I'm sitting here in front of my computer, reviewing all the jobs I've applied for and for which I didn't get an interview, and looking over the list of people I've contacted who can't even muster the effort to make a one-minute return phone call or even send a one-sentence reply.
And I ask myself, "What is the point? Why am I putting myself through all this nonsense just to try to get a job here? Just write off the Pittsburgh area, pack a bag, and get the hell out of this town before your career goes into even more of a death spiral."
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Why Did I Bother?
I made the unwise choice to attend 'Career Wise: A Diversity Job Expo' held today in the Lexus Club at PNC Park.
Attending the job fair was a complete and utter waste of my time. Here's why:
I'm a friendly, outgoing, articulate individual. I'm able to converse on a variety of topics and am very accommodating to anyone with whom I speak. Any employer meeting me could correctly assume that I would represent their company well and would be an excellent hire for their organization.
So one would think that some of the Human Resources representatives in attendance at the career fair, after a brief conversation with me, would hand me their business card, stating something like, "You sound like you handle yourself well. We have some job openings that you might be interested in...."
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Most, if not all of the recruiters at the fair simply directed job seekers to fill out an application or submit their résumé at their company's Web site. I could have saved myself the trip to the stadium and the $6 for parking if I knew that in advance.
Further, by the time I visited the job fair at around 2:30 in the afternoon, many of the recruiters were tired and grumpy. They certainly weren't in the mood for conversation at that point. One recruiter even refused to give me his business card, stating brusquely that he "didn't give out business cards at job fairs." (My aim in asking for a business card was simply to establish a contact at that company.)
And while I didn't get this man's business card (which, after he was rude to me, I didn't want anyway), I did end up with a plethora of plastic junk -- mini flashlights, keychains, bag clips and pens, pens, pens -- all printed with the name of each company that was giving it away. And of course, I'm going to turn around and give most of these tchotchkes to my young nephews and niece.
Maybe I'll get a job as a result of attending this job fair, but I highly doubt it.
But at least I'm now the proud owner of a 'Dick Builds Quality' travel mug from Dick Corporation. That's worth something, isn't it?
Attending the job fair was a complete and utter waste of my time. Here's why:
I'm a friendly, outgoing, articulate individual. I'm able to converse on a variety of topics and am very accommodating to anyone with whom I speak. Any employer meeting me could correctly assume that I would represent their company well and would be an excellent hire for their organization.
So one would think that some of the Human Resources representatives in attendance at the career fair, after a brief conversation with me, would hand me their business card, stating something like, "You sound like you handle yourself well. We have some job openings that you might be interested in...."
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Most, if not all of the recruiters at the fair simply directed job seekers to fill out an application or submit their résumé at their company's Web site. I could have saved myself the trip to the stadium and the $6 for parking if I knew that in advance.
Further, by the time I visited the job fair at around 2:30 in the afternoon, many of the recruiters were tired and grumpy. They certainly weren't in the mood for conversation at that point. One recruiter even refused to give me his business card, stating brusquely that he "didn't give out business cards at job fairs." (My aim in asking for a business card was simply to establish a contact at that company.)
And while I didn't get this man's business card (which, after he was rude to me, I didn't want anyway), I did end up with a plethora of plastic junk -- mini flashlights, keychains, bag clips and pens, pens, pens -- all printed with the name of each company that was giving it away. And of course, I'm going to turn around and give most of these tchotchkes to my young nephews and niece.
Maybe I'll get a job as a result of attending this job fair, but I highly doubt it.
But at least I'm now the proud owner of a 'Dick Builds Quality' travel mug from Dick Corporation. That's worth something, isn't it?
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Networking
Tonight was my first foray into hardcore job networking.
I had networked informally before tonight, but given that my other methods of finding a job (i.e., responding to job postings on craigslist.org, applying to jobs posted at individual company web sites.) have produced zero results, I realized that some face-to-face time was in order.
My first stop this evening was at a meeting of 'Refresh Pittsburgh'. According to the organization's Web site, the goal of Refresh Pittsburgh is "to create a open community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of Internet developers in the Pittsburgh area.
"Whether you are a web developer, flash guru, programming wizard, graphic designer, project manager extraordinaire or just want to learn more and share ideas with like-minded people, we want you to be a part of our group."
And although I'm neither a designer nor a developer, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to familiarize myself with some of the local folk who do just that. The members of the group were approachable and friendly, but the get-together was a brief one and was over in less than an hour.
While at the meeting, I remarked to the man next to me that I had started a blog, which seemed to pique his interest, but when I continued, "it's about finding a job in the Pittsburgh area", he stifled a laugh.
Hmmm.
I had networked informally before tonight, but given that my other methods of finding a job (i.e., responding to job postings on craigslist.org, applying to jobs posted at individual company web sites.) have produced zero results, I realized that some face-to-face time was in order.
My first stop this evening was at a meeting of 'Refresh Pittsburgh'. According to the organization's Web site, the goal of Refresh Pittsburgh is "to create a open community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of Internet developers in the Pittsburgh area.
"Whether you are a web developer, flash guru, programming wizard, graphic designer, project manager extraordinaire or just want to learn more and share ideas with like-minded people, we want you to be a part of our group."
And although I'm neither a designer nor a developer, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to familiarize myself with some of the local folk who do just that. The members of the group were approachable and friendly, but the get-together was a brief one and was over in less than an hour.
While at the meeting, I remarked to the man next to me that I had started a blog, which seemed to pique his interest, but when I continued, "it's about finding a job in the Pittsburgh area", he stifled a laugh.
Hmmm.
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