Job Hunting

Since my husband was let go by his employer, we have been job hunting. There have been a lot of changes in how to look and apply for work in the past decade, and a lot more changes since we both first began looking for work in our youth. When I started working in the late 1970’s, I would walk into a business, meet a person, receive a paper application and fill in the information. There was contact with a person, and first impressions were made when you asked for the application. Wow, has looking for work changed!

Today, all applications are done via the internet. There is no going to a business, meeting a person and getting a paper application to fill out. If you walk into a business, you are told to go to the website or download an app to apply for work. The application is filled out using the computer and no human contact. Most businesses want a resume as well as the application.

Once the application and resume are submitted, once more a person does not see them, they are sorted by a computer program. The computer program sifts through the information provided, and determines if certain qualifications are met. If the program determines you possess the proper education, skills and work experience desired, then a person is notified of your application and resume. Finally a person to see what you have submitted. If the person thinks you are more qualified than another applicant, there may be a telephone call or email scheduling an interview.

I have been on a learning adventure. With the help of my daughter and a person at the workforce center, I have learned how to write a resume. Only you can not write just one resume. Each position you are applying has different requirements and key words the program is looking for to consider you a valid candidate for the job. So in order to be consider, a resume has to be written for each position being applied for.

Having a work history through several decades creates a long work history. But resumes are to be short. Most employers only want the last ten years. Then there are jobs you want to apply for, but it has been ten years since you worked in that field. Resumes are tricky to write. Short, simple and to the point is what is needed in a resume today. The work experience of previous jobs beyond ten years becomes skills.

Interviews, a few are in person, but most are teleconference calls with two or more people asking questions over a telephone. The applicant is still not answering a person face to face. How does a person tell if someone is not being truthful when you do not see a face. If the applicant presents themselves well through the teleconference call, then they will be asked for a in person interview. If you are not chosen for the position, you are informed via email.

Our world has changed. We shop online. If we do go to a store, we self check out. We learn classes or certifications online. We have doctor visits online. We apply for jobs online. So much of our lives is being done without contact with another human being. Our lives are becoming interactions with a sterile, unemotional, and often through a program connection to a machine. There is no warmth, no greeting, and no acknowledgement that you are truly alive.

I can not stop the way everything is going to technology without human interaction. I can not change the direction. I must work within the system. But I do not have to like it.

amtolle