LF: A Job

[Zotaga]

So who else is in this predicament and how long have you been looking?

For me.. it's been almost 2 years.. can't find ANYTHING.. I'm over-qualified for Gen. Labor but under-qualified for most jobs in my field.

It's a pretty crappy catch-22..

[Hyperion]

You're never over qualified for money. If you think that you need to re examine your life.

[schmat66]

You're never over qualified for money. If you think that you need to re examine your life.

+1

anywork is better then no work

[bilinz]

I'm over-qualified for Gen. Labor but under-qualified for most jobs in my field.

If that's the case why not just take anything you can get and then on the side take some courses, seminars, training or whatever you specifically need to do in order to become qualified for the jobs in your field?

[iconicrocket]

What are you qualified for and what field are you in?

[leungalv]

If you're under-qualified ... why don't you get more qualifications?

I don't think you'd be "over-qualified" to work in general labor ... If you feel that way, and you WANT a job, maybe you should leave these "over-qualifications" out of your resume so you can land a job?

[Zotaga]

It's not that I feel that way. That's what I was told by HR..

[silverstarmazda]

start looking into connections from friends and family. youll most likely be able to land a job if theres a connection between you and someone your friends/fam will know.

im somewhat kind of in the same boat. its been a lot of drifting around on and off jobs.

[Zotaga]

I am working p/t right now but it's not enough.. I need something f/t in my field but nothing's available and what is requires more experience. When I applied for gen labor, I was told I won't get hired because of my education and background. They don't think I'll stay if something in my field comes up so they don't even give me a second look.

[jeffjones]

I am working p/t right now but it's not enough.. I need something f/t in my field but nothing's available and what is requires more experience. When I applied for gen labor, I was told I won't get hired because of my education and background. They don't think I'll stay if something in my field comes up so they don't even give me a second look.

Very difficult to help when you talk around the questions.....

What is your field and what are your qualifications?

[midnightfxgt]

...I need something f/t in my field but nothing's available and what is requires more experience.

Then you are not over qualified. While there may be nothing available, and I don't know the field, I doubt that not a SINGLE job has been available in your field for 2yrs



When I applied for gen labor, I was told I won't get hired because of my education and background.

Have you been told this a lot, or at a place or two? Lots of places would take on someone willing to work hard.


They don't think I'll stay if something in my field comes up so they don't even give me a second look.

Are they wrong?

[Nikhil Pali]

I have been at this situation too and have been told both that im either under or over qualified for this position. But I kept trying and worked part time in Walmart for few months and looked for job when not working, before getting a proper engineering position. I have removed things from my resume to get to under qualified level and added projects that I did in Univ to get to over qualified level.

I had couple to different resumes for different level of jobs, plus every job needed resumes to the tweaked. Keep dropping your resumes. I have driven all the way to windsor just to drop my resumes.

Which field are you in. It also helps if your open to relocation. If nothing works, move to Alberta as I did. I worked for a year, gained experience and moved back to ontario.

[Shinglez]

Lol aren't we all...

[leungalv]

So then what kinds of work are you looking for? What are your qualifications / education?

I agree with silverstarmazda ... you might want to try using your connections with friends and family and see if anything pans out.

[jeffjones]

I have been at this situation too and have been told both that im either under or over qualified for this position. But I kept trying and worked part time in Walmart for few months and looked for job when not working, before getting a proper engineering position.

+1

When I graduated for Engineering, I worked for cash at a butcher shop for 4-5 months while sending out close to 300 resumes before I found a job in my field.

[FoXy]

Why have you still not said the field yet?? Let's hear it.

[GSXi]

Just down grade your resume than... for the general-labour jobs.

Unless you're egoistic and feel like you must tell everyone about being higher educated.

[Jsquared]

You're never over qualified for money. If you think that you need to re examine your life.

Hate to jump on the band wagon here but think about this man. I work in the Aerospace Field and from time to time I bump into our PhD graduates working at starbucks and Indigo. In most cases its the same for any engineering graduate. Any pay cheque is better than no pay cheque. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in your parents basement and do not pay rent.

I am fortunate to have a job but if I somehow lost this one, I would at least jump into a server job or something until I could get back in my field.

[midnightfxgt]

Any pay cheque is better than no pay cheque. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in your parents basement and do not pay rent.

Most adults would agree with this. Most kids would feel they are entitled to more than minimum wage, sadly.

If someone can't find full-time work in 2yrs, its generally not the market thats the issue.

[peterm15]

I have been actively looking for about a year.
I am currently employed but my job is never something I wanted as a career.
Basically im looking for a trade that will allow me to progress. Or something that looks good on a resume. My resume only has 1 workplace on it.

In my position though I am in no rush.

Ive thought about Alberta and eventually that may be where I end up.

I should add as well, basically no matter what I get career wise ill be taking a decent pay cut. But steady pay checks are worth it to me.

[SomeGuy]

Even though I have a comp sci degree, I jumped on the first opportunity I found locally which was an IT job for a school board which I was grossly over qualified for. Took 3 months for me to find my career as a software developer, but at least I was working. Take what's available.

This guy is such an idiot.

[Zotaga]

My field is supply chain management. So I'd deal with all the suppliers, logistics, production planning, purchasing, etc. The problem with my field is that many people want 5 years of experience. I don't have that yet. I've applied to a lot of places but nothings panned out. And it's not just local places.. I've tried all over Southern Ontario. I keep getting hit with the "we decided to go with someone with more experience." crap.

[rajin929]

bill collectors don't give a shit where you get your money from.
$100 from a doctor is the same $100 from a janitor.

edit:
i've been in the supply chain industry for the past 10 years across different functions and levels.
there are jobs out there man, you should have no issues getting an entry level gig, something at the co-ordinator/admin/planning level just to get that experience under your belt.
you might even have to work in customer service just to get into a company and work to move laterally into something supply chain related.
if you haven't already, look into some of the APICS courses and pick up a designation.
even warehouse work is still supply chain related.
best of luck in your search

[FoXy]

You need to big up your experience. If you went to school for this and have no real experience then yes I can see it being hard but if you have ANY real job experience then just big that up and BS your way thru the interviews. Make your resume look more appealing and you're more likely to get a chance.

[electricf3el]

My field is supply chain management. So I'd deal with all the suppliers, logistics, production planning, purchasing, etc. The problem with my field is that many people want 5 years of experience. I don't have that yet. I've applied to a lot of places but nothings panned out. And it's not just local places.. I've tried all over Southern Ontario. I keep getting hit with the "we decided to go with someone with more experience." crap.

Go to a recruiter man, they will help you out. My friend is in supply chain management and he has had lots of interviews since going to the recruiter.

[Darkice]

Exactly what foxy said ! Start lieing ! Lol

[Zotaga]

Exactly what foxy said ! Start lieing ! Lol

I don't want to lie though. I am too morally sound for that. I'd feel guilty if I got the job. I'd rather be honest and get a job based off what I know. I'm not into the fraudulent activities.

[jaimie08mazda3]

Jobs are hard to come by. People want the experience. I never went to school after high school but have managed to find jobs. Not great ones until 3 years ago. Even with where I am now making decent money by today's standards and don't plan on being here the rest of my life. But before that I spent 5 years of my life working in a deli and it wasn't great money but as everyone has said its a paycheque. Where I am now is good and it makes it easier to figure out what I actually wanna do. You just gotta keep climbing up that workforce ladder and eventually you will get exactly what your looking for.

[Jenuine]

Climbing the corporate ladder is such a pain!

There are employers who will hire you despite you having no experience. You just have to show them in the interview, or cover letter, why you should get the job over someone with experience. Proving that you're willing to work hard, eager to learn and willing to grow goes a long way.

I got lucky with my job search (just 2.5 months after graduating university) and have a great job. The company took a risk hiring me when I really had no experience. I don't know what it feels like to be in OP's shoes but I do feel for people who are having difficulty with finding work. It's become so competitive!

[Stathakos]

My field is supply chain management. So I'd deal with all the suppliers, logistics, production planning, purchasing, etc. The problem with my field is that many people want 5 years of experience. I don't have that yet. I've applied to a lot of places but nothings panned out. And it's not just local places.. I've tried all over Southern Ontario. I keep getting hit with the "we decided to go with someone with more experience." crap.

dude come work at Costco

[Zotaga]

I'd gladly work anywhere right now; but I can't just suit up and go work at Costco. I'd have to go through the interview process and that's where I've hit a snag lately.. no ones calling.


dude come work at Costco

[Default User]

Have you tried a hiring agency, like AppleOne or ManPower, etc?

Let them do the search for you

[Nikhil Pali]

I don't want to lie though. I am too morally sound for that. I'd feel guilty if I got the job. I'd rather be honest and get a job based off what I know. I'm not into the fraudulent activities.

The bigger picture is we all need money. Yes you will feel guilty, but it will all fly away when you will get your first paycheck. I'm not saying lie blindly, but you need to inflate your experience. May I also suggest to get your resume looked at by a professional at resume clinic at some college. Trust me, I used to think my resume was perfect until I went and got it looked at.

[m_bisson]

I'm trying to start an apprenticeship and am having no luck because I have a university degree. I've been working in construction as a painter for over 2 years, yet they gloss over that completely and say I have "no experience" in the industry.

[Dynames]

Use your network as people have mentioned. Friends, family... do you use linkedin? Plenty of people get interviews from there and I know people who have gotten jobs out of using it.

[Kiewan]

Zotaga job hunting sucks. good luck in your search. Maybe take something just to earn some money, but keep looking for something in your field while you have that job.
I started from; gift store
to Canada post
to shoppers manager
to photo monitor at YorkU
to insurance (current )
all of these random jobs overlapped, and I'm still looking for gallery jobs and permanent positions at my school within my field.

good luck

[Stretch]

I've been working a low paying job somewhat in my field for the past 8 months while I actively look for the real 'career'. Call backs are almost non-existent for me right now, but I still try almost every day to look and apply. Discouragement is your worst enemy. Don't get eaten up by this false pain. Keep moving forward while holding work of any kind to show:
A) you're employable because you are employed
B) you're hard working and persevere

Best of luck.

P.S. if you know anyone in the product design field who could use a designer let me know ;)

eric

[rajin929]

if you haven't done so already, open an account and create a professional, well written profile on linkedin.
state you are starting your career in SCM and open to opportunities.
seek out different supply chain groups, and try to partner up with one or two recruiters.

you may be a great candidate, but your resume or interviewing skills could be preventing you from landing the job.
some good recruiters are also career coaches, they can assess your background and provide suggestions on what to do to increase your chances of getting a call back for a second interview.

its in the recruiters best interest to work with you as you are starting out, they have tons of entry level jobs to fill. After a few years, you'd turn to them to help you move on to your next role. Everytime you get hired, they get paid so they want to see you move up the ladder as years go by

[Timotee]

Hi Zotaga.....if i may suggest, while waiting, you may want to try and get an education grant and try taking up courses while waiting for something to come up.

In your case, try taking up APICS CPIM or CSCP (both professional supply chain designations). These are good designations to have and is a good thing to add in your resume. You can always put them as additonal education and even if you are not yet certified, it is always good to mention in your resume that you are working on getting one.

[rajin929]

+1 Timotee

I mentioned taking some APICS courses in my previous post. Since most in supply chain don't have these designations, getting them will help give the OP a little advantage to make up for his lack of experience.

I myself am working towards my CSCP, and have plans to complete the Masters Certificate in Supply Chain at Schulich to add to my 10 years in the field.

[mazdabetty]

I don't want to lie though. I am too morally sound for that. I'd feel guilty if I got the job. I'd rather be honest and get a job based off what I know. I'm not into the fraudulent activities.

Definitely do not lie on your resume. Worst advice ever, yet people do it all the time for some reason. Maybe it works for jobs that are easy to learn, but it won't work in every field, the truth will always come out. We hired a guy once who claimed he had all kinds of experience. Sure it worked, he was even hired on as a senior. But he was canned shortly after when everyone realized he barely had the skill level of a junior.

On the flip side, using the skills you do have to apply to a similar skill requirement is acceptable. For example, maybe the job position requires "experience with management". You might have no experience managing people, but in your cover letter you can say something along the lines of having experience in managing individual projects assigned to you. You're sort of embellishing your skills without lying about it, know what I mean?

A lot of employers will also look for key words. It's important to study the job posting provided so you can pull a few of those exact words and throw them into your resume.

Anyway I haven't read it all, but lots of good advice in this thread. Don't get discouraged. Take another job unrelated to your field in the meantime, you never know what you'll unintentionally fall into and end up loving. And if not, at least you're building other various skill sets which can end up being useful for any job.

Good luck!

[FoXy]

No one said anything about lying. Lying is not what I suggested. It's about bigging up what you have already. You cant just completely make things up, say you know something that you don't, or have some qualification if you dont. But you can for sure elaborate on the experience that you DO have. It's about making it look appealing to the employer. What makes you stand out from the rest. Often people dont think to include things because they dont realize they are relevant.

There are tons of resources on the net about how to make your resume/cover letter better and more appealing to the company.

Each resume/cover letter should be individualized for each position. You cant just use a generic one, too many people do that. When I was applying for jobs I slightly altered different things depending on what I was applying for. I have like at least a half dozen variations of the same resume, highlighting different things.

[Timotee]

Solid Rajin! Additional education such as these will definitely bolster your experience and your resume. I hope Zotaga considers doing so even if for other courses related to his experience.

I am more on logistics hence I opted to go with CITT, got my CCLP designation early last year.

+1 on what Mazdabetty and Foxy mentioned, presenting your resume is definitely selling yourself. Instead of describing your day-to-day responsibilities, FOCUS on making your sentences active and goal-driven, more on being result oriented. You can cite instances wherein you did something or suggested something which had a positive feedback or outcome. :0



+1 Timotee

I mentioned taking some APICS courses in my previous course. Since most in supply chain don't have these designations, getting them will help give the OP a little advantage to make up for his lack of experience.

I myself am working towards my CSCP, and have plans to complete the Masters Certificate in Supply Chain at Schulich to add to my 10 years in the field.

[Wisecraker]

A good resume, or job profile is all about tactical wording. No lies, no embellishments just a well worded and organized body of information.

[Booter22]

have you ever contacted magna in rexdale. i know someone who works there. let me tell you from what i hear... they could use someone who had a clue about, logistics, production planning, purchasing. its a factory but something like production planning and line runs and stuff like that would get you experience. think about the outside of the box.

[-RJ3-]

You want to do 10 hrs a day to detail cars at the auto show? I saw a link in Facebook

[r4mi5awi]

You want to do 10 hrs a day to detail cars at the auto show? I saw a link in Facebook
asyed

I joke, I joke :)

[asyed]

asyed

I joke, I joke :)

Damn I have one entire week off during the autoshow too.... but I also have a massive assignment due the following week :(

Otherwise id love to do that job....

[Zotaga]

I have an interview on Tuesday so I'm crossing my fingers, hahah.. it's for a job in my field.

[r4mi5awi]

Good luck kiddo!

[Kiewan]

Good luck.

[midnightfxgt]

Its all coming together now:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/1531730_284200448398010_450852920_n.jpg

[Sivart444]

^ LOL

[Mitchell3]

LOOOL. You have to be pretty mean to do that.

[Jackal]

^^ Wow what a mean thing to do. But funny. Lol.

[Zotaga]

Ownage lol


Its all coming together now:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/1531730_284200448398010_450852920_n.jpg

[leungalv]

I have an interview on Tuesday so I'm crossing my fingers, hahah.. it's for a job in my field.

Good luck today! :)