Felix_dup1 Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 With corporate layoffs being all the rage nowadays, and plenty of unemployed people (myself included) on these boards - does anyone have Job Hunt Stories with Happy Endings to share? What worked for you? Please share any worthwhile advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBBPaul Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 After being out of work for almost a year, I finally found a headhunter that actually works for a living. I sent out hundreds of resumes and did dozens of interviews. I had no less than 6 (six!) solid offers on the table where the funding for the position was pulled at the last minute. It's a miserable, degrading and frustrating experience. You have my absolute sympathy. On the other hand, I took a challenging position with a small company back in August and am looking to add a sales rep to my staff. Anyone in Wisconsin looking for sales work? Our new and improved website Today's sample tune: Lonesome One Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbayson Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 The week that my unemployment checks were to stop coming, my old boss called me. Asked me if I wanted to work for AOL. I said, "okay." I've been there ever since. Moral of the story: do nothing, and right when you're about to run out of money, someone will call out of the blue and offer you a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBBPaul Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Funny you should mention that. I started my new job the week my unemployment ran out. Our new and improved website Today's sample tune: Lonesome One Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by felix: [b]With corporate layoffs being all the rage nowadays, and plenty of unemployed people (myself included) on these boards - does anyone have Job Hunt Stories with Happy Endings to share? What worked for you? Please share any worthwhile advice![/b][/quote]Well... I have one. I was unemployed from Jan to Aug 2002. I was trying to get a job (I am an Industrial Engineer with a master degree in Business administration) in my former area (Materials management / purchasing) with absolutely NO success. The Mexican industry is in one of its worst crisis. I have been involved into music and technology for a long time. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to write some articles for Keyboard, EQ and ProSound News and to have my own forum in Spanish right here at musiplayer.com. All that freelance (and mostly unpaid) work got me "a name" in this industry... and that happened to help me on getting a full time job in a very nice company, right into the music technology area. ... and then, I guess this is just the kind of job I always wanted to do. You may try to visit all the "jobs" area in any music manufacturer's site. You might get something interesting too... Músico, Productor, Ingeniero, Tecnólogo Senior Product Manager, América Latina y Caribe - PreSonus at Fender Musical Instruments Company Instagram: guslozada Facebook: Lozada - Música y Tecnología www.guslozada.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug osborne Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 I was about four unemployment checks from living on the street, when I decided to take my "ace in the hole" job - selling hi fi. I started this job, stopped calling industry people, took my resume off the internet...and got a call out of the blue from the owner of the company that now employs me. This was from a referral from a common friend. Moral of the story: network, network, network. Doug Osborne Music on Bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salyphus Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 What Doug said. Networking is what it's all about. Almost every job I've ever gotten was through people who knew me and/or my work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie-brm Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Sal ©: [b]What Doug said. Networking is what it's all about. Almost every job I've ever gotten was through people who knew me and/or my work.[/b][/quote]I wasn't even going to bother reading the replies here because ain't that the truth? I was going to suggest if you want a job, it's a nice time of the year to go skiing. ????!!! There's more than one story of acquaintances sharing a chair lift or putting their feet on the same table with an entrepreneur or executive and coming home with a job, usually one they'd never get if it relied on their curriculum vitae. It's OK to tempt fate. Just don't drop your drawers and moon her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultravibe Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 I was working a dead end job at a deli and hating life. I had my resume up on Monster.com and had no leads. I also had reams of work from my past that I wasn't happy with, that just sat in archive format on my hard drives. Anyway, one day on a lark I uploaded tons of stuff to my website, linked it on my monster resume and added a few things to the resume. Within a week my resume views jumped by 90 and I had a job at the end of the week. On an even crazier note, that same week my girlfriend got a job in the same freaking building, same floor, working for my boss's best friend... weird. Andrew Mazzocchi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linwood Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 I got sick of playing in cover bands and doing lounge gigs about 10 years ago. I thought I wanted to make a living by writing music. I figure writing jingles might be an easy way to make some cash. So, I searched on the net and found a couple jingle houses and one of them was looking for a new composer to add to the staff. I had never done any jingles before so I quickly made up some clients and wrote/produced jingles for them and that was my demo reel. I sent it in to the company and long story short, I got the gig. Now I've got my own company and more work that I know what to do with. I wish I were doing something a little "more serious", but I'm thankful for what I have. I never have to really leave the house and money hits the mailbox every other week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I have a great, inspirational story in this regard. Keep in mind that it occured in March of 2000, right at the point that the economy was poised on taking a large dump. Things probably wouldn't have gone as well if it happened now. That March, I was laid off from Alesis, along with about twenty other folks in one day. It was a bad time then...the company was not doing well, and I was under tons of pressure. At some point, when they decided to stop marketing for awhile, it made no sense for them to have a guy like me around (even though I'd been there for about eight years). I don't blame them...the situation was what it was. The problem: my son was eight months old at the time, and my wife wasn't working. I was the sole income provider, and I suddenly had no income. For the first day or so, it was rough. Then, I dragged my depressed ass up and started making calls. Lots of calls. Calls to other manufacturers, to magazines, to dealers, to contacts in other industries, to headhunters. I won't bore you with the details, but in less than a week, I had five offers on the table. A week after that, I had thirteen offers. Great jobs, spanning the realm of marketing and sales positions in this and other industries (I have a pretty good track record). The wife and I talked about it and decided we didn't want to relocate at that moment. The funny thing was that when I called TASCAM, it wasn't to get a job...it was to get a reference from then TASCAM chief Gene Joly, since I'd heard through the grapevine that he was an admirer of my work at Alesis. But when Gene heard I was available, he made me an offer that met all of my needs, and I wouldn't have to move, either. So, three weeks after being laid off, my ass was back at a desk, doing the same job I'd been doing in the same industry I liked. And the rest, as they say is history. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I received my layoff notice two weeks before Christmas from TRW, where I was doing nuclear weapon safety work for the Air Force's Minuteman ICBM system. I really wanted to leave Utah at the time, and found a job as a refurbishment manager for jet airliners in Tucson AZ. I had no experience in that field but with a BS in ME and MS in IE, thought I had a chance. They had applications and interviews at a local hotel. As I was leaving, I looked in another conference room where Thiokol was doing the same thing. I wandered in, a cute gal asked me what kind of a job I was looking for, and I handed her my resume. She read it and said, "Two engineering degrees. Explosives experience. Systems safety experience. Fault tree analysis. Government/industry interface. Damn, we've been looking for someone like you!" The next day I received three phone calls from different managers at Thiokol, went out for interviews, and they even upped my initial salary offer when they found out I wanted to leave Utah (state income tax rates for single people is 45% of your federal tax rate). Got the job offer within two weeks, working on the Space Shuttle booster rockets (I'd always dreamed of working on the space program sometime in my life). I don't work for them anymore (they couldn't keep me busy enough, I can't stand just sitting around) but it was a neat job that just fell into my lap! A final note to those of you still looking. Networking is very important, but a lot of the "Find a job now" books say that answering ads in the newspaper is not worth your time, don't believe it! I've received two job offers over the years just by answering newpaper ads; take ALL options you have! Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Diss Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I'm in the unemployed group although I do have a job. I am only making $270.00 a week. Each week I take out $100.00 for my car payment ($370.00 a month) and I take out $75.00 a week for child support. This leaves me with enough money to buy gas for the next week of work. I'm a courier. I have been out of work from the Biotech industry since May now. If it wasn't for my wife I have no idea what I would be doing. I have a job but I really don't see any money from it so I feel like I work for free. I'm just waiting for something to come along-but not likely. So I play my guitar and try to stay focused on something like that which is positive. I've been through the depression, the hate-everything. I'm only ok right now because of this job. When will things turn around? I can't answer it but we can't give up hope. I apply, no call back, I interview no call back. Someday someone will. :cry: Maybe, maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Yeah, the year was 2002, a pretty decent bout of work in the same place as contractors. We (the local personnel, did well enough for the client that when the contract was taken over by another company, we were part of the package. I broke my left arm, found out it was because of bone cancer, went through all the chemo (while working) & a stem cell transplant. The client and company stood through it all. After being out for 5 months I got back to work. After just a short while things hit everyone & we were notified that our contract would not be renewed. The client was farming out their entire fleet operation, world wide to another company. Bang! Gone! I was out of work for 6 months in an industry that is usually pretty workable. I wrote and rewrote my resume, had it posted numerous places. Networked like crazy. Finally took a job that I really didn't want, long hours & 6 days a week, just to be working again. While going to work one morning, I got a call from the company I really wanted to work for. I'd been to several interviews, including with the corporate manager in charge of my field, liked their philosophy and the fact that they'd been around for 60+ years. Upshot of it is; If there is an Experience Unlimited affiliation in your Employment Developement Department, join it and be active in it. Make sure you lean yourself and your plusses so you can put a 30 second commercial together for yourself. Use it, or a paraphrased version as your introduction on your resume. Treat your job search as a real job. Network, Network, Network. Is this my dream job? No, but it's damned close. If the economy were better it would be better. Then, on the other hand, I'd rather get rich making music. My job is the next best thing and supports the freaking habit. (music) Good Luck & don't ever give up. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotown Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by eljefe: [b]Moral of the story: do nothing, and right when you're about to run out of money, someone will call out of the blue and offer you a job.[/b][/quote]That's what I always do! But on a serious note; As has been stated earlier, network. Call/talk to everyone you know, or can think of who might be able to help. I know this will sound trite and corny to some of you, but: "God works through people". When you are down and out, or down on your knee's praying for a break; Know that what is gonna pull you out is a smiling face, or a helping hand, of another human. Great stories. And for those stll unemployed, hang in there. Jotown:) "It's all good: Except when it's Great" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Diss Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Hey-How's the job situation? Are you working yet? I did something different yesterday in search for a job. I went to a place I worked at in 1996-I walk in and there's my old manager. He seemed happy that I walked in and told me to call him if I didn't hear from him by next week. The guy was always running and never remembered anything. Anyway, it's basically doing security work-it's at a rehearsal studio so I get to sit around and play all night-I just watched the cameras. So man wish me luck and I wish you the same-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted February 3, 2003 Author Share Posted February 3, 2003 I'm still waiting to hear back on some things. If I'm lucky, I'll know something this week. One thing's for sure - the people involved in hiring are NEVER in anywhere near as big a hurry as the person who wants the job. I'm sticking with the networking, networking, networking technique. My wife would probably like to see me responding to more job listings on the internet and in the newspaper, but for now I'm continuing to work my active leads, rather than sending out bulk mailings of my resume. Hope everyone is having luck. The purpose of starting this thread was to offer anyone interested some positive success stories and perhaps some useful job hunt advice, rather than all of us just complaining about us being out of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roto Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Dammit! I was hoping for some magic formula, but I haven't seen one yet. Looks like the same old know the right people, be in the right time at the right place kind of thing. I'm not unemplyed now, but when I have been finding a job hasn't been one of my skills :p Last time I was looking it was months of having a tough time just getting an interview. Then out of nowhere I got 3 offers in the same week. And I think anyone who says not to bother with the classifieds is being foolish. There may be a lot of competition for the job, but it doesn't take much effort to send a resume. I don't think I sent a cover letter or anything for my current job because there wasn't much info in the ad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by felix: [b]One thing's for sure - the people involved in hiring are NEVER in anywhere near as big a hurry as the person who wants the job.[/b][/quote]You said a mouthful there, Felix! Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 Well, while I was waiting to hear back on what I felt was nearly a "sure thing," I heard back from a company I'd been talking to previously. And to make a long story short, I got a job. Oh, and I still haven't heard back on the "sure thing." Job hunts are quite the roller coaster ride, aren't they? What worked for me? I decided to stay in the industry where I was previously working, and focus on jobs that were similar to my previous experience. I figured that in today's job market, that was probably my strongest selling point. I stayed in touch with potential employers, following up every 2-4 weeks. I continued to network to try to seek out other opportunities that I didn't already know about (what's the statistic - 80% of all job openings are never advertised)? Much to my wife's chagrin, I never cast the wide net of applying to newspaper classifieds or Monster.com job postings. I stayed pretty stubborn about what industry I wanted to work in, and I'm ultimately relieved that something happened for me. So my 4-month job hunt has come to a close. I hope some of the other unemployed folks here at SSS and the other Musicplayer forums are having some similar luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Congrats, Felix, we'll hoist one tonight in your honor! :thu: :thu: :thu: Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 DUUUUUDDDDEEEE!!!!! WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY!!! Freaking feels good, don't it? :D Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frunobulax Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Glad to hear you landed one, I'm sure it's a relief. Just thought I'd add my story to this already long list. I was out for 6 months having worked as a software design manager for many years. Recommended by a friend, I got a job designing firmware last August - getting my hands dirty and polishing old skills. Less money than my old job, but infinitely more than being out of work. Plus, I don't have to deal with people problems, and I go home at 5 to my family (and studio). I've also got a couple of side projects (software - not music related) to fall back on should the unthinkable happen again. To those still looking, I only have all the same trite advice. Keep your attitude up. Keep normal work hours. Your networking contacts are everybody you've ever met. Get the "what colour is your parachute" book - it's not bad. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Diss Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Congrat Felix-that old manager never came through for me. I have had three temp places in the last week or so tell me I was wanted for a position and they all fell thorugh. Today I'm waiting to hear from a job in the music field---my fingers are crossed. The moneys not good but it will be ebtter than what I am doing now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Diss Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Ok, how's this one for you. I got a call to begin a temp job on Monday. Immediately after I get the call from the music store for numbers to check my references. Plus I am waiting back from another music store who will make their decision about me today...One day I can't get one, then all of a sudden it begins to happen... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Compact Diss: [b]One day I can't get one, then all of a sudden it begins to happen... :confused: [/b][/quote]It always happens that way. :) Nice to have choices, though. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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