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Mar. 19th, 2009 04:13 am
Job search stuff
So, I'm a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to "career" job searching. Up until I went back to school, my paycheck-earning gigs fell into four categories:
*Radio stuff
*Biological office equipment temping
*On-campus work-study gigs
*Hourly-rate "fill out an application" type stuff. Mostly call center.
Now that I've gone back to school and found my real career path (or at least an approximation), I'm honestly not sure how this job-getting process is supposed to happen. I think my resume is in decent shape, and I can write cover letters, but I don't really know how to do things beyond that. My job-search-fu consists of waiting for my agency recruiter to contact me and looking up help wanted ads, most of which have arcane job titles that mean nothing to me.
The career I "really" want just isn't going to happen right now, especially with the demise of the P-I, so I need to branch out. I need to find a way to market myself as something more than a writer, more than an editor and more than a moderately competent web content wrangler. I have to find a way to gather all of that, plus my raft of other miscellaneous skills and knowledge, and present it as a unique and competent package that employers simply can't resist.
I have skillset lists on my resume, but I don't necessarily have job experience to back up some of that stuff. I have a knack for project management, big-picture decision making and translating from geek to layperson, but I can't quantify those skills. I have a great deal of knowledge of a wide range of subjects, from opera to pet care, but I don't have a quick and concise way of demonstrating that before I'm in an interview.
I know what I can do, but I don't have something concrete to point to that says so that will set my resume apart from every other desperate slob who's trying to get a job anywhere near my field.
Anyone a whiz at this kind of thing who can help me figure this out? I realize that I'm largely a victim of a choked market right now, but I also want to find a way to do this consistently in the future, so I can maybe do something other than contract gigs for the rest of my life.
*Radio stuff
*Biological office equipment temping
*On-campus work-study gigs
*Hourly-rate "fill out an application" type stuff. Mostly call center.
Now that I've gone back to school and found my real career path (or at least an approximation), I'm honestly not sure how this job-getting process is supposed to happen. I think my resume is in decent shape, and I can write cover letters, but I don't really know how to do things beyond that. My job-search-fu consists of waiting for my agency recruiter to contact me and looking up help wanted ads, most of which have arcane job titles that mean nothing to me.
The career I "really" want just isn't going to happen right now, especially with the demise of the P-I, so I need to branch out. I need to find a way to market myself as something more than a writer, more than an editor and more than a moderately competent web content wrangler. I have to find a way to gather all of that, plus my raft of other miscellaneous skills and knowledge, and present it as a unique and competent package that employers simply can't resist.
I have skillset lists on my resume, but I don't necessarily have job experience to back up some of that stuff. I have a knack for project management, big-picture decision making and translating from geek to layperson, but I can't quantify those skills. I have a great deal of knowledge of a wide range of subjects, from opera to pet care, but I don't have a quick and concise way of demonstrating that before I'm in an interview.
I know what I can do, but I don't have something concrete to point to that says so that will set my resume apart from every other desperate slob who's trying to get a job anywhere near my field.
Anyone a whiz at this kind of thing who can help me figure this out? I realize that I'm largely a victim of a choked market right now, but I also want to find a way to do this consistently in the future, so I can maybe do something other than contract gigs for the rest of my life.
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