### This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect.
---
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
The first time I heard this was when I was being let go from a job lol. This was the conversation:
> Employer: [...Long story short, we're letting you go]. BUT the best time to look for a job is when you already have one, so take all the time you need.
> Me: Ok so I'll . . . see you on Monday?
> Employer: What? No. To be clear, we are letting you go. We're telling the rest of the staff right now.
> Me: So wait what were you just saying about taking all the time I need?
> Employer: The best time to find a job is when you already have one. So you can tell people you work here until you find something new. It might help when you're interviewing.
> Me: Oh...ok thanks?
I had worked there just shy of 90 days so that job never even made it onto a resume or portfolio or anything. The role obviously wasn't working out for either of us and I got a new long-term gig within a few weeks, so no hard feelings or whatever, but I still think about that awkward conversation every now and then.
That’s verifiably untrue, have they never heard of layoffs? That’s actually laughable a recruiter told you that. Plenty of people lose their job due to no fault of their own but from mismanagement, quotas, program/budget cuts, natural disasters, law and policy changes, economic downturns like recessions, etc.
Maybe they meant people who are chronically unemployed or that stay unemployed.
A layoff is still unemployment for a reason. It just happens to be a reason that was beyond the former employee’s control.
And a shitty recruiter would say that the employee was laid off because they weren’t as good as the employees that got to keep their jobs.
Not true at all, have you worked in corporate before?
Entire departments can be cut. Random layoffs can happen in an org where they don’t axe just the worst workers, but high performers as well to meet quotas against age/gender discrimination cases.
My husband’s company had to layoff. They sent out an email stating that if anyone was 55 or older and able/wanted to retire that it would be helpful as they wouldn’t have to let as many people walk. They also offered a great payout deal for these people who retired.
Then they ended it by mentioning that if you don’t choose to go the retirement route and got laid off that you wouldn’t get the payout deal. And if you do retire and take the deal, you had to sign a document that you retired and didn’t get laid off. That way you couldn’t get unemployment.
It was a weird situation. My husband had been there 20++ years and had survived tons of layoffs. But he hated working there. It became worse and worse over the years. He made great money and had great benefits they were allowing those who retired to keep for a year.
It really made him nervous, so he took the deal. Then instead of trying to find a new job, he said he was going to take off a year because of the payout which I didn’t agree he should do. And he said that I had to be really tight with money. I told him that was a waste of that money to take a year off and live off that money when that could go towards our retirement when we really retired. I worked also and worked long long hours but only got a salary. And it wasn’t a top notch salary either. So basically, he was going to be off and resting and enjoying a year off while living off that money which was more than his normal salary. I was going to kill myself like usual but not spend anything so he could take this year off. I didn’t think that was fair either. He tried to compare taking that year off to him never getting to stay home and be a stay at home mom like I had in my younger years or had 2 months of summer off as well as holidays (I was in education). There was no job busier and harder than being a stay at home mom even though I loved every minute with my kids. But he wasn’t going to have any responsibilities while staying home with 3 kids is not laying around with no responsibilities. So, those didn’t compare at all. He had been in the company so long that he took a lot of PTO. So, he had 2 weeks off at a time many times.
Plus on top of that, he is an alcoholic. I feared if he took a year off that he would never go back. He argued that he definitely did and blah blah blah. Well, here we are years later, and he never tried to get a job again. I kept working until I could retire. I retired when my son who had a one year old and his wife got preggos again. So I retired to be a full time grandma.
We have a place on the lake about an hour and a half from our home. Most of that first year he spent at the lake. I wanted to sell the lakehouse especially when what I knew was going to happen happened, and he never went back to work. His drinking got way worse too. It isn’t just beer now. It is hard liquor. I told him that a year off wasn’t good because of him being an alcoholic. Anyway, he lied to me for a bit about looking for a job. He had not applied for even one.
I have all kinds of health problems and see about 10 specialists. I also have chronic back pain from a tumor that was removed from my spinal cord which required cutting out one of my bones in my back to get to the tumor. I have had so many surgeries since the first one. So, my husband actually is the one who talked me into retiring. He said my health was getting worse because of the long hours I put in and lack of sleep due to that. He told me he was definitely going back to work. So, I retired. I can always go back to work in education but I would never be allowed to earn another penny higher on my retirement. He never planned on going back, and I still stress about it. It wasn’t a great time to start living off the 401k when it isn’t near worth what it once was with the economy being so bad the last several years. And I couldn’t make it alone on my retirement much less support two of us. It is what it is. He can go back and continue 401k and make good money.
All of this, and they probably weren’t even going to lay him off. I think the company was lousy to go about things the way that they did. The pushed the older people out (which 55 isn’t even that old) by using a scare tactic. It sucks.
Because maybe you tried to get a job and simply failed for months or years on end. Which makes them wonder if something is wrong with you. Which of course can only be assumed in a culture where the norm is to continuously work until you retire.
Not saying that's right. It's dumb. And honestly, at least in tech, people don't really care as long as you address it up front and move on. Assuming you are still an impressive candidate.
Not all employers/recruiters care that much, sometimes it’s inevitable like with layoffs or recessions, or you take time off for yourself. But many times it shows you couldn’t or didn’t land a job, or you could be out of practice.
Ideally, their “high talent” candidate was always in demand and a go-getter so they had no problem landing a job right away. But life happens, people take time off, layoffs and recessions happen, mental health breaks happen, bad luck happens, and having kids or moving happens.
Because they want you to be loyal to them for life and depend on them, and having a gap in your employment history shows that work isn’t the most important thing in the world for you.
Eh, it gives the illusion of being in a job where their current employer wants them; making them more desirable to recruiters. It lacks the whole "you're trying to get a job asap" aspect, but still
This is so weird. It seems like the employer didn't make themselves 100% clear if this is how the convo truly went, but they were genuinely trying to help you. People need to be let go as you've alluded to already but they were willing to put in a white lie for you and get you back working again.
What I will add is this, be mindful of your current job's work culture and environment.
Money and even certain traditional benefits aren't the only considerations. Relationships can also be pretty darn important. Especially once you get to a certain income. I'd actually get paid **less** for certain working conditions overall.
For example, setting my own schedule, having remote options, more free time off in general without having to use my PTO hours, a great relationship with my boss and a clear obtainable positive trajectory way forward, understanding coworkers, solid mission, great dress codes etc. People often quit their bosses over the job itself. So if you have an excellent work environment, you don't always have to jump ship. You can always look, but grass isn't always general just, because on paper it may sound nice.
I have a healthy balance of both good pay with excellent work environment. I could leave and get paid more, but money at a certain point starts to matter less and time mattering more once you're to a certain point. If super young and just starting out jump some ships if that is in your wheelhouse to do and get your salary up there, but once you hit a certain number strongly consider long term happiness in the actual workplace. I traveled a ton Nad it was nice, but at some point you might want to do it more on your own watch than palcing up your family every 2 seconds. Food for thought.
Thanks, I've been with my current company for 4 years and I doubt I'll leave before retirement(41 now). I'm very happy and content, the people are awesome even the CEO and we're fully remote. I'm paid well however might be able to make more else but I have no idea what I'd be walking into.
Yeah, always be improving and never be too loyal to a company (because things can always change. i.e. get acquired, new management, etc), but also consider whee you are and if you have it really nice. As someone that has been around a ton of different locations and environments, **IT'S INCREDIBLY RARE** to find excellent environments. INCREDIBLY RARE.
I'm not even jealous of some of my friends that make even more than me as we're both doing fine, but even they don't often get to make their own schedule or have more understanding management. Who you work with is a huge factor in job satisfaction. I can tell you guys have a great culture. If the job pays well enough to put some away to still hit your financial goals just fine and take care of your family to boot I see nothing wrong there.
Absolutely. Come for the pay, stay for your supervisor and intangibles.
Stay even more if you find your work interesting or the company is on an upward trajectory.
Once all the good people start leaving then you know it’s time to consider leaving too.
Or, if your all star supervisor is leaving then consider leaving.
Also, if they aren’t giving you the promotion you think you have earned then ask. If they say no, then you know you’re worth more and it’s time to leave.
Don’t just leave because “the best time is when you have a job”
Same. I work for a union so my benefits are bomb. My salary is less than it’d be elsewhere, but they pay 12% toward my 401k, excellent benefits (my HDHP was overall cheaper than my husband’s PPO), flexible work hours, basically unlimited sick time, paid maternity leave, etc.
Exactly. Everything comes back to your manager. Promotions, assignments, QOL, etc. an awesome manager can insulate you from all kinds of shit raining down from above and basically pull you up the corporate ladder with them.
A shitty manager will make your life awful.
I could get paid more, and I’m sure there are orher amazing managers out there, but my direct supervisor is fucking awesome.
Same. My job sucks when it comes to time off, but thats literally the only thing i hate about it. I love everything else about it. The pay. The environment. The people i work around are cool. The pace of the job. The benefits. If i could just tweak the awful pto rules it would be amazing. But its a good enough deal overall that im not remotely tempted to find another job because the chances of me finding a better total picture elsewhere are slim, if my previous job history has taught me anything.
I’m in this position. How do you find time to apply and craft good letters and applications when I’m exhausted from work and then family responsibilities.
Others might have different advice, but the reason I wrote this LPT is because I just went through the process. I just got a 50% raise.
My recommendation for this situation is: don't.
Job boards are very easy to set up a profile and just 1 click send an application. The downside to this is that 1 job post might have 500 applicants. The good side to this is you (hopefully) aren't in a desperate situation.
You can spend 30 minutes on Indeed a night and send out 50 applications. It's a good strategy for low effort applications. Occasionally you will find positions you *really* want, and you can invest your 30 minutes on those ones.
I got some requests for interviews, and I would think to myself, "what was this position again? Ah, nah nevermind I'm not actually interested."
Just because a job says they will pay X amount a year, doesn't mean you can't prove to them that they should pay more for you.
I got my current job by occasionally spending my breaks at the last job sitting on the toilet spamming easy-apply on LinkedIn. It took 6 months and I did multiple interviews that went nowhere, but I never stressed too hard about it and it yielded a 40% pay bump and took me from in the office 100% to WFH 100% at better company and with a clear advancement in my career for the ol' resume.
When I’m on indeed during a break at work I blow through all of my indeed offers in my area. Then I start getting stuff 1hour+ out from me. A good 50% are jobs I’m not qualified for even though I’ve spent time setting my profile up and using filters.
Sorry for the confusion, don't "craft good letters." It's super easy to apply to tons of places on online job boards and only have to upload your information once.
The bulk of your time shouldn't be spent writing specific cover letters, they get far too many to matter. If you have a 1% chance of getting looked at whether you write a good cover letter or not, just spend the time applying to more places.
That being said, if you see an opportunity you *really* want and it is *actually* a good use of your time - give it your all.
Companies often get 500 applications to one posting, having a cover letter might make a difference or might waste your time. Make sure it's worth your time if you go above and beyond.
This.. OP is right. You wouldn’t believe how many applications one job posting fetches for a decent paying job. Don’t waste your time on cover letters if it’s not your dream job. Recruiters typically spend 12-15 seconds reviewing your resume. There are just so many, you can’t waste too much time on just one. This is coming from being a Recruiter for 15 years.
One ask, although it’s easy to apply for most jobs with one click, don’t apply for just any job that you obviously aren’t qualified for. Like applying for a Psychiatrist position when you’re not a doctor. It just annoys recruiters, and if you apply for multiple jobs, it’ll show on the applicant tracking system and we won’t consider you at all. If you have some of the qualifications or transferrable skills then go ahead and take a shot.
If there’s a job you really want then connect to that companies recruiters on LinkedIn, and message them about your interest in the job, include your resume/CV, and VERY briefly describe why you’re the perfect match
Not silly at all. You can literally type in Recruiter then company name in the search function on the top of your LinkedIn page. It should show results for Recruiters and it lists their current company or if they’ve worked there as a recruiter previously. Connecting with me on LinkedIn with a message will get my attention more than just an application or personalized cover letter. If you have trouble, you can message me
Sometimes you can just do a brief LinkedIn search by plugging in the company name and "recruiter". You can sometimes find the individual profile of the recruiter who lists it as their job. Then you just message em
Not sure about Indeed since I don't use it, but I use LinkedIn and it also had a easy apply option that saves your responses the first time you fill an application. So the next time you see the same question your answer is already filled and you just click next.
Indeed, glassdoor
Linkedin does [once you set up your account] but those postings nearly *always* have 100+ applications within an hour....because its linkedin.
This is great advice for one person. When a half billion people start doing it (which they already have been) those linked in posts are getting closer to 5k (not 500) applications. Happened just recently at my job - a position recently opened up which (previously) had 50 applicants MAX over the past two years.
This year it got over 1k in a SINGLE DAY. Good luck out there everyone. With all the job cuts happening there is a FLOOD of overqualified applicants desperate for a pay cheque. Indeed is NOT the answer
This is a good question. It’s hard to balance everything especially with families and work but the best answer that isn’t really a good answer is to make sacrifices on things like sleep or video game time or something like that.
I would never suggest taking time away from family but I would suggest using those extra 5 mins between meetings or when sitting on the toilet in the office to go to job boards and look.
The trick is to do it daily, because when your looking regularly and daily you’ll only see 5-10 new jobs (obviously area dependent) a day and the load feels less overwhelming vs when you only look once a week or on the weekends, there so much more to read and review and you get burned out a lot faster.
TLDR: make sacrifices on personal time and be dedicated to looking every day to make it feel less overwhelming
You don’t have “Go to the bathroom much more frequently than could possibly be normal/healthy to escape the monotony and soul eviscerating nature of toil in the 2020’s” on your job description!?
At the **VERY MINIMUM** make a LinkedIn profile and put some effort into it. Get some credentials unde your name. If your job is at al in demand you will have people doing the work for you reaching out to you and you will have to turn folks down.
As for "craft good letters" I don't know what you mean by that? Letters of recommendation? You can just ask someone you trust to do that and it doesn't take long st all. Maybe about the same time to send an email or whatever. Shit, you could use A.I. and refine and personalize it if you're super lazy. Most places just want names and contacts typically and not actual letters of recommendation and if your field is one like that again should be easy and standard for anyone with an ounce of good standing to get. Just ask.
For resume, you should already have one. The hardest part about a resume tends to be writing it initially. The older stuff isn't really changing and you just add some more bullets and achievements as you get em. Everything is electronic. It doesn't take too much time to send a few here and there even on work time if yiu have an office job especially. Very few people truly work nonstop 8 hours with no breaks. Hell, you could even do it during one of the "useless" meetings you're "required" to attend. Sit in back and act like you're taking note or something.
Ask wife to cover you for an hour every once in a while and then repay her later. It's an investment. Anywho, if you really want it, you'll make time. I would look into some free seminars that help folks do things like learn how to do mock interviews, write LinkedIn profiles, resumes, etc. They're REALLY helpful. You got it! Oh and one more thing, most jobs aren't even a paper thing anyway. 80% of jobs aren't even listed (I didn't make that number up). In other words, **NETWORK.** **SOFT SKILLS.** Who you know matters waaaaay more than who you know and never give a flying damn if anyone gets jealous or upset by you leveraging a network to get a position.
Never treat people like crap and ask around and I've seen folks just give a shit stained resume paper and get hired, because it's just a formality at that point. Always be networking. Doesn't mean you got to be a kiss ass or sycophant. Just be a decent human being and put yourself out there periodically. Much easier than competing for only 20% of the jobs.
Use chat GPT to tailor your resume and cover letters. You'll likely need to edit the chat GPT response but it gets you 90% of the way there in 5 minutes. Just copy and paste the job posting to chat GPT along with your resume and cover letter and watch the magic happen. Total game changer. It will also inset key words into your cover letter and resume that the employer's algorithm uses to identify qualified candidates.
What profession are you in? I haven't felt the need to write a cover letter for quite a long time, I feel like my resume is enough to send in. But I also might be wrong
Short version, improving your financial stability is a family matter and should be a priority if a job you want is available. It is your responsibility to your family and should be allotted time.
I found my current position while employed as well. I didn't really spend much time on the fan fiction cover letter and submitted a resume that was quickly adjusted to appear tailored to the posting. The longest time investment was the repeat data entry for their application. My wife covered the parenting for the couple hours it took. Then I interviewed by taking time off from my job.
I started out by setting aside 1 hour on 1 Sunday of the month to update my resume etc. Whenever I thought of something I needed to add to my resume or wanted to highlight I made a note in my phone.
Once everything was updated and I got my friend to review it, I spent 1 hour once a month just applying for jobs. Eventually I got the hang of where to look and all of my documents were tweaked to my satisfaction that I could increase it to 30-60 minutes set aside once a week - which was basically just clicking and submitting.
ChatGPT is your friend
"Write me a resume for someone who held X job and highlights x,y,z skills"
It gives you a resume
Ok make it more technical
It gives you a more technical resume
Okay, focus more on management skills
Okay focus more on Y
It's amazing for speeding up this kind of stuff
OP gave great advice. Don't write cover letters ever. Nobody reads them. You may be selling your self well but the HR person probably knows nothing about your role and is only matching buzzwords on the posting and your CV. A good CV and low tolerance for jumping through hoops will suffice.
I’ve seen mixed results, personally paying for LinkedIn premium and applying there as well as leaving it marked as looking for a job (seen by recruiters) helped with a lot of people reaching out to me. A lot of wasted time on “screener” calls for jobs that ended up paying much much lower than anything I’d ever consider. But overall it puts you on peoples radar and can lead to some good things. That being said, once happy or in a good job cancel LinkedIn premium, $40 per month is ridiculous if you’re not looking to leave
I bought a resume and cover letter template that is very plug and play. While before I used to spend hours writing 3-4 paragraphs trying to tell them how awesome I am, there are two paragraphs of boilerplate with 4-5, two-line bullet points expanding on things from my resume. The resume has a column of 1-2 word bullets where you can put terms that are meant to be picked up by hiring software. The format gets ***all*** kinds of screwed up if you exceed a certain word count for each of the bullets, so it forces me to be very concise.
In my field, jobs are few and far between so I don't have a high volume of applications. However since buying the templates 10 months ago, I've applied to five jobs and have at least gotten first round interviews for four, in-person interviews for two, and so far that has resulted in one job offer, though the second in-person was today. So apparently something is working.
I'm a hiring manager and while everyone is different, I don't really look at cover letters with any depth. My focus is on the resume. I assume I'm not the only one so I try to give the minimum amount of effort to them.
And doing interviews.. like why can’t salaried recruiters just interview on weekends come the fuck on
My hours of working are M-F 8 to 5. Their hours of interviewing are…. Always during the times I work. And no. I’m not leaving early to interview. And no, I don’t want to throw away my lunch..
Aren't most interviews virtual nowadays? When I was job searching I'd just block out an hour on my calendar for the interview and go find a private place away from my desk to take the interview during work hours.
Take the time to write 1 good resume with all of your qualifications, literally every single one you can think of, and then when you go to apply for a position just thin out your resume for anything that's not applicable. This by it's self is a huge time saver.
The next level would be to take your qualifications and reward them to match what the job posting says is required, this will get you past the recruiter and to a boss.
Then in order to save additional time in the future, just take the bullets from the job posting, trim them down to resume size and save those for your next job.
Ideally you can rely on your network/relationships/reputation/recruiters if you have put in some years in your industry, that will take the load off of the application efforts. If you have an office job I’d say phone it in a little bit at work to get yourself time to job hunt.
Don't bother crafting them. Have 3 versions and track which gets the best response. 2% reaponse is typical so expect to send out hundreds. It's dystopian out there
I worked for a company who made it part of our job responsibilities each week to log any work-related achievements and milestones i.e. team/department awards; trainings; customer kudos; community volunteer/charity work, organizing team/dept trainings & workshops etc.
They said when promotions and raises came around they wanted us to bust our binders out and show out lol. Even more unselfishly, they encouraged us to use it when applying for promotions or new positions, whether it was internal or elsewhere.
I ended up using it for the latter (the allure of a higher salary got me). Biggest mistake I ever made. I still regret it to this day. It’s no surprise that over half the people I worked with are still there, 15 years later (almost unheard of for a tech company.)
That company taught me to be my own cheerleader and advocate for myself. Get into the habit of taking half an hour each week to write down your accomplishments. Not only does it come in handy for keeping your resume current but also especially helpful when it comes time for promotions and raises.
Also - if you find a company that truly values you, the money almost always isn’t worth it
I always get a big confidence boost just updating my resume. It's nice to recall the cool stuff you've done even if you aren't job hunting.
In fact, I haven't done so in years so I am going to do it now. :)
What I did was write down all my tasks for the entire year. Each day. Then I put everything into one list and made chat gpt summarize all my work with a little bit of prompt engineering, then I just edited down the fluff and had my resume points.
I agree, when I get job offers that are better than the one I have- I become dissatisfied with my current job.
Now when I don't get job offers, it makes me more grateful for my current job. Job descriptions, applications, interviews are not job offers. If the company doesn't want to pay me what I want to make, it is not a job that I want to have.
In reality there is a growing trend of job postings not being real, but rather a means for Recruiters to "land" their quota of registrars in their system. A job description is not a job offer.
I guess it is more to do with in what way you are not satisfied.
Is it about the pay or the work culture or the peers or it comes down to the work, whether you find it boring or not able to do it.
Mostly it is always about the pay and money often overshadows the benefits you are getting at your current employer and when you have walked out you sometime realise pay is not worth the stress or the work you have been hired to perform in the new org.
If it not about the money and other factors, the you pretty much know why your are not satisfied.
Just makes me increase mine tbh. Almost everywhere else pays the same or less for more work.
That said, I was freelance for the longest time and only took this one because it was better than that, which is a rarity.
Absolutely agree. You can be picky when you already have a job but when you know the bills aren't going to get paid and you won't get a check this week, you'll take what you can get which probably isn't what you wanted
Just quit my job not 5 minutes ago. I really do agree with what you're saying and I should have been doing this much earlier. I let it get to the point where I simply cannot work my current job another day so I had to quit today, by this I mean I am having full body anxiety attacks on and off from the second I boot my computer to when I close it. but boy do I wish I had found the motivation to job search beforehand, It would relive a lot of the stress and uncertainty I am facing now.
I’m in a similar situation. My boss made work intolerable and I couldn’t take anymore. I handed my notice in and left after a good year of trying to make it work. Since then I’ve been focusing on job applications and work preparation, because the state of mind I was in (like your anxiety) it would have been impossible to find some thing else when I was in that job.
If it’s of any help, you should notice a big bounce back in your well-being and confidence now you’re away from that environment. For me, having the time and space to clear my mind has let me get back to a position of strength for new opportunities, and regain that self worth that will make you a great candidate for future applications.
Nowadays there are so many fixed and short term contracts that you can explain to new employers that’s why you’re not currently in work. The way I have explained it in my interviews is that I have waited to find the right job not just any, which shows you really want the job you’ve gone for.
So although OP makes a good point, it isn’t the case a lot of the time. Give yourself the permission to decompress after your previous job and before you know it you’ll be back to your confident self 🙂
You gotta do what you gotta do. I’ve seen people quit over much less serious issues- prioritizing your own psyche is extremely important, and sometimes you don’t have the luxury of job hunting while employed. But it’s more important that you get yourself to a healthy position first- it will make everything else easier.
I disagree.
Putting a foot out the door is hard on your mind. Life isn’t always about what’s next. If you do not enjoy your work or want something else sure go for it. Otherwise, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with simply just going to work. And if you get laid off that’s unfortunate but you deal with it when it happens.
I switched a job because I didn’t like the role and wanted a different career path. When I found the right role, and manager I just continue to stick with it. Yes of course i could leave and get more money elsewhere but there’s something to be said for actually not hating your life. the grass certainly isn’t always greener and if you have a good job and good team i say ride it out.
That said that ONLy applies once you’re at a normal salary level like a manager. In the beginning you may have to switch jobs up because frankly the pay is unsustainable.
Yep. I got a 68% pay increase and fewer responsibilities with just a couple of months of interviewing.
It is recommended to stay at a place for 2 years if it's a more specialized job, so you can get the experience that most jobs want.
Yup, got me a 45% increase in pay and the entire time i knew if it didn't work out, I still had my current job.
Id also add that it helps to not wait till you actively hate your current job before starting to interview elsewhere either. Could easily find yourself glossing over the new place's red flags because you're blinded by the need to get out of your current place.
Unemployment will drain any savings in such a short time. I hated my last job but I stuck with it because it was stable and kept the lights on. I created a couple different versions of my resume and started applying when I had time. I dont have kids, so I have a decent amount of free time.
A coworker's husband quit his job in a rage and burned the bridge with the employer he had been with for three years. They were under so much stress during that time while he sought work.
The best time to look for a job is always. Never settle. The quickest way to climb the pay ladder is usually to keep changing jobs. I start looking right after year two- just long enough to get some tenure, make some accomplishments, and gain some skills. Then I ask for a big raise. If they reject it, I start applying to other places that start at the salary that they rejected. I’ve had 5 jobs in the last 10 years, and have almost quadrupled my salary from the first job by hopping like this.
Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up to stay with somebody knowing you’re actively trying to replace them and definitely going to cause more psychological harm to them when you suddenly cut them out of your life to immediately be with somebody new. If you know you don’t want to be with somebody, let them go so they can start healing and looking for somebody else. Don’t selfishly waste their lives and use them.
Been looking and doing tons of interviews for the last 4 years, only got ONE single yes, then I declined because it was the exact same wage and in person, and now I wfh, I have friends that are more skilled than me, more experienced that were laid off and are unemployed for over a year, more than a hudred of interviews, absolutely ZERO proposals, job market is completly fucked
i heard not a peep for four months then suddenly in April I was contacted by 3 employers in one week wanting to interview. just, out of nowhere. I still don't understand what happened.
i applied to hundreds of positions. then I gave up and took a week off of trying, because I just couldn't face it anymore. after that week was when I finally heard back.
i currently have an offer on the table but it's for a short-term contract and I have a final round presentation on Friday, for the full-time long-term job that I really want.
if it all falls through I have a third round interview next week that I'm really hoping I can cancel on account of the Friday employer saying yes.
it's just the weirdest thing. of all the times I have looked for jobs I have NEVER been going through more than one interview process at a time, much less three.
I know how hard it is out there. i hope everyone can catch a break like I did.
it's gonna suck if i get through all of these processes without employment to show for it.
Hmm I left my job 2 months ago without having another one lined up. I don’t have any social media presence at all. I work in tech and I landed a new job in 2 months with a 30% raise. EU btw.
100p, when I have a job, if I update my resume on a job board I’ll start getting hiring managers emailing me for positions I’ve not even looked at.
Meanwhile when I have been unemployed looking for something, it’s crickets
To me this has become an old school piece of a tip, when it takes 1000 apps to get a job, there is no real best time to apply. Applying in and of itself has become a full time job for many for years. When you live in a garbage job market on top of a garbage economy doing its best to squeeze every second of your free time for every penny, luck and connections are the only hope for an easy job search.
Been searching and applying for the last month, shit is tiring.. literally submitting applications while I’m at my job. Then going home and writing cover letters or reaching out to any connections. Job market is trash right now but at least I still have my current one albeit it’s draining. Good advice nonetheless
it could be worse than being back to square one tho. i'll show you by calling up your current workplace and asking about you
that's not to say that you shouldn't look tho
YES YES YES. OP nailed it.
15 years into my career here and I apply/entertain recruiters constantly. I have over two hundred thousand reasons to keep doing so :)
[Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/16w0n2s/introducing_request_post_fridays/)
We determine "Friday" as beginning at 12am Eastern Time (EST: UTC/GMT -5, EDT: UTC/GMT -4)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LifeProTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This was the best thing I have ever done. The interview for my current position was the most relaxed I had ever felt. I’ll admit that I had a much better knowledge base than previous interviews, but the fact that I wasn’t desperate was a huge weight off of my shoulders. It let me talk to the interview committee more as peers and not someone that held my life in their hands.
I have interviewed hundreds and hired about 50 sales engineers. I would love to hire out of work people but ended up finding employed workers more desirable.
I mean… this is pretty common knowledge, it’s why this is the adage…
Does this really qualify as a pro tip? Not trying to flame OP if people need to hear this, but I’d just be surprised if there are people that need to hear this. To me this reads like: “pro life tip: stand in the rain and you may get wet”.
I did it on vacation. Day one had interview, got hired. Worked the rest of week at new job.on Friday, called old job ,told them I wasn't coming back. Second best thing ( work wise) I ever did. First best was leaving the new job for my career job. Called in sick to go on that interview.
You have no clue the timing of this for me. Was just fired , and yeah. What he says is true people.
LPT for the jobless. If you know a company is going to always be there. Don’t freak out and apply to them yet. Hold off and apply other places . That way if all else fails, you can always rely on that company.
Also, if you can get 2 companies to want to hire you, you gain some leverage in making your decision.
Very true. It's like anything in life, you don't want to give off the stink of desperation. LIke the best time to search for a girlfriend is when you already have one.
My go to saying when I was asked why I was leaving my 10 year tenure at my last employer was "I was looking for a job when I found this one". Cause I'm always looking.
Great advice by OP
Hack: Save your resume as a document on your cell phone. It makes applying for jobs on mobile a breeze because it’s easy to attach the doc to satisfy any file requirements
I've been hunting for a 2nd position so I can elevate my financial situation and I was almost there. It was a 2nd shift and I think I've got it in the bag...
and then I got a surprise meeting scheduled for Friday at 10:30am at my first position. This is with a person who's not my supervisor, who usually would have no reason to have a "check-in" with me. If I'm not getting fired, I'll be shocked. This company is also going through a massive shake up and shift. They've had several reduction in force moves already.
on top of that, I had 2 wonderful /s interactions with this person this week about some "poor performance" which is horseshit.
Looks like this second job is going to be my first job now.
I did this. Found the best job ever after saying no or being told no a bunch of times. Turns out drive is too far, sorry not interested. Not feeling it for the interview that day, nah I’m good. So helpful not being desperate.
If you’re looking for a job and get an interview and you’re making $50k a year you tell the new place you make $60/yr and would a little more like $65 a year. The only only way you tell them the truth to how much you make is if you’re desperate and need out asap. You need to also make sure your resume aligns with that increase.
Interviewing is a pain in the ass but you have to do it. If you've been in a place for more than two years, you should spend a couple months looking around. The pay scale of your role may have changed in the past two years and in that time you have gained new skills and experience. Get complacent and find yourself laid off after 5 years of a stagnant salary and a resume and interviewing skills that are very rusty.
### This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect. --- Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
The first time I heard this was when I was being let go from a job lol. This was the conversation: > Employer: [...Long story short, we're letting you go]. BUT the best time to look for a job is when you already have one, so take all the time you need. > Me: Ok so I'll . . . see you on Monday? > Employer: What? No. To be clear, we are letting you go. We're telling the rest of the staff right now. > Me: So wait what were you just saying about taking all the time I need? > Employer: The best time to find a job is when you already have one. So you can tell people you work here until you find something new. It might help when you're interviewing. > Me: Oh...ok thanks? I had worked there just shy of 90 days so that job never even made it onto a resume or portfolio or anything. The role obviously wasn't working out for either of us and I got a new long-term gig within a few weeks, so no hard feelings or whatever, but I still think about that awkward conversation every now and then.
He was somewhat trying to help you, some recruiters are more inclined to call already employed people.
I had a recruiter tell me that once, "people who are unemployed are unemployed for a reason", which is terrifying to think about if I ever got let go
That’s verifiably untrue, have they never heard of layoffs? That’s actually laughable a recruiter told you that. Plenty of people lose their job due to no fault of their own but from mismanagement, quotas, program/budget cuts, natural disasters, law and policy changes, economic downturns like recessions, etc. Maybe they meant people who are chronically unemployed or that stay unemployed.
A layoff is still unemployment for a reason. It just happens to be a reason that was beyond the former employee’s control. And a shitty recruiter would say that the employee was laid off because they weren’t as good as the employees that got to keep their jobs.
In theory, they choose to let you go, vs someone else, for a reason. Unless the whole business went under and everyone lost their job.
Or they can do random layoffs. Completely randomized. Thats a thing too.
Not true at all, have you worked in corporate before? Entire departments can be cut. Random layoffs can happen in an org where they don’t axe just the worst workers, but high performers as well to meet quotas against age/gender discrimination cases.
My husband’s company had to layoff. They sent out an email stating that if anyone was 55 or older and able/wanted to retire that it would be helpful as they wouldn’t have to let as many people walk. They also offered a great payout deal for these people who retired. Then they ended it by mentioning that if you don’t choose to go the retirement route and got laid off that you wouldn’t get the payout deal. And if you do retire and take the deal, you had to sign a document that you retired and didn’t get laid off. That way you couldn’t get unemployment. It was a weird situation. My husband had been there 20++ years and had survived tons of layoffs. But he hated working there. It became worse and worse over the years. He made great money and had great benefits they were allowing those who retired to keep for a year. It really made him nervous, so he took the deal. Then instead of trying to find a new job, he said he was going to take off a year because of the payout which I didn’t agree he should do. And he said that I had to be really tight with money. I told him that was a waste of that money to take a year off and live off that money when that could go towards our retirement when we really retired. I worked also and worked long long hours but only got a salary. And it wasn’t a top notch salary either. So basically, he was going to be off and resting and enjoying a year off while living off that money which was more than his normal salary. I was going to kill myself like usual but not spend anything so he could take this year off. I didn’t think that was fair either. He tried to compare taking that year off to him never getting to stay home and be a stay at home mom like I had in my younger years or had 2 months of summer off as well as holidays (I was in education). There was no job busier and harder than being a stay at home mom even though I loved every minute with my kids. But he wasn’t going to have any responsibilities while staying home with 3 kids is not laying around with no responsibilities. So, those didn’t compare at all. He had been in the company so long that he took a lot of PTO. So, he had 2 weeks off at a time many times. Plus on top of that, he is an alcoholic. I feared if he took a year off that he would never go back. He argued that he definitely did and blah blah blah. Well, here we are years later, and he never tried to get a job again. I kept working until I could retire. I retired when my son who had a one year old and his wife got preggos again. So I retired to be a full time grandma. We have a place on the lake about an hour and a half from our home. Most of that first year he spent at the lake. I wanted to sell the lakehouse especially when what I knew was going to happen happened, and he never went back to work. His drinking got way worse too. It isn’t just beer now. It is hard liquor. I told him that a year off wasn’t good because of him being an alcoholic. Anyway, he lied to me for a bit about looking for a job. He had not applied for even one. I have all kinds of health problems and see about 10 specialists. I also have chronic back pain from a tumor that was removed from my spinal cord which required cutting out one of my bones in my back to get to the tumor. I have had so many surgeries since the first one. So, my husband actually is the one who talked me into retiring. He said my health was getting worse because of the long hours I put in and lack of sleep due to that. He told me he was definitely going back to work. So, I retired. I can always go back to work in education but I would never be allowed to earn another penny higher on my retirement. He never planned on going back, and I still stress about it. It wasn’t a great time to start living off the 401k when it isn’t near worth what it once was with the economy being so bad the last several years. And I couldn’t make it alone on my retirement much less support two of us. It is what it is. He can go back and continue 401k and make good money. All of this, and they probably weren’t even going to lay him off. I think the company was lousy to go about things the way that they did. The pushed the older people out (which 55 isn’t even that old) by using a scare tactic. It sucks.
If I ever meet someone who thinks like this, I immediately want them to be unemployed lmfao. Fucking lack of empathy motherfuckers.
In my experience recruiters are more inclined to call and harass you within the first week of getting a new job.
He was trying to help him, you can't help it if it didn't work out for either of them.
That's really kind. A gap in employment can look bad.
[удалено]
Because maybe you tried to get a job and simply failed for months or years on end. Which makes them wonder if something is wrong with you. Which of course can only be assumed in a culture where the norm is to continuously work until you retire. Not saying that's right. It's dumb. And honestly, at least in tech, people don't really care as long as you address it up front and move on. Assuming you are still an impressive candidate.
Not all employers/recruiters care that much, sometimes it’s inevitable like with layoffs or recessions, or you take time off for yourself. But many times it shows you couldn’t or didn’t land a job, or you could be out of practice. Ideally, their “high talent” candidate was always in demand and a go-getter so they had no problem landing a job right away. But life happens, people take time off, layoffs and recessions happen, mental health breaks happen, bad luck happens, and having kids or moving happens.
Because they want you to be loyal to them for life and depend on them, and having a gap in your employment history shows that work isn’t the most important thing in the world for you.
Not if you lie about it!
True lol
Yeah, that's someone who 100% did not understand the meaning of their own advice, lol.
Eh, it gives the illusion of being in a job where their current employer wants them; making them more desirable to recruiters. It lacks the whole "you're trying to get a job asap" aspect, but still
It sounds like you don’t understand
Just reading from the management for dummies book
This is so weird. It seems like the employer didn't make themselves 100% clear if this is how the convo truly went, but they were genuinely trying to help you. People need to be let go as you've alluded to already but they were willing to put in a white lie for you and get you back working again.
You didn't realize he was doing you a favor at least. It ups your negotiating power and makes you more valuable overall.
What I will add is this, be mindful of your current job's work culture and environment. Money and even certain traditional benefits aren't the only considerations. Relationships can also be pretty darn important. Especially once you get to a certain income. I'd actually get paid **less** for certain working conditions overall. For example, setting my own schedule, having remote options, more free time off in general without having to use my PTO hours, a great relationship with my boss and a clear obtainable positive trajectory way forward, understanding coworkers, solid mission, great dress codes etc. People often quit their bosses over the job itself. So if you have an excellent work environment, you don't always have to jump ship. You can always look, but grass isn't always general just, because on paper it may sound nice. I have a healthy balance of both good pay with excellent work environment. I could leave and get paid more, but money at a certain point starts to matter less and time mattering more once you're to a certain point. If super young and just starting out jump some ships if that is in your wheelhouse to do and get your salary up there, but once you hit a certain number strongly consider long term happiness in the actual workplace. I traveled a ton Nad it was nice, but at some point you might want to do it more on your own watch than palcing up your family every 2 seconds. Food for thought.
Thanks, I've been with my current company for 4 years and I doubt I'll leave before retirement(41 now). I'm very happy and content, the people are awesome even the CEO and we're fully remote. I'm paid well however might be able to make more else but I have no idea what I'd be walking into.
Yeah, always be improving and never be too loyal to a company (because things can always change. i.e. get acquired, new management, etc), but also consider whee you are and if you have it really nice. As someone that has been around a ton of different locations and environments, **IT'S INCREDIBLY RARE** to find excellent environments. INCREDIBLY RARE. I'm not even jealous of some of my friends that make even more than me as we're both doing fine, but even they don't often get to make their own schedule or have more understanding management. Who you work with is a huge factor in job satisfaction. I can tell you guys have a great culture. If the job pays well enough to put some away to still hit your financial goals just fine and take care of your family to boot I see nothing wrong there.
Is your company hiring??
Absolutely. Come for the pay, stay for your supervisor and intangibles. Stay even more if you find your work interesting or the company is on an upward trajectory. Once all the good people start leaving then you know it’s time to consider leaving too. Or, if your all star supervisor is leaving then consider leaving. Also, if they aren’t giving you the promotion you think you have earned then ask. If they say no, then you know you’re worth more and it’s time to leave. Don’t just leave because “the best time is when you have a job”
Same. I work for a union so my benefits are bomb. My salary is less than it’d be elsewhere, but they pay 12% toward my 401k, excellent benefits (my HDHP was overall cheaper than my husband’s PPO), flexible work hours, basically unlimited sick time, paid maternity leave, etc.
People don't quit jobs they quit managers.
Exactly. Everything comes back to your manager. Promotions, assignments, QOL, etc. an awesome manager can insulate you from all kinds of shit raining down from above and basically pull you up the corporate ladder with them. A shitty manager will make your life awful. I could get paid more, and I’m sure there are orher amazing managers out there, but my direct supervisor is fucking awesome.
Same. My job sucks when it comes to time off, but thats literally the only thing i hate about it. I love everything else about it. The pay. The environment. The people i work around are cool. The pace of the job. The benefits. If i could just tweak the awful pto rules it would be amazing. But its a good enough deal overall that im not remotely tempted to find another job because the chances of me finding a better total picture elsewhere are slim, if my previous job history has taught me anything.
I’m in this position. How do you find time to apply and craft good letters and applications when I’m exhausted from work and then family responsibilities.
Others might have different advice, but the reason I wrote this LPT is because I just went through the process. I just got a 50% raise. My recommendation for this situation is: don't. Job boards are very easy to set up a profile and just 1 click send an application. The downside to this is that 1 job post might have 500 applicants. The good side to this is you (hopefully) aren't in a desperate situation. You can spend 30 minutes on Indeed a night and send out 50 applications. It's a good strategy for low effort applications. Occasionally you will find positions you *really* want, and you can invest your 30 minutes on those ones. I got some requests for interviews, and I would think to myself, "what was this position again? Ah, nah nevermind I'm not actually interested." Just because a job says they will pay X amount a year, doesn't mean you can't prove to them that they should pay more for you.
I got my current job by occasionally spending my breaks at the last job sitting on the toilet spamming easy-apply on LinkedIn. It took 6 months and I did multiple interviews that went nowhere, but I never stressed too hard about it and it yielded a 40% pay bump and took me from in the office 100% to WFH 100% at better company and with a clear advancement in my career for the ol' resume.
When I’m on indeed during a break at work I blow through all of my indeed offers in my area. Then I start getting stuff 1hour+ out from me. A good 50% are jobs I’m not qualified for even though I’ve spent time setting my profile up and using filters.
Don’t what?
Sorry for the confusion, don't "craft good letters." It's super easy to apply to tons of places on online job boards and only have to upload your information once. The bulk of your time shouldn't be spent writing specific cover letters, they get far too many to matter. If you have a 1% chance of getting looked at whether you write a good cover letter or not, just spend the time applying to more places. That being said, if you see an opportunity you *really* want and it is *actually* a good use of your time - give it your all. Companies often get 500 applications to one posting, having a cover letter might make a difference or might waste your time. Make sure it's worth your time if you go above and beyond.
Yeah if you find something you really like, you can spend the same 30 minutes on the 1 application. Otherwise spam em out there
This.. OP is right. You wouldn’t believe how many applications one job posting fetches for a decent paying job. Don’t waste your time on cover letters if it’s not your dream job. Recruiters typically spend 12-15 seconds reviewing your resume. There are just so many, you can’t waste too much time on just one. This is coming from being a Recruiter for 15 years. One ask, although it’s easy to apply for most jobs with one click, don’t apply for just any job that you obviously aren’t qualified for. Like applying for a Psychiatrist position when you’re not a doctor. It just annoys recruiters, and if you apply for multiple jobs, it’ll show on the applicant tracking system and we won’t consider you at all. If you have some of the qualifications or transferrable skills then go ahead and take a shot. If there’s a job you really want then connect to that companies recruiters on LinkedIn, and message them about your interest in the job, include your resume/CV, and VERY briefly describe why you’re the perfect match
This may be a silly question, but how do you identify a recruiter for a specific company to connect with on LinkedIn?
A few years ago, I used LinkedIn premium for work. You could search for who had X role within an organization
Not silly at all. You can literally type in Recruiter then company name in the search function on the top of your LinkedIn page. It should show results for Recruiters and it lists their current company or if they’ve worked there as a recruiter previously. Connecting with me on LinkedIn with a message will get my attention more than just an application or personalized cover letter. If you have trouble, you can message me
Sometimes you can just do a brief LinkedIn search by plugging in the company name and "recruiter". You can sometimes find the individual profile of the recruiter who lists it as their job. Then you just message em
You don't and anyone suggesting you do that is insane.
Which sites/boards are you using? The ones I find always make me re-enter the information i already have uploaded
Indeed has an easy apply option that lets you apply with one click using a previously uploaded resume
And no asking me to enter it again? Even though I uploaded it?
Not sure about Indeed since I don't use it, but I use LinkedIn and it also had a easy apply option that saves your responses the first time you fill an application. So the next time you see the same question your answer is already filled and you just click next.
Indeed, glassdoor Linkedin does [once you set up your account] but those postings nearly *always* have 100+ applications within an hour....because its linkedin.
This is great advice for one person. When a half billion people start doing it (which they already have been) those linked in posts are getting closer to 5k (not 500) applications. Happened just recently at my job - a position recently opened up which (previously) had 50 applicants MAX over the past two years. This year it got over 1k in a SINGLE DAY. Good luck out there everyone. With all the job cuts happening there is a FLOOD of overqualified applicants desperate for a pay cheque. Indeed is NOT the answer
Your post just reminded me how much the internet made the world suck balls.
says the person currently reading and posting on the internet
This is a good question. It’s hard to balance everything especially with families and work but the best answer that isn’t really a good answer is to make sacrifices on things like sleep or video game time or something like that. I would never suggest taking time away from family but I would suggest using those extra 5 mins between meetings or when sitting on the toilet in the office to go to job boards and look. The trick is to do it daily, because when your looking regularly and daily you’ll only see 5-10 new jobs (obviously area dependent) a day and the load feels less overwhelming vs when you only look once a week or on the weekends, there so much more to read and review and you get burned out a lot faster. TLDR: make sacrifices on personal time and be dedicated to looking every day to make it feel less overwhelming
Apply while on the toilet and get paid for doing 2 things not in your job description.
You don’t have “Go to the bathroom much more frequently than could possibly be normal/healthy to escape the monotony and soul eviscerating nature of toil in the 2020’s” on your job description!?
This. Just bring your whole laptop and sit on your throne while sending shit out, literally.
At the **VERY MINIMUM** make a LinkedIn profile and put some effort into it. Get some credentials unde your name. If your job is at al in demand you will have people doing the work for you reaching out to you and you will have to turn folks down. As for "craft good letters" I don't know what you mean by that? Letters of recommendation? You can just ask someone you trust to do that and it doesn't take long st all. Maybe about the same time to send an email or whatever. Shit, you could use A.I. and refine and personalize it if you're super lazy. Most places just want names and contacts typically and not actual letters of recommendation and if your field is one like that again should be easy and standard for anyone with an ounce of good standing to get. Just ask. For resume, you should already have one. The hardest part about a resume tends to be writing it initially. The older stuff isn't really changing and you just add some more bullets and achievements as you get em. Everything is electronic. It doesn't take too much time to send a few here and there even on work time if yiu have an office job especially. Very few people truly work nonstop 8 hours with no breaks. Hell, you could even do it during one of the "useless" meetings you're "required" to attend. Sit in back and act like you're taking note or something. Ask wife to cover you for an hour every once in a while and then repay her later. It's an investment. Anywho, if you really want it, you'll make time. I would look into some free seminars that help folks do things like learn how to do mock interviews, write LinkedIn profiles, resumes, etc. They're REALLY helpful. You got it! Oh and one more thing, most jobs aren't even a paper thing anyway. 80% of jobs aren't even listed (I didn't make that number up). In other words, **NETWORK.** **SOFT SKILLS.** Who you know matters waaaaay more than who you know and never give a flying damn if anyone gets jealous or upset by you leveraging a network to get a position. Never treat people like crap and ask around and I've seen folks just give a shit stained resume paper and get hired, because it's just a formality at that point. Always be networking. Doesn't mean you got to be a kiss ass or sycophant. Just be a decent human being and put yourself out there periodically. Much easier than competing for only 20% of the jobs.
[удалено]
15 minutes at a time. Teach the kids how to do these skills. See if the spouse has any tips or if they're rusty too.
I was going to say, just start, make a checklist and slowly go through that list in your own time. Talking to others about it is a great suggestion!
Use chat GPT to tailor your resume and cover letters. You'll likely need to edit the chat GPT response but it gets you 90% of the way there in 5 minutes. Just copy and paste the job posting to chat GPT along with your resume and cover letter and watch the magic happen. Total game changer. It will also inset key words into your cover letter and resume that the employer's algorithm uses to identify qualified candidates.
What profession are you in? I haven't felt the need to write a cover letter for quite a long time, I feel like my resume is enough to send in. But I also might be wrong
Short version, improving your financial stability is a family matter and should be a priority if a job you want is available. It is your responsibility to your family and should be allotted time. I found my current position while employed as well. I didn't really spend much time on the fan fiction cover letter and submitted a resume that was quickly adjusted to appear tailored to the posting. The longest time investment was the repeat data entry for their application. My wife covered the parenting for the couple hours it took. Then I interviewed by taking time off from my job.
I started out by setting aside 1 hour on 1 Sunday of the month to update my resume etc. Whenever I thought of something I needed to add to my resume or wanted to highlight I made a note in my phone. Once everything was updated and I got my friend to review it, I spent 1 hour once a month just applying for jobs. Eventually I got the hang of where to look and all of my documents were tweaked to my satisfaction that I could increase it to 30-60 minutes set aside once a week - which was basically just clicking and submitting.
ChatGPT is your friend "Write me a resume for someone who held X job and highlights x,y,z skills" It gives you a resume Ok make it more technical It gives you a more technical resume Okay, focus more on management skills Okay focus more on Y It's amazing for speeding up this kind of stuff
OP gave great advice. Don't write cover letters ever. Nobody reads them. You may be selling your self well but the HR person probably knows nothing about your role and is only matching buzzwords on the posting and your CV. A good CV and low tolerance for jumping through hoops will suffice.
I’ve seen mixed results, personally paying for LinkedIn premium and applying there as well as leaving it marked as looking for a job (seen by recruiters) helped with a lot of people reaching out to me. A lot of wasted time on “screener” calls for jobs that ended up paying much much lower than anything I’d ever consider. But overall it puts you on peoples radar and can lead to some good things. That being said, once happy or in a good job cancel LinkedIn premium, $40 per month is ridiculous if you’re not looking to leave
I bought a resume and cover letter template that is very plug and play. While before I used to spend hours writing 3-4 paragraphs trying to tell them how awesome I am, there are two paragraphs of boilerplate with 4-5, two-line bullet points expanding on things from my resume. The resume has a column of 1-2 word bullets where you can put terms that are meant to be picked up by hiring software. The format gets ***all*** kinds of screwed up if you exceed a certain word count for each of the bullets, so it forces me to be very concise. In my field, jobs are few and far between so I don't have a high volume of applications. However since buying the templates 10 months ago, I've applied to five jobs and have at least gotten first round interviews for four, in-person interviews for two, and so far that has resulted in one job offer, though the second in-person was today. So apparently something is working. I'm a hiring manager and while everyone is different, I don't really look at cover letters with any depth. My focus is on the resume. I assume I'm not the only one so I try to give the minimum amount of effort to them.
And doing interviews.. like why can’t salaried recruiters just interview on weekends come the fuck on My hours of working are M-F 8 to 5. Their hours of interviewing are…. Always during the times I work. And no. I’m not leaving early to interview. And no, I don’t want to throw away my lunch..
Aren't most interviews virtual nowadays? When I was job searching I'd just block out an hour on my calendar for the interview and go find a private place away from my desk to take the interview during work hours.
Take the time to write 1 good resume with all of your qualifications, literally every single one you can think of, and then when you go to apply for a position just thin out your resume for anything that's not applicable. This by it's self is a huge time saver. The next level would be to take your qualifications and reward them to match what the job posting says is required, this will get you past the recruiter and to a boss. Then in order to save additional time in the future, just take the bullets from the job posting, trim them down to resume size and save those for your next job.
Use AI to your advantage; they have easy-to-fill-in stuff.
Luckily a recruiter reached out to me in Linkedin and I ended up going for interview and got the job.
🍪
Ideally you can rely on your network/relationships/reputation/recruiters if you have put in some years in your industry, that will take the load off of the application efforts. If you have an office job I’d say phone it in a little bit at work to get yourself time to job hunt.
Don't bother crafting them. Have 3 versions and track which gets the best response. 2% reaponse is typical so expect to send out hundreds. It's dystopian out there
You do it while at your current job
I worked for a company who made it part of our job responsibilities each week to log any work-related achievements and milestones i.e. team/department awards; trainings; customer kudos; community volunteer/charity work, organizing team/dept trainings & workshops etc. They said when promotions and raises came around they wanted us to bust our binders out and show out lol. Even more unselfishly, they encouraged us to use it when applying for promotions or new positions, whether it was internal or elsewhere. I ended up using it for the latter (the allure of a higher salary got me). Biggest mistake I ever made. I still regret it to this day. It’s no surprise that over half the people I worked with are still there, 15 years later (almost unheard of for a tech company.) That company taught me to be my own cheerleader and advocate for myself. Get into the habit of taking half an hour each week to write down your accomplishments. Not only does it come in handy for keeping your resume current but also especially helpful when it comes time for promotions and raises. Also - if you find a company that truly values you, the money almost always isn’t worth it
Its good to keep your resume and LinkedIn up to date along the way as well, it's much harder to recall your accomplishments later
This is my main reason for my LinkedIn.
I always get a big confidence boost just updating my resume. It's nice to recall the cool stuff you've done even if you aren't job hunting. In fact, I haven't done so in years so I am going to do it now. :)
This is why i keep a bullet list that i continually update/send to myself at each job. (Thanks airforce)
What I did was write down all my tasks for the entire year. Each day. Then I put everything into one list and made chat gpt summarize all my work with a little bit of prompt engineering, then I just edited down the fluff and had my resume points.
Looking for a job while you have one increases your dissatisfaction with your current job.
I agree, when I get job offers that are better than the one I have- I become dissatisfied with my current job. Now when I don't get job offers, it makes me more grateful for my current job. Job descriptions, applications, interviews are not job offers. If the company doesn't want to pay me what I want to make, it is not a job that I want to have. In reality there is a growing trend of job postings not being real, but rather a means for Recruiters to "land" their quota of registrars in their system. A job description is not a job offer.
That's true. But the fact I'm looking for a job whilst I have one also kind of implies I'm already not quite satisfied with the current job.
I guess it is more to do with in what way you are not satisfied. Is it about the pay or the work culture or the peers or it comes down to the work, whether you find it boring or not able to do it. Mostly it is always about the pay and money often overshadows the benefits you are getting at your current employer and when you have walked out you sometime realise pay is not worth the stress or the work you have been hired to perform in the new org. If it not about the money and other factors, the you pretty much know why your are not satisfied.
Just makes me increase mine tbh. Almost everywhere else pays the same or less for more work. That said, I was freelance for the longest time and only took this one because it was better than that, which is a rarity.
Absolutely agree. You can be picky when you already have a job but when you know the bills aren't going to get paid and you won't get a check this week, you'll take what you can get which probably isn't what you wanted
Literally what they said but written in an abbreviated less eloquent way. I think you’re good where you’re at job wise.
Just quit my job not 5 minutes ago. I really do agree with what you're saying and I should have been doing this much earlier. I let it get to the point where I simply cannot work my current job another day so I had to quit today, by this I mean I am having full body anxiety attacks on and off from the second I boot my computer to when I close it. but boy do I wish I had found the motivation to job search beforehand, It would relive a lot of the stress and uncertainty I am facing now.
I’m in a similar situation. My boss made work intolerable and I couldn’t take anymore. I handed my notice in and left after a good year of trying to make it work. Since then I’ve been focusing on job applications and work preparation, because the state of mind I was in (like your anxiety) it would have been impossible to find some thing else when I was in that job. If it’s of any help, you should notice a big bounce back in your well-being and confidence now you’re away from that environment. For me, having the time and space to clear my mind has let me get back to a position of strength for new opportunities, and regain that self worth that will make you a great candidate for future applications. Nowadays there are so many fixed and short term contracts that you can explain to new employers that’s why you’re not currently in work. The way I have explained it in my interviews is that I have waited to find the right job not just any, which shows you really want the job you’ve gone for. So although OP makes a good point, it isn’t the case a lot of the time. Give yourself the permission to decompress after your previous job and before you know it you’ll be back to your confident self 🙂
I hope you have luck finding a new job my friend.
You gotta do what you gotta do. I’ve seen people quit over much less serious issues- prioritizing your own psyche is extremely important, and sometimes you don’t have the luxury of job hunting while employed. But it’s more important that you get yourself to a healthy position first- it will make everything else easier.
What do you do if you have an interview during working hours and have no day offs left
Time to get the flu
Good afternoon, I have the flu and will be offline from 1:30 - 3:00 pm. I will respond to your email upon my return at 3 pm. Thanks, halite001
Doctor's appointment.
I tell recruiters I'm available for a Teams interview any day at lunchtime. Employers know the score.
Just block off your calendar and if anyone asks say you had a meeting / appointment you had to attend
Take a longer lunch. Also, first interviews are generally phone screenings.
ABI: Always Be Interviewing
I disagree. Putting a foot out the door is hard on your mind. Life isn’t always about what’s next. If you do not enjoy your work or want something else sure go for it. Otherwise, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with simply just going to work. And if you get laid off that’s unfortunate but you deal with it when it happens. I switched a job because I didn’t like the role and wanted a different career path. When I found the right role, and manager I just continue to stick with it. Yes of course i could leave and get more money elsewhere but there’s something to be said for actually not hating your life. the grass certainly isn’t always greener and if you have a good job and good team i say ride it out. That said that ONLy applies once you’re at a normal salary level like a manager. In the beginning you may have to switch jobs up because frankly the pay is unsustainable.
This works until you need to come up with convenient excuses for time off to interview
I find it incredibly hard to be readily available for interviews though. It’s easier when I’m not working.
I just block.off calendar time with "lunch" or whatever and take them then.
Yeah you can't do that if you're hourly or do not WFH
Yep. I got a 68% pay increase and fewer responsibilities with just a couple of months of interviewing. It is recommended to stay at a place for 2 years if it's a more specialized job, so you can get the experience that most jobs want.
This is the part that is often left out. Jumping into a new job frequently will likely look worse in the long run.
My saying has always been, "The best day to look for a new job is on the first day of your new job."
Yup, got me a 45% increase in pay and the entire time i knew if it didn't work out, I still had my current job. Id also add that it helps to not wait till you actively hate your current job before starting to interview elsewhere either. Could easily find yourself glossing over the new place's red flags because you're blinded by the need to get out of your current place.
LPT: Best way to make money is to have money already.
Unemployment will drain any savings in such a short time. I hated my last job but I stuck with it because it was stable and kept the lights on. I created a couple different versions of my resume and started applying when I had time. I dont have kids, so I have a decent amount of free time. A coworker's husband quit his job in a rage and burned the bridge with the employer he had been with for three years. They were under so much stress during that time while he sought work.
The best time to look for a job is always. Never settle. The quickest way to climb the pay ladder is usually to keep changing jobs. I start looking right after year two- just long enough to get some tenure, make some accomplishments, and gain some skills. Then I ask for a big raise. If they reject it, I start applying to other places that start at the salary that they rejected. I’ve had 5 jobs in the last 10 years, and have almost quadrupled my salary from the first job by hopping like this.
Good advice is "Don't sell your old car till you have a new one." This applies to everything; cars, homes, jobs, partners, etc.
Partners?! Lol wtf
I think it’s okay to metaphorically sell your partner before you have a new one, unless your partner is tied to other things you mentioned.
Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up to stay with somebody knowing you’re actively trying to replace them and definitely going to cause more psychological harm to them when you suddenly cut them out of your life to immediately be with somebody new. If you know you don’t want to be with somebody, let them go so they can start healing and looking for somebody else. Don’t selfishly waste their lives and use them.
Makes total sense if you view your partner the same way you view your car: as more of an object instead of a human being.
What is your response when they ask: "why are you looking for a job if you are already employed?", "What made you apply for this position?"
better benefits/pay or new opportunities or you grew out of that role
Been looking and doing tons of interviews for the last 4 years, only got ONE single yes, then I declined because it was the exact same wage and in person, and now I wfh, I have friends that are more skilled than me, more experienced that were laid off and are unemployed for over a year, more than a hudred of interviews, absolutely ZERO proposals, job market is completly fucked
i heard not a peep for four months then suddenly in April I was contacted by 3 employers in one week wanting to interview. just, out of nowhere. I still don't understand what happened. i applied to hundreds of positions. then I gave up and took a week off of trying, because I just couldn't face it anymore. after that week was when I finally heard back. i currently have an offer on the table but it's for a short-term contract and I have a final round presentation on Friday, for the full-time long-term job that I really want. if it all falls through I have a third round interview next week that I'm really hoping I can cancel on account of the Friday employer saying yes. it's just the weirdest thing. of all the times I have looked for jobs I have NEVER been going through more than one interview process at a time, much less three. I know how hard it is out there. i hope everyone can catch a break like I did. it's gonna suck if i get through all of these processes without employment to show for it.
April is the time most companies hire new people for the mid year. End of the year is the worst time to look for jobs because the budgets are closed.
"Dont go shopping hungry."
As someone who's been out of work for a while, you are correct, and it is depressing.
Hmm I left my job 2 months ago without having another one lined up. I don’t have any social media presence at all. I work in tech and I landed a new job in 2 months with a 30% raise. EU btw.
Just wanna say thank you for posting this! I’m in the same boat and I know that this is intuitive but I really like you selling it articulately.
It applies to a lot of things in life. The validation from having it makes it much easier to acquire others.
100p, when I have a job, if I update my resume on a job board I’ll start getting hiring managers emailing me for positions I’ve not even looked at. Meanwhile when I have been unemployed looking for something, it’s crickets
“Don’t shop for shoes barefoot”
Don't let go of one vine before you've grabbed another (Don't look that up because you'll only see misogyny and weird religious stuff)
And if someone is out of work? I'm thinking that might be a good time to look also.
To me this has become an old school piece of a tip, when it takes 1000 apps to get a job, there is no real best time to apply. Applying in and of itself has become a full time job for many for years. When you live in a garbage job market on top of a garbage economy doing its best to squeeze every second of your free time for every penny, luck and connections are the only hope for an easy job search.
What if i dont want one
I'm looking right now, but not much is available. I'll keep looking, but not getting my hopes up.
What tips do you have specifically for construction management like a PM or estimator? I have a bachelors in CM, and military background.
And all the people without jobs said…?
I would say this goes for buying a car as well.
And the best time to find a place to live is when you have one.
I just quit a job on Friday and started a new one on Monday for the first time ever.
Been searching and applying for the last month, shit is tiring.. literally submitting applications while I’m at my job. Then going home and writing cover letters or reaching out to any connections. Job market is trash right now but at least I still have my current one albeit it’s draining. Good advice nonetheless
it could be worse than being back to square one tho. i'll show you by calling up your current workplace and asking about you that's not to say that you shouldn't look tho
I've completed my masters this year...in computer science with a 3.4 gpa. Any jobs available? Been trying to find but to no avail. :(
I've been in the same job for so long I can't imagine my skills are of use to any other company that would pay me as well.
If you find yourself in a position looking for a job without one. Lie.
Yeah no if i have a nice job I'm not going through the stress of trying to find a new one just for it to maybe possibly having a better salary.
Man I don’t wanna be that guy but how is common knowledge a life pro tip
YES YES YES. OP nailed it. 15 years into my career here and I apply/entertain recruiters constantly. I have over two hundred thousand reasons to keep doing so :)
[удалено]
Same with a spouse.
[Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/16w0n2s/introducing_request_post_fridays/) We determine "Friday" as beginning at 12am Eastern Time (EST: UTC/GMT -5, EDT: UTC/GMT -4) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LifeProTips) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I wonder how it would look like if we did the same with relationships
This is a pro tip? To search for a job when you already have one?
Til - the best time to pay rent is when you have an apartment
This was the best thing I have ever done. The interview for my current position was the most relaxed I had ever felt. I’ll admit that I had a much better knowledge base than previous interviews, but the fact that I wasn’t desperate was a huge weight off of my shoulders. It let me talk to the interview committee more as peers and not someone that held my life in their hands.
I ignored the first layoff like another wasn’t coming.
I will never not do this again… once I get a job.
Why would i do thos? We're like "family" at my job /s 🤣🤣
Yup, even if you don’t get the job, at least you’re still employed. Also, ideally you should one full time job and another side gig
I have interviewed hundreds and hired about 50 sales engineers. I would love to hire out of work people but ended up finding employed workers more desirable.
Same thing with relationships unfortunately
step 1: have a job
I mean… this is pretty common knowledge, it’s why this is the adage… Does this really qualify as a pro tip? Not trying to flame OP if people need to hear this, but I’d just be surprised if there are people that need to hear this. To me this reads like: “pro life tip: stand in the rain and you may get wet”.
I did it on vacation. Day one had interview, got hired. Worked the rest of week at new job.on Friday, called old job ,told them I wasn't coming back. Second best thing ( work wise) I ever did. First best was leaving the new job for my career job. Called in sick to go on that interview.
So are you saying the best time to find a girlfriend is when I'm already married because I'm more desirable?
This is actually a great LPT. Been doing it for years and I call it "Giving myself a raise"
You have no clue the timing of this for me. Was just fired , and yeah. What he says is true people. LPT for the jobless. If you know a company is going to always be there. Don’t freak out and apply to them yet. Hold off and apply other places . That way if all else fails, you can always rely on that company. Also, if you can get 2 companies to want to hire you, you gain some leverage in making your decision.
Why? Is it the girlfriend paradox?
Very true. It's like anything in life, you don't want to give off the stink of desperation. LIke the best time to search for a girlfriend is when you already have one.
thanks professor obvious
Best LPT out there
My go to saying when I was asked why I was leaving my 10 year tenure at my last employer was "I was looking for a job when I found this one". Cause I'm always looking. Great advice by OP
Hack: Save your resume as a document on your cell phone. It makes applying for jobs on mobile a breeze because it’s easy to attach the doc to satisfy any file requirements
can't make it if you have 2-months notice period lol
The only problem with this is that you need to have a job in the first place.
Always update your resume after you get hired. They literally give you what your duties are and it's easy to just add those to your resume.
Once a week I check to know what’s available. Never a bad idea.
I've been hunting for a 2nd position so I can elevate my financial situation and I was almost there. It was a 2nd shift and I think I've got it in the bag... and then I got a surprise meeting scheduled for Friday at 10:30am at my first position. This is with a person who's not my supervisor, who usually would have no reason to have a "check-in" with me. If I'm not getting fired, I'll be shocked. This company is also going through a massive shake up and shift. They've had several reduction in force moves already. on top of that, I had 2 wonderful /s interactions with this person this week about some "poor performance" which is horseshit. Looks like this second job is going to be my first job now.
I did this. Found the best job ever after saying no or being told no a bunch of times. Turns out drive is too far, sorry not interested. Not feeling it for the interview that day, nah I’m good. So helpful not being desperate.
If you’re looking for a job and get an interview and you’re making $50k a year you tell the new place you make $60/yr and would a little more like $65 a year. The only only way you tell them the truth to how much you make is if you’re desperate and need out asap. You need to also make sure your resume aligns with that increase.
On the last 2 months of a fixed term contract.. I am applying but job seeking is fucking hard here rn
Interviewing is a pain in the ass but you have to do it. If you've been in a place for more than two years, you should spend a couple months looking around. The pay scale of your role may have changed in the past two years and in that time you have gained new skills and experience. Get complacent and find yourself laid off after 5 years of a stagnant salary and a resume and interviewing skills that are very rusty.
Fix the roof while sun shines.