Sage advice from "The Stranger"

(Image credit: https://memegenerator.net/)

Maybe I should update my profile picture considering it is at least 10 years old. Guess I better get a selfie stick or bribe a friend to take a decent picture of me.

If you have noticed a lot more activity on the blog it's because I am rediscovering my inner blogger and I have also found that lighthearted blogging is a great way to de-stress while searching for a new job.

I am also having a lot of fun with memes base on the The Big Lebowski which is one of my all-time favorite movies. As a matter of fact I think I will watch it again tonight.

Cheers ~ Jim

Pokemon Go vs. Job Seeker Quest

Here is another article that I posted today on Linkedin, and I am re-posting to my blog. The topic on balancing ones job search with other "priorities".

Below is the URL for the original post:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pokemon-go-vs-job-seeker-quest-jim-cox

(Image credit: https://imgflip.com/)

While Pokemon Go is the latest craze and the game looks like a lot of fun to play I do wonder if Job Seekers such as myself should stay strictly focused on our real-world quests rather than chasing imaginary creatures, or if by not playing the game are we robbing ourselves of new opportunities to learn and relax a little?

For me the technology behind the game is fascinating and I have shared some articles on Linkedin about the game and the augmented reality technology involved. While playing the game would provide me with more exposure to augmented reality the truth is I have as yet to download and install the game let alone play it.

As a Job Seeker I believe I must focus my time and energy on my quest to find a new opportunity where I will work with new technologies such as augmented reality. At the same time I do wonder if I am denying myself the opportunity learn more about specific technologies while having some fun in the process.

Looking for work is not always fun and at times it can be quite stressful if you make it so while according to all reports looking for Pokemon can be fun and relaxing (as long as you avoid of trouble).

There are times during a job seekers quest they will find they need to take a short break and possibly take a walk. Whether or not that walk is to capture a breath of fresh air, or to capture imaginary critters is up to them,

In the end it is a matter of balance plus some self discipline with regards to one's focus and priorities.

As always feel free to leave a comment.

Cheers ~ Jim

Maybe I was a little too creative?

The article below is a re-post of an one which I wrote on July 1st 2016 and posted on Linkedin concerning whether or not one should change their status on Linkedin to show they are unemployed and seeking new employment opportunities.

Here is the URL to the original post on Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maybe-i-little-too-creative-jim-cox

I hope you enjoy the article and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

(Image credit - AZQUOTES)

Yesterday I completed my 18 month contract at Microsoft, and knowing in advance that my contract was coming to an end I began searching for new employment opportunities though nothing has yet to materialize.

Since I am now seeking new employment opportunities I thought I should reflect this in my Linkedin profile. Now there are those who advise not to state in your Linkedin profile that you are unemployed and looking for work, and then there is the opposing view that you should change your status to reflect that you are available for new opportunities.

I agree with the latter opinion because I want people to know I am available for new opportunities and I want to utilize the new listing under Experience to state what sort of opportunities I am searching for. While the Headline and Summary fields in a Linkedin profile are intended to for these purposes I find that most people reviewing profiles tend to focus on the most recent status listed under Experience.

Having decided to make the change to my status I thought I should try something different from the normal “Self” for Company Name and “Unemployed” or “Job Seeker” for Title, and I felt these changes should reflect my experience and interests in technology.

So early this morning in a fit (more like spasm) of creativity I updated my profile and listed “Career R&D” for Company Name, and “Career Engineer - R&D” for Title, and then added additional information to show what sort of opportunities I was conducing R&D for.

Where my “research” fell short in this update to my profile was the effect Linkedin’s status update to my network would have and the number of congratulatory responses I would receive for finding a new job as a "Career Engineer". While I do appreciate the consideration from those who offered congratulations I must offer a mea culpa for the misunderstanding.

One other thing that I did not consider at the time was that recruiters may not recognize or appreciate the intent of the Company Name and Title, and therefore not review my profile any further.

I have since made some more conventional updates to properly reflect my status and search for new opportunities and as far as I am concerned the original update was not a failure but instead a learning experience. I have also disabled the Notify your network? option regarding updates to my profile which I originally enabled for this particular update and I will leave it disabled until I have finalized by profile. Also this entry in my profile will be deleted once I find a new opportunity.

What I would like to know from others here on Linkedin is what do you think about posting your status as unemployed and seeking a new job. Should you change your status to reflect you are unemployed and seeking new opportunities or should you just leave your status as is with only a change in date?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Cheers ~ Jim

Still plugging and slugging away.

Today started out blah, blech, and maybe even a little blue, but eventually I kicked myself into gear and got going.

With respects to my job search, Wednesdays are usually an off day for me. Most of the postings I came across today are not relevant to my experience and skill set, and this seems to be the case for most Wednesdays. Because of this "Wednesday bump" I have come to use the available time for doing research on some of the companies and organizations that I have already submitted my resume to. n

This has paid off very well for me in that I have enough knowledge that should I be lucky enough to be called in for an interview I will have an idea about what I am jumping into. It's also paid off in that on one rare occasion I found a blog entry about one company that I was thinking of applying for, but the comments from past employees made me decide not to apply for the job. I won't go into details, but let's just say it was not a go

Even though today is a little slow for me I have noticed over the last month or so more and more developer positions being listed, and recently there have been more project management listings too. This is a very good sign! This means that companies are moving forward with projects, albeit slowly, but they are moving forward. Hopefully in the not too distant future one of these companies will need an experienced technology professional (Geek) like me. I am keeping my fingers crossed because it would be nice to get back to work.

If you are a reader of this blog, and you happen to know of a potentially good fit for me please by all means send me an email. Even if you don't know of a good fit it would still be nice to hear from you so feel free to drop me a line, or leave a comment. Yes, comments are welcome here too as long as you aren't a spammer or a troll looking for a flame war.

By the way one resource I recently became aware of and I'd like to point out to other job seekers is a site called ResumeBucket.com. It's fairly new site that may be of use to those job seekers who want to put their resumes on line. Click here to take a look at my resume. (Yeah, I know I need a new picture :)

As for there news I came across an interesting link today on Slashdot. Check out "The Ecological Impact of Spam" According to a study commissioned by McAfee email spam uses close to 33 billion kilowatt hours of power each year. That's a lot of power being wasted for phony "blue pills" and other nonsense. Take a look at the Slashdot article or go directly to the two links below for more information:

• 'The Carbon Footprint of Spam' (PDF)
• Spam e-mails killing the environment, McAfee report says

All this talk about spam has given me some inspiration for the next Friday Fun post. Let's see what I can dig up. Cheers! ~ Jim

Battling HR firewalls

To those of us who are currently looking for work some employer's HR web sites can take on the appearance as a sort of firewall created to keep job applicants out, or at least it can feel that way. Let's face it, if you are unemployed and looking for work then you already have enough stress in your life. The last thing you need is more stress from a uncooperative HR web site when applying for a job.

I have found that the best way to approach these HR firewalls is to apply some common sense, and a little determination. Now that may sound like a "no brainer", but when you are going mano a mano against a difficult HR web site, and things are going from bad to worse you may tend to loose focus and that is when frustration can replace common sense and determination.

While I am not "expert" when it comes to dealing with temperamental HR sites, I do have some experience in dealing with them. I would like to share with you some of the things I have found useful when I encounter an HR firewall.

Now preparation is very important, and while this is obvious, I cannot stress this enough. Some HR web sites can time out on you before you finish your application, so being prepared and having everything ready to go can be the difference between getting your application entered the first time, or having to make several attempts to complete the task.

Here is what you need to have ready, and be prepared to do before you apply for a job online:

• Resume: Always have the latest version of your resume available in both as a text file (.txt) and in a document format such as a Word (.doc) file. You may need both since some sites will have you upload your Word formatted resume only to have you reenter the data again, and this is where the text file comes in handy. You can copy and paste from the Word .doc version of your resume, but there may be issues with formatting, so the text file is best.
• Cover Letter: Before you apply for the job, review the requirements and write your cover letter. Now the site may not require or provide for a cover letter, but it's always best to have one written, and like the resume have it in both .doc and .txt formats just in case either need to manually enter the letter, or you need to copy specific statements from it.
• Be prepared to improvise. If you encounter a site that doesn't allow you to enter your cover letter, and you have not yet entered your resume, consider combining the two documents. When I encounter a site that doesn't allow me to enter a cover letter, I create a new section at the bottom of my resume called "Additional Information / Cover Letter" and add my cover letter. You can either do this with your Word .doc document, or the site allows just enter the two documents together into the text field for the resume.
• Employment History: This is not the same as your resume. Even after you upload or enter your resume, many sites will require you to again enter your current or previous employers name, location, specific dates you were employed, your last manager, starting and ending pay rate, and contact information for both the company and your former manager. Now much of this information may be on your resume, but then again it might not, or at least not in the detail required by the HR site.For example most people tend to list on their resumes only the months and years that they worked for an employer, and some sites require specific dates. Having a specific document with all this detailed information organized together will save time searching through your resume, and help keep frustration levels down.
• References: While it may not be in good form for a potential employer to ask for references at the application stage, some employers do. It is always best to check with your references and confirm that they are comfortable with being listed at the application stage. Identify on your references list which references are comfortable with being listed at this stage, and which ones are not. If you do list your references, always notify them so they are not caught off guard should a potential employer contact them.
• Scratchpad: In this case I am referring to a blank text (.txt) file that you can use to save information too while you are online This is especially useful should it become necessary to recover information you entered. What can happen is that you can spend too much time entering data, or answering a specific question such as "Describe how you last saved the planet from evil aliens" that the session may time out on you. If you cannot use the back button on your browser to recover that excessively long paragraph you entered then you are out of luck. Now if you can go back with you browser then copy and paste the text into the scratch pad. A better solution is to always copy and paste specific information you compose for site in to the scratchpad prior to continuing or saving the data. This is another situation where being prepared to improvise comes in handy.
• Skills Listing: Now your resume and cover letter may list all the skills you think are appropriate for the position you are applying for, and then again they may not. This may be due to not enough space on the documents to list all of your skills, or due to the fact that the information provided for the position didn't list all the skill requirements necessary for the job. Having a complete list of skills available in a easy to such format will come in handy for you, plus some job listings may jog your memory and you can add skills you forgot about to this list. Expect to be surprised when you enter an employer's HR site.
• Take notes and remember trends: Many employers are now outsourcing their online application process, or using similar software packages to build their HR sites. These services and/or software packages have common behavior that depending on the implementation can be good or bad. I won't list any names here, but when I go to an employer's site and see the name of a specific HR hosting service either in the URL or somewhere on the site, I don't proceed any further until drawn up a plan of attack and I know I am ready to do battle with that site.
• Avoid interruptions: While this may be nearly impossible to do, try to avoid any interruptions so as give yourself enough time to finish the task of applying for the job, and dealing with any problems that may arise.
• Take a break if you need to: Didn't I just say to avoid interruptions? Yes, but if the problems you are encountering are wearing you down, stop and take a break. You may also need to walk about from the attempt, and try later on. If that happens you will at least be prepared for what the site will throw at you.

While I tried to list everything that would be helpful I know I may have missed a few things, so I will update this entry as I either remember the things I forgot, or others remind me or make suggestions. Email me or leave a comment if you have a suggestion for battling HR firewalls.

Hopefully things will get better soon, and many of you will no longer have to battle the HR firewalls, but until then I hope these article proves useful to you. Cheers ~ Jim

I am now Twittered!

I have had a Twitter account for a while now, but I have never used it until today when someone suggested I use it as part of my job search and connect to JobAngels. ( Thanks Kelley :)

To be honest I don't expect to use it more than once or twice a day to post brief notices, but if you happen to be on Twitter check me out: http://twitter.com/miba51

As for other news, I am still plugging away with the job search and I had a couple good leads, so wish me luck. The web development studies are also moving along and I have started up a project to create an locally hosted site that will help me stay better organized. It's sort of like my own version of Zulupad. I am creating the pages by writing the XHTML myself instead of using a rich text editor as in Zulupad, and while a lot of the work is monotonous it is good training.

Other than that, there isn't much else to blog about today except that I am glad the weather has changed. It was getting just a little too stagnant for me.