Searching for a job has changed a lot over the years!
If you’re new to the job market, it’s probably not as drastic a change as it is to MFH (My Favorite Husband) and myself.
Back in the day (the stone ages to new college grads), you wrote up your resume, addressed it to the company or the HR person, stuck it in an envelope with a .20 stamp and stuck it in the mail. You would mail out zillions of resumes and cross your fingers for a reply phone call or letter (snail mail) asking you to come in for an interview.
After the interview, you would wait on pins and needles for a reply…again through snail mail. We received about 6 “flush letters” and papered our office door with those letters. They were good motivation to keep trying!
These days, you get a curt email and that’s that.
The other thing we’ve noticed? A actual person rarely sees your resume! It’s fed through a computer that scans for the assigned buzz words. If those words aren’t present in your resume, no matter how qualified you may be for a position, too bad, so sad. The computer can’t read what it’s not programmed to read and your resume gets tossed.
These changes have been a tough lesson to learn.
Why in the world am I talking about resumes and job searches? I’ll share:
For almost a year, MFH has been looking for a different job. We knew that at 57 years old, it would be a challenge. We were totally unprepared for all this high tech stuff before a person ever saw MFH’s resume! We were like, “Holy COW!!!” It’s so impersonal!
He’s been at the same job for 21 years come this August. It’s been a great place to work but the project is coming to an end. We don’t know when exactly but we know it will be soon~possibly by the end of 2019. We flat out need to find something ASAP.
MFH has been landing a few interviews here/there but so far, nothing nobody has made an offer.
We’d like to stay in Mississippi if at all possible but at this point, we can’t be too picky. We’re feeling the pressure to find a job…..fast!
This past year I’ve played my cards close to my chest, so to speak. I haven’t made mention about the job search to friends. Close family knows (our children and parents) but that’s about it with a few exceptions.
You *might* have noticed an increase in my silliness online? It’s purely a coping mechanism…that and I like jokes! The number of jokes I post can tell you how much stress I’m under due to the job thing.
Running has helped TONS!!!
At the same time, I’ve had to cut back on races because we flat out don’t know where we’ll be living a few months down the road. I can’t very well register for a local race and then when race day arrives be living in the North Pole or something. No, I’ve restricted racing this year due to exactly this.
MFH is running a bit more as well. It used to not bother him much to skip a run here/there. These days, he’d not skipping any runs. He needs the outlet as well. His Saturday runs are longer than what he used to run. Maybe this job search thing is good for our health because we’re more active?
Anyway, things may change abruptly. We might pick up and move with 2 weeks notice OR we might stay put. We. Don’t. Know. but I felt it was time to share what’s going on….or not going on.
MFH is on a trip right now. He has an interview this week. Fingers crossed!!!
No matter where I live, I will always be running for Aiden!
#IRun4Aiden
