Day 20: Still plugging away

This is hard. I have heard people say that looking for a job is a full time job. It is true, and as the process gets longer the motivation starts to wane. I know I need a new job so I will be happier and look forward to go to work in the morning. See the new link to the article about when it is time to go. Yes, I will keep submitting resumes and networking with people to turn over leads, but it is getting tougher.

My wife says that I should temper my goals and work on submitting one or two resumes for jobs that are a good match instead of going with the high volume, mass resume approach. It makes sense, but I feel the more I send out the greater chances I have to find a new job. However, it takes time. The old days, you had a resume that you printed out on nice bond paper, maybe an eggshell white or a ecru white to off-set it a little bit. Now, I have to fill out the same information on every website. My name, again, my past jobs, colleges, etc. Sometimes you can get lucky and the company has a job basket. You get to fill in one job application and then can apply to multiple jobs at the same company. Yes, it increases my chances because I can apply to three jobs instead of one, but what does a company think when they see me apply for three jobs. Does it scream "desperate"? please pick me. I will do anything if you can give me a job!

I filled out two applications last night in about an hour. One was for out of state which honestly if I get through the resume screening, phone interview, face to face interview, and do get a job offer, would still have to seriously consider whether I would take the job or not.

I had thought the Sunday paper was pretty worthless, but this week there are 15 IT jobs advertised in the Portland Metro area. That is almost double what it was two weeks ago. And for all the jobs I have applied for online, I have two phone interviews and one waiting for a call back "either way, they are going to call me back" Of course that was three days ago, so I am not holding my breath for that call.

So, what can I do to keep myself motivated and still looking. I haven't joined the Ladders yet, so I can do that this week and see if there is anything different after three weeks of searching the most$100K jobs on the web. I will do at least two resumes a day, and I am going to send a message to all of my LinkedIn contacts to fire up my network and see what I can do to get a lead or two. Tomorrow, I will tell you how many resumes I completed and how long it took. Sorry it is not more cheerful, nut it is late and time to go to bed.