“Spring Can’t Get Here Fast Enough and I Want a New Job!”
Ah, winter. Cozy after-skiing evenings by the fire. A tasty hot toddy by your side. Snowflakes quietly frost the landscape.
Hold it right there. (Insert sound of screeching record.) This is not the way winter is. Ever. It’s sloppy and cold and, even though the technology exists to do most jobs at home, most of us still have to schlepp into the office because the boss hates empty seats.
So, what do you do? Why, get another job of course! How about a job at a remote hotel in Colorado? You can bring your family. It’s a caretaker’s job that only requires you to make sure the place doesn’t fall to wrack and ruin during the off season. It’ll be great. You can work on that “Great American Novel” you’ve been whining about for the past 10 years. Look, there are a few ghosts lurking about and you may decide to chase after your family with an axe, but hey, who hasn’t gone a little mad in winter?
Okay, maybe we won’t try for jobs like that in Stephen King’s “The Shining,” but there’s no reason you can’t look for work during the doldrums of winter. Here are a few tips to help fight the winter job doldrums. Just stay out of Room 237, m’kay?
Why And How You Should Always Be Job Searching
This article resonated with me. I was let go from a job in 2002. I was stupid. Never saw it coming. Then I spent a whole year looking for another “real” job while I worked a series of temporary positions. After I finally landed a new gig in May 2003, I thought, “never again will I be as unprepared as I used to be.” That experience led me to always keep my resume up to date. My LinkedIn profile is always ready to go. My experience also led me indirectly to this column. For more on the reasons you should always be searching for a job, even if you are satisfied where you are now, read Steven Nash’s piece.
Thinking About a New Job? Here’s Where Employers are Looking
If you’re ready to investigate greener employment pastures, where should you head to get noticed? Should you emphasize Linked, Facebook, or Twitter? Let Robin Ryan point you in the right direction.
Get A Job You’re Not Qualified For
When I was fresh out of college and looking for work, the phrase I heard over and over again was, “Sorry, but you’re not qualified.” The innocent question of how and where to gain experience was met by a raised eyebrow and, in one notable instance, a guffaw when the man interviewing me said, “Not on my dime, kid. Sorry.” Things are better these days, but some job ads make you think you’re applying for a CEO post and not merely a professional staff position. Too many pie-in-the-sky requirements, so what is a job seeker to do? First, ignore the instructions, for one thing. As for the rest, let Liz Ryan fill you in on how to proceed.
5 Best Job Sites to Have a Profile On
In the good old days of the early internet, we just had Monster to rely on for the next great gig. Now we have CareerBuilder, Indeed, GlassDoor, and a whole stack of other sites, too. It is great to have options, but now you have decisions to make. Where should you post your resume? On all of them? Al Gomez has the answers for you, along with the pros and cons of each site.
5 Ways to Find Jobs Without Using a Job Board
Suppose you don’t want to use job boards and job sites? They work well for some people, but others don’t want to weed through a few hundred openings when they enter their job titles, salaries, and so forth. So, how do you find jobs without using job boards? Katie Douthwaite Wolf has a few pointers that should interest you.
Have some tips or tools to share with your fellow technical communicators, information developers, and content creators? Let’s network! Drop me a note: HelpFiles@TechWhirl.com. Follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, circle me on Google+, or email me at craig.cardimon@gmail.com. I enjoy connecting with others in the industry.
