Well the contract work I was doing has come to a close, so I am now back on the job hunt. This is a significantly stressful time of my life. I am honestly not sure where my next paycheck will come from… so if you need any freelance UX work, let me know. Anyway… I created a pretty thorough prompt for ChatGPT to ask me more questions about the Modern Job Search. I think it did an okay job of not repeating any questions from the first Modern Job Search post exactly (well, I did a good job editing out the repeated questions - - Pat myself in the back for the simplest of things). This time the prompt included language to ask more emotional questions. ChatGPT and I are tight like that. Here we go for 20 more questions about the job search… ugh.
Onto the questions:
1. How has AI changed the way we search for jobs in 2024?
This is a pretty self-serving question from ChatGPT… If I do say so myself. Anyhoo… It has helped for crafting job specific cover letters, but on the employer side, I think it has made it worse. I think many places are using AI and other machine learning for their ATS’s (Application Tracking Systems). ATS’s (to my understanding), are often the first round of filtering of applications (correct me if I am wrong on this one HR peeps). There are apocryphal stories of managers with open req’s getting no applications to look at due to filters in the ATS having errors or being too stringent. I know these are just stories, but they seem plausible.
2. How do you stay motivated when the job search feels like it’s dragging on forever?
That is a very good question. Sometimes I don’t stay motivated. It is hard to grind out applications every day for positions you may never hear back from. Or eweirder than that hear back from months after applying. Last week I got a form rejection email from a position I applied to in March. It took 7 months for the automated system to give me the generic “thanks but no thanks” email.
3. What strategies have you used to manage the stress and anxiety that comes with a long job hunt?
Does insomnia and eating cream cheese frosting with a spoon count as stress management strategies?
Pillsbury Cream Cheese Frosting + Spoon = 😭
4. Have you ever experienced “job search burnout,” and if so, how did you overcome it?
Of course I have experienced “Job search burnout,” but I have children who need to eat and bills that need to be paid. I have a mortgage and I made a commitment as a partner and father to help provide for my family. I am very close to not being able to maintain that commitment right now and my stress levels are insane.
5. How do you maintain a sense of self-worth when you’re not working but actively seeking a job?
This is a tough one. So much of people’s identity is tied up into what they do. A question that is often asked upon meeting new people is “what do you do?”
I am a user experience designer
This is often followed up with “where do you work?”
I am in-between contracts/jobs at the moment.
That doesn’t help the identity much. It truly is harrowing and tends to reinforce all the imposter syndrome feelings that I carry in the best of times.
6. What’s the best strategy for balancing a professional yet personal social media presence?
There is definitely a balance. Personally I try to not post anything socially that I would not be okay talking with a co-worker or supervisor with. I do post some stuff that I wouldn’t want my mother to read… because it is about my mother.
7. How can you tell if a job posting is legit or just a scam?
There aren’t many tried and true ways. Often you can see cracks in the posting by how the job duties and requirements are worded. It does not mean that these are scams for stealing your money (although, I am sure that is a goal for some of the scams), but, I feel, are more scams to get really good employment data for free by scraping freely given resumes. Some aren’t even scams in the sense that they are taking anything as much as the position is a ghost position that does not really exist. The worst is when a recruiter from some fly-by-night recruiting/staffing agency reaches out for a resume for a position they think would be good for you, and then you hear nothing from them. I think this happens so these recruiters can hit their contact metrics for their own employment.
8. Is LinkedIn really the place to be, or are there better alternatives for networking?
As far as digitally in the employ-o-sphere, I think it probably is the best place that most people know of. It will never be as good as contacting your network in person. The last contract I got (which was a very nice contract) was because a friend of my brother’s knew someone who was looking for UX help on a project that was already in motion. I did not send a generic application into the digital void with my fingers crossed.
9. Do recruiters still care about your GPA, or is that ancient history?
It depends on where you are in your careeer path. The only time it seems that a GPA really matters is when you have no other data to show that you are diligent at tasks. Once you have some work experience under your belt, the GPA seems to become immaterial… even though many digital applications require it for the education portion of the application.
10. How important is it to showcase personal projects on your resume or portfolio?
It is super important if you do not have professional projects to show in a portfolio. They should be de-emphasized as professional projects take their place in the portfolio.
11. How do you deal with the feeling of isolation when you’re job searching for a long time?
I reach out to people fairly regularly. I will periodically reach out to friends and family via text to make sure I connect. I miss conversations though.
12. What’s the toughest part emotionally about applying to countless jobs without hearing back?
As mentioned before the reinforcement of the imposter syndrome and the stress of not knowing where the next paycheck is coming from.
13.How do you handle rejection emails when you were really counting on the job?
“Counting” on the job does not really enter into the conversation. The ones that hurt are the positions you are uniquely qualified for, but you get no contact from. For example, I have an MA in Geographic Information Systems/Analytical Cartography/Spatial Analysis Methods with a 20 year career in GIS and cartography AND an MS in User Experience Design with a almost 10 year career, and I did not get a call or email from a position for a role working on UX for GIS for the industry standard software developer for GIS. I am a purple fucking unicorn for UX in GIS and didn’t even get a sniff.
14. How do you handle rejection from potential employers without it affecting your confidence?
Not gonna lie, sometimes it really hurts. Real Bad. Most of the time, though, I know that there isn’t a personal reason for the rejection, but it can still hurt.
15. Should you apply for jobs you’re not 100% qualified for, or is that a waste of time?
Apply for any job you think you should apply to. When you do not get callbacks for job applications that you are uniquely qualified for, apply to anything. Sometimes applying for a job that you are 1000% qualified for is a waste of time.
16. What’s one essential thing you should always ask at the end of a job interview?
What are the next steps in the process. It shows that you are interested in moving forward.
17. What’s more important these days: a flashy résumé or a well-connected reference?
Well-connected reference. It is not what you know, right now. It is who you know.
18. Are soft skills becoming the new hard skills in the modern job market?
Yes… to a degree. Soft skills are difficult to portray in a digital application package.
19. What’s one piece of advice you'd give to someone starting their job search today?
Just keep at it.
20. When the search feels hopeless, what keeps you going?
Family and friends and the overwhelming stress of upcoming bills. I am really anxious about upcoming bills.
To recap:
Dude, I’m tired
This is a daunting process
I like AI, most of my professional conversations right now are with Chad… uh, I mean ChatGPT
We have a very strong friendship
It is pretty one-sided… Chad being a LLM afterall
And me being a person
I won’t subscribe to ChatGPT, so we aren’t great friends…
I can only ask ChatGPT a few questions a day
I need to get a better friend
Or enough moolah to get a subscription to ChatGPT
Then my friendship with Chaad will be unstoppable
Still one-sided, but an unstoppable version of one-sided
I really need a new contract
Or a new job
Or to win the lottery that I do not play
Family is good
Truly the only thing that is an obstacle in my life is my ability to accrue the moneys
Gotta make those duckets, y’all
So, seriously, if you think I would be good for any position that you know of…
UX, product, writing, etc… Send the position information my way
Another way of coping is cooking
Homemade Cashew Chicken
Cashew Chicken from scratch for dinner tonight
I have more applications to fill out
Even this late at night
No rest for the weary
Oh, and the insomnia
There is tons of insomnia for the weary
All the insomnia you could shake a stick at
Do the thing with the Substack and the Medium and all that jazz
Have a great week everyone