by David LeMieux
Looking for a job for my semester off reminds me that in the near future I will have to start looking for a real job. It also reminds me of what a frustrating processed this can be. It is not as though there aren't job openings in my field, there are plenty. I am, however, having a hard time knowing when to start. I also have a difficult time deciding if I am qualified for a job.
I need a job for the end of July, Beginning of August. When should I start applying? In some fields you would start as early as now to secure a position. I can't imagine that people want to hire an entry level web developer eight months in advance. At the same time, I really don't want to be a week or even a month away from graduation and not have any idea where I will be headed. I realize that you can't always have that kind of certainty, but for now it is something I am hoping for.
My second concern, qualification, is one that is even more frustrating. Am I a ninja? Am I a black belt? Do I have an expert grasp of Internet technology? One not need look any further than Authentic Jobs to see a bunch of job listings asking for perfection in pretty general terms. This is obviously not the case for all job listings, but it is hard to know how to categorize myself.
I would love to know how the employers feel about this. If I sent a resume with witty copy explaining my ninja-like capabilities would I be taken seriously? Would that be seen as professional? I would also love to know if its difficult to find the right person for the job. I bet it comes down to knowing what you need. If you only know you need a "web person" it is probably pretty hard to accurately describe and hire the right candidate. Conversely, if you know exactly what you need, it might be hard to fit all sorts of odd-shaped pegs in to your specific hole.
Anyway, I wish that the job search could be different. I think the internet affords us an amazing opportunity to change how people look for jobs. I know from experience that finding a good job has a lot more to do with who you know than what you know, though both are important. The internet is, at its root, a giant network! People are using the internet to connect on multiple levels, there is a great opportunity to start using this for the employment process. Linked In has started to implement this idea, but there is still something missing. Anyway, I am excited to see what happens, mostly because I hate job hunting.