OT: Career advice

[Crease]

I have found LinkedIn to be invaluable in the job hunt. Tighten up your profile and let recruiters know you're open to new positions. I used to believe if you are a rockstar jobs will find you. Not entirely the case -- get yourself out there.

 

[East Coast Bias]

I have found LinkedIn to be invaluable in the job hunt. Tighten up your profile and let recruiters know you're open to new positions. I used to believe if you are a rockstar jobs will find you. Not entirely the case -- get yourself out there.

I keep getting recruiters on Linkedin coming at me for jobs well above my pay grade.

I've done SAP implementations (several different SAP products within their suite of offerings) and I got recruiters asking me to apply for Controller jobs at smaller companies. Not support/management - THE controller.

Might just try to get one of these. Push for as much as I can up front, then see how long I can go before getting fired.

 

[kovazub94]

Well, I'm kind of ****ed. For the industry I'm in, my current job is way too niche. I'm having issues getting interviews because, while I know how to code (kind of), and have a basic understanding of stats (kind of), none of that appears on my professional resume because we don't do that sort of stuff where I am. So when I'm on a phone screening, and they're asking me if I have Tableau or R/Python experience, which is basically a requirement now, I have to say that I'm familiar with the tools, but we don't use them on a daily basis at my current job.

I should probably just start lying

Yeah, follow the advice you got about "spinning" your experience and turning the discussion into what you could bring to the table for the potential employer.
Like if you're asked directly about a specific experience you could say something like "Funny / glad you should ask this. I was always interested in this field and so I always tried to get this type of projects at my current job and I was able to do this and this". Give specifics and why you enjoyed doing it. You also should try to find courses (online or otherwise) that would give you a certification as a proof of you taking it. This shows initiative and thoughtfulness about your professional growth. Finally, say that this type of experience is why you're looking for a new employment.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I have found LinkedIn to be invaluable in the job hunt. Tighten up your profile and let recruiters know you're open to new positions. I used to believe if you are a rockstar jobs will find you. Not entirely the case -- get yourself out there.

Yeah I'm working with a consultant and he suggested I reach out either to HR or hiring managers. I use LinkedIn to find them. Also their job search tool is way better organized than Indeed. Indeed f***ing blows. I think my next step after finding potential hiring managers is googling different versions of their possible email addresses hoping I'd find it. Easier to get seen by email than in Indeed.

 

[Crease]

I keep getting recruiters on Linkedin coming at me for jobs well above my pay grade.

I've done SAP implementations (several different SAP products within their suite of offerings) and I got recruiters asking me to apply for Controller jobs at smaller companies. Not support/management - THE controller.

Might just try to get one of these. Push for as much as I can up front, then see how long I can go before getting fired.

Yeah part of it is that recruiters see buzzwords in your profile and connect them with positions, even if you're not a perfect fit. That said, never hurts to tweak the resume and send it out anyway. Who knows, right?

Pro-tip to all: read the description of a job you want, then revise your LinkedIn profile and resume to demonstrate those skills and responsibilities, without full on fraud of course.

Separate but related, you will generally earn more income over the course of your career jumping from employer to employer. It's nice to demonstrate loyalty, but we are not much different than pro athletes in this regard.

 

[Edge]

Generally speaking, with the exception of top-level positions, most people generally have about a three year shelf life at a company.

After that, most people are usually blocked or, unfortunately, somewhat taken for granted.

It's also bet to look for a job and negotiate before you want out of your current job. When you wait until you're unhappy to start looking, it's either going to show in your interviews, or you're going to feel a sense of desperation and be more inclined to negotiate against yourself.

To some extent, we all like comfort and the path of least resistance. But in most cases, you're not going to be spending decades with a company. You have to be prepared to keep moving.

 

[NCRanger]

I keep getting recruiters on Linkedin coming at me for jobs well above my pay grade.

I've done SAP implementations (several different SAP products within their suite of offerings) and I got recruiters asking me to apply for Controller jobs at smaller companies. Not support/management - THE controller.

Might just try to get one of these. Push for as much as I can up front, then see how long I can go before getting fired.

Wish I had that problem, LOL.

I do get the occasional recruiter contacting me with contract jobs well below my pay grade. Then, if they are still somewhat interested they'll claim they have a full time role that's right at my bottom number. I'll send them an updated resume -- then I'm ghosted.

I'll have other ones say that they could get me "just under" what I'm looking for, if I dumb down my resume as to not look "so experienced" in "so many aspects of the Software Development Lifecycle". Seriously?

The more I'm seeing is confirmation that I'm too experienced for this market.

Last year, I met with a recruiter who had just moved to Charlotte from Charleston. He was working for a niche firm which specialized in finding talent for startups that needed people to actually run things, like projects, timelines for delivery to customers, and the actual process of what they're doing. Charlotte supposedly has many of these so-called "Fintech"startups which supposedly have great products, but no actual business leadership. His firm moved him here to find the banking IT talent to help these startups. He looked at my resume and stated,"there is absolutely no reason you could not go into one of these places at a Director level and make the necessary moves to make them successful." Anyway, two months go by, and I follow up and ask what's going on. He tells me that his firm is pulling out of the Charlotte market because it's hopeless. None of these "start-ups" wanted anyone over 35 for anything. He wasn't able to place anyone he talked with. He said he was moving back to Charleston, where the market is tiny, but it made sense, while Charlotte was full of entitled millennial brats who wouldn't work with anyone. And he was a millennial.

 

[Machinehead]

Regarding the bold...

Do you remember when we used to watch Rangers games together on skype while I was traveling, 2013/2014/2015? At 26/27, I was VP of a $12 million dollar division. I was living a crazy life, constantly traveling, got to stay in expensive hotels, had an expense account, got great perks, was always out with the CEO/COO at dinners and such, money was rarely ever an issue... I was living the dream at a very young age. Only it was the dream of someone else, not me. I thought it was what I wanted. I was miserable. Flat. Out. Miserable. I held on for so long because I knew my family and girlfriend/fiance (now wife) were so proud of me. My friends were absurdly jealous. Many of them just moving out of their entry level jobs they had taken a few years back.

I resigned in early 2016, took a different role with the company and a few months later left to go work elsewhere as a recruiting manager, a major step down for a Home Health VP, going from working on meeting our EBITDA goals and living in financial reports to.. working with resumes. I thought I was going to disappoint everyone. My degree was in finance. I was running **** a young age. It seemed to fit and it was "smart". But when I told my family and then wife what my decision was, they knew I was happy and they supported me. It was a drastic, and I do mean drastic (50%) pay cut but I couldn't stop smiling and knowing that they all supported me, it made it that much easier. Not to mention, this job has been a happy accident. I have been able to learn a lot more about HR than I previously did and in addition to recruiting, I now oversee employee relations, performance management and leadership development, three things which I absolutely love.

I doubt your family will feel as if you let them down. You need to do what is right for you. For some people, it is more important to do the work they love, money be damned. To them, financial stress is significantly less bothersome than being unhappy in their career. To others, financial stress is significantly more bothersome than being unhappy in their career. If you haven't already, I would really sit and think about what you want in the next 5-10 years? Do you plan on ever getting married? Having kids? Do you want to travel? When you figure out what you want, you can then begin to the understand the means needed to achieve those things. Whatever it is you decide, I would guess your family will be there to support you every step of the way.

That's nice to hear, I really appreciate you sharing that

 

[Gardner McKay]

That's nice to hear, I really appreciate you sharing that

Of course man. It is tough. You want to be happy and at the same time you want to make those around you proud of who you are. If you are successful at what you're doing (not necessarily even monetarily) and are happy doing it, the people you care about will usually always support you. You being unhappy but your family being proud... it doesn't do you much good.

 

[Machinehead]

Just out of curiosity, how did you get the gig? I'm always curious how people get jobs particularly when I'm looking.

Actually I was doing exactly what @kovazub94 mentioned. I had my own little business doing private lessons. I was helping a student with her writing, which is my specialty, and her professor was so impressed with the improvement that she approached me about an opening doing writing intensive courses in the sociology department. How I ended up assigned to a statistics course I still don't know, but I can't afford to lose work, so I didn't say anything.

I still do private tutoring for extra cash but it's not the money, it's the benefits. I'm buying healthcare and I need good coverage due to my asthma. It's almost a third of what I make.

I don't teach enough courses to qualify (I need one more) but I'm not optimistic that I'll get it because the department is always going on about how tight the budget is.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Actually I was doing exactly what @kovazub94 mentioned. I had my own little business doing private lessons. I was helping a student with her writing, which is my specialty, and her professor was so impressed with the improvement that she approached me about an opening doing writing intensive courses in the sociology department. How I ended up assigned to a statistics course I still don't know, but I can't afford to lose work, so I didn't say anything.

I still do private tutoring for extra cash but it's not the money, it's the benefits. I'm buying healthcare and I need good coverage due to my asthma. It's almost a third of what I make.

I don't teach enough courses to qualify (I need one more) but I'm not optimistic that I'll get it because the department is always going on about how tight the budget is.

There are people all over the place with liberal arts degrees that get legit jobs. I'm sure you can find something that at least gives you benefits if you're willing to work for not that much money with your background. You basically got two difficult and highly sought after skills, writing and analysis. Most people probably can do only one or the other well.

Since you can do both do you mind if I send you a sports analytics blog I've been working on for feedback? Let me know if you've seen it, I think I might have shared it here before.

 

[Machinehead]

There are players all over the place with liberal arts degrees that get legit jobs. I'm sure you can find something that at least gives you benefits if you're willing to work for not that much money with your background. You basically got two difficult and highly sought after skills, writing and analysis. Most people probably can do only one or the other well.

Since you can do both do you mind if I send you a sports analytics blog I've been working on for feedback? Let me know if you've seen it, I think I might have shared it here before.

Yeah no problem

 

[Edge]

Actually I was doing exactly what @kovazub94 mentioned. I had my own little business doing private lessons. I was helping a student with her writing, which is my specialty, and her professor was so impressed with the improvement that she approached me about an opening doing writing intensive courses in the sociology department. How I ended up assigned to a statistics course I still don't know, but I can't afford to lose work, so I didn't say anything.

I still do private tutoring for extra cash but it's not the money, it's the benefits. I'm buying healthcare and I need good coverage due to my asthma. It's almost a third of what I make.

I don't teach enough courses to qualify (I need one more) but I'm not optimistic that I'll get it because the department is always going on about how tight the budget is.

You might want to consider careers in public relations and publishing. Companies often look for writer/editor types who can tighten up their materials and create content.

 

[kovazub94]

Actually I was doing exactly what @kovazub94 mentioned. I had my own little business doing private lessons. I was helping a student with her writing, which is my specialty, and her professor was so impressed with the improvement that she approached me about an opening doing writing intensive courses in the sociology department. How I ended up assigned to a statistics course I still don't know, but I can't afford to lose work, so I didn't say anything.

I still do private tutoring for extra cash but it's not the money, it's the benefits. I'm buying healthcare and I need good coverage due to my asthma. It's almost a third of what I make.

I don't teach enough courses to qualify (I need one more) but I'm not optimistic that I'll get it because the department is always going on about how tight the budget is.

Did you try looking for a job at another (read private) school with better benefits?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I want to point out that I said players with liberal arts degrees. I need to watch less sports...

 

[Machinehead]

Did you try looking for a job at another (read private) school with better benefits?

I've been teaching for a year and I have a BA. Not sure I'm qualified.

 

[bobbop]

I keep getting recruiters on Linkedin coming at me for jobs well above my pay grade.

I've done SAP implementations (several different SAP products within their suite of offerings) and I got recruiters asking me to apply for Controller jobs at smaller companies. Not support/management - THE controller.

Might just try to get one of these. Push for as much as I can up front, then see how long I can go before getting fired.

If someone is recruiting you, take the call and take the interview. Worst case, it is learning experience...best case - jackpot.

The middle management job market is wide open right now. Too many jobs, not enough qualified candidates. Companies are looking to find candidates they can stretch.

Go for it!

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I figure I'll leave a writing/analytics sample here. So here's my sports analytics blog. If anyone works anywhere where something like this will be appropriate please let me know.

Sports Analysis

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Can I just say how much I hate interviewing? I'm so f***ing incompetent at it. I have something in my brain that causes me to never shut up.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

Can I just say how much I hate interviewing? I'm so ****ing incompetent at it. I have something in my brain that causes me to never shut up.

I have the exact opposite problem. I’m so quiet in my normal life and I’m horrible at small talk so I never really “hit it off” with people I’ve interviewed with.

Addition:
I still don’t know why this current place hired me.

 

[Staxgod90]

Anyone one work in financial services or banking? I have my 66 on Monday and I cant wait to get it over with. I'm a CA at an Asset Management firm and want to move out of client servicing asap. Really difficult switching into something more product based or research oriented without having more backing

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I have the exact opposite problem. I’m so quiet in my normal life and I’m horrible at small talk so I never really “hit it off” with people I’ve interviewed with.

Addition:
I still don’t know why this current place hired me.

I talk too much in my normal life and I think over-talking is a nervous tick as well for me. I'm better sometimes, but this was my first interview in a while, it wasn't particularly hard (outside of one question which was only hard because I didn't have the experience she asked about) so I don't know why I was nervous. I don't know if I ever hit it off with my interviewers. It just comes off as unprofessional, I think.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Also, I think talking too little is better than talking to much, especially for certain roles in certain more conservative industries.

 

[Kane One]

So I've been working as a consultant for the past two years as a software developer. Finally got an offer today to become full-time.

feelsgoodman.gif

 

[SnowblindNYR]

So I've been working as a consultant for the past two years as a software developer. Finally got an offer today to become full-time.

feelsgoodman.gif

Yeah I know how much I hated being a contractor. It feels like you're not part of the company among other problems.