Sunday Open Thread

[lannamichaels]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Sunday Open Thread! This is a weekly place for open discussion about how things are going right now.

And if you don't have anything going on right now you'd care to talk about, our alternate discussion topic is: If you could change any one thing about the job hunting process, what would it be?

Have any suggestions for future open threads or ways to make this comm better? Leave them in comments! :)

Comments

[lannamichaels]

So last week I got all prepared to apply for an awesome job, including spending days on a cover letter based on advice from Ask A Manager... and the job application didn't want a cover letter. I should have seen that one coming.

If I could change any one thing, based on my current frustrations, it would be the complete lack of feedback or hearing things back. I do applications, send it out into the ether and never hear a damn thing back most of the time. I get an automated e-mail sometimes that my application was received and then, nothing. Nada. It is extremely frustrating. How hard would an automated "you were not selected" or "we have chosen not to fill this position" or "kilroy was here" be?

[rymenhild]

Oy. I reuse and alter my cover letters all the time, though; once I've written a sentence, it has a good chance of coming back in the next letter for a semi-similar job. The work is not entirely wasted.

Two job applications sent out this week, and one anxiety dream in which I had to fly back again to the university where I got my original flyback, and I forgot to practice my brief summary of my dissertation so I completely blanked in front of the search committee and the other candidates.

Why does job-searching and waiting to hear back from jobs take so much time? That flyback interview (the real one, not the dream) was in early January. Over two months since then, and nothing but crickets from the committee.

[lannamichaels]

Why does job-searching and waiting to hear back from jobs take so much time? That flyback interview (the real one, not the dream) was in early January. Over two months since then, and nothing but crickets from the committee.

:( I hope you hear back soon.

[msilverstar]

I got some refusals, just generic "your experience doesn't fit our needs" kinda things. I'm pretty sure they were automated, but it's better than nothing.

[lavendertook]

I had an interview this week and it went all right, but the commute was awful--an hour on crowded 4 lane, pot-holed highways at mid-day, which probably translates to at least 90 minutes even more packed a drive at rush hour. I woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and feeling like I was hit by a truck, even though I hadn't had to make any sudden brakes. I guess it's just the tenseness of the drive and all the looking over my shoulder I did. So even if it turned out I got this job, I couldn't physically take it. At least I know my commute limit in that direction now.