Job Hunting is Manic Depression

Sorry, for the delay in posting in which I didn't get to last week. It has been a busy week and the events therein lead to the title of this post. I thought I had a good lead lined up and ready to go but alas it seemed to fall apart but that is a post for another day.

If job hunting was a psychological disorder it would be manic depression. The whole process is bipolar for the majority of us. I believe that there are those get the job they want with little effort but I haven't met one yet. For most of us the job hunt swings to periods of excitement and activity when we think something is going good. We scored an interview or we got a positive response to our application. The possibilities seem wide open at that time. Energy is high as you prepare yourself to put your best foot forward.

 Then the rejection letter comes or you simply never hear back from a company that has responded positively. It seems that you just wasted your time filling out that application, tailoring your resume and cover letter, and rearranging your schedule for that interview. At that point the frustration and sadness sets in and you wonder if it was worth it. Here, you don't really want to put up with the daily grind of searching, tweaking, and hoping.

Job hunting is a vicious cycle and there really isn't a good way to improve it. At least not one I can think of. A lot of us that were laid off at the beginning of the recession are now graduating with new skills and finding out that the huge investment we made in ourselves doesn't seem to be paying off. We have experience but not in our new careers. If you have any ideas on how to make the job search better, feel free to comment.

Signed,
MG

Updates coming soon.

I haven't updated in a few days. The weekend was busier then I expected with things cropping up at work and in my social life. I am hoping to have the post I was promising in my last entry up tomorrow.

Till then,
MG

Day 3

Not much going on in the past two days. Work has been pretty taxing and I have been trying to burn off the holiday poundage. I haven't heard any news good or bad since Monday. They say no news is good news but I believe that in this game, no news means HR just doesn't care about you. I was able to apply for a couple jobs in between though. Today, I looked at the Carolinas. Charlotte and Raleigh usually have about 10 new jobs popping up each week that are in the general category for which I am seeking employment. Yesterday, was a trip through the mid south and great lakes region. Usually not much popping up there but Cincy and Cleveland have jobs that I can apply for pop up about every two weeks or so.

Oddly, enough I found a job posted today in West Virginia that was looking for someone to relocate to Green Bay, WI. I found that pretty odd as the job was not posted in Wisconsin the last time. Very odd that it would be placed in an area that doesn't see much movement when it comes to database administration. I applied for as the ad said that they would provide relocation if hired. There are worse places to be I guess then Green Bay. I really can't be that picky at this point as the existence of this blog shows.

I have decided that I will post my rejection letter I received on Monday. Of course, I will blank out any incriminating information. I will also my thoughts and comments on it. Suffice to say I am not to pleased with the company that sent it to me and would be wary to ever waste my time applying for one of their positions again.

For Now,
MG  

Day 1

Today, I focused my search in the Southwest. Texas is actually a hotbed right now as far as database administration jobs go. I have applied for several positions in Texas over my job search. I haven't heard anything back from them so far. Even though I am located in Northern Virginia at the moment, I can move and Texas seems like as good a place as any. I know the cost of living is much better. The only places in the country that I would be hesitant to accept a position in would be New York City and California. I have visited both places and enjoyed them but I don't think I would enjoy living there.

I only found two jobs today that would fit my experience. One was hosted by a variety of companies by I applied for it through Experis. This job was a Houston. The other job I found was in Dallas. The posting was put up by Timberhorn IT. Not sure if that the posting is working for that company or they are a recruiter. I wasn't the perfect candidate but I had some skills they were looking for. Might as well take a chance because if you aren't, who is going to take a chance on you?

I did get some bad news today. I received a rejection letter from a company in Atlanta that I had applied to before starting this diary. I may have somethings to say about it latter in the week. It depends on how much I have on my plate latter on in the week.

Anyway, I think that is it for today.

Signed,
MG

An Introduction

Hello,

This is my diary to chronicle my job search for a database administrator position. I don't expect much readership as I hope to stay as anonymous as possible. Still, if you happen upon this little diary of mine and like the scribblings that I leave here don't be afraid to comment. As for the content of this blog I will try to update at semi regularly about what positions companies I have applied to, their response if any, and a little bit about the persons that I encounter along this strange journey of hunting perhaps the most elusive prey in our current times. This will also be the place where I vent about the process so expect sarcasm and cynicism. I will try to keep it clean.

I guess I should divulge a little information about myself. I am a thirty something job seeker who has two degrees. I recently graduated with a degree in information systems with a specialization in database management. I am trying to break into the field but as a job seeker without experience outside the classroom, I finding it frustrating which is the whole purpose of this diary. I do have work experience outside the field though. I have another degree in a wholly different field which I will not divulge since the combination would be quite unique I think. I am currently working a job again in another field but I am looking to break into the database management field. I am thankful for the steady paycheck but I want to move on to bigger and better things. Not to mention the better pay.

Well, that is my little introduction. Though again, I doubt that anybody but myself will actually read this.

Signed,
MG