So I just finished this book and I'd rather have by $3 back. Yeah it was in the heavily discounted area of Borders so I thought I would give it a go. But maybe there was a specific reason it was in that section...
The main beef of the book was kinda stupid. You had this writer spruce up a resume and try to enter the workforce as a PR person. She went about applying to the best of her abilities on various job boards and actaully bit into the whole sham of networking events, church-oriented job-search groups, career coaches, resume coaches, and even those lame sales job postings for Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and Mary Kay.
Most of the activities were predictable. Coaches are usually emphatic public speakers who know shit because they've been "consulting" for so many years and give no helpful advice, similar to a shrink who will ask you billions of questions but tell you nothing in return. Networking events are BS events where some guy talks for an hour or so and tries to sell you into an expensive "boot camp" to get you ready for employment. Resume coaches are themselves unemployed and make small changes here and there to make your resume seem better than it is. Career coaches try to talk you into changing your actions, responses, and approaches as if you were in an interview. Church peeps are just trying to convert you, and sales job are exactly that....no bennies sales jobs based solely on commission.
The main thing that people who take advantage of these services don't get are that these things are meant to help you out after you've gotten a phone call for an interview...but what usually happens on a job hunt is that you never get called back.
Yeah take it from me who has been unemployed many-a-times and have done everything right in terms of education, experience, internships, etc... Job Hunting Sucks. You start out optimistic, applying to what you think you're qualified for. A while later you start applying to everything in your field just to see what happens, which is actually nothing. After a while longer you start pondering other avenues like applying to jobs that are not located in your own city. Next you apply for everything....even throwaway jobs at the local mall or a Best Buy. At this point you are in the depths of depression and you really feel like ending it all.
One life-changing event is to be unemployed after going through your "normal" education path...the fall is all the harder to take if you have an advanced or professional degree...it's a pride issue but definitely not something that should be overlooked. People who have never been unemployed like this usually have no idea what you're talking about or are unable to empathize appropriately. They just have no idea because it really is that bad. One second you are entrenched in the middle class, paying bills, buying stuff, going to work, etc. The next second you are living off savings and panicking, and the last second you are almost out of money and will have to beg family to assist or you can take yourself out. $X per year to $-0 is very hard to take...it changes your life in an instant and there is no way to avoid it other than having a job that is in high demand. Going back to school is another fallback choice but the older you get, the harder it is. So here are some bits of advice that this author did not cover well enough:
- If a service is looking for money, fuck'em...they are catering to the desperate and you, as the job searcher, are desperate. Anything they provide won't help you because #1 If you can't write a descent resume, you shouldn't be applying anyways. #2 If you can't handle yourself accordingly in an interview it probably means that it won't be a good fit for you. #3 I doubt they are that "connected", like a headhunting group or some other similar operation.
- Don't waste time updating an online profile unless you are sure the employer will look at it (i.e. government jobs). No employer is going to "search" for your resume...they get hundreds of them a day so it is not like there is a lack of resumes to fish through.
- Use websites like Monster.com or Dice.com or Careerbuilder.com to get the name of a company. Apply directly from a company's website instead of going through the service site.
- All of the jobs I've ever gotten were from applying directly through the company website or using the career services website through whatever University I graduated from or was enrolled in. Those alumni career sites have actual postings that real people actually look through.
- If nothing appears within your area, act as if you were in another city and look there...staying in one place is pointless if there are no jobs there....the city of Detroit is a perfect example of this. Also, remember that everyone in America (excluding Indians) originated from somewhere else. If there were a ton of jobs and opportunities in Europe or Asia or Mexico, would our x great grandparents have come over here? Yeah moving sucks but really...8 months of applying in one city and having no interviews? That's sketchy...
- Actually move to that new city. A person looking at a resume from a person living in another city is usually going to ignore it unless 1) You have a great amount of experience that they specifically need. 2) You are applying for a C-level or other high-up position.
- Join the military. I don't know why so many people are against this but seriously...if you can run and follow orders what is a neg of this? They pay for everything, it's a job, you can chill in it until you retire, and you get to learn new shit. The negative sides are that hopefully you don't have a family and you lose your right of "choice".
- Go teach English in a foreign country. Some money is better than no money...and from that other country you can either wait out the horrific US economy, maybe get contacts for a better job in that country, or just get a better perspective on things in your life.
- Go back to school while realizing if you seriously can or cannot do the job. Ask yourself, are you actually able to sit through all of those boring pre-req courses to become a nurse? If you can't, don't waste your time. Do you have a fear of blood and bodily fluids? Maybe healthcare isn't right for you. Are you smart enough to actually pass classes that you'll be taking with fresh, enthusiastic 18 year olds? Did you do well in science before? Competition is nutty these days and yeah unless you go to some no-name community college, chances are that you won't get a coveted "spot" unless you're one of the smarter of the bunch.
- But if all else fails all you can do is keep applying. Apply to everything and spend more time finding different sites that will link you to more postings...that's all you can do. Yes you will feel like a total loser if you don't "do" anything like going out and networking and stuff like that but really...if you had a job and you met some random person who was looking for a job, would you really recommend this person to your employer or HR person? Fuck no. You will not put your rep on the line so someone else "might" have a chance at a job. That's the reality of "networking"...bullshit. The only real networking that may work is through your friends...people who trust you enough to be recommended by them. But for everyone else, it's bullshit.
So yeah, sure it might feel like you aren't doing anything by sitting in front of your computer applying to a bunch of jobs, but it's much better than being ripped off by various schemes that are trying to "help" you. Again...if they want money, your desperation is what brings them their income.
So yeah back to the book review though...the author's style kinda sucks and it didn't bring much to light in terms of educating me on the subject. The most obvious, logical reasons for something is usually the correct one. And in the case of the author and her quest to try to enter into the corporate world, it was getting ripped off by various career coaches or buying into services that didn't really help you any.
Rating - Low
So yeah after a short 6 hour stint, I've completed this game. I'd say that the gameplay was as good as the first but the story was a little all over the place. I never replayed MW1 and I doubt I will replay this game for the same reason.
