How I Do My Job Search

Despite my continued unemployment, I do receive compliments from other job seekers on my job searching ability. Like most things in life, I try to be efficient, thorough and meticulous with my job search. I thought it might make sense to outline my steps, especially for those who are still stuck in this seemingly never-ending cycle.

It should be no surprise, that there are two main traits you need to have -- organization and persistence. I'm going to go through my entire process.

The key element (for me) is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which is my Bible for the task. I have several columns - date (for when I first find the job), location (whether Long Island, NYC or somewhere else), company name, position title, URL/source (I just cut/paste the website address or enter in where the source originated).

Those are all the details I enter BEFORE applying to the job (I fill in more after applying - that'll appear later in this post).

Each day, I run through my gmail account and my google reader account. I'll probably get 15-30 emails a day of job searches and leads, and I'll see anywhere from 800-1200 jobs a day in google reader (again, not all are matches; when you're looking for something as ubiquitous as "communications" you do get an awful lot of jobs that really don't fit; just because they require the applicant to have good "communications" skills).

I've done several posts about using RSS feeds to speed up your job search, and -- while I won't rehash those tips here, I will show just how dramatic the effect can be. On a given week, I'll see, perhaps, 6000 jobs through google reader (and a bunch through gmail, as well). I can do my search in 30-45 minutes each morning, checking out the relevant positions and entering it into my spreadsheet.

Conversely, if I were to go to each website on my own, not relying on RSS feeds or the shortcuts I outline, how long would it take me? I probably have 400-or-so sites that I check. Even if it took me 90 seconds per site (an incredibly quick amount of time), that would still be 10 hours! To do that daily would be suicide; to do it weekly would still be nearly double the time it takes me to check my RSS reader on a daily basis. There's no comparison.

Okay, let's move on to the job-sending day. I send resumes out once a week; sometimes twice a week, depending on the number of positions. I, obviously, do one more check of gmail and google reader and then, regrettably, I have about 35-40 sites that simply offer NO feeds nor option for email alerts ... okay I'll check those sites manually.

I'll then send out follow-up emails to those companies I wish to follow-up with, from the week before. I'll explain how I get that information, in a little bit.

Off to the races - my LEAST favorite part of the job seeking cycle! I have a cover letter that I quasi-customize for each role. I have bullet points that I can alternate, depending on the position's responsibility; and I have a few key paragraphs I can either add or delete, depending on the industry; for the most part, though, the bulk of my cover letter remains static -- why wouldn't it? It's about me; and I don't change all that much. I, obviously, change the company name, the position name and where I saw the job.

I used to have multiple resumes; but I really don't any longer, since all my jobs that I apply for, basically, ask for the same skill set. Once I apply, I begin filling in the rest of my spreadsheet. I include the date that I applied for the job, how I applied (whether via email or online application), whether I want to follow-up in a week (totally contingent on two factors - my interest in the role *and* my ability to get an email address to send a follow-up letter), whether I want to follow-up indefinitely (this is more a case of -- I *really* want this job, and I'm going to hunt to find some contact information so I can reach out again), the person's name to whom I'm applying (if I have it) and his/her email/phone number.

And that's it. I do leave one column there for "outcome" - although the vast majority have nothing in it. Certainly, I get my share of rejections; but most companies simply don't even acknowledge the resume submittal. I do, however, list the status of the job -- so whether it's a phone interview, an in-person interview, etc. At any given moment, though, I can find out if I've applied to a company before, whom I spoke with, how many interviews I've had (55, between in-person and phone, although, that will be up to 59 by next week).

The system works pretty well; and -- more importantly -- if the Department of Labor was ever interested in auditing my job search, I have more information available than they usually request; all of which makes the process more worthwhile.

Does this help get a job? Obviously, I'd say "no." I have the most organized job search I know, and it doesn't help. It does help keep my mind focused and enables me, in a moment's notice, to see the status and contacts I've made (and, whether I've applied for a position already -- in some cases, the fact that it's being advertised again is hint enough that I didn't get it!) And, more importantly, it saves time -- despite being unemployed, there are a million things to do, just in terms of getting a job (let alone the things life demands of you). Any savings in time; any process efficiency is worth it.

I'm always interested in hearing suggestions/recommendations from others, so don't be shy; share!

Why Networking Matters

I’ve put off writing on my blog for a while. And, as such, this may be a little long; but it’s definitely important, which is why I’ve promoted it like crazy (via email, etc.).

Despite my last post, where I indicated that I was staying upbeat, it’s been difficult. I’ve recently started doing a little freelance work, just to supplement my unemployment, although it’s not what I’d prefer to be doing. I definitely do want/need a full-time permanent position.

Some of you have been quite helpful, and that’s great. I’m definitely appreciative of any help I receive in terms of recommendations. I’ve been fortunate enough to read some of the recommendations, and they’re humbling, to be sure.

I wanted to take the opportunity to do a few things here, though. First, if you’re not already connected with me on LinkedIn, please do that – it’s a fantastic resource, and you can access my entire history/resume. It’s also easy enough, then, to forward my resume/profile on to others.

You can access my profile on LinkedIn here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cjpalermo, and then, just request to add me to your network.

And that’s really the crux of what I want to talk about here. Again – I’m always appreciative of any help I receive, and I’ve been fortunate to receive some good help so far.

For those that don’t know, I send out a list of all the companies I’ve applied to, and the titles of the positions, each week, to a series of social networks to which I belong. Then, people look at that list, and say, “oh, I know someone at this company” and – sometimes – they’ll reach out to that person and try to help grease the wheels for me.

And, that’s great – really, it is. There hasn’t really been a situation where it’s worked out, yet; but I have to believe, at some point, someone will reach out and it will make the difference.

But, in all honesty, that’s not networking. Networking needs to be more proactive. While reaching out after I’ve submitted a resume can be helpful, it’s far more helpful to reach out before the job is available!

It’s hard to hear, “oh, I know so-and-so at Company ABC, and I see you just put in a resume there; I’ll reach out.” It would be infinitely more valuable to have made that contact earlier.

So, for example, if you know someone at a particular company – someone high-up, a director/VP/president, etc. – it’s far more valuable to make the introduction for me ahead of time, and allow ‘me’ to become a contact of that person. Then, periodically, I can check in with that person and see about openings that might be coming up. And, of course, if a job DOES appear, I already have an inside track to someone in the company.

And, these people could be anyone – professional contacts, your neighbors, your children’s friend’s parents … there’s no limitation to where a contact could originate.

That being said, if you don’t already see my weekly list of jobs/applications, and you’d like to, let me know. In addition to posting it on social networks, I send out an email to those people who don’t have ready access to my networks, and I’d be happy to add people (in addition, I can provide a list of the positions that are “pending” right now).

A few months ago, I wondered what I should be doing – should I continue with communications? After all, I won an award for my work – but, the offers aren’t exactly banging down my door. Should I move to something less creative (where I have a pretty good set of skills; but no real experience) – like retail management, or something similar? Should I move to something fully creative and start to explore the likelihood of doing fiction writing (and, of course, suffer the wrath of my wife, along the way!)

One thing is for certain, I have experience and accomplishments in the world of communications and its ancillary tasks, like public relations, etc. Again, feel free to check out my LinkedIn profile, to get more insights as to what I do.

We’ve come to realize that moving off Long Island may be an option, and it’s one we’re looking into. For the right opportunity, anything is possible. There are definitely areas we’d prefer to head towards – Lancaster, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; upstate-ish New York; and parts of Canada (Hamilton/Toronto, etc.).

Again, though, for people interested in helping me move to those areas; there’s already one big strike against me, in that I’m not living there already (and, companies are gun-shy about candidates from out of the area). It’s far more helpful to get actual leads – contact people who have hiring responsibilities – than it is to just get job listings. Listings are good too; of course; but nothing beats leads and contacts.

Just to reiterate, three key things:
1. Please connect with me on LinkedIn, if we’re not linked already.
2. Proactive networking is far more helpful.
3. Let me know if you want to be included on my weekly email list of jobs I’ve applied to. You never know when there will be a match, and – I’m also well aware – it only takes one match to get an offer (and, I’m not greedy)!

Thanks for reading all this. As always, I’m grateful and appreciative for any help anyone can offer!

Welcome, Fall... Where I'm at in my life

The past year (almost, actually - it's been nearly 11 months since I was laid off) has been a slew of emotions for me, obviously. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the plight of the unemployed is never easy to gauge. I've run the gamut from enthusiasm to depression, and I'm still not sure where I'm going to end up.

More than anything, the past year has been educational and illuminating. I've learned quite a bit about myself and the job search process.

I've learned that I'm an outstanding grocery shopper -- routinely, I'm able to 'save' more than I spend at the store. In fact, I almost consider it my personal challenge at each store. As some know, my wife's overtime was cut the same day I was laid off, and -- even with that significant decrease in income -- we were able to not accumulate debt and, in fact, paid off any existing debt (although, frankly, that ship has sailed now).

I really haven't felt like we've need to do without a lot -- we eat, we have shelter, we have our health. We cut back our spending considerably, and, although we probably would return to the old ways somewhat, I never see us extending ourselves the way we were again. I focused more on friendships and games, and doing things that bring me joy without requiring a whole lot of spending.

I've experienced unprecedented apathy on the part of hiring companies. I completely understand companies not contacting each applicant; but, in my opinion, once the person is called for an interview, the company should eventually let the candidate know. More recently, the newest phenomenon has been for companies to not even *reply* to emails/inquiries about my status. Even more astonishing, people that send me an email, asking me to schedule a follow-up interview; and then never reply to my emails!

It's a far different time now than when I used to go on interviews and knew I would be hired, quickly. There's just a lot of people out of work now.

I've often said that my skills are transferable to any industry, any company; and that I don't even necessarily have companies that I'd like to work for -- and, while that's still largely true, there are certainly some companies I'd love to work for, I think.

• Amtrak
• Long Island Rail Road (I *love* trains)
• Elias Sports Bureau
• Anything to do with high school sports

While some of those are unrealistic -- the salaries would be dwarfed by my unemployment claims each week -- it is nice to see that I'm identifying some interests (although, I would easily be equally devoted to any company that hired me!).

And each passing day, what I once saw as a potential now becomes more of an inevitable. The likelihood of us having to put our house up for sale looms ever larger. The prospect of relocating to another area is more realistic every day. And yet, I still stay upbeat. I still stay optimistic. I fully realize that it just takes ONE phone call; ONE lead from my network of friends and colleagues.

I walked outside this evening -- I absolutely love this weather; a brisk, windy, drizzly evening, more reminiscent of late October than late August -- and I realized, even as bad as things get, I still have my health. I still have my wife. I still have my family.

I'm going to be okay.

Why You Should be Using RSS - the final update

Another friend of mine recently lost her job, and I directed her to my blog to read about how to set up RSS feeds to scour the 'net for job leads. I then realized, I hadn't updated my tutorial with the final information I used. So, once again, in its entirety, here is the definitive guide on using RSS feeds (mainly for job searches, but the mechanics are used for anything).


If you're not already using RSS feeds, hopefully, this post will be revolutionary for you. But, it's important to tread lightly ... RSS feeds are addicting. I'm also going to warn you - this will be a fairly lengthy post.

In simple terms, RSS feeds enable you to be notified when websites/webpages you want to follow are updated. It's that easy. There's no need to worry about the technology or anything like that.

When Internet browsers first began, we had these great little tools called "bookmarks" - where you could return to a site and check out new content. If you're like me, you bookmarked and bookmarked and bookmarked -- so much that it's impossible to keep up with everything.

So, RSS feeds allow me to be notified when there's new content. Now, rather than me having to waste my time checking on the sites, I can check out the content in one place, only when it's updated. It's a huge win-win!

STEP 1: Get a Reader
RSS feeds are essentially code. You need a reader to be able to read them. Thankfully, a reader makes everything easy. There are several options, but I'm going to recommend Google Reader. There's only a few drawbacks to Google Reader (and, most of the alternatives have them, as well). The positives are enormous:

1. It's portable - you can access it anywhere
2. It's not going anywhere -- Google is here for the long haul
3. You have a lot of control over the organization of your feeds

As you can see from the image, I have my feeds organized into several folders - Jobs, Friends, Communications, Business Writing, etc. You control how to organize the feeds (and, it's pretty intuitive).

Next to each 'folder', is the number of unread messages in the folder (including all the feeds you've placed in there). You can also click on the + sign next to the folder to show all the individual feeds, and select just ONE of the feeds in the folder to view.

When you click on one of the folders, you'll get all the posts. If it's bolded, it's unread. Easy again. If you've clicked on the main folder, you'll see the feed name to the left of the post (so you know where it came from); if you select just one feed, that column is missing (obviously).

And that's it - that's all there is to reading in Google Reader. You can select to see a list (my preference) or a detailed look (where the entire body of the post is displayed). As you scroll down, you'll continue to load items (so you can see all the unread posts). I like the list because I can normally tell from the subject line whether I want to read the post. Once I'm done with a folder, I click on the "Mark all as read" button, and the folder is refreshed. Nothing is deleted -- you can always go back and hunt for something, or you can search using the search tool.

STEP 2: Start adding feeds
In the early days, it was hard to find RSS feeds, as there were several standards. Today, there's one icon, which makes it easy. If you're using Firefox as your browser (and, if you're not, you should be), 99% of the sites with RSS feeds show the symbol in the location bar (where the URL is located). The rest of the time, it'll be somewhere else on the page, but almost ALWAYS with this symbol.

Blogs, by their design have RSS feeds. Most older-established websites don't (but, I'm going to tell you how to work with them, too).

So, that's it - find content, add it, read it, enjoy. I'd recommend starting with this blog!

STEP 3: Organizing your feeds
Once you've added feeds to Google Reader, you'll want to organize them, so similar topics are together. This, too, is easy. On the bottom left of the screen is a link for "Manage subscriptions." You'll see a list of all your feeds. Pick one and to the far right there'll be a pull-down menu to "Add to folder." You'll select the option for a new folder, which you can then name. The feed will be automatically placed there.

You can either manually add all your feeds that way or you can drag-and-drop them in the main screen. Again, the emphasis is on simple. Always.

STEP 4A: Advanced Steps
So, once you've moved past the basics, you'll eventually come to crave content on pages that *don't* offer an RSS feed (and, yes, sadly, those sites do exist). What to do?

Well, there are three different options that should address MOST of the needs. They take a few steps to set up, but ultimately, they're easy enough to execute.

The first is Twitter. Twitter is a steady stream of information, from your friends. Interestingly, you can do a search for information and secure an RSS feed; and you can grab an RSS feed from your friends (but you can't get an RSS feed from a list; and, even the third-party apps won't let you create one from a private list -- just so you know).

You'll need to use another site -- FreeMyFeed -- to capture your Twitter feed. Obviously, you can't reply or post to Twitter from GoogleReader, but you can, quickly, read the posts and click the post to head over to Twitter to post or reply from there.

After attempting to add the feed to Googe Reader, copy the RSS feed text from twitter and then, head over to FreeMyFeed. Paste that text and add your user name and password. FreeMyFeed will generate a new, NON-authenticated feed for you, which you can then add to Google Reader.


STEP 4B: More Advanced Steps
And, what if you can't get an alert from the page? Again, there's a way around that, as well. And, it requires another service.

(Early warning: Google Reader recently launched a service that they claim will provide an RSS feed to any page that doesn't have one - don't believe the hype. It doesn't catch every change on the page, and it doesn't tell you *what* changed on the page; just that the page has changed. The jury is out on this one).

But, thankfully, there is another option. Copy the URL of the page you want to track (and, this is important, here, you're tracking the individual page, not the whole site ... so, if there's multiple pages on the site you want to track, you need to do this for each of them). Head over to ChangeDetection and sign up for an account. You can then follow the steps to add the page to be monitored. After you set up the page, select the "RSS only" notification on the next page before finalizing the monitor.

On the home page of ChangeDetection, in the upper left, under "My Account", you'll see a link for an RSS feed. Click on that, and choose to NOT have it password protected (thus cutting out the FreeMyFeed step). At the bottom, there's text for the RSS feed. Copy that text and - on the Google Reader page towards the top, under the Google Reader logo, you'll see an option to "Add a Subscription." Paste the text there and add your feed to whatever folder you want.

The best part of this - each monitor you have will generate its own post (so, you won't have to scroll through all the monitors ... each one is its own thread in Google Reader). When you access the notification, you'll select the option to "show the change log" and then, when you arrive back at the ChangeDetection site, select the date you want to check for (most likely, the most recent, if you're checking this every day).

What you'll see is a snapshot of the page with all the changes clearly marked. Additions to the page are shown in yellow; deletions are shown with strikethrough text. It's that easy -- instantly, you can see exactly what changed on every page.

I know this sounds confusing, but it's infinitely easier in practice. And, thankfully, more and more websites are using/embracing RSS technology. Another caveat, though -- this is useful for pages that are mostly static (for example, I wouldn't use it for twitter - the page changes way, way too often for this to be useful).

STEP 4C: The Most Advanced Steps
Okay - deep breath now. An earlier version of "social media" included mailing lists (like yahoogroups and LinkedIn (which, embarrasingly, is WAY behind the curve on RSS feeds)). I actually got in trouble for trying to secure RSS feeds from yahoogroups a while back, so I needed to find a new way to handle things, and -- thankfully -- I did. However, it doesn't involve RSS feeds (which are non-existent), so here's how I handled it...

I already had a gmail account. Obviously, I could easily set up multiple accounts for each subject (and I could have job-related messages go to one; and boardgame-focused messages go to another, etc.), but that means signing in and out of gmail repeatedly, and I like having a single sign-on.

So, I did create multiple accounts and used different email addresses for each 'type' of message (in other words, any message boards (LinkedIn and some yahoogroups) that focused on job-seeking has ONE email address; boardgaming-focused message boards use a completely different email address).

Within the new email address, head to "settings" and then, to "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" -- you want to enable POP for all mail. Once you've done that, you can sign out and head back to your main account -- you won't need to visit the old account again.

Now, in the main address, head to "settings" - first, go to "labels" and create a label for each type of conversation -- so, for me, I have "gaming" and "jobseeking." All you're doing here is setting up labels - one for each of the other email addresses you're using.

Here comes the tricky part. Go to the next tab, "Accounts and Import." Midway down the page, you'll see "check mail using POP3" - since you've already enabled POP on your other account, you can do this.

Enter your email address (you know this already), and hit 'next step'. On the next tab, you'll be asked for your password. The POP server for Gmail is "smtp.gmail.com" and the port is 995.

Leave the first box (leave a copy of the retrieved message on the server) UNCLICKED.
CLICK the second box (use SSL)
CLICK the third box and select the label you want to associate with this email address
CLICK the last box to archive the messages

When you're done, what will happen is this - every time a new message goes to your other email address, it'll be saved there. Once every 20-30 minutes (I think) your main email address will reach out to that other email address and PULL in any email that has arrived. When it pulls it in, it will automatically assign it to a label, it will place that mail into the folder with that label (which you can see from the front page) and it will archive it, so it doesn't hit your main inbox.

If you use a program like mailwasher, like I do, it won't show up, so your main inbox remains uncluttered. Then, much like an RSS reader (see how we come full circle?) you can check those other folders as you wish. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close; and I haven't gotten yelled at since then!

STEP 5: Enjoy!
And that's everything. With this tutorial, you can add RSS feeds, you can access email alerts through your feed reader and you can get RSS-like updates on changes.

For me, the impact has been major. Just in checking for jobs, I'll receive nearly 6000 job postings every week and I can get through them in about 20 minutes each day. These listings come from around 250 different sites ... it would be impossible for me to check them all each week without RSS feeds.

Remember though, like nearly everything else on the Internet, with the exception of Google Reader, many of these hacks/workarounds are flighty - they won't necessarily be around forever. Many of the tools touted by websites just 2-3 years ago are now gone, so keep that in mind.

Let me know how you like using RSS and Google Reader, and - by all means - let me know if you have questions. I've barely scraped the surface of what you can do with these tools; but the best thing you can do is just play around until you find what works best for you!

Away for a Week

Folks,

I'll be away this next week, at the World Boardgaming Championships, in Lancaster, Pa. You can follow my progress via my examiner.com column on boardgaming.

When I get back, we'll have a return to some communications/technology-based columns, as I give my final wrap-up RSS feed tutorial, and I'll also be reviewing a recent local viewing of the play Rent, with an analysis of some of the characters.

See ya in a week (or so).