The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Career (the answer is quite depressing)
Image courtesy of Unsplash
I first published a version of this article in September 2021. The world has changed drastically since then and I have much more to say on the topic. First, a rundown of the jobs I have had in my life and how I got them.
I’ve had quite a few jobs in my life. I was qualified for them all, but that’s not why I landed them. I got my first job at a motel where I cleaned rooms. Yes, I said motel. It was weird and small-town and boring and I was 16. My sister had also worked at the motel in high school, so when I walked in to see if they would hire me, I name-dropped her. They liked her, so they hired me too.
My next job was working for a local small business that my Dad frequented. He knew they were needing to hire some help, so he said, “Hey…. my daughter is looking for a job this summer”. I worked for them all through college.
I worked at a fast-food place on campus. My roommate also worked there. I name-dropped her, and you can guess what happened next. Cha chiiiiing.
My partner had an interview for an internship in grad school. They mentioned they were also looking for someone to run their social media, website, graphic design (all the things I went to school for/know how to do). My partner mentioned me, and the next thing I knew, I was the one working there.
Another job I got was because my partner’s schoolmate’s boyfriend managed a hardware store and they needed help.
I took an unpaid internship for a couple of months (as I had the privilege of my partner making mostly enough money to support us, and honestly I was pretty desperate at this point to do anything resembling “work”). One of my coworkers told me that his second job was hiring. This was instrumental to my career. I have been at this company for 6.5 years now, in multiple positions. I never would have known about the job had I not taken that unpaid internship. Thanks to that, I finally have a retirement account, PTO, and stability.
I have applied for hundreds of jobs, mostly online. I rarely get interviews, and never get offered the jobs. Well, except for one at a local salon. The job was doing customer service, website & social media management, graphic design, client scheduling, cleaning the rooms, and any other random tasks they could come up with for me to do. They wanted to pay me $12 an hour as a contractor. Meaning I’d be making like $7 an hour after hefty self-employment taxes. That’s insulting to a 28-year-old with plenty of experience, frankly. Or anyone at any age. I declined the offer. They were shocked, somehow.
The only jobs I ever got “by myself” were low-wage customer service positions. The kind that will hire you no matter who you are, and/or whose business model can only survive by offering exploitative pay and no stability.
This isn’t to say that I wasn’t qualified for all these jobs I’ve had. No, I was probably overqualified for most of them. But I never would have had the chance to be noticed if I were just a string of data on the computer.
When I see the headlines recently about businesses not being able to find workers, many thoughts run through my head (why would you want to risk your life for minimum wage during a pandemic, millions of people have died and therefore cannot work anymore, employers are not offering a living wage, long-covid is a disability no one wants to talk about, etc).
My current employer hires a lot of people from employee referrals. Yes, that also brings up some moral complications that we could get into #nepotism, but that’s for another day. It does at least mean that we’re a good place to work and/or pay well, so the employees are happy to pass along the job opening to their friends/family/network. I don’t like that this is how it works. I would love it if we all got the jobs we are qualified for based on our resumes alone. I’d love it if the computer systems didn’t rule out the resumes that aren’t formatted correctly or don’t have the exact right years of experience. It would be great if hiring managers didn’t have unconscious biases (or sometimes conscious, unfortunately) against the perceived gender or race of an applicant. It’d be nice if you didn’t have to already know the right people to get the job, so I even asked ChatGPT how to find a new job. Here’s what it said:
Finding a job can be a daunting task, but with a strategic approach and some effort, it can be manageable. Here are some steps you can take to find a job:
Determine what type of job you are looking for: Consider your skills, interests, and experience to identify the type of job you want to apply for. This will help you focus your job search efforts and target specific industries or companies.
Update your resume and cover letter: Your resume and cover letter should highlight your skills, qualifications, and achievements relevant to the job you are applying for. Make sure to tailor them to each job you apply for and ensure they are error-free.
Use online job search platforms: There are many job search websites and platforms, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor, where you can search and apply for jobs. Create an account on these platforms and upload your resume to increase your visibility.
Network: Reach out to your network, including friends, family, and former colleagues, to let them know you are looking for a job. Attend job fairs and industry events to meet people who may be able to help you find a job.
Apply for jobs: Once you have identified job openings that match your skills and experience, apply for them. Make sure to follow the application instructions carefully and submit all the required documents.
Prepare for interviews: If you get called for an interview, prepare for it by researching the company, practicing common interview questions, and dressing appropriately.
Follow up: After an interview, send a thank-you note to the interviewer to express your appreciation for their time and reiterate your interest in the job.
Remember that finding a job can take time, so stay positive and persistent in your job search efforts. Good luck!
I was pleasantly surprised at the recommendations it generated. None of them are wrong, per se, but I think they are outdated for 2023. Some researchers and cultural consultants even predict the end of careers as we know them. It’s no longer realistic or sustainable to expect to do the same job or stay in the same industry for your entire 30+ year career. The nuclear family is changing, young adults are living at home for longer and longer, housing costs are skyrocketing, people are having less children than ever before…. it just seems all too exhausting at times to bother writing a cover letter. The AI technology that most recruiters use is going to filter out “unqualified” applicants anyways, based on their resumes.
Depressed yet?
Disclaimer: some text in this story was generated using ChatGPT.
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