Ahhhh, the digital detox week was amazing! I made a conscious effort to not pick up my phone and scroll. I have to say that I did ok with reducing my social media use for 48 hours, although I was unable to chose not to avoid it completely. I will say I was very productive with that extra time which was really nice!
One of the things I did with that extra time was look for a job! I still have a year to go until I finish my coursework at FSU, but I thought I'd see what's happening in the job market. I used Linkedin for a jump start. I ended up reading an article about resumes and then I promptly decided my resume needed a whole new look. I last revised my resume about a year ago, but I haven't done much to add to it since then so I didn't really mess with it. Now with a shiny new resume in hand I decided to look at a few jobs that were posted. I saw two that were interesting and I applied. The next day I had emails from both inviting me to go to the next step in the hiring process. The first company was a quick video interview so I did that and the next day was invited to schedule an in-person interview. That has been scheduled, so now I wait. This is for an online tutoring company and I'm already doing this type of work, I'd just like to add more hours, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
The second company actually had two positions that were intriguing to me. I applied for both and went to the next step for both. The first position required a cognitive skills test, a technology test, and one other scenario-based assessment. It took about 2 hours to complete those and they were all timed, which was a little nerve-wracking. Something started feeling not right about the whole situation so I went back to the tools from this class. I read reviews about the company on various job sites and there were not many positive comments. I also turned to my new friend, Reddit. A quick search there found hundreds of posts from people who went through the process, but did not make it to the final stage of interviews. There was only one comment from a person who actually works for the company and that person said last spring they had 40,000 applicants! This was so discouraging. I decided to continue with the process just to practice my interview skills, but I'm not optimistic.
So, anyone have suggestions for getting my first job in the ID world? I'm ready to put all the tools we've been learning about to good use and make as many connections as I can!
What a great post! I love that you used your detox time to do a little job searching. LinkedIn really does have some great resources! Do you mind sharing the article you found about resumes? Breaking into the ID world can be a bit tricky. There are a lot of options for contract positions. That is a great place to start! In fact, I believe LinkedIn has a page for contract ID jobs. That is where I started and it turned into a full-time job. Also, making connections helps a lot! My contract job came about because a former FSU professor contacted me and asked me to apply. Connections can make a big difference! Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. My real name is Sharla Nielson. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharla! I think I connected with you tonight. Or...maybe I just asked a stranger to connect with me!
DeleteI am proud of you for trying with the digital detox. I mean yes, it can be hard for those who are using it everyday. Don't give up, there is something out there for you. I mean I am glad that you will finish the process even if it is just to practice your interviewing skills. There maybe something else down the line for you and you will have grown through this process now. Great job on using wht we have used and leaarned about in class and keep up the good work!
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