Where did you find your current job?
Mrs. PA and I are both looking for gainful employment these days, and we’re having a tough time finding two jobs that look interesting, are reasonably near one another, and which we both have a chance of actually getting.
So far I’ve done most of my searching using the internet of course. I’ve tried RSS feeds from Craigslist job postings, manually checking individual sites, and other feeds from job aggregators (like ScienceCareers). I feel like it’s a pretty wide net, but I haven’t caught many keepers yet. Mrs. PA has found a few positions that she’s applied for, but they tend to be in fairly backwater places where my chances of employment are slim. I’m worried that we’re looking for jobs in all the wrong places.
So, I guess it’s not a bad idea to ask people who have jobs where they found them. Did you use one of the big job sites online? Personal contact? Newspapers? How long did your job search take? Did you go on a lot of interviews, or did you just happen to mesh with the first company?
May 21st, 2008 at 11:59 am
Well, I was recently out of work for the first time since 1988 but started a new job a week ago.
Some general tips.
If you register with job agencies, don’t exceed 2 - 3. Things can get messy if loads of agencies are essentially doing the same/similar thing for you.
Newspapers are still worth a look at but without question, the internet is where the action is these days.
Place your CV online. This can be hit or miss since there are loads of sites that allow you to do so. I got lucky on attempt 3, had a red hot phone the next morning and out of the three resulting job interviews, got a pretty good new job right away.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
If you don’t already have them, I suggest spending an hour putting together LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, and a few minutes a day for a week or so adding people to your network. I have no personal evidence that it can help with finding or landing a job, but it can’t hurt and I suspect it could be very useful. (I met my wife online, through mutual friends whom I had only ever met online, so it’s no stretch for me to imagine finding a job that way.)
The only other thing I can think of (that you’re not already doing) is google searching. If you structure your search carefully (by paying attention to the wording of job ads that catch your eye), it can lead you to job ads you might otherwise not find. Not everything good is advertised on jobs.nature and the other usual suspects.
Good luck!
May 21st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Great comments so far!
@McDawg - I have my CV “online”, but so far it hasn’t generated any leads. Perhaps I should start shopping around a bit
@bill - I used to have a Facebook profile, but I pulled it because I decided I didn’t like them having all of my personal info. I’ve never really looked into LinkedIn, but I’ve always gotten the impression that it was more of a “professional networking” site. I’ll have to give it a try. The Google recommendation is great. Not sure why I didn’t think of that one.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:54 pm
My wife forwarded me the ad for my current job, so I’m guessing that doesn’t help much? Only other things I can offer is look for places where there are two (or more) centres near (enough) to each other and get a grip on commuting. I work near Oxford and live in Bath (~2 hours each way). The wife works in Bath, but then she’s the successful scientist in the family :)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I found the posting for the position I’ve just been offered through the Chronicle of Higher Education website - lots of academic job postings there if that’s your cup of tea. I think you are “doing it right” which is to say, I’m not sure how you would significantly improve upon what you’ve already got going. Unfortunately, for all the work we can put in, I think a lot of it comes down to luck and timing - and maybe recognizing survivable interim opportunities until that ship comes in… Good luck!