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> “I had no idea, a year later, I’d still be searching for full-time employment,” said 32-year-old AJ Edelman, who decided to pursue a Yale M.B.A. to ease his t
by nsxwolf 3y ago
> “I had no idea, a year later, I’d still be searching for full-time employment,” said 32-year-old AJ Edelman, who decided to pursue a Yale M.B.A. to ease his transition from a skeleton-racing career into a management role in technology. Hundreds of applications later, he estimates, he’s still looking.
From skeleton racing to management in technology? Did he really expect the Yale MBA would be enough, combined with "hundreds" of applications - rookie numbers?
- asynchronous 3y agoPeople who switch careers into tech are really not appreciating how hard it is to break into- most of us in tech already grew up in this, we’ve loved it since day one. If you’re switching just for monetary gain, we can smell it and we don’t appreciate it.
- Etheryte 3y agoMeasuring progress by application numbers, and similarly implying that some arbitrary number is too low, is honestly silly. The higher your application count the more you're wasting your time spraying and praying. Focus on leads that are either realistic or just out of reach and work on those, applying to countless jobs that aren't even remotely relevant to your skillset is a waste of your own time.
- nsxwolf 3y agoI mean, I am assuming serious job seekers would only be applying to relevant roles. I've applied to several hundred positions that are very much in line with my experience and skillset since summer without success - I would assume someone who has never worked in tech would need to be applying for at least as many positions as I have.
- WJW 3y agoThis is wild to me. I've applied to 4 jobs in my life and been hired for 3 of those. I can't imagine having to write hundreds of individual cover letters. Is this one of those US vs EU differences?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- __turbobrew__ 3y agoIt is a self perpetuating cycle. If you are lucky to land a good first job that leads to a good second job which leads to a good third job, so on so forth. Many of the people applying for 100s of jobs are either unqualified or completely green. Especially now more than ever the bottom 10-15% of the workforce has been trimmed in various layoffs so if you are completely green you are competing with people who have industry experience.
- nsxwolf 3y agoCurious if you’ve applied in this market. I think that self perpetuating cycle has broken for a lot of experienced people (like me)
- Etheryte 3y agoThat's an interesting contrast, reading about your experience I'm not sure whether I'm doing it right or I'm doing it wrong. Usually when I'm looking for something new to do, I pick and apply to a few positions at most, and if I get a good offer, go with that. Every now and then I also fire some one-off shots if there's a position that sounds extremely interesting, even if it's realistically unlikely to land. Applying to hundreds of positions sounds arduous and hard to manage, how do you do it?
- nsxwolf 3y agoWell, for now I'm not managing it because I've stopped. After surviving a round of mass layoffs, I wanted to answer the question "How screwed would I be if I got laid off in this job market right now?" And the answer I came to is "very!" The experience was very draining, and it was interfering with my work and my home life. The last thing I wanted to do was lose my job because of job search created performance issues - so now I'm holding off on this until I have no choice.
- jyunwai 3y agoHis background is likely more than enough. In my personal experience, I've seen people land jobs they weren't at all competitive for by applying anyways, while other people (such as myself in the past) decide not to apply for openings with the idea of preparing to become fully qualified first. In the longer-run, I've observed a few of the people who did apply did struggle greatly, and either had to find a new position, or lost interest in the new line of work they were trying. But others did a good enough job (after a rough start) to do well at their new position, which would then give them the work experience to easily be competitive for similar positions or even better opportunities for their career. So, in general, I've seen that it's a good idea for the applicant to apply, even if they aren't fully qualified. -- For Edelman specifically, he both competed in the olympics in his sport, and was a seven-time national champion in his country. He even has a detailed Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Edelman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Edelman That level of competitiveness in the sport takes a lot of persistence, discipline, and skill, so it's a fair basis for a resume—especially with an MBA from a recognizable university. His background as an Olympian and national athlete is a fair basis for his resume. But he also has a rigorous background in engineering. According to Wikipedia, he has a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, and is potentially well-connected through his father (who also has a Wikipedia page), who is an engineering professor at MIT and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In his case, I wonder if he would find success by talking with people he has worked with before (such as fellow athletes or sponsors), or people he's known from his experience at university. He likely also has a potentially strong professional network through his family. Perhaps he's only applying for a narrow range of opportunities in a specialized area. But then again, it does sound like he's applying cold for hundreds of positions. Another possibility is that some miscommunication occurred when he spoke to the journalist for his relatively minor part in the article.