Trying to find a new job - My story so far...

Jampy00

Jampy00

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In 2012 I was employed by a large sucessful company, I had a supervisory position and a staff of 24 employees, 90% I hired. I was very busy and stressed but for the most part happy. Then a few changes hit me, first off the insides sales when 100% call center almost over night and everything was statistic driven then my father got seriously ill, between trying to juggle these changes I simply started to burn out. After my father past away, I went to HR I explained to them I felt I was not performing in the best interest of the company during my father illness I had to take loads of time off of work and let my wonderful team down by not being there while important things were taking place. Now HR was actually really good about this, they saw how hard I worked and allowed me a internal tranfer in the company to another position and they allowed me to help hire my replacement and of course coach them. The good part of this was I didn't have any call center skills and it was something I just was not passionate about, the new guys did know this industry and offered alot of resources I could not to assist the staff. After a few months I realized that the new position for me was kinda a fluff job so I started to search for something new. My wife actually found a job listing for me for a company only a few km's from where I lived, I applied and to make a long story short took a very small pay cut and accepted the job. Here is where things go down hill for me. The company though filled with very nice people has zero management skills and of course based on this they don't want anyone (like me) to rock the boat (most people have been here over 15 yrs) turns out everything I thought was good about the company was actualyl pretty bad. So here I sit bored out of my mind and of course getting nervous cause how long can this last. So I have been actively looking for new work, I have spent hours making specific resumes and cover letters to highlight my skills, I check all the work sites twice a day and apply to no less that five jobs a day. in the over 100 jobs I have applied for since January I have had 1 call back and that comapny was much like the one I ma currently in. Now I know we have 1000's of people applying for jobs, Nike USA gets over 5000 resumes a day !! but I mean I am applying for specific jobs and I have all the righ keywords and resume skill sets and still nothing?

So, for anyone over 30 that has recently changed jobs, what worked for you, can you share any tips or experiences to help other like myself in the same position?

Many Thanks
 
Its a cut throat job market out there....overqualified older people who have been downsized, eager students with mounds of debt they need to pay off ASAP all translates to a lot of competition...

what works is knowing people, being likeable and desirable...if you're good at your work you will always have job offers.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
Its a cut throat job market out there....overqualified older people who have been downsized, eager students with mounds of debt they need to pay off ASAP all translates to a lot of competition...
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the younger generation doesn't get hired because of the size of their debt.
 
The only way to make it is to start your own business.
You can only get so far working for someone else.
 
I took a kick in the nuts and changed fields completely. I know I can go back to what I used to do with no question and anywhere at that. Other than my background I had 0 experience in what I do at my job now but after stressing out I got in with no problem and I'm still there 4 years later. There was a stack of 72 resumes when I was hired. I agree with the post above me because of this. Be yourself, and make yourself desirable to a future employer. Even if it is in a different field sometimes life experience gets you ahead.
 
Mr.Azim said:
the younger generation doesn't get hired because of the size of their debt.
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No, they get hired because they can undercut the salaries of older experienced people.
 
Mina said:
The only way to make it is to start your own business.
You can only get so far working for someone else.
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Or work in the public sector.

RetroGrouch said:
No, they get hired because they can undercut the salaries of older experienced people.
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They get hired because it's been 1-2 years since they graduated post secondary compared to 20 years ago. Assuming that individual did obtain post secondary above college.

These days it seems as if you need both university and college if you want something comfortable. I tried for 18 months after university and got nothing, then got a job 4 months after graduating college. And I'm not under-cutting... I'm paid for the experience, education and solid work I have/complete... which is more than the others I see around here.

Why would a company hire someone who is only going to work for 10-15 more years when they can train and put resources into something who will be there for the next 40. I don't mean they shouldn't.... I would choose a 30+ year old over a college graduate any day (because I studied with those 18 year old nit wits when I was 5-6 years old than them).
 
Guys,

My post is not why or why I don't get hired or why it's better to be young vs old.

For the record my education is up to date I am currently advancing it as we speak and I make this fact well known. I also don't ask for silly pay amounts and know how to work that system by doing a little research. What I want to hear is what worked or din't work for you and for people to share their experiences. Not to argue over things we cannot change, please can we try to stay on topic.
 
As a 30 something I just simply rode out to Calgary and dropped all my IT and managerial skills off my resume. I figured better to start off at the bottom and work my way to the top.
 
What worked for me is re-writing cover letters from scratch for each job application.... I had about 6 interviews before I recieved this job. But I didn't start getting calls until I trashed my generic cover letter and re-wrote them specific for the job posting.
 
Definitely a personality can be as effective as a good resume to an extent (of course depending on teh type of job, but generally speaking).

Also, try Linkedin. I get job offers all the time through Linkedin and I've only been working for 3+ years.

What you can also do is cold call. Not all companies advertise through job bank/kijiji/workopolis/monster. Read the news, see if any companies are starting up, etc. and give them a call.

Just out of curiousity, and for the possibility that someone on here can help, what industry do you work in?
 
Mr.Azim said:
What worked for me is re-writing cover letters from scratch for each job application.... I had about 6 interviews before I recieved this job. But I didn't start getting calls until I trashed my generic cover letter and re-wrote them specific for the job posting.
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Very good point, I have written several covering the area's of business I am looking to get into. I thne allow laods of room to modify each one to suit the specific position.

Funny, about 5 minutes after I typed my original post, I got a call. Now that makes two hopefully this one goes somewhere.
I have also included reference on my resume, of course I have notified all of them of my intentions and they have all agreed. I was a reference for many of them.

The industry I am in is indutrial sales, namely pneumatics and other industrial products. I have experience in customer service, project management, technical lead and quality assurance.
 
Mr.Azim said:
What worked for me is re-writing cover letters from scratch for each job application.... I had about 6 interviews before I recieved this job. But I didn't start getting calls until I trashed my generic cover letter and re-wrote them specific for the job posting.
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I do that with all my c letter still nothing. But you do have to tailor your cover letter

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Have you applied to SNC Lavalin? Might be a hike, but they have an office in Etobicoke.

Good luck on your job search!
 
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SLaP said:
Have you applied to SNC Lavalin? Might be a hike, but they have an office in Etobicoke.

Good luck on your job search!
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Thanks, I'll check them out.

I usually search on Monster, Workopolis, Linkedin and get a few email notifications from other job placement companies.
 
SNC sends contractors all over the place too.

Have you tried ATS automation? They have been hiring recently as they have been doing very well and are starting up a validation program (unrelated, but just to reflect company growth).
 
bboySushi said:
SNC sends contractors all over the place too.

Have you tried ATS automation? They have been hiring recently as they have been doing very well and are starting up a validation program (unrelated, but just to reflect company growth).
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ATS was a customer of mine for over 10 yrs, good company I guess, but one I am staying clear of for now along with SMC etc.
 
Jampy00 said:
Thanks, I'll check them out.

I usually search on Monster, Workopolis, Linkedin and get a few email notifications from other job placement companies.
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In the past while job hunting, I submitted hundreds of resumes with customized cover letters via Monster and Workopolis with zero results. I started calling companies I wanted to work for and got results very quickly. You need to find the company that needs someone and hasn't posted it yet, not the one that is being inundated by resumes (most of whom are probably qualified).
 
/\ I have tried that as well, I am a outgoing person by nature, if it is something I want, I tend to work at it. I got my 2nd tolast job that way. This round it's not working so much seems alot of companies want to use a service to ease the hiring burden. I still try mind you, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 
You sound like your head is screwed on right and you are approaching the job hunt like one should. I know so many people that complain about their job searches but I can tell that they are not taking it as seriously as I would or others like you. I think just dont get discouraged and keep doing what you are doing and next thing you know, you will be sitting on 3 job offers in one week and will then need to pick the best fit for you. I find, thats how job hunting usually ends up, periods of total silence followed by multiple offers all clustered together.

Seems like its increasingly difficult to please employers. The trend is more (skills) for less (money) it seems.
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