Advice for Job Hunting on Craigslist.org

Because everyone wants to avoid the spam & scams that plague Craigslist.org

So, first things first. To get directly to your city on Craigslist, in your address bar type Your-city-name before dot-craigslist-dot-org. Like this: newyork.craigslist.org  which will take you to the New York City page.

Next thing you want to keep in mind is to keep a look out for scams. Easier said then done right? Not so.

1) Look for names. If the add asks you to put it to the attention to a specific person the chances are it's a real ad. The same for if there is an e-mail or mailing address that they ask you to respond to.

2) Read the ad and follow any directions it might have. It the add says to send it attention 'specific person' or to add a specific job number, do it. Put it in the subject of your e-mail and in your cover letter. This shows them that you can follow basic instructions and thus shouldn't get you weeded out of the running.

3) Avoid ads that offer to pay way higher then the going rate in your area. If in your area your job lands you $10 and the post is offering $20? Chances are it is not legit.

4) Watch out for duplicate ads. Sometimes the scams will use the same format for the same position and post many times. Some sneaky hiring agents do the same thing. After a while you will notice that some look exactly like ones from the last time you looked and while the location might change chances are they are a scam. Also, Craigslist has a 30 day rule which is basically that you can't post the same ad with in 30 days of your last post. A handy little thing to keep in mind.

5) Watch their grammar in both the subject and the body of the ad. Most are gimmicks to get you to apply, they are pretty obvious but some might sneak past your watch. There are some people who are legitimately bad at making postings. These are usually done by people that are not used to looking to fill an opening, by people who don't really use the internet or just someone having a bad day.

It's not a long list but if you keep these things in mind when job hunting on craigslist they could make you search a little bit easier. I use all of these methods in my own searches and I use them as I discovered them. I have gotten more call backs using this list then I have just replying at random.

Remember When E-mailing Your Resume

Just a quick post but when you are replying to a job posting via e-mail make sure to attach your resume to it. Sending a second e-mail, the same as the first but with the resume attached is a good back up plan. Personally I have not heard back from anyone were I forgot to send my resume with my first e-mail.

Also, I have tried using the BCC options in responding to the craigslist ads that were for the same or similar position title. I did get some responses but it was a pain to figure out what went with what. Also when they did respond most were scams and the others didn't mention craigslist at all. When I tested it to myself it looked kind of obvious that I had e-mailed the same thing to several people. The BCC tag is a bit of a tip-off. Personally I don't know if I will try that method again.

Another Job Search Method

So in my current search I had decided to only reply to postings that supply a separate e-mail in their add.

As you can image this has dramatically reduced the amount of e-mails I am sending. With this I'm hopeing this will also reduce the amount of scam adds that I respond to. Or the amount of sneaky hiring agencies that try and trick you into applying with them and you never hear from them again.

I have not tried faxing to companies because I do not have a fax machine. The ones that ask you to call are also not high only list because I would have to call them during work and I am not comfortable with that. But if you are go right ahead and try it.

The advantage to this is most News Paper Ads will have e-mails in them. While it is hard to tell how long the ads have been there, or if the position has been filled but the ad is still running, they are still worth a look.

Because you just never know what you might find.

To Job Hunt or to Wait

So I never got a call back from a job I would have loved and flourished in. It was extreamly dissapointing but at the same time it was almost a relief.

Almost.

I belive I will be starting in a new college in May so I am going to have to do a lot of running around to get that set up. Trying to do that while learning a new office, names, ect? I think it could have not ended so well and at this point I will never know. They also did not send a ding letter which is just annoying since they made it seem like I was their first choice. But in this day and age no one gets told that they were not chosen.

I know I don't want to hope that the person they chose doesn't work out so that they might call me. While part of me secretly hopes I will get called regardless, in this economy everyone needs the jobs they can get. I am not desperately searching for a job so I don't feel that I should be bitter about not getting chosen.

I just keep hoping that when I do finish college that I will get off my butt, go to NYC and find a job.

Finished My Taxes and I Have Another Plan

I just finished my taxes and am very happy. I always make one urchase with my tax money to treat myself. I got a new camera one year and a laptop another. But when I do this I make sure I have most of my tax return left over and use that to pay bills.

This year I'm going to put the rest away in a savings account.

This is a bit of a change for me and I know I will be tempted to use it. But if I don't I will have a nice little nest egg for when I try and find a job in New York City. I can envision my readers going 'ah-ha!' as my insanity makes a little bit of sense. Please alow me to help it make more sense.

If I put this money aside I will have almost half of what I will need. That will shorten my wait time between finishing college and moving to NYC greatly. At the same time i will have finished paying for my car and will hopefully still have a grace period before I have to start paying my school loan back.

I do not know how having a student loan and financial assistance will effect my taxes. This is something I will have to wait until next year to find out. I have a few more things I need to do to see if I can transfer to a better college. If done soon enough I would start in May of this year. I need to check to see how that is going later this week.

Waiting for a Call Back

This is probably the worst part about job hunting. Will they call me back? What should I do if they don't call me back?

Having a promising interview only to hear nothing ever again hurts. It always has and it always will. You could almost feel led on by a good interview. Personally I think I might prefer to hear at the interview if I wasn't going to be considered. On the plus side I would know not to hold my breath and stress out about all the little "if's".

Actually, if I knew flat out that I wouldn't be considered I would feel better in the long run. I wish more companies would do that instead of leading you on.

I will never understand why an interviewer feels the need to make vague promises to someone who doesn't fit the bill and would be wasting their time giving them every bit of information about the company that only employees really should know. Mainly Vacation, pay and in-depth explanations of benifits. thease tend to be trigger words that make people think they are getting hired.

Also, being told that you are the first one that they have interviewd so far. Not as vcalming as they might think.

Stress? Me? Never...

How to Change Your Mailling Address

So you have a new job in another city, got a P.O. Box, switching apartments or you are moving for better weather... Now you have to look into switching your mailing address. The United States Postal Service has made it very easy to change your address.

This is the link you want.

this makes it extremely easy to do when moving or getting a P.O. Box or switching apartments. Which ever the reason this is the link that you would want to use. Or you could always go in to your local post office and get a form to fill out. Which ever you are more comfortable with.

Should you get a P.O. Box in another city for a New Job

During my search to try and find a new job in another city I thought about getting a P.O. Box.

The main reason I did Not get one was that seeing P.O. Box on your resume, to me, seems like a red flag. It makes it seem like you do not live in that city or that you move frequently. Or the company might not give it a second thought.

If you do get asked as to why you have a P.O. Box make sure you have an answer ready. If they ask you about the P.O. Box address they might ask where you are currently living. Do not make up an outrageous lie, they will be able to tell. If anything tell them that it is a temporary thing. They might not press beyond that but be prepared if they do.

Personally, if you are not living with in 2hrs of the city you are trying to get a job in or unless you were going to be living there in 1-2 months, I wouldn't bother. Most companies want to know what your plans are and when you will be in the city. They will not pay for your travel costs to interview with them and plane tickets add up fast. a P.O. Box would just be adding to the cost of your search

If you will be in your new city in 1-2 months put that on your cover letter. If you are planing to go there prior to look at apartments or houses add that you would be available on such and such days. It is much easier to re-schedule with your Realtor agent then a potential job.


Again, mention these  things in your cover letter. Have questions & answers ready for any and all phone interviews. It's the little things that can make your search just that much less stressful.

Check in with your Hiring Agents

I called my two new local hiring agents.

One is going to send me a test to do and the other hasn't mentionedany tests. Interestingly they both told me to call and check in with them every week. I find this interesting because that must be a lot of calls coming in to them and I didn't want to add to that. But I was going off old information.

Back in the day when I last used an agency, I was told not to call in more then once every two weeks and that they would call me. And they did call me. With this new economy I thought the rules would be the same. I am actually really happy to see that they are not the same.

With luck they might find me something after I have started my college classes. To add to that I hope it is close to the college. Then again I would not turn up my nose at something near my house.

Fate is such a fickle mistress.