Turning Tides: Resume Reading

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl found herself, last week in an odd position. She found herself being the person on the resume receiving and reading side of things. As you well know, your MatchGirl was unemployed for a year and a half, during the height of the recession, and sent out hundreds and thousands of resumes herself.

So. after having posted the position, only to one place, I sat back and waited for the resumes to roll in. And roll in they did. Hundreds. Seriously. Hundreds.

Now, you might think that if you received hundreds of resumes that you would not take the time to read them all - to look through all those cover letters and open all those MS Word attachments. But I did. I did because it's the right thing to do. I did because you never know who you will fin in the 60th or in the 150th resume. Just because someone is fast on the submit button doesn't mean they're the right fit for the job, after all.

Here are some tips, though, dear ones, for those of you still unemployed. For there were some major fails in the piles and piles of resumes and cover letters that I received.

°Formatting still matters. I don't care what the other websites say. You never know who will be reading your resume and you need to lay it out nicely, and to have the information be relevant. I promise. It's important.

°If there is a salary advertised in the post, don't send a cover letter with a salary requirement that's higher than the cap. Seriously. I cannot tell you how many cover letters I read through with salary requirements not only a bit about the advertised high end, but $10 to $15K higher. Gentle readers, you are all a lot smarter than the average bear, so this is probably a "duh" to you, but in this day and age, with the economy as it is, there is no way that you can do this. I promise there is someone who will require a salary within the advertised amount who can do the job just as well, if not better. Also, since they are less conceited, they'll probably be a lot more fun to work with.

°Use proper grammar and salutations in your cover letter, and when the person's name is listed in the job posting, address it to them! One second of research will get you so much further than copying and pasting your rote cover letter - dress it up, even just a little bit, if you want to get your foot in the door!

°Include an email address. Maybe another "duh", but we received several resumes with no email addresses included. If you want to work with/for me, why are you making my life harder?

I think that I read these cover letters and resumes with a softer eye than my colleague may have. Because unemployment, though over a year ago, was really just a minute ago in the grand scheme of my life. And I know how very frustrating it is to apply for job after job after job. And how demoralizing it is not not hear back. So I wanted to take my time and judge these cover letters and resumes with the eye of hiring the right person and reading between the lines to find them.

We start interviews this week and I'm excited and nervous to see how they go. At the end, there is only one position and we can only hire one person for it. And then I'll be the one to give the good news ... and the bad.

Work It Brooklyn Industry Focus: Music

Registration is now open for our next event– Industry Focus: Music!
Click here to register.

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It’s no big secret that Brooklyn is the epicenter of independent music in America and Work It Brooklyn is psyched to announce, in partnership with Women In Music, a very special Industry Focus event on Wednesday, April 20th at Coco66 in Greenpoint. This panel and networking event geared towards independent musicians and artists (of all genders) is bolstered by a panel of heavy-hitting music industry professionals eager to share their knowledge and insight as well as answer your burning questions as well as a select group of local industry VIPs who will be ready to network with participants during the mingling slots of the event.

The Panel
• Jeff Price, CEO/Founder/President, Tunecore
• Liz Leahy, CEO/Co-Founder, Section 101
• Michael Corcoran, President, MusicSUBMIT
• Ben Markowitz, Product Experience Manager, Fanbridge
• Jayce Varden, Director/Co-Founder, Pledgemusic.com
• Shamita Carriman Esq. (moderator), Carriman Law Group & Women In Music
Have questions for any of these panelists? Please email them to info@workitbrooklyn.com

The Evening
• 7:00-7:15pm Check in and Mingling
• 7:15-7:40pm Speed Networking
• 7:45-9:00pm Panel Discussion and Q&A
• 9:00-10:00pm Mix, Mingle, and Demo Exchange

What is Speed Networking?
Think musical chairs meets speed dating, where attendees get to meet and speak through this spunky and time sensitive activity.

Demo Exchange!
Bring a handful or two of your CDs to swap with other musicians, VIPs, or anyone else you encounter. There will also be a table where you can put your CDs as well as collect those of other attendees.
Look forward to seeing you there!

Life At Best Is Bittersweet

A new post on A Precious Environment on the excitement and the tragedy of our first weekend in our new home.

If you enjoy reading Unemployed Brooklyn, please feel free to follow your MatchGirl's further adventures on my new blog, about building a home and a life together with Boyfriend.

Reinvention

Your MatchGirl, gentle readers, has been doing a lot of thinking, of late, about reinvention.

And I've been thinking that what we often think of as reinvention is not so much making something new of one's self, but growing into something that you were always working towards. Your MatchGirl feels, dear readers, that life is just a journey. I've certainly been sharing my journey with you here on Unemployed Brooklyn - and you have shared some big changes with me! - and on my new blog - about the journey I have embarked upon in my personal life - A Precious Environment.

Since you've walked this path with me, you can probably see that I haven't changed that much.

I still contemplate relationships. I still try to shop on the cheap. I still connect with people and connect people to one another. I still, very much, share my perspective on being - in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

So, while I am going though some big changes in my life, I don't feel like I have changed. And as I continue this journey, figuring out how to marry my passions and professional worlds, I am inspired by those who have done it before me. I've written about it here before, in a post entitled "The French Chef".

It's not, really, about reinvention, gentle readers. Just about hitting your stride.

Remembering The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - And The Importance of Oversight

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl would like to take a moment and talk about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Friday, March 25th, marks the 100th anniversary of the tragedy - the largest industrial disaster in the history of New York - in which 146 people died - mostly women and, in reality, children.

I would like to take a moment to remember that tragedy and to talk about the important strides for worker's rights and labor unions that arose from the fire.
                           
With all that has been happening in the past few years - recession, job loss, fucked up economy, unemployment and underemployment - your MatchGirl thinks it's important to take pause and think about the workers who sacrificed so much to ensure that we could have fair working condition. With states like Wisconsin taking steps to make sure that collective bargaining and worker's rights will go away and Congressional Republicans promising to cut funding for OSHA, it's time to take a moment to think about what unions have done for us. And how they can help under served workers in the future.

Unions, of course, dear readers, are different then they were in the wake of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy. They are different than they were when Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975. And maybe the union, as we know it, is no longer necessary. But there is a place for oversight. There is a place for organization. There is a place for worker protection.

Employers, as a rule (save those with amazing company culture), place economic growth and profits ahead of the welfare of their workers. In 1911, that welfare was about cramped working conditions, long hours and fair wages. In 2011, it's about substandard oversight of oil rigs and mines. It's about teacher's, educating this country's next generation of leaders, getting paid, on average, less than your neighborhood babysitter. It's about people desperately looking for jobs only to see the only things listed are unpaid or underpaid internships - where the "employer" wants full time work and a long list of qualifications, but refuses to pay for the experience.

Your MatchGirl doesn't have the answer, gentle readers, but she sees the problems. And while we may not have the same kind of need (in this country, anyway) for labor unions that we used to, we still need something.

Until that time comes, let's make sure to look out for each other, gentle ones. It's the least we can do.

Operation Tomodachi: Benefit for Japan

Gentle readers, though it's not in Brooklyn, your MatchGirl wants to share this benefit event with you. It happens tonight at 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross to assist the survivors of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

Thanks to Star Mama for sharing!

Please join Deadly Dragon Sound and guests as we honor and pay respect to everyone that has been affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan this past week.

We will be donating all proceeds from the night to Red Cross Japan.

Confirmed guests include : 

Miki from King Jam Sound // Mitch from Yard Beat Sound //
Kitano Creation // Uni-T Human Crest //

plus performances by :

Johnny Osbourne
Ranking Joe
Screechy Dan
Mikey Jarrett
Willow Wilson
& more!

$10 (suggested donation) at the door.

Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street (Forsyth/Eldridge)
New York, NY 10002

10pm - 4am
2 for 1 drink specials from 10pm - 11pm

for more info check out deadlydragonsounds.blogspot.com


＃日本StandFirm

Employed But Looking?

Ah, gentle readers, your MatchGirl has been a busy, busy bee. She is about to leave her cozy apartment, where she has lived for 6 1/2 years. She had been hard at work as part of the team that brings your favorite networking event to Brooklyn. She has joined the Community Managers Meetup community, hoping to meet more people who share her passions for connecting people in real life. And she has been working away at her day job.

At the same time, she is still connecting with people who are unemployed and underemployed, sharing the knowledge she gained during her year and a half of unemployment and trying to help make sure that others have smooth transitions and answer any questions that I can.

Recently I spoke with a friend who was employed, yet unhappy. And I've been thinking about that conversation. She's since quit her job and is in the process of figuring out what her next steps will be. I also spoke, recently, with a friend who, though he doesn't hate his job, he certainly does not look forward to going to it every morning. In that conversation he confided to me, and I feel OK in sharing it here, that after a long period of unemployment, he still just felt grateful to have a job. And, through, my network of formerly unemployed and still unemployed people, I have had the opportunity to speak to a lot of people who have been or are currently in similar situations.

Many of you, dear readers, took the first job you could get. You needed to. You needed to make more than $405 a week. You needed to get health insurance. You needed to start putting money back in your savings account. You needed to be able to go out for a drink or to brunch. You needed to be able to afford that plane ticket home for Christmas. And, for some of you, that's worked out well. For some of you, you feel stuck. You're employed, but you're looking. You don't want to seem ungrateful, because you still feel so lucky to even have a job at all, but you're not in a place that feels an exact fit.

And that, gentle ones, is OK.

It's awesome that you have a job now. It's awesome that you can pay your rent on time and without freaking out that the check will bounce. It's amazing that you can go to the doctor without having to go into debt. And you are not ungrateful.

Here is my advice. If you are unhappy, but employed, look. It doesn't hurt. And it's not ungrateful. See what's out there. Either you will find something that will suit you better or you will find out that where you are is not so bad.


It's not the same kind of job search that you had while you were unemployed. It's not as pressing. It's not imperative. It's just putting your feelers out there. Knowing what you are worth. Knowing that it's healthy to be keeping an eye open for your future. It's totally OK to look to better yourself and to take care of yourself. Keep eyes forward, gentle readers, it can only help you move ahead.