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Just recently, I took a couple of steps to enhance my job searching. First was to post my CV/resume to jobs like monster.com; the second was a very old skool wr

by m0nty 15y ago

Just recently, I took a couple of steps to enhance my job searching. First was to post my CV/resume to jobs like monster.com; the second was a very old skool writing-a-letter-on-goddamn-paper-and-mailing-it-out-to-would-be-employers. The first has produced nothing but clueless phone-calls from agents. The second landed me a job with >90% certainty; I have a second interview next week. I am very well-qualified for the companies I wrote to, and I made sure I selected them very carefully (partly because postage costs actual money). This is relevant to the article since I'm not really applying for a job -- the company who want to hire me basically made a position for me. Anyway, I'm starting to think that current online job searching is profoundly broken. It just seems to lead back to the clueless employment agents who know nothing about IT. Not much different from 20 years ago, it's just they have access to bigger databases and no incentive not to email scatter-gun fashion since there is no cost involved. I have no idea if there is a solution to this, but at least my retro approach eliminated two sets of middle-men: the jobs boards and the agents. It also put me very much in control which was an excellent feeling.

bpick 15y ago
What someone should do is create a site where you can email your resume/letter in and have it attractively handwritten on nice letterhead. Who's with me?
- tomjen3 15y ago
  It's not a bad idea, but the issue is going to be to find enough people with attractive handwriting...
  - phlux 15y ago
    Girls.
  - xyzzyz 15y ago
    Quite contrary -- there are a lot of people who are able to handwrite really nicely, especially among women. Since it's so commonplace and it does not require any training (since everybody got one in primary education), you can pay really low wage for such services.
- m0nty 15y ago
  Key to my application is I can write a good letter and CV/resumé, whereas most people can't. They also don't know how to research their industry: finding the right companies, working out who to address the letter to, how to followup a few months later (or by phone a week later) without sounding pushy. So, your idea has "legs" :) Somewhere between a virtual personal assistant, a resumé-writing and mailing service, and a campaign planner for job seekers. I want royalties ;)

by m0nty 15y ago

bpick 15y ago

What someone should do is create a site where you can email your resume/letter in and have it attractively handwritten on nice letterhead. Who's with me?

tomjen3 15y ago
It's not a bad idea, but the issue is going to be to find enough people with attractive handwriting...
- phlux 15y ago
  Girls.
- xyzzyz 15y ago
  Quite contrary -- there are a lot of people who are able to handwrite really nicely, especially among women. Since it's so commonplace and it does not require any training (since everybody got one in primary education), you can pay really low wage for such services.
m0nty 15y ago
Key to my application is I can write a good letter and CV/resumé, whereas most people can't. They also don't know how to research their industry: finding the right companies, working out who to address the letter to, how to followup a few months later (or by phone a week later) without sounding pushy. So, your idea has "legs" :) Somewhere between a virtual personal assistant, a resumé-writing and mailing service, and a campaign planner for job seekers. I want royalties ;)