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Applying for jobs is exhausting and soul-crushing

Hey guys I work in sales, and I was wondering if any of you have ever transitioned from a typical inside sales role to other industries like marketing or what have you.

I'm in the midst of revamping my resume/linkedin/wardrobe so that I can really hit the ground running with this thing and step into a better role than the one I currently have.

SALES CAN LICK THIS MOTHERFUCKING CLIT!
 
When I was looking recently I got tons of calls from recruiters (I have a few marketable skills like SCCM/VMWare/etc). I feel like the job prospects I got from them were generally not great. Maybe one email out of 15 was worth my time getting back to them.

My advice: don't be afraid to dump recruiters who aren't doing you any good. There are some who work very hard to try to find the right match for both you and the companies they serve, but in my experience the majority just spray and pray you all over the place. A few random thoughts:

- I had more than one recruiter tell me he/she was good friends with the hiring manager of the company they were sending me too. This appears to be a meaningless phrase they use to convince the job seeker that they're not the spray-and-pray type.

- Some recruiters ask for references way too early. I had one contact me about a pretty interesting job that I'd be able to interview for in a few weeks, then ask for references. She called my references, but then I never heard back from her. And yes I know my references would only say good things so that's not the problem. ;) I was miffed though that she wasted my contacts' time without anything more solid on the table.

- Tell-tale sign of the spray-and-pray recruiter is offering something you're clearly not interested in, then offering it again later. I had one guy contact me about a job with an MLM company, where I'd be expected to work every night until 9 PM. I said no thanks but he ended up asking me about it two more times. >__<

- You may feel obligated if they get you an interview and explain a bunch of stuff, but remember it's just business. The second you tell them you got a job somewhere else they'll blink out of existence never to be seen again.

Specifically talking about contract work, make sure you do and then re-do the math to make sure you understand how much you'll actually be making. I had a couple prospects that were contract positions and the salary number was "OMG" level high until I realized how much everything else will cost. Figure out insurance, taxes, and a couple weeks vacation and see what the number is after paying for all that.


This is the truth. My girlfriend is a recruiter and she has people in her office who just throw resumes at hiring managers with no regard to whether or not it's an actual good fit. My gf takes her time to make sure the best candidate is sent to the right job. Unfortunately her approach isn't the best way to make money and the shotgun approach leads to a better spread for the recruiter as they hit their numbers quicker. It's very stressful and the way the recruiting companies somewhat promote this tactic by only caring about weekly figures is rather frustrating. The leading recruiter in her office makes thousands of dollars more on her commission using the shotgun method. Just be careful with recruiters.
 
You should both interview for positions in marketing if thats your goal. But understand that sometimes the best thing you can ever do is just get into some general office work. Having experience working in an office environment on your resume will make you a viable candidate in the future, in contrast to someone who has only ever worked retail and all of a sudden wants a higher paying office-type career.

Put in the time/work building some experience. Take general office jobs, customer service etc.. Also sometimes getting in low at smaller companies can be phenomenal for experience. My wife for instance, after raising our kids for 3 years and not working went back to work as an office assistant. She showed up early, stayed late and out worked every one of her peers. Within a few months, the COO asked her to be her personal assistant. She kept at it, and within 6 months she was doing recruiting for office staff. A few months later, she started to build her own team and she was promoted to recruiting manager.. in a company that had always outsourced recruiting for more money. Her pay barely changed during all of this. She took on a huge amount of responsibility with little immediate benefit, other than stacking her resume.

Unfortunately her company hit some financial issues and 1/2 the staff was let go including her. However, she now had all of that experience on her resume. She now went out job hunting and within 2 weeks had 3 companies competing with offers and counter offers. She ended up taking a high level recruiting position at another company and her income is nearly tripled. Nothing about her path was crazy or out of the ordinary. The "break" for her career was mostly that smaller company she worked for, who was more agile in promoting exceptional workers.

My point is, there is opportunity everywhere. Get your foot in the door somewhere, and encourage yourself to succeed. Take lateral movements, and work harder for no extra money if that means gaining attention, and getting experience.

Work harder and swim upstream.

Thanks for the solid advice man. I think youre right, it's tough to land a job at a marketing firm with just retail experience. I have made a lateral move towards a more sales oriented position in my store for resume experience, so I am hoping that can help out here. I might just have to start low in an office environment as you suggest, even if I have to take a pay cut to get it.
 

LNBL

Member
Had a job interview today that was supposed to be an hour long, but we ended up meeting for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The meeting was with a retention marketeer and a newly hired HR manager. I was the first of 3 applicants to have his interview, but they said they should stick to 1 hour with the other 2 candidates in the coming days.

Not sure if it's positive or negative that it ran that long. The meeting itself was pretty positive though, hoping to get the final placement!
 
Had a job interview today that was supposed to be an hour long, but we ended up meeting for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The meeting was with a retention marketeer and a newly hired HR manager. I was the first of 3 applicants to have his interview, but they said they should stick to 1 hour with the other 2 candidates in the coming days.

Not sure if it's positive or negative that it ran that long. The meeting itself was pretty positive though, hoping to get the final placement!

Long interviews are generally a good sign. Managers know what they're looking for and won't spend time on someone who doesn't have it.
 

Theandrin

Member
Does anyone have experience working in local government? I had an interview this morning to be the HR manager for a local city and it seems very promising. The potential issue though is that I have never worked in the public sector, any pointers from anyone?
 

Slacker

Member
Does anyone have experience working in local government? I had an interview this morning to be the HR manager for a local city and it seems very promising. The potential issue though is that I have never worked in the public sector, any pointers from anyone?

You likely won't get rich but it should be a stable job that won't disappear overnight like you might find in the private sector.

I worked for a semi-government agency for a while and one funny thing I remember is that there were rules about what we could be given as "state employees" that might be considered gifts. I went to a workshop at Microsoft and everyone else in the room got USB drives with the coursework on them, while me and my coworker were given the materials printed and binded into these humongous books that weighed 10 pounds each. I'm almost positive it cost them more to print all that but rules are rules I guess. :)
 
Does anyone have experience working in local government? I had an interview this morning to be the HR manager for a local city and it seems very promising. The potential issue though is that I have never worked in the public sector, any pointers from anyone?

They are stable jobs with good benefits. The pay is alright. However, it's mostly the job security which is a huge plus. Also once you're in, it's easier to transfer to other agencies or departments down the line.
 

Slacker

Member
They are stable jobs with good benefits. The pay is alright. However, it's mostly the job security which is a huge plus. Also once you're in, it's easier to transfer to other agencies or departments down the line.

There's also the possibility that years of service will transfer with you, meaning you'll have more vacation days, etc.
 
There's also the possibility that years of service will transfer with you, meaning you'll have more vacation days, etc.

Yes, that's also true. I was able to buy back my military service time, and have it added to my years of civil service with the government.
 

NandoGip

Member
SALES CAN LICK THIS MOTHERFUCKING CLIT!

Yeah, sales fucking sucks. I'm secretly going to school so I can get a degree and get out of this sad existence. In the meantime I got to pay the bills, and I don't really want to take more of a paycut I already have.

What do you think I can do with this sales experience?
 

Ketkat

Member
I'm having trouble finding an IT job.

I have an Associate's in Computer Science and I've been running my own IT business for 4 - 5 years. It was never very big, and more of a side gig while in college, but I've had probably 150 customers that I've helped out with serious issues, and not things like replacing a keyboard, which some customers need for some reason. A couple of customer service jobs is pretty much what else I have to my name.

I know that if I could make it to the interview phase, that I could do great. But I just can't seem to make it to that point, and I'm wondering what else I need to spice up my resume to get to that point.

I've been trying in places that I don't live, so maybe that's the issue? Do people not really hire IT jobs outside the area unless its a higher up job? There just aren't very many jobs around me, so I was looking to go somewhere with better prospects.
 
Yeah, sales fucking sucks. I'm secretly going to school so I can get a degree and get out of this sad existence. In the meantime I got to pay the bills, and I don't really want to take more of a paycut I already have.

What do you think I can do with this sales experience?

sales as in retail?
 
After months of depressing results and a lack of support from select family members and friends, I finally landed a job offer for a Business Analyst position. Definitely accepting it and honestly all I can say is don't give up.

I found out who really cared about me in my personal life, from family and friends over the past 3-4 months where I wasn't having any luck during my job hunt and felt miserable. My nugget of advice is keep your good friends and family members close and stay positive. It's January and a lot of openings will be popping up so this is your chance.

Starting very soon, its a contract but hopefully I can work hard enough to land a permanent position by fall. Good luck to everyone else!

Best wishes.
 

spuckthew

Member
I'm having trouble finding an IT job.

I have an Associate's in Computer Science and I've been running my own IT business for 4 - 5 years. It was never very big, and more of a side gig while in college, but I've had probably 150 customers that I've helped out with serious issues, and not things like replacing a keyboard, which some customers need for some reason. A couple of customer service jobs is pretty much what else I have to my name.

I know that if I could make it to the interview phase, that I could do great. But I just can't seem to make it to that point, and I'm wondering what else I need to spice up my resume to get to that point.

What sort of problems were you solving for your clients? I'm guessing it's mostly desktop support (hardware/software), although forgive me if I'm wrong.

You could probably quite easily land a helpdesk job from that level of experience, so glamorize what you've done in your business on your CV and ask clients to provide references.

If it's more like web coding or something, then you should create a portfolio.
 

Jibbed

Member
Went for an opportunity that seemed too good to be true over the Christmas break, made it to the interview stage and was under the impression that it went really well.

Standard rejection email, unable to give feedback.
 
Back into the ranks of unemployment after leaving my last job and moving out of London in order to travel for my honeymoon back in late October.
Plan is to move to another city (Bristol) so hopefully that wont reflect badly on me..tooo much.

Looks like Ill be sticking to the NHS roles, spent 8 years in it already so you get some decent benefits for that length of time and honestly fuck having to write cover letters and use my actual CV.

Got one application out atm that I think I have a good chance with, especially as its two roles going and the jobs still open with only 3 days left (usually they close up way before time if there is massive demand)

Wish me luck!
 

Flux

Member
Off to an interview this morning! Start the day positive everyone! It's a part time role teaching at a local college. Just looking to plug the gap in my resume and have an income at this point.
 

Ketkat

Member
What sort of problems were you solving for your clients? I'm guessing it's mostly desktop support (hardware/software), although forgive me if I'm wrong.

You could probably quite easily land a helpdesk job from that level of experience, so glamorize what you've done in your business on your CV and ask clients to provide references.

If it's more like web coding or something, then you should create a portfolio.

Yeah it was mainly software/hardware. I can't seem to find any helpdesk jobs that are willing to hire me from a distance though. I live in a small rural town, so I kind of have to move somewhere to find a job. I was already using clients as references as well since they liked me a lot and even told me to use them as a reference.

What about certifications? They seem really expensive, but are they actually helpful?
 
The worst thing is when after the interview they say they'll let you know their decision within the week... and they never call you back. Keeps giving me false hope. Happened to me twice in the past couple months :(

I fortunately have a well-paying job at the moment but the stress is making me go nuts (retail pharmacist). It's really damn hard to find something else in my area and it sucks.
 

Jhoan

Member
I got an email for a Content Services Consultant position. It would a long term contract. I might take it and submit my resume but the downside is that it's about an hour commute and I've never worked in a real office setting before. It sounds a bit like drone work to me.

I was asked what would be my desired hourly wage. So my question is what's the average hourly wage for a consultant job? I was thinking somewhere between $26-$28 an hour would be ideal.
 

Massicot

Member
The worst thing is when after the interview they say they'll let you know their decision within the week... and they never call you back. Keeps giving me false hope. Happened to me twice in the past couple months :(

I fortunately have a well-paying job at the moment but the stress is making me go nuts (retail pharmacist). It's really damn hard to find something else in my area and it sucks.

Sometimes you really have to nag them. It sucks. I interviewed (phone) at a place last week and waited a week, then I followed up with the talent person:

"____is interested after your call – I just need to catch up with him to see how he wants to proceed. Sorry for the delay, I’ll be in touch soon!"

wait another week, follow up email

" I have a meeting with ____ today and will have an answer for you after that!"

I don't really expect to hear back.


I had one interview where I applied, went and interviewed, gave a presentation. Sent thank you letters. Never heard back. Emailed asking about the decisions, either way, nothing. Then I saw the job relisted on their website. I would rather be told that my presentation was fucking awful rather than hear nothing at all like that.


Luckily I'm gainfully employed but I'm just trying to seek out other opportunities.
 

spuckthew

Member
Yeah it was mainly software/hardware. I can't seem to find any helpdesk jobs that are willing to hire me from a distance though. I live in a small rural town, so I kind of have to move somewhere to find a job. I was already using clients as references as well since they liked me a lot and even told me to use them as a reference.

What about certifications? They seem really expensive, but are they actually helpful?

You shouldn't need a cert a to get a lowish/mid tier helpdesk job. HR people and job sites use CV screening tools, so maybe you just don't have enough acronyms or phrases in your applications ("Windows 7" / "Microsoft Office" / "printers" / "networking" / "troubleshooting" etc etc). A CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+ would be a good place to start cert-wise. A CompTIA A+ would be a waste of time for you as that's basically a computer repair shop style cert anyway, which you have plenty of experience doing already.

An MCSA, while not entry-level per se, is Microsoft's lower tier cert for sysadmins. Someone who's been working with Windows Server for years might find it a cake walk, but it could be daunting if you've barely touched it or have no prior sysadmin experience.
 

cyborg009

Banned
I feel like I crush my recent Interview today and afterwards when I got home I got called for another interview then a recruiter contacted me finally.

everythingscominupmilhouse.jpg
 

plidex

Member
I never heard from the job for which I had three interviews. I'm getting fed up with HR firms not calling me to tell me I didn't get the job. Two times the people at the companies I would work in told me they specifically told the HR firms to call all candidates either way, and both times they didn't do it.

Incredible lack of respect.
 

Slo

Member
I am working at a small company as an intern and this company is paying for masters, how long should I stay working here?

They probably have a payback period written into their tuition reimbursement policy. Mine is 50% vesting after 6 months, 100% after a year. Make sure you don't leave before you can afford to repay the sum.

Or are you asking about how long you should stay on ethically before using your Master's degree to get a better job?
 

Biske

Member
Well that opportunity/job was a trick.


Pay was the only thing good about it (though I'm not quite sure if they were honest about that)

Man, it sucks when you go for and get a job and once you start, its like a complete switcharoo to what you thought and how it was pitched. Specially when they are layered behind a staffing agency, so you can never get a straight answer from the correct person.

This whole, get as many okay people in the door and see who sticks and not care otherwise...

God.


Learned a valuable lesson, better to work for an actual company, for less pay, than a company that pays more but goes through layers and layers of weird groups, in an effort to keep you as disposable and without benefits or a clue, as possible.



I never heard from the job for which I had three interviews. I'm getting fed up with HR firms not calling me to tell me I didn't get the job. Two times the people at the companies I would work in told me they specifically told the HR firms to call all candidates either way, and both times they didn't do it.

Incredible lack of respect.

Yeah one thing that is especially awful about the jobs culture is that while you have to treat companies as your golden god, advanced notice on everything, always available, always grovelling, you can go through the whole process with a company and if they reject you, eeeeeeeeh, don't need to tell you why or give any feedback, or even let you know you've been rejected.

And then if you try and contact them to find out whats going off, they are put off, like you are only wasting their valuable time with your worthless time.
 

Hellix

Member
Had no idea that LinkedIn had a looking for work feature.

Does... it make this visible to everyone, or only to recruiters? I'd like to be sure before I do something stupid and suddenly tell my entire network that I'm looking for work while still at my current employer :D

Didn't see this answered. I'd like to know as well.
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
So I'm 0/3 interviewing for new jobs with line management responsibility, having only ever managed interns in the past. Each time I've made it to second interview, each time I've been told I didn't get it due to lack of management experience.

I'm feeling a combination of anger at having my time wasted, and of thinking I might just be a useless piece of shit who has hit the end of the line.

Fun times.
 

Ketkat

Member
You shouldn't need a cert a to get a lowish/mid tier helpdesk job. HR people and job sites use CV screening tools, so maybe you just don't have enough acronyms or phrases in your applications ("Windows 7" / "Microsoft Office" / "printers" / "networking" / "troubleshooting" etc etc). A CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+ would be a good place to start cert-wise. A CompTIA A+ would be a waste of time for you as that's basically a computer repair shop style cert anyway, which you have plenty of experience doing already.

An MCSA, while not entry-level per se, is Microsoft's lower tier cert for sysadmins. Someone who's been working with Windows Server for years might find it a cake walk, but it could be daunting if you've barely touched it or have no prior sysadmin experience.

I'll definitely try and get a Network+ to start with then. Is there any way to get a discount on these things though? $285 is rough, and I don't know when I'd be able to save up enough for that
 

spuckthew

Member
I'll definitely try and get a Network+ to start with then. Is there any way to get a discount on these things though? $285 is rough, and I don't know when I'd be able to save up enough for that

Not off the top of my head. Try Googling for some coupons or deals. Personally never used one myself so I'm not too sure they even exist. (Although I do know that Microsoft sometimes allow you to retake for free within a certain time period if you fail the first time.)

$285 isn't too bad though - at least you're not forced to take a course costing several grand like some high-level certs.
 

N.Domixis

Banned
Do you want a masters? Will they pay for one in what you want?
Yes I do, they only help if it's in an area relevant to what they want. And that is the area I enjoy. They are paying for WAY more the 50% every semester.

And yes, it's about how long I should stay with them for helping me so much. I won't be in any debt thanks to them.
 

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Yes I do, they only help if it's in an area relevant to what they want. And that is the area I enjoy. They are paying for WAY more the 50% every semester.

And yes, it's about how long I should stay with them for helping me so much. I won't be in any debt thanks to them.

There might be something in your contract about that. I have to assume they wouldn't let you just bounce after paying for your masters.
 

entremet

Member
Hey guys I work in sales, and I was wondering if any of you have ever transitioned from a typical inside sales role to other industries like marketing or what have you.

I'm in the midst of revamping my resume/linkedin/wardrobe so that I can really hit the ground running with this thing and step into a better role than the one I currently have.

Selling is very broad.

I'm in sales, but I never cold call. It's also very lucrative and in demand.

Marketing is crowded as heck. We need more sales professionals.
 
A rapper I'm following is looking for a personal assistant. I'm not even sure how to start this cover letter. The artist just mentioned a resume in a post, but I feel like I have to include one anyway.
 

LNBL

Member
Long interviews are generally a good sign. Managers know what they're looking for and won't spend time on someone who doesn't have it.
Yea i guess that's true! Will hear more tomorrow, hopefully i get through to the final round. So ready to get to work finally
 

Flux

Member
There might be something in your contract about that. I have to assume they wouldn't let you just bounce after paying for your masters.

I had this as part of my previous job. I got my Masters covered this way. It was firmly agreed upon that the degree was paid by the company and I would fulfill a 2 year work commitment. I completed my degree and did the 2 years, then was laid off.
 

Slacker

Member
Had no idea that LinkedIn had a looking for work feature.

Does... it make this visible to everyone, or only to recruiters? I'd like to be sure before I do something stupid and suddenly tell my entire network that I'm looking for work while still at my current employer :D

Didn't see this answered. I'd like to know as well.

I believe it "hides" it from your job group from seeing that. Don't have it in front of me but it says something like that.

Here's their write-up about it: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/67405?lang=en.

#######

Only recruiters who use LinkedIn's Recruiter product will have access to your Open Candidates preferences and career interest information. It will not be added to your LinkedIn.com profile.

In order to protect your privacy, we'll make every effort to hide you from Recruiter users who may also work at your current company, as well as affiliated companies.
We do this by comparing a unique number (Company ID) assigned to the current employer listed on your profile with the Company ID for recruiters on our network. If a recruiter's Company ID is the same as the current employer listed on your profile, or the same as a company affiliated with that current employer based on our platform mapping, then we won't show your career interest preferences.

We cannot guarantee, however, that every company is accurately identified, or that affiliated companies are accurately mapped on our platform. We also cannot guarantee that every recruiter has an up-to-date and correct Company ID, so there's a small chance that your career interest preferences will be visible to a recruiter at your current employer or an affiliated company.

#########
 

plidex

Member
I just had an interview and it went pretty good.

They called me afterwards to schedule the Psycho-technical evaluation. I know I'm good at the tests of logic, and I don't really care about the tests with drawings, but the questions is what worries me, I hope they don't have those.

On the last job I interviews for, they gave me a paper with like 30 sentences that I had to complete, it was about everything, like:

I would like to be more...
I would like to be less...
The most beautiful thing that ever happened to me was...
The worst thing blah blah was...
My friends say... (this one really threw me off)
I think being competitive is...

And a lot more like that.
 

Matush

Member
Need to vent, first time writing here.

Had an interview today, everything went well (around 45 minute interview in total). They just called me that they really liked me, but they went for some girl instead. It was a job as a salesman for mobile carrier, not sure if I should feel bad or not, since many people bash on that job.

On the other hand, I've been looking for some decent job in my area for over 4 months, nothing. Thinking about moving from my city to capital, which is located all across the country. Sure, I have semi-distant family there, but I would lose all the friends and family from here. Need some guidance GAF, should I bail from here and move or stay?

I have masters in PR (graduated with honors, one of the best in class) but companies here are ridiculous, since most of them are willing to pay just minimum wage, which is laughable 450-500€. I also have great ammount of experience, either in sales or business communication. Don't know what to do anymore, also I am 26 by the end of this month.
 
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