Job hunting resources

[gnubler]

It's that time again...

What methods and resources do you guys use to find work? What has worked and what hasn't? How have you spread word that you're available and looking? I'm pretty well-versed in this department but am open to new ideas.

First person to say the "f" word gets a punchy icon.    At most I might consider LinkedIn if others feel it's been a useful tool for them.

Obviously the smart thing to do is to not look for work in printing at all, but I'm going to give it one more shot and see what's out there.

[Joe]

Obviously Facebook is the way to go...

 

Seriously though, I see a lot of people listed on LinkedIn but I haven't actively promoted myself much and haven't looked for work there. I think the resources are there though. I do belong to a few LinkedIn prepress groups and I find that about 80% of the people posting there should be nowhere near a prepress department but alas there they are.

I guess I'm old school and still prefer filling out an application and getting an interview but like I said I haven't actively looked in 12 years so I'm really not very helpful am I. But I'm sitting here at work on a Friday night waiting for jobs to arrive and I'm pretty damn bored so this is pretty exciting stuff replying to your question so here I am.

Anything else?

[t-pat]

linkedin - the value I see here is that if you build a network of connections, it's sort of like they're references, or adds credibility to you somehow. I'm not saying it's true, but perception counts. It's also apparently where people go to recruit passive job seekers. I have connections with people I barely know but they're respected in the industry, and it seems to have gotten me noticed by at least one company. You can put a resume up there and bio information that can get you noticed.

Working industry references is a good way to look. Ask your peers locally to keep an ear out for stuff. Inside information always helps.

Indeed.com is a great tool too, it comes up with some pretty hard to find jobs that may only be listed on the company's careers pages (as well as searching most of the major job boards at the same time)

[gnubler]

Thanks guys.

I have a friend who, despite being employed, has a LinkedIn account 'just because' and he said he gets contacted by employers on a regular basis. (Different line of work, but still...)

I'm going to post a resume on craigslist, do the usual gamut of trawling help wanted ads from different sources, mail real paper letters to local companies, and word of mouth to peers.

When I was on the hunt last year I noticed several printing/design related jobs on the State Workforce website. One of my now not-current coworkers got his job by posting his info there, so I presume there are employers searching the listings.

[gnubler]

Indeed.com is a great tool too, it comes up with some pretty hard to find jobs that may only be listed on the company's careers pages (as well as searching most of the major job boards at the same time)

Never heard of that, will check out.

[t-pat]

indeed.com will also send you alerts for new listings based on your search terms. I think its a google product, or something, but it really does give lots of relevant results.

[gnubler]

Can you use LinkedIn anonymously? (no name)

Obviously people who are employed probably don't want to advertise that they are looking for another job lest the wrong eyes come across their ad/bio.

[t-pat]

There are privacy controls but probably will limit your audience. It's not viewed as primarily a job seeking tool, but business networking, so actually a lot of employers if they're smart encourage participation.

If they are like my company and fire people for being open to opportunity, then they are obviously not offering enough to retain good employees. It's like the insecure jealous girlfriend.

[gnubler]

Or boyfriend.

[Slappy]

Can you use LinkedIn anonymously? (no name)

No, but unless somebody pays for an Upgraded Account, they really can't see all of your info anyway. Likewise, you can only see a little info about who is checking out your Profile unless you pay for one of the upgraded account types. It's not really worth it imo, and Linkedin is not like the FB anyway. You only connect to people who are truly relevant to your business, and once you populate your Job & Education history and Summary type stuff, there's not a lot of upkeep really.

I know they push getting the Upgrade to get better Job Seeking tools but I don't know what those are or if it's worth the cash.

Other sites: Monster.com although I have never used it, printworkers.com and semperllc.com are specific to printing. Getting profiles onto them can be kind of a pain, you have to enter your entire resume in plain text, I think they'll attempt to convert an uploaded PDF but it never works 100% so it will take some time to get a Profile right.

[Tracy]

check to see if you have the PIA in your area Printing Industries Association
you can submit your resume there
I've done it before and have gotten calls

[gnubler]

Awesome, thx Tracy.

Will try all avenues and let everyone know what happens.

[gnubler]

I just got contacted for a skills test. Wish me luck!

[t-pat]

I just got contacted for a skills test. Wish me luck!

[t-pat]

I just got contacted for a skills test. Wish me luck!