
5. They list it as a government job.
6. They post a job with a title that doesn't match the description.
7. They use strange sentences or misspellings.
8. A search for that job title in Google - example "Admin Assistant Craig's List" and comes up in many other cities with the exact same job post. Because Craig's List is free - they can easily post the same bogus job post in every city.
9. If the description has a bunch of exclamation points and promises high income in one week.
10. If the description boldly states "No Experience Necessary" but has a promise of high pay.
11. There is no job contact information. A quality job post will tell you who to email or give you a valid company website.
12. A link that is to a home business or multi level marketing opportunity website. This isn't a JOB - but a business venture. If you were looking for a home business opportunity you would have searched that category.
13. A link that redirects you to another site.
14. A link that takes you to a job membership site and asks you to register.
15. A quick response to your email inquiry that tells you they have reviewed your resume when you didn't even send it.
16. A quick response to your email inquiry that leads you to another website that promises you more job openings - like government jobs. Click after click - nothing but a time waster...
17. A response to your email inquiry that asks you to sign up for a web-conferencing service so you can be part of a training call.
18. A response to your email inquiry with a name and company that does not exist.
19. A response to your email inquiry from someone in a foreign country looking to hire people in the United States to handle accounts payable or receivables.
20. The same auto response to all of your emails. There isn't a real person at the other end of the email account. 

Information from:  Hubpages.com

Ok, so hopefully 21 isn't mid-life...but crisis and meltdowns certainly sound fitting (though, perhaps dramatic) during this whole job search process. 


prime example-- facebook post from my best friend over winter break:
"dear rach, i just had my first job search meltdown :( probably going to be the first of many. i misssss you, i neeeeeed you. and i will see you tomorrow, but you should still chat with me tonight, love love" 


First job search meltdown...of many to come? Yes. Amidst job database after database, changing key words, and locations in hopes of finding something new, the results can  be over (or under)whelming. Coupled with pressure from family and friends, plus maintaining your campus activities, job, and coursework, finding a job often feels like a fifth class. It's absolutely stressful--no wonder my friends and I are all taking turns being emotional wrecks. But enough negativity and complaining. It's time to pull myself together--and for you to pull yourself together-- and get in the game. Sending in the first job application was the hardest, but now, little by little, it's getting easier. The more proactive I am, the better I feel, and the fewer "mid-life crisis" I have. Worrying about next year without actually doing anything is useless. Put the fear behind you and crank out some cover letters. Now, let's just hope all of the hard work pays off...

So one would think, as a peer advisor whose job revolves mostly around helping other people write and edit their resumes, my resume would be something close to perfection. Logical? yes. True? NO. I've been putting off finalizing my resume for a very long time. It's not that I didn't have a resume at all. In fact, I'd written several. As ridiculous as it sounds, I just never got around to working with a professional staff member to really edit my resume. 

Almost halfway through senior year and it was time to simply 'get over' my cowardliness and face my resume head-on. I met with Sarah and we began tackling my resume. We first worked on creating a general resume and then made a couple of resumes tailored to specific industries. Many hours and edits later my resumes were finished, and even Sarah could find nothing left to change. Despite the tedious process of "making over" your resume, it's such a relief to have it done.

Get yourself into career services, and get your resume reviewed. Your parents and your friends are not good enough to be the only people giving you feedback. A polished resume is not optional, it's required if you want to successfully navigate the job market. 

So I've been doing a ton of job searching this past week now that I've been feeling a little bit more motivated. After running tons of searches, each time slightly altering the search criteria, I realized that I don't actually know what type of job I might like. I mean, I know where I don't want to work and what jobs I don't want to do (refer to the 'Dunkin' Donuts' blog entry), but what do I want to do? When I first started this blog I named a number of career possibilities--journalist, editor, event planner, social activist, educator, non-profit work, to name a few. But what is it like to work in these career fields? What do these people actually do??

Enter "Spotlight on Careers." Despite it being recommended to me before, I'd never really spent much time on it. However, now that I'm trying to answer all the questions I raised above, I'm finding it more and more useful. The site is broken down into five "career categories." Within each category are a number of career profiles. These profiles are incredibly comprehensive. The profiles includes an overview of the career which consists of "popular careers," "key skills," "mean annual earnings," "current trends," and "types of employers." The profiles also give resources for graduate and professional schools in that area as well as list profiles of professionals in that field. 

This is definitely a site worth exploring, and finally I'm starting to get some clarity on all of these different career possibilities!