75
Looking for suggestions
Hi. I am fairly new to this group. My friend suggested I attend the virtual career fair which I am registered for.
-About me-
I completed my Ed.D . in Instructional Technology and Distance Education in August. I have been a caretaker for my father with Lyme disease for the past 8 years. Since completing my Ed.D. I have stepped up my career search, looking for instructional design, project management, technical writer, research. My dissertation was on telehealth (but am not a clinician) using the Delphi method.
The problem: I have over 30 open applications and have very few interviews...many positions I am over educated and under skilled.
I have a paid Linked-In membership but has not resulted in much. I also used a career coach for a while with few results. Luckily I have a friend with a background in HR who was able to look at my transcripts and what I had done both in education and professionally to advise what kind of jobs I would be qualified for.
Looking for any suggestions or resources in this job search.
Barb HansenStartup Product, Growth & Strategy
9.5k
01/17/20 at 5:36PM UTC
Welcome to the group. You've come to the right place.
Here are some random suggestions that popped into my head: (FYI: I'm not a HR professional, I'm a person who has had to struggle to get my next job over my career, so here are some strategies that I have used)
1. Do you have a customized resume for each type of job you are applying for?
There is a big difference between a technical writer and a PM position and you don't want the person (or software) reading your resume to immediately reject you because your resume is too general. Focusing your resume on each job type may help.
2. On Linkedin, do you have the "I want to be contacted by recruiters" feature turned on?
And if you think you do, please check it again. Sometimes that feature switches off, depending on your interactions or non-interactions with recruiters.
3. Have you reached out to hiring agencies?
A hiring agency like Creative Circle (which is big in the digital/creative space) has open positions that are not listed elsewhere. Being a contractor (through an agency) may not be a great job, but it can be a great way to get experience.
4. I attended a Virtual Career fair here on FGB last summer and I had a great experience.
I got a few interviews and was offered a job at Bank of America (which I did not accept as another position that I had been hustling to get for a few months opened up for me)
5. Have you looked at working at a startup?
I work in startup land so I lean towards suggesting that people look to startups when looking to get a job.
I would find a startup that is in your field (telehealth is big in health/health insurance startups) and then lean on your educational experience and your ability to do many different roles in that startup (many startups love hiring a Jill-of-all-trades) .
Start with these job boards:
- angel.co/jobs
- builtin.com/jobs
Don't know what startups are doing something that you would be interested in?
Get educated. Spend some time (spend a morning or two) reading about startups on Crunchbase (a great resource on what's happening in the startup worlds).
I have a lot of contacts in the health startup world and I'm happy to connect with you on LinkedIn.
Good luck and keep us in the loop on your journey.
Cybele WuUX Researcher | Designer seeking healthcare
75
01/17/20 at 6:19PM UTC
Thank you barb! 1) Yes, I have a customized resumes, 2) I do have the ok for recruiters to contact checked 3) I have not yet contacted recruiting agencies. I know they are not all created equally. Thank you for the reference to creative circle. 4) Great to hear that the virtual career fair was positive. I look forward to it. 5) I have thought about a startup but have not started the search. Thank you so much for the references and will connect with you on Linked-In.
