Job Hunting

[JustinASU]

Hey guys. As 95% of you know at this point I hate my job with a dire passion. I have a few days of sick leave for this surgery left and I want to start looking for new prospects. I need to start looking for new prospects--for my own sanity. Aside from the usual swill (i.e. monster.com etc) What are some good resources I can use to accomplish finding a quality job listing? I'm not looking for anything region specific since I'm 100% willing to relocate if the price is right. Any ideas will help...

[GMCtrk]

I don't know, but a 585 DL is sick!

[chris mason]

What do you do? What do you want to do? What is the "right" price?

[JustinASU]

Chris, currently I'm an assistant manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. That is by no means simply a retail job. I have been trained and tested in how to manage all areas of the business. I have a BSBA in Business Administration with a marketing concentration. In all honesty, I don't know what I want to do. Ideally I'd like to open my own gym or a gym franchise but that goal is much father off. In the mean time a marketing or management job would work since that is what I am trained for--though I am open to anything. Baseline salary for me would be $30k a yr. I'd take less if the job was a good one with room for advancement though.

[Wikked1]

OH man I forgot I was going to say something about this in your journal. Your boss is tool, trying to screw you over bro. Screw that first in last out mentality,that's the fast lane to slavery. The key to finding a good job is "networking" and that means word of mouth it's how most people get hired. They learn of a position through someone's buddy,relation or whatever and they get a verbal reference in the right ear and next thing you know you're interviewing. Let everyone know you're looking except your boss who's sure to be enough of a jerk to punish you for exploring your options.

[JustinASU]

Oh Enterprise will fire you if they find out you're looking. Corporate does regular searches of the big job search engines and will fire you if they find your resume posted somewhere.

[JustinASU]

I forgot to add: Yeah I also just had a quick conversation with another member of the board through AIM. Apparently it's all about networking...It's frustrating that 90% of the open jobs out there are unlisted.

[neartaigh]

Hey Justin-
Your friend was right....it is all about networking. Since you are interested in marketing and business management, you should look for local networking organizations like www.nyama.org, or www.marketing.org. These kinds of organizations often have listings on their websites, or have cocktail events etc...where you can spread your charm around the room.

Another option is looking for local sports leagues that are industry specific-- lawyers seem to have softball teams for some reason. In any case, joining these pseudo-social organizations can put you in contact with potential employers or others who may be able to hook you in to new opportunities.

Also, make sure that your resume is SPOTLESS-- I worked as a corporate recruiter before law school. I placed CEOs in media organizations. For people who were so highly educated (all MBAs and PhDs), you would be stunned how many resumes I saw with terrible typographic and grammatical errors. Get a good proof-reader for your resume and for your coverletter.

Another option is to just make cold calls. It`s scary, but you`d be surprised how many times a company does have an opening that they aren`t advertising.

Good luck!

-neartaigh

[MrWebb78]

research companies you want to work for, then market yourself.

[Focused70]

Oh Enterprise will fire you if they find out you're looking. Corporate does regular searches of the big job search engines and will fire you if they find your resume posted somewhere.

This is standard practice regardless of where you work.

The idea is to conduct a job search and be discreet about it, on the premise that X shouldn't pay you if you have no intention of staying because you want to move to Y job.

I conducted my own job search last year and that took approx. four months. You have no idea how difficult it was to schedule first, second and third interviews given that a) I worked in downtown Manhattan near the SI ferry, b) most of my interviews were in midtown Manhattan (one was scheduled for Stamford, CT) and c) travel time/interview time usually took 2+ hours total. You can only have so many doctor's appointments before management smells something fishy.

Stash

[Praetorian]

Try contacting a head-hunter company. i saw on dr. phil that these companies were really effective with finding a job for people.

[mrelwooddowd]

Baseline salary for me would be $30k a yr. I'd take less if the job was a good one with room for advancement though.

Do people actually live on less than that? I am SO bad at budgeting!

[crazedwombat]

how long have you worked at enterprise? if you've been there a year or more then you can boast that experience. but like the others said, check out what companies you might want to work for and go in and schedule an appointment with a recruiter in HR or talk to someone in that area and send in a resume. BSBA + work exp = very good, more than 30+ k a year. remember to work your pay in the beginning so that its acceptable. If you want to climb, I would pick a larger company because they'll pay for you to go to project management classes which looks really good on the ol' resume, plus sets you on the fasttrack.

[gino]

Chris, currently I'm an assistant manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. That is by no means simply a retail job. I have been trained and tested in how to manage all areas of the business. I have a BSBA in Business Administration with a marketing concentration. In all honesty, I don't know what I want to do. Ideally I'd like to open my own gym or a gym franchise but that goal is much father off. In the mean time a marketing or management job would work since that is what I am trained for--though I am open to anything. Baseline salary for me would be $30k a yr. I'd take less if the job was a good one with room for advancement though.

My company(Newell-Rubbermaid) hires lots of young'uns and grooms them for future opportunities. We have a "Phoenix Team" that consists of thousands nationwide. This team does lots of stuff with the wide range of products we sell, mostly "grassroots" marketing through customer support. I've heard it's a good job with plenty of upside - the ones who exceed expectations get selected from the team to move on to corporate office-based employment in one of our 27 companies(Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Irwin, etc...). They move on to become product managers, sales reps, channel managers, etc... Starting salary is 35k+. Definitely a good opportunity, and a great way to get a career rolling.

[ectx]

Headhunters are the way to go. If you know a couple of good ones or know of anyone who does they can be an extremely helpful. They do all your footwork and they get paid by the company that hires you. Best of luck, big guy!

[sublime99]

Justin networking is definetley the way to go, i would suggest looking in to surgical tool sales or pharmacetical sales. It's not easy to get your foot in the door but once you do believe me it is all worth it, and the benefits are premo (not just the medical dental 401k but what comes with the job).

[justhrowit]

Well, first you need to get a good resime together.....I'm sure your at that point already. Look for job fairs in your area and start (as said before) networking. Juts go up to everyone and hand out your resime! Even if your not interested at first, hand it out and create a conversation. You never know what can come of it. Also, not sure how long you've been working but is Grad School in your future. grad School will open up a lot of dorrs....I'm actually studying for my GMAT now. Taking it in a month.

If you feel you can be fired for looking for a job, then do not post it on Monster or any other places. Look for jobs there and send out your info to individual job postings. A career fair is in order I would think! Also, see if the school you graduated from has a alumni network! They can get you in contact with other alums that may have their own businesses or are higher up in the field. Good luck with your search!

Jay

[JustinASU]

Thanks for the barrage of responses. The headhunter idea is one that particularly interests me. Right now I'm limited so far as networking goes. I'm not working in a major metropolitan area--actually it's quite the opposite, a bit on the rural side. Networking in a rural area has little effect because of the limited job opportunities. I have two companies in mind now that hire college grads with limited experience. One was suggested to me by my fiance--a Charleston, SC based company (where I'd love to live). The other I will look into thanks to Gino. I actually remember Newell-Rubbermaid making a presentation in one of my marketing classes. Their Pheonix Program looks excellent and similar to the one I just completed at Enterprise albeit with better pay and a more professional environment. I'll look into these few places and hopefully--God I hope, I can find a new opportunity out there.