Job – Paul's Tech Talk

Job Essentials: Searching for real Jobs!

PaulMarch 15, 2024Leave a Reply

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Find real Jobs isn’t easy

How you find a real Job? It can be very frustrating that all these jobs available but are they real? As of today, I am thinking some of those jobs aren’t real. I’ve seen jobs come by and I applied for them and then they come back up in the next month or a few weeks. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about this even more. I know I’ve talked about Job Hunting 101: Mastering the Art of Applying for Positions. However, I thought we should deep dive into what most people are a calling Ghost jobs. It seems that these ghost jobs or companies are trying to suggest that they are looking for work but are just trying to farm applicants. Some of these companies are just trying to fool their workers that they are looking for people to help with their work. I have thought more and more that Jobs in 2024 will be harder to find and It seems that will continue through this recession that we are most likely going to have.

Finding Real Jobs

Are there real jobs in the job Market? Most of the people are looking for jobs right now than ever before in the past. I’m seeing more people being laid off, and that can be a real problem in looking for a real job online. Here are some of my tips to know if the job is real or not, and you can possibly save yourself some time and effort:

Use Indeed’s company reviews – If the company in question is really below 3 or 2.5 you can probably guess they aren’t going to be Here is some points to make though. If you see people making comments that the work life balance isn’t good that is probably an employer or is trying to fool their employees and keep them there.
Vague job postings – This seems to be another tactic that is being talked about by everyone around that companies are just posting jobs to crowd source when they do begin to hire. You might just get a bite a few months down the line if you applied to jobs like that.
Listings are closed – Here’s another tactic for employers they will intentionally keep the listing active just in case the job applicant quits while being trained or something like that. They also may be overwork and just forgets to remove the listing. Either way this one can be quite frustrating.

Job hunting fatigue is real thing and most people don’t understand it. The truth of the matter is that you can find a job even right now if you really go a different route. Connect with recruiters on LinkedIn and create content to highlight what you’re good at is one way to find those jobs that companies are wanting to fill. Create Google Alerts for keywords for jobs that you are looking for new jobs. However this will occasionally bring in those Ghost Jobs because companies will re-post the same job and Google will see these as new jobs and not old jobs. So you should be cautious about which ones to apply to. Networking is the best way I can tell you to finding a job, because it is something that has been proven in the past to land a job even in my case. If you know someone who works at Microsoft, they can probably put in a good word for you to get that job you are wanting.

Remember, you’re not alone in this more and more are finding my job asking the same questions. Don’t forget to check out Strategic Job Applications: How AI Can Be Your Secret Weapon to help you craft that cover letter and make sure your getting past the filters that is setup to be seen by a recruiter or hiring manager.

Job Hunting 103 : Navigating pre-employment assessments and tests

PaulFebruary 26, 2024Leave a Reply

Photo by mohamed_hassan from PxHere

Submitting Online Applications: Dos and Don’ts

How do I submits Job applications online? Is always the first question I usually get when I am trying to find a job. I want to make sure I apply in the right to get some kind of response and maybe a good interview possibilities. This will be me telling you how I apply and making sure I get the right response and possibly invitations to apply type of jobs. Each person will have different results depending on how they complete the process.

Do find the jobs that you want to do.
Do follow up with recruiters or HR after the interview.
Do write the applications as if you are the best fit.
Do create a resume that fits that job.

And

Don’t Just apply to any job you can.
Don’t be in a hurry to fill out the application
Don’t send a generic Resume.

Each employer will vary depending on what they may require you to do to get an interview, so you must read the job description and try to figure what they may need. You can also start filling out certain job assessments online by using the Indeed assessment portal. Like everything else this helps the employer know if you have the right qualifications and skills that they might be looking for. You can also do some more self assessments are something that you can do to prepare for some of this and this could ultimately help you identify what you might be good at if you haven’t already done that. Knowing what you are good at will help you get the job, Even though I said that in the other blog posts. This is how you can get a job that you might be good at.

Following the Job applications requirements will be something that no one can truly master because the employers sometimes makes it harder than it typically needs to be. They want to make sure you want the job and that can make it even harder to get the job. However once you have the job the satisfaction of saying you’ve got a job far out ways the hardship of getting the job.

Customizing Applications for Various Job Types

Why would you need to customize an applications? That is the first questions you might have, when you think about the whole purpose of the application. Some more interesting aspects of customizing the application is that makes it harder to any employer to track from employer to employer. Most of the time, they aren’t tracking people but if you have already applied to that company before it makes it a bit harder to look back at the other applications and associate it with the same person. After you decide which job you want to apply to, customize the applications or resume to make them see your the best possible fit for the job. If you do this right, you might get an interview with company and be offered a job.

Understanding Pre-employment Assessments

Knowing what the employer might want you to do like an assessments from your local state unemployment office or some other places. Knowing that you may need to be able to type a certain amount of speed or that you know how to handle customers. This tells the employer that your skills match what they might be looking for so this can be great way to show off your skills in the application process. You should do a background check on yourself, and even tell your references you are using them to apply for the job, that way they know to expect a possible phone call. Sometimes employers will call or just they asks for the references for one reason or another. I will say there is an good blog post from Indeed of what you might need to do for the pre-employment checks that you might need to do. Some other good places to look:

As you can see, there is so many things that must be done before you get hired that it is almost impossible to go through the whole process of talking about the pre-employment tests and assessments but this is generally just to help you understand what you might need to do to get that job offer either before the interview process or after the interview process and they want you to do the pre employment testing to make sure you are the right candidate for the job. So i can’t possibly talk about all the process. You’re going to have to do the research before you get through the whole process. However this is just a small bit of what you might need to do accomplish getting a job.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog post for more blog post about this and technology related blog posts.

Job Hunting 102: Secrets to a Successful Job Application

PaulFebruary 21, 2024Leave a Reply

Job hunting by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free

Crafting a Persuasive Cover Letter

Do I need to add a Cover Letter? A persuasive cover letter can be quite challenging to some but if you really want to get that job this would be the something that you will need to do. It however isn’t as difficult as it might seem. The importance of the cover letter is tell the employer in your own words why you are applying for the job and what you might bring to the team. It doesn’t have be multiple pages but a good cover letter uses one page to tell the employer more about you than what the resume can or will. It is also good to have to make sure to highlight those skills that the employer is looking for.

Structuring the cover effectively can make a world of differences from being in the NO pile to being put in the YES pile. The cover letter needs to be easy to ready and something that demonstrates why are a good fit for the company. It could even show them that you are a good fit for team that you might have to work with. Each Cover letter should be personalized and that can be difficult because that will take time but if you do it right then you will most certainly be put in the YES pile. You’ll want to stand out and make them see you may bring a value to the company in one way or another.

Identifying Reputable Job Search Websites

Which sites are good for me to look for a job? Not all Job search websites are the same, some are better than others and that can be negative to your finding a job. You should strategically standout in online job portals. You should have a resume that will draw people to ask for you to apply for a job or a even jobs. The resume then can at least be showing people that you’re got some good talents. What sites are good for looking for a job? Here are a few websites that might work well with standing out, however these are just a few and you should look to figure out which ones you want to use:

These are just few that you can start looking for a job but you should optimize your profiles to show them what you are good at and to bring in those jobs that you are looking to apply to. You’re online profiles are the first impression on what the employers will see when they are looking for potential job applicants that might be a good fit for the job they are looking to fill. You should also setup email alerts for new jobs that show up and be ready to apply for them when they come into your mail box. I am sure if you have filtered the right job searches for a particular field or industry you will be more likely to find those jobs that you want to work at.

Build and Expand Your Professional Network

You will most likely start getting job recruiters looking to fill a job that they have. So you should keep the lists of people who have contacted you in the past and occasionally email them seeing if they have anything that you might be able to apply for. Just be mindful that these recruiters make money by filling positions that companies are looking for so this isn’t always going to be the best approach but I’ve had some good luck with this in the past. You should leverage all the social media sites you can from LinkedIn, Twitter(X), Facebook and maybe even put it out that you are looking for a job on Mastodon. As long as you know that it will be slow work trying to find recruiters that are specialized for what industry you are looking to work in, it can be a great way to at least find jobs that you might not find any other way. Another good way to build and expan your professional network is to attend conferences or job fairs to possibly give the recruiter your resume. These are the best way to make sure the employer gets the resume but isnt’ always going to bring you an interview it however is worth trying to help you job hunt.

If you liked reading this article why not check out the other article I’ve done already, Job Hunt 101: Mastering the Art of Applying for Positions. I am not done with this topic and more are on the way, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for even more articles like this. Don’t forget to share this article to help support this blog.

Job Hunting 101: Mastering the Art of Applying for Positions

PaulFebruary 19, 20244 Replies

Photo by kaushik26795 from PxHere

Importance of Effective Job Applications

The importance of applying for jobs is more important than ever due to more people applying for the same job. If you haven’t been watching more and more people are getting laid off and that is causing employers to get swamped with people applying for same job that everyone else is applying for. It’s a real struggle to find a job for most and all, I am one of those that have been looking for a job for the past few weeks and I have come to understand just how hard it is to get that interview.

The overview of apply for jobs can be quite daunting and challenging for most because you really don’t know where to begin with or where to start looking. Each person is just a little different and that can be a strength or a weakness, depending on your talents. Now it is one thing to know you are looking for a job but that doesn’t mean you are can’t at least start figuring out how you will do it.

Defining Your Career Objectives

Each person has a career objective whether you admit it or not. You have some reason why you are looking for a job in area or industry because you want to accomplish something such as more money, more seniority, or even prestige. You could be trying to get all three or just thinking you could be a better person and that would be only one area where you want to accomplish. There are several different accomplishments people will want when they are applying for a job.

First thing you’ll need to do is a self assess what is your strengths and identify your talents. What are you good at? Are you good at talking to people? Are you good with your Hands? These are the questions you should be asking yourself before you start to even consider applying for a job. You’ll need to take a deep dive into what you are good at and what you where you’re strengths are. Monster has some great career tests for you to use to figure help you figure out what you are good at and your strengths and weaknesses. Even if you want to go deeper than that, you should check out Yale’s Self-Assessment and career exploration pages, where they will give you even more enlightened out look of who you are and what you might be good at. There are to many websites to put in this blog but these are just a few that you can check out to learn who you are and what you are good at.

After you’ve done all that and know what you might be good at, the next step is to research industries and companies that might be good fit for your talents and strengths. Each company can be different but if you know what you are good at then that’s at least the first part of the battle. Knowing that you are good at typing or that you are better at your hands can be a big help with where you should look in the company whether it be in productions, office work, driving a car, or calling clients to do check up on what needs to be done to keep them. The one way I research the companies is use Indeed to research the company and they even have great article on how to do it. It just depends on how you tailor searching for jobs in certain industry and know that is where you want to pursue your career with. It’s not going to be as black and white but it should at least keep you on the right path.

Creating an Outstanding Resume

Effective resume writing techniques for job applications can be quite challenging due to the fact that you have to know what the company is wanting. They may want some specific soft skills, and they will most likely want even more hard skills or you having an education that is a requirement to get the job. So you should create an resume and then change it when you apply for a job to better help you get that chance for the interview.

Craft a compelling summary and objectives is something else you will need to do to stand out from each and every other applications. Each application is going to be different so each resume should be slightly different from the others. Although this isn’t the always going to work it however is going help you get that proverbial foot in the door as I would say. Highlighting your achievements and skills are the first part of creating a good resume. You should make sure to have those in your resume to show them how unique you are and what you are good at. Formatting the resume will help with hiring manager being able to a glance to see what you are are, so you should have bulleted lists or number lists to show them you qualifications and you’re experiences. This sets the tone of the resume to better make your application stand out.

These are just a few ways for you to learning how to job hunt effectively and this is just the tip of the iceberg because I will be writing about even more of this in the future so you should bookmark my site or better yet sign up for my newsletter and keep watch on those other articles to come in the future. If you liked this article how about sharing with your friends and family to help support my blog and my efforts.

Friday Video Picks : 2/9/24 Job Market and Aggressive Layoffs in March

PaulFebruary 9, 20243 Replies

Aggressive Layoffs in March(2024)!

Economists estimate that we will have aggressive layoffs in March. A very thorough look at what it could become like in the later months. I am not going to say that she is right but I do think she has some very good points. If you haven’t seen this video you should watch it and decide for yourself how much of this will happen. Is there going to be a recession in 2024? Some information in this video actually shows me that someone is messing with the labor numbers and it is worse than than the US wants us to believe. I am not going to say that we aren’t already in a Recession but I wouldn’t think we will be finding the jobs easier than we did in the past. This is probably a good time to pivot and start applying to other jobs that are away from the tech industry for a time and then maybe when this is all over with you can come back to it.

Are they Lying to use about the Job Market?

Hyper Specialization is one thing that might be causing them to lie about the job market and this video goes into even more details about it. I’ve suspected something was going on with the job since I have started looking for a job the last few weeks. Nothing seems to correlate with why I haven’t gotten one interview in the last few weeks unlike previous where I could apply and have an interview at least once a week or twice a week and be feeling like I am accomplishing something. This industry is not looking good for the for see-able future and we are going to have to consider other ways to make money.

I’ve been Applying

I will say that I’ve kept applying for jobs that I know I could do because of the my work experience. I haven’t been in IT long so I have Production, Forklift, and Grocery store experience. The problem I think is that with the mass amount of layoffs going on everyone is trying to find any job they can and that means everyone is applying for the same jobs and those in bigger cities will see applications for general work also skyrocket. So the real questions is why does it feel harder to find a job and even get an interview than ever? I’d be curious as to how long this will last but I am not going to hold my breathe on how long it will be before the real numbers actually show us that we are in the a Recession.

I’ve researched this as much as possible while not looking for a job to find out what I could do to get a job and so far everything I am a seeing is not promising and we should just tighten our belts on this to make ourselves get through the storm. I am going to keep applying for jobs and networking to try to find people who might be able to get my foot in the door for places that I can work and hope that this doesn’t get to serious in the coming months. I’m still hanging on to the fact that someone will hire me and let me work in IT but I will have to start looking other places also like Remote work, and Work From Home Jobs. Again those will be flooded by people trying to find jobs and you are going to be Ghosted and forgotten most likely due to the high volume of applicants. I don’t see this coming out any other way but we must be willing to take whatever we can to survive.

Are you looking for a job? how is it going for you? Have you had any success with interviews? Leave a comment and tell me your story, I’d love to connect and find out what others have done and if they have had any interviews that didn’t pan out. Remember subscribe to my blog for even more topics about this and other stuff.