Recently laid off with no degree... 6

[nice95gle]

As the title indicates, I was laid off after 8 yrs of service. Because of personal issues I had to drop out of college midway. Now my resume is blank when it comes to the education. I feel that I am being over looked for positions that I can do with my eyes close because of this.
I have experience in VB, Oracle, SQL server, Win 95-XP (Networking), DAO, ADO, .NET Methodology, IIS, NotesDesigner the list goes on. It's been two months and I am not even able to land an interview.
Am I being impatient or should something have fallen my way by now? It's been 11yrs since I've been unemployed so this is very strange for me.

On the plus side my life is now on track so I will be returning to school in the spring of 2005. But in the interim I need a job and I don't know where to turn.

 

[pmonett]

I have just come through a period of 3 months without a job. I spent all told about seven months looking for one. I do have a college degree. Two of them, in fact (one in accounting, one in Computer Science). Plus almost ten years of experience in my domain. And it still took me seven months to find a new employer. And I haven't been picky - I took the only one that answered my letter !
What I want to say is that you should not be discouraged because of a lack of diplomas. With 8 years behind you, diplomas are only going to be a plus, not a prerequisit. As employer, I would pay a lot more attention to the work you have done. A good diploma is the kind of thing that should land you your first job, your experience and work knowledge is what gets the other ones.
The economy is not really good wherever you are at the moment, that is what I think. Keep your spirits up. Get back to posting your curriculum and hang on till you get back to school. I did that too. I think you're doing the right thing, its just that the economy, as I said, is not helping right now.

Pascal.

 

[rasETL]

What type of job are you looking for?

I ask that because it sounds like you are a candidate for a consulting type position. These positions usually offer short term assignments at companies that need help in specific areas such as VB, Oracle, etc. Sometimes these short term positions end up as long term assignments, or even have a direct hire clause with them. Have you tried looking at web sites for consulting companies in your area?

Hope that helps.

 

[Thadeus]

Yes, you are being impatient. Not unreasonable, just impatient. I was laid-off in 2001 and then again in 2002. I then took anything that came my way. Mostly short-term contracts. I finally got a permanent position again in August. 10 years of experience in my field. References out the wazoo. 4-year bachelors 16 years ago kinda seems pointless as a reference point now.

Also, why are you not including the education you've already completed? I would just indicate that you are currently pursuing your degree in 'XYZ'. In an interview (which I had 4 of while out for almost 2 years), if you get asked why getting your degree is taking so long, just point at some major projects at your previous position that took precedence. Make the delay your dedication to your former employer not your personal reasons.

~Thadeus

 

[lespaul]

I was laid off four weeks before 9/11. Not only had the IT industry already entered a slow down, now with the attacks I was sure I was NEVER going to find a job. And I didn't have 10 years experience and tons of references. I finished my degree (after a several year haitus as well) Dec 1999!! And now I had been laid off from my first real IT job with only a year's experience.

Got a job for Christmas that year. Started 12/26, so my search took about 4 1/2 months and it felt like FOREVER. So, hang in there, try not to be too depressed, and keep sending off those resumes, you'll get a call!!


[off topic]
Pascal,

I guess I didn't realize you weren't working on the agriculture project any more!!

We need to catch up, send me an email with a current address for you please!!
[/off topic]

les

 

[chiph]

nice95gle -

Like rasanders says -- your best bet is with a consulting firm who can place you with someone who is looking for specific knowledge. Someone who says "I need an expert in VB starting on Monday!".

This will get you through the short-term crunch.

Longer term, your best bet is to go back and complete your college degree. Many companies won't hire a full-time person unless they have at least an Associates, and most prefer a Bachelors.

Best of luck.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[chiph]

I was also thinking that being a consultant would allow you to work for a semester (saving money) then take a semesters worth of classes. Repeat until graduation.

You might need to do it 2 on, 2 off, in order to get some classes. I know when I went to school some classes were in pairs that were only offered on back-to-back semesters.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[Onyxpurr]

I was laid off in July of 2001. I had always received excellent reviews and was in the middle of getting my degree. It took me 3 months to find a long-term temporary position then another year before they found another position for me and offered me a permanent job.

Hang in there.

I would recommend...show the education you have gotten. Show what degree you are pursuing and when you anticipate to graduate.

Emphasize your strong skills on your resume. List your skills, the experience, then some projects you've worked on that went well. Something to the effect of 'description of project', 'outcome', 'role'. Role would be 'team member' or 'team leader'.

Good luck and just be patient. Good things will come.

 

[nice95gle]

Thanks guys for all the encouraging words.
I think a consulting job would be the best way to go right now but even that seems impossible.

I am registered with

Dice.com
Monster.com
Hotjobs.com
Careerbuilder.com

Like I said before it’s been 11yrs so I’m kind of new to the job-hunting game.
So if there are more sites I should be looking at please let me know.

Thank

 

[Thadeus]

where do you live?

also check itmoonlighter and guru.com

Oh, and when they say no-one actually gets good, permanent jobs off the internet, they're wrong.

Every consulting position I had over the past 2 ½ - 3 years has been off of a monster-type website

Now my current permanent position was also found on Monster.

Good luck!

~Thadeus

 

[nice95gle]

Thadeus,

I live in NYC
I'll try those sites

 

[BiggerDon]

When I moved to Toronto in 1998, I went through an agency. I found that most larger organizations prefer to outsource this kind of function especially for IT as the in-house HR people don't have the experience or aptitude to evaluate an IT based resume. I picked a company that specialized in AS/400 operations and sent them my resume. I had a few interviews with them prior to actually moving but when I did move I arrived in town on a Friday, had an interview with Sprint Canada on the Monday and started the next Monday. They have the access to the department managers and they usually offer the best service plus warrantees on the contract. They get paid big bucks but it is the employer paying so they are looking for good people to fill positions. I'm not saying the web isn't a source but it has been my experince that most of the good jobs aren't even advertised to "outside the loop" channels.

 

[LaurelLee]

Definitely try the technical staffing route. They have been my life savers throughout the economic slump. A month here, two weeks there, and usually at a fair rate. Better than nothing, and it might get you a full time gig. Good Luck, I know what you are going through!


___________________________________________________________
With your thoughts you create the world--Shakyamuni Buddha

 

[Thadeus]

Here's a suggestion if you are interested in the non-profit sector. Not as much cash usually, but you can feel good about what you do.

http://www.idealist.org

Look along left hand side for Job Seekers link

Also

http://www.pnp-inc.com/search_jobs.asp

pnp-inc seems more New York area than idealist (which seems international)

again, good luck
~Thadeus

 

[willir]

nice95gle

I guess it would be fair to say that you are not alone. Many of us have walked down this path, some more than once. (Sigh, I just finished working for a compnay that is winding down - many of the people I worked with had been with the company, 15, 30 and even more than 40 years!!! Now that would be a novel thing within IT)

Well, first the resumé. The guy I hired to replace me had a whole bunch of short term contracts - stuck out like a sore thumb. I showed him how he can use a "functional" resumé to depict your accomplishments. Using this approach allows you deomonstrate that you were productive (and made lots of money for the company you worked for), and your skill sets.

For example, "Used ADO front end to provide a user-friendly interface Oracle database which gratly added functionality with minimal cost..."[/u]. This type of thing demonstrates you know ADO, and have worked with Oracle.

Save the education, or maybe even skip it, for the second page.

Next, consider going back to school. Not a full program, but a short course - one to five weeks type of thing. There are several advantages, provided you have the cash...
- improve your technical skill set
- these programs may offer a job placement service
- you probably would benefit from the break
- you will make new contacts, some of whom will be walking in your same foot steps...

Richard

 

[screwloose]

willr (aka richard) -

The assumption of you example is correct that you should show what you can do for a company, not what you did. However, I would suggest changing from "Used ADO front end to provide a user-friendly interface Oracle database which gratly added functionality with minimal cost..." to something that has "meat," such as: "Reduced development costs by 15% with ADO front-end for creating user-friendly interfaces." Show what you can do! In this example, you saved the company 15% in development costs. Or use the "added functionaly" to show how that increased efficiency and productivity.

A resume is a marketing tool. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is to entice the buyer. You are the closer during the interview. A good car sales(person) does not sell an airbag (feature). The good car sales(person) is selling the safety of your family (benefit). You buy a fitness magazine because you want to look like the cover model. If the same mag had an overweight, untoned, loathesome individual on the cover - but the exact same content - you wouldn't buy it. It's in the packaging.

But I would never skip education.

 

[willir]

No problem Srewloose. Promoting "value added" as part of your achievements is the name of the game. The point I was trying to make was to use a functional resumé to advertize skill sets. The advantage of this format is that it emphaisizes function and ability, and not use a time line.