Some years ago, maybe 4-5 years ago, I tried to get a second job here locally. I wanted one that would 1) get me out of the house and around people a bit and 2) expand my horizons outside of my bubble of computer work. My dream goal at the time was to work in the garden center at Home Depot.
I even got an interview…and then crickets! Never heard a word back, despite following up with voicemails several times. You know what’s crazy is that I used to work for a company that provided merchandisers for Home Depot, I designed software to help them do their jobs better, I learned all about their plan-o-grams for resets, and so much more.
Then more recently, I have applied for 1/2 dozen full time jobs with them…and hear nothing.
Now the point of this post is not to bash Home Depot. I would love to work for them. (One of the twins worked for them for a couple of years and it was an amazing experience for him, as I told him it would be.)
But the reality is the job hunt is not what it used to be.
I think companies post jobs just to post them. You never hear anything back from applications. And even reaching out personally to contacts/recruiters, etc. it’s just silence. I begin to wonder if these jobs are real. Seriously, seen and applied for the same job 1/2 dozen times.
And if you are lucky enough to get an interview…well, then you get ghosted. I do not understand this. At all.
I got desperate enough this weekend and wrote a “less professional” plea on LinkedIn, it went like this:
“I need a job. I want a job. And I’m very good at the variety of things that I do.
But for the past year, it’s been crickets on the job search. Literal silence.
And I do not understand it…
Before you say it’s because I’m a mom. My kids are all grown. I’m an empty nester. I can pour into a role and a team like never before. Where is my new team?
Before you say it’s because of my age, I am relatively young still. The reason my kids are all grown is because I got them old. Thank you foster care system for giving me the large family I dreamed of. Where’s my new role?
I am an excellent #2! Seriously, if you have a vision, a project, a goal. I can make it happen. I can build the team, create the plan, create a marketing strategy, build the tech stack, and drive results.
I love to be in the weeds. Technology is my love language. And people enjoy working with and for me.
If you or someone you know is looking for a driven, passionate operations or project manager, I would love to chat!
And if you are a dreamer and need a strategic consult, I am your girl! I love helping people make their dreams come true!
Let’s talk! And please share this post. I am ready for what’s next!
Signed, Hope
(And yes, I know this isn’t a professional headshot. But frankly, doing the same old is not garnering any attention so it’s time to mix it up.)”
I see people posting desperately, trying to save their house, out of work for XXX months. It’s crazy.
And what’s worse is that thusfar, not a single real job possibility. Lots of people shared my post (most also looking for work,) lots of “let’s talk” and international people wanting me to sell their services. But where are the people hiring? Why the silence?
I paid ALOT of money when I lost my dream job last summer to get my resume professionally reviewed and redone. And have not gotten a single hit on that particular resume.
I am grateful for my part time job, but it does not pay my bills. I am looking for another local part time job. But what I need is a professional, full time job. I have nothing but time and passion to put to use…this is so frustrating. The silver lining is that I only have me to support now. But man…this should be my time to shine. Anyone want to help me be great!
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Connections – bar none, they are the best and easiest way to get a job. I would consider talking to people at church, see if any of them work at companies you’re interested in and could refer you in. Don’t apply for the same job or too many jobs at one place – their filters will see you as spam and it could really hurt your chances.
Yes, that is how I got my current part time position. Unfortunately, most of the people I speak with and know at church are my parents age, thus retired. But I continue to look.
Good! Remember, connections aren’t always direct – a retired person might have a family member or friend with a business looking for help. Sometimes it just takes being referred in, instead of using a general application, to get ahead.
Hi Hope. In my area people are applying for jobs and are also not getting called back or hear nothing/get a no after an interview… and yet the position is updated regularly on a job posted site. I don’t know about Home Depot, but I’m telling you, WM is truly always hiring for all departments! A quick peek shows that your state has lots of openings…I of course don’t know which store you live by, but like I said before, I liked working there. Also, you could look into their tech careers. I am not into that stuff, so I’m not sure how it all works.
I’ve had great success finding good paying remote jobs using a temp agency. Randstad and Robert Half are two. There are entry level $18-25/hour jobs. None have been my dream job but it’s gotten me through, plus a lot of these jobs lead to permanent benefitted positions.
My 6 month contract job after losing my dream job last summer was through Robert Half. It was supposed to be contract to hire… Even though they knew I wasn’t converting, and despite me reaching out multiple times, just never got any more leads with them. It was very discouraging. The recruiter I worked with still follows me on LinkedIn and likes all my posts but just silence.
Acknowledging that job searching is difficult but are you tailoring your resume for each position you apply to? Are you looking at all different kinds of positions or just your preferred right now? With remote work being more common after Covid, it seems that you should at least be able to find an entry level customer service job or something similar.
The problem with job hunting, is that many companies are now using AI to weed out resumes/applications. It’s a high probability that no human is even seeing your application! The advice I read was to c/p the job title and parts of the description somewhere in your application to get it past the AI for human review. It really is a mess. Even hiring managers are complaining about it.
If you ever want to go into academia, your skills would line up perfectly with the role of Instructional Technologist. You could also look for positions in Instructional Design (though the technologist role probably fits a bit better, there’s overlap in both roles). Most are in-person, which would likely require a move. But if you get lucky you might find one that’s hiring for a remote role.
Connections – bar none, they are the best and easiest way to get a job. I would consider talking to people at church, see if any of them work at companies you’re interested in and could refer you in. Don’t apply for the same job or too many jobs at one place – their filters will see you as spam and it could really hurt your chances.
Yes, that is how I got my current part time position. Unfortunately, most of the people I speak with and know at church are my parents age, thus retired. But I continue to look.
Good! Remember, connections aren’t always direct – a retired person might have a family member or friend with a business looking for help. Sometimes it just takes being referred in, instead of using a general application, to get ahead.
Hi Hope. In my area people are applying for jobs and are also not getting called back or hear nothing/get a no after an interview… and yet the position is updated regularly on a job posted site. I don’t know about Home Depot, but I’m telling you, WM is truly always hiring for all departments! A quick peek shows that your state has lots of openings…I of course don’t know which store you live by, but like I said before, I liked working there.
Also, you could look into their tech careers. I am not into that stuff, so I’m not sure how it all works.
Thanks, Lisa, I have applied to the local store and even to the local Walgreens. But silence…
I’ve had great success finding good paying remote jobs using a temp agency. Randstad and Robert Half are two. There are entry level $18-25/hour jobs. None have been my dream job but it’s gotten me through, plus a lot of these jobs lead to permanent benefitted positions.
My 6 month contract job after losing my dream job last summer was through Robert Half. It was supposed to be contract to hire…
Even though they knew I wasn’t converting, and despite me reaching out multiple times, just never got any more leads with them. It was very discouraging.
The recruiter I worked with still follows me on LinkedIn and likes all my posts but just silence.
Acknowledging that job searching is difficult but are you tailoring your resume for each position you apply to? Are you looking at all different kinds of positions or just your preferred right now? With remote work being more common after Covid, it seems that you should at least be able to find an entry level customer service job or something similar.
That’s been my thought, but it’s just crickets after applying for anything and everything.
The problem with job hunting, is that many companies are now using AI to weed out resumes/applications. It’s a high probability that no human is even seeing your application! The advice I read was to c/p the job title and parts of the description somewhere in your application to get it past the AI for human review. It really is a mess. Even hiring managers are complaining about it.
If you ever want to go into academia, your skills would line up perfectly with the role of Instructional Technologist. You could also look for positions in Instructional Design (though the technologist role probably fits a bit better, there’s overlap in both roles). Most are in-person, which would likely require a move. But if you get lucky you might find one that’s hiring for a remote role.
Oooh, I love that idea. I will definitely check it out.
Will they hire with just a Masters degree? I though most academia required a Doctorate.