Old Job Application Process vs. New

[Slithytoves]

I'm back in the regular job market for the first time in seven years, and I'm hating it. I'm only doing it because I have to make a predictable income quickly, to budget and pay for my move overseas.

I miss the days when a person turned in a paper job application, and good penmanship and a live first impression could bump you to the top of the pile even if your qualifications weren't a perfect match to the open job. Back when a good cover letter really was a chance to stand out. Before e-application forms that limit your characters in each field so much that you have to use abbreviations and drop words to say anything. Before "cut-and-paste" resume windows that totally screw up your formatting. Before getting the right phone numbers for a prospective employer to call and check your references was an all-day affair, and when employers didn't drop you from their files in 3-4 years, like you'd never even worked there. Before third-party HR departments, and automated pre-screening systems that scan your submission for keywords and disqualify you seemingly arbitrarily. Before stupid, lengthy online "personality tests" that are rarely even a fair indication of what kind of employee you will actually be. When Management still had the latitude (and open-mindedness) to decide that a degree, or a specific one, wasn't absolutely required in your case. When positions weren't posted until a company was actually ready to start interviewing, and only one, maybe two interviews were required for a simple office or retail management job. When you could call back to check on your application status, just once, without being treated like you're desperate and wasting someone's time. When all interviewees got the courtesy of a call-back, or at least a timely letter, good news or bad. When even many corporate employers could hire on-the-spot, and often did.

I got every job I ever applied for until all this stuff changed, and if I ever needed a break, it's in my present situation. I'm not feeling very hopeful at the moment.

What you think of how hiring is handled these days? Has it helped you or hurt you, when looking for work? Additions to my gripe list? Stories from the battlefield?

 

[AsheSkyler]

I can't get hired. I put in over 30 applications last year and got ONE rejection email, and they all had a stern warning on their websites to not dare try to apply again or follow up. Bigger companies like Walmart and Kmart won't even let you apply to multiple locations even if you live the same distance away from one store than the other. One application per 6+ months and that's the only shot you've got until the timer resets. And if you don't have a degree, well, screw you and we don't need your uneducated trash at our prestigious company. My last four jobs have all been at small "mom and pop" businesses because they're the only ones with any sense anymore. I really hate this online application crap.

 

[Xenocity]

Hiring process these days is so screwed up that most people who normally would have been hired fall through the cracks.
Being a out of school for about a year now with no job, I can tell you the process is [insert a 4 letter expletive here].

Employers come to career fairs, only to give you card with their website for you to apply online.
The people who man the booths don't even review your resume.
Or the employers who have a booth but aren't hiring.

Why did I bother to go to the career fairs then (this is why I quit going)?

Another gripe of mine is the lack of entry level positions and the ones that do exist have the following requirements:

1. Typically 3-5+ years of industry experience (not general experience)
2. Required degree(s)
3. Required certification(s) - which can only be obtained while employed in said industry
4. X number of years in the software they use (which isn't always listed until the interview).
   1. This also applies if their software is proprietary
5. Other asinine stuff
6. Many give you a trial period, where you work for free for the first 3 - 12 months, with no benefits before you are hired for a paying gig
7. Oh you have to hit the ground running aka you have to know how to do the job on the first day.

You are supposed to learn this while finishing your degree.

As for internships it's nearly as bad:

1. Typically 2-5+ years of industry experience (not general experience)
2. Many require degrees and some even require masters degrees
3. Some require certification
4. Knowing the software day and date
5. Oh you best not require training, if you want this internship
6. Typically lasts one term

Internships still haven't recovered to their pre 2010 levels yet.
The ones that do exist, you're in competition with career folks who still haven't found full time employment.

When I interviewed at General Motors IT, they literally told me that if I was hired in, I'd be expected to "hit the ground running" as in I'd be expected to do the job on the first day without training.

When I interviewed at a smaller company for an elearning developer position, they refused to hire me because they wanted someone who knew all their software without any adjustment and training period.
I would have been good for this job.

Another interview I had at a different company, the recruiters loved me and they knew how high the requirements were, especially since the job was for a grad who was within 1 year of graduation.
The IT people wanted a grad within a year of graduation who had a few years of enterprising software experience, upon the work experience. Though obviously you don't learn enterprising software while in school let alone by the 5th year on a job.

I hate being asked by employers why I didn't go the internship route to be hired!
It's not my fault that most internship were only for a term or two and didn't end in hiring.
Also most internships became scarce with huge requirements.
NOT MANY COMPANIES HIRE INTERNS IN AS FULL TIME EMPLOYEES ANYMORE.

Also I hate it when I am asked about why I didn't get Industry Experience while working on my degree...
Well most industry jobs won't hire you as long as you are in school and most internships don't give you much industry experience these days, let alone something meaningful to do.

Or getting asked why you didn't have a job while working on your degree...
With the requirements for classes, their scheduling, and all the clubs and stuff you are supposed to do, there isn't much time to hold a job too.
Also most employers refuse to work around your college schedule too.

It doesn't help that I am too experienced and educated to get most low end jobs such as retail and food services.
I have tried to get them too.

This is why I have made up my mind to go through the state program for those with ASDs and Asperger's
I can't deal with the job search anymore.


Oh most companies also only keep you on file for 1 year.
Also those online application processes that require you to create and account and fill in pages of information taking upwards of an hour for each company make it quite hard not to go mental over it.
This is one of the reasons why I've made my decisions.

 

[Progster]

I once tried to find a job in the UK to earn some money fast, and met with the same frustration. I couldn't even get hired for menial jobs. No one wants to hire a 40+ year old who was out of the country for several years teaching. I had hoped to make a break from the teaching, but in the end I had to return to it, it's the only means I have to make a living. I often wonder how people manage to get jobs at all. Sometimes I think the only way to find a job is to have connections.

You used to be able to get a casual summer job by going to fruit picking farms, plant nurseries or garden centres by walkin in and asking for work, but not any more. You need to fill out application forms and have references even for those.

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

There's a career consultant who claims this method works even for long-term unemployed:

1. Use LinkedIn to find names of managers in companies you're interested in.
2. Write a letter directly to those managers about current events in industry and your questions about how the manager's job is affected. Don't include your resume. Ask for a coffee conversation. If they respond, talk to them until they give you a lead.

I got as far as finding a company and manager before I got hired by an agency for another job, so I don't know if it works. I did read a feature article on someone who'd been unemployed for two years and this worked for him.

And, yes, being aspie doesn't make this easy. My portfolio is fabulous, and my interview scripts are well-rehearsed, but I'm still not wired to "connect" all that well, and emotionally it's difficult. Someone recently told me I have the vibe of a machine, until I break down.

 

[Slithytoves]

and they all had a stern warning on their websites to not dare try to apply again or follow up. Bigger companies like Walmart and Kmart won't even let you apply to multiple locations even if you live the same distance away from one store than the other. One application per 6+ months and that's the only shot you've got until the timer resets.

That's ridiculous. It doesn't even make practical sense for the stores. A good candidate could be edged out of one job opening for whatever reason, but there could very well be another opening elsewhere. And I don't believe for a minute that applications on file get redistributed in these big systems. In fact, I have evidence that they don't. It's just stupid.

I'm sorry you've had a hard time finding anything. I hope it turns around.

Another gripe of mine is the lack of entry level positions

When I interviewed at General Motors IT, they literally told me that if I was hired in, I'd be expected to "hit the ground running" as in I'd be expected to do the job on the first day without training.

When I interviewed at a smaller company for an elearning developer position, they refused to hire me because they wanted someone who knew all their software without any adjustment and training period.

Most entry-level stuff where I live (Columbia, SC) now requires a bachelor's degree except for low-level service industry jobs. Seriously?! A degree doesn't mean crap in terms of how well you can perform duties, unless they're specialized or it's a truly professional position.

How are people ever supposed to get experience in a field if nobody will allow them to start at entry level with no experience? (And you're right about the internship dilemma.)

The whole "We don't want to have to train you at all" thing is nuts. It's hilarious how employees are expected to live their lives for their companies, but those companies don't want to invest even a training period in their people. Whatever happened to potential, and partnership? It really creates and "Us vs. Them" mentality among workers, and almost certainly adds to things like corporate theft, etc. Employees don't feel valued in many companies anymore. They can even become justifiably bitter.

No one wants to hire a 40+ year old who was out of the country for several years teaching.

Sometimes I think the only way to find a job is to have connections.

There's a lot of ageism in the job market, period. We're living and working longer, but 40 does seem like the mark at which employers start discriminating for many positions, just as they have for ages. Probably in part because a lot of younger managers don't like having older people working under them for generational reasons. I think that's unfair.

I get the same feeling about connections, too. Unfortunately, I have none here that are any use. My connections are all in fields that require degrees, even for secretaries.

There's a career consultant who claims this method works even for long-term unemployed:

1. Use LinkedIn to find names of managers in companies you're interested in.
2. Write a letter directly to those managers about current events in industry and your questions about how the manager's job is affected. Don't include your resume. Ask for a coffee conversation. If they respond, talk to them until they give you a lead.

Good advice. Thanks for sharing that. Ugh. I really don't want to join LinkedIn, but this is an excellent reason to do that.

I have actually done something like that once, and I did get the job. But I'm finding that these days I simply never hear from my addressees. The Informational Interview may be a dying breed, especially for people who don't have degrees. But you know what, you've inspired me to try again -- and try harder.

 

[Judge]

I consider it all nothing less than a personal catastrophe for me. That the system is geared to objectively weed applicants out at the outset rather than give anyone a subjective chance to sell themselves in an actual interview.

 

[plaidInBlue]

It became easier to get loans to pay for college/university. As more and more people enrolled, colleges had to build new structures, they needed more money. So the tuition fees increased. People loaned more for their studies, and as more people got degrees, the pool of applicants increased. And you can't discharge loans if you get bankrupt in the USA. So employers get a lot of applications from people who are desperate to earn money. Now they can cherry pick the canditates, they prefer those with a degree (because it shows discipline, intelligence, and conformism maybe?). Because these job seekers need a job asap, they won't cherry pick which jobs they postulate for. So more and more jobs are filled by people who are somewhat way more qualified than what's needed, changing the statu quo au passage. And now that a recession is coming (in Canada at least, it looks more and more like a recession), more people will keep a seemingly low end job, instead of seeking a better position. Because they don't have the job they wanted, had interest for, they don't perform as well. Companies are getting less efficient, less productive, hence they are more cautious about who they hire. They raise their criteria, there's less applicants, and those applicants who postulate, are probably lying at least a bit. I don't know what will happen next, but it probably won't be pretty.

I want to create my own company. From what I read here, I think more and more that the most realistic choice for me is to create my own job.

 

[AsheSkyler]

That's ridiculous. It doesn't even make practical sense for the stores. A good candidate could be edged out of one job opening for whatever reason, but there could very well be another opening elsewhere. And I don't believe for a minute that applications on file get redistributed in these big systems. In fact, I have evidence that they don't. It's just stupid.

I'm sorry you've had a hard time finding anything. I hope it turns around.

'Tis the beauty of being self-employed, you don't get turned down by your boss because you applied to more than one location.

Self-employed and going into a family business, it's the only option I've got. Those staffing companies only put you in places you've had previous experience with and seem only interested in sending you to places that are temporarily short a hand because somebody went unexpected on sick leave.

 

[Slithytoves]

I consider it all nothing less than a personal catastrophe for me. That the system is geared to objectively weed applicants out at the outset rather than give anyone a subjective chance to sell themselves in an actual interview.

That's what happens when it's an employer's market, evidently. There's no motivation to look very closely for hidden gems when you have 100+ applicants for every position. You can also hike up the qualifications without adjusting the salary. Great news for people with student loans to repay, and anyone looking for a career change.

I guess this will be the New Reality for quite a long time. Oh, joy.

It's so easy for managers to forget what it's like to be applicants.

 

[royinpink]

As a 2009 grad, this is the only job market I've ever known. WELCOME.

The Informational Interview may be a dying breed,

I've actually heard good tales of similar things...I guess the way to get connections when you lack them. I just suck at unscripted conversations, so the idea of it is a big NO NO NO for me. But, you know, besides that, sounds great! :/

 

[Xenocity]

There's a career consultant who claims this method works even for long-term unemployed:

1. Use LinkedIn to find names of managers in companies you're interested in.
2. Write a letter directly to those managers about current events in industry and your questions about how the manager's job is affected. Don't include your resume. Ask for a coffee conversation. If they respond, talk to them until they give you a lead.

I got as far as finding a company and manager before I got hired by an agency for another job, so I don't know if it works. I did read a feature article on someone who'd been unemployed for two years and this worked for him.

And, yes, being aspie doesn't make this easy. My portfolio is fabulous, and my interview scripts are well-rehearsed, but I'm still not wired to "connect" all that well, and emotionally it's difficult. Someone recently told me I have the vibe of a machine, until I break down.

This doesn't normally work in most cases, since you need a personal email to send them a request for a connection.
If they feel you are connecting to them for the sake of a job, they will block you.
You are supposed to only add people you know and/or have permission.
Hell I've been removed and/or blocked by recruiters and the like that hit me up after they lost interest in me.

My portfolio is good and I have real companies hit me up for interviews due to it.
I have decent amount of connections too.

For me I've been told I'm too rigid and I've also been told from other interviewers that I'm not rigid enough.
I've also been told I'm too scripted and not scripted enough from different interviewers.

I've also been told I am not educated enough even though I have:

1. Masters in IT management (graduated last August)
2. Double Bachelor's in Marketing and Management Information System
3. Associates in Business Administration

Seriously how much more education do I need?

I've also been told I need more Industry Experience, which I get.
but how do I get it, if I cannot get hired, not even for more internships due not having enough Industry Experience?
Many of my projects, I've been told don't count because I wasn't paid for them (they were in school for business partners).

I've been told I need more software experience, but how in the hell do I do that when they costs good amounts of money?
Many of which are proprietary and other reasons.
I have lots of experience using different kinds of software.

That's what happens when it's an employer's market, evidently. There's no motivation to look very closely for hidden gems when you have 100+ applicants for every position. You can also hike up the qualifications without adjusting the salary. Great news for people with student loans to repay, and anyone looking for a career change.

I guess this will be the New Reality for quite a long time. Oh, joy.

It's so easy for managers to forget what it's like to be applicants.

This is also true.

The reason why job creation is essentially no existent is the following:

• Businesses aren't willing to expand until consumer spending bounces back to pre 2008 levels
• Consumers aren't willing to spend until the job market recovers

Unless the governments are willing to simulate the recovery, it will take a long while for the economy.

This is bad for us who want to get started or just a job in general

As a 2009 grad, this is the only job market I've ever known. WELCOME.



I've actually heard good tales of similar things...I guess the way to get connections when you lack them. I just suck at unscripted conversations, so the idea of it is a big NO NO NO for me. But, you know, besides that, sounds great! :/

Most people will not accept your LinkedIn requests and other contacts unless they know you or you are forwarded to them through a mutual contact
Same goes in person and for recruiters.

I'm not the greatest at networking in part due to the difficulties for me, though with that said I have ~55 connection on LinkedIn.
They are made up from these groups:

1. Professors (who's classes I've taken)
2. Fellow Classmates
3. Fellow Students
4. Family members (a few)
   
5. People from internships
   
6. People from mutual contacts
7. Career people (a few)

 

[Xenocity]

Slithytoves: Most entry-level stuff where I live (Columbia, SC) now requires a bachelor's degree except for low-level service industry jobs. Seriously?! A degree doesn't mean crap in terms of how well you can perform duties, unless they're specialized or it's a truly professional position.

How are people ever supposed to get experience in a field if nobody will allow them to start at entry level with no experience? (And you're right about the internship dilemma.)

The whole "We don't want to have to train you at all" thing is nuts. It's hilarious how employees are expected to live their lives for their companies, but those companies don't want to invest even a training period in their people. Whatever happened to potential, and partnership? It really creates and "Us vs. Them" mentality among workers, and almost certainly adds to things like corporate theft, etc. Employees don't feel valued in many companies anymore. They can even become justifiably bitter.

Here in Metro Detroit it's the same way unless you want to get hired in as factory worker or a food services.
Though most food services and retail will only hire you if you have enough experience in that industry, some even require a degree.
Yes it is very hard for college students and even teens to get hired here (or in the whole of the Great Lakes region).

The internship dilemma is something that many of my peers and my college age family members are hit with.
There are very few internships that will hire you without needing some form of Industry Experience.
My cousin who has since graduated two years ago from a good engineering school with a double major in computer engineering and programming.
He was only able to get 1internship during his schooling, which he quit almost a year in because they expanded his job to running around doing errands and not paying him for the gas (he didn't even get paid for mileage).
This was when Gas was hovering over $4/gal.
This on top of them demanding he work ever increasing hours, he quit.

He failed to get another internship, despite coding and building computers his whole life.
Eventually his dad (my dad's older brother), hired him as part time coder at his company (he couldn't afford to hire him full time then).
When he graduated, he could barely get interviews let alone hearing back on job applications.
So he kept working part time for his dad and eventually his dad hired him full time.
He still wouldn't be able to be hired at another company for a while, due to his lack of Industry Experience.
He isn't ready to leave his dad's company yet, though if a potential employer finds out that his dad owns the company, it will nullify his work experience (working for family doesn't count.

Personally I had 3 internships and numerous projects over the years.
My first internship was through the state program, but then I turned 23 during the internship and was barred from reapplying the next year (most stuff of this nature ends at 23).
My second internship was through my school's (not university) program, it was the last year the dean ran it because business partners wouldn't hire college students anymore.
My last internship was one I got on my own working in office at school (I struggled to get this one due to a lack of internships).

I would have had more internships, if I could have found them.

---

The reason why companies for the most part don't train anymore is supposedly due to the nature of American workers job hopping constantly.
Why should a company train you, if they think you will jump ship soon?

Why should an employee be loyal to company, if the company isn't going to be loyal to them?

See the issue?

Also I hate the fact that many jobs have you working for free for the first few months to a year as trial period.

 

[Slithytoves]

The reason why companies for the most part don't train anymore is supposedly due to the nature of American workers job hopping constantly. Why should a company train you, if they think you will jump ship soon?

Why should an employee be loyal to company, if the company isn't going to be loyal to them?

See the issue?

Ouch! You live in the Detroit area? You win the "This Place is Awful for Jobs" title. Especially for young people and the under-educated. That's a very tough part of the country.

Yes, I see the issue. Somebody has to be the grown-up in this thing, though. At some point, employers are going to have to recognize that workers didn't start being restless until companies started being less labor-friendly. I won't hold my breath.

 

[AsheSkyler]

The reason why companies for the most part don't train anymore is supposedly due to the nature of American workers job hopping constantly.
Why should a company train you, if they think you will jump ship soon?

Yup. They don't train you, then whine because you have no clue what you're doing, then fire you for incompetence. Seen it happen.

 

[Xenocity]

Ouch! You live in the Detroit area? You win the "This Place is Awful for Jobs" title. Especially for young people and the under-educated. That's a very tough part of the country.

Yes, I see the issue. Somebody has to be the grown-up in this thing, though. At some point, employers are going to have to recognize that workers didn't start being restless until companies started being less labor-friendly. I won't hold my breath.

Well on the north end of the metro area.
I literally live 1 hour north of the city proper, in a relatively rural area.

The employers are constantly stating they cannot find qualified labor to fill the jobs.
There is a bubble of young people and unemployed people who are unable to get hired....

The three areas of the country that are seeing real economic growth are:

• The West Coast (specifically CA and WA due to the tech industry)
• Texas (due to low paying jobs)
• NYC metro area through the DC corridor (due to finance and government)

Everywhere else is hard.
Though Michigan especially Metro Detroit are seeing ever increasing economic growth year over year (we bottomed out ~2007)
Hell Detroit proper is experiencing higher economic growth than all of Canada.

Though the question is, will Canada's deep recession (yes it is official) pull Michigan and Metro Detroit down (we do a good portion of our business with Canada).

With this all said the U.S. is rapidly catching up with the other industrial countries when it comes to double digit unemployment for those 30 and under.
In the rest of the industrial countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia, UK, EU etc... you are lucky if you get a full time career job by time you are 40.

Japan and South Korea are seeing up to 1/3rd of their people under 40 working multiple part time contract jobs to get middle class payment.

Even countries such including India, China, Brazil, Mexico and others also have double digit unemployment of graduates and those under 35.

Like I've said, I've given up trying to get work on my own and am going to go through the state program for those with ASDs, once the woman who runs the program for my county gets back from out of town.
They work with the local industry getting those with Asperger's into middle class jobs.


Though it does make me feel a little bit better that my uncle's friend who works in the foreign service at the U.S. State Department, has been unable to help his two sons my age to get work.

 

[royinpink]

Most people will not accept your LinkedIn requests and other contacts unless they know you or you are forwarded to them through a mutual contact
Same goes in person and for recruiters.

To clarify, I wasn't talking about LinkedIn. I was replying to this part: "Write a letter directly to those managers about current events in industry and your questions about how the manager's job is affected. Don't include your resume. Ask for a coffee conversation. If they respond, talk to them until they give you a lead." LinkedIn in this case is just a tool to help you find the right people. Personally, I don't get much use out of the site, but I've got my profile like everybody else...just in case an interviewer wants to check it or something I guess.

The good things I have heard are always direct emails to the people you are interested in for an in-person conversation to discuss things further. This also works for finding "mentors" in the field, apparently, because people like being a sage advisor or something and passing on their wisdom to newbies. I have a feeling this advice might be somewhat specific to what kind of industry you work in and/or the age/demographic of the person you are contacting. And looking like you are genuinely an ambitious, likeable person who knows their s***--not a desperate job-seeker who just wants to use them. And luck.

I don't remember where I originally read that, but Penelope Trunk is actually an aspie who writes career advice (for everyone, not just aspies), so might be worth checking out. I thought maybe I found it there, but I wasn't able to dig it up...just a lot of tips about what to do when you're unemployed, generational differences, how to make your resume stand out, etc.

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

Hiring process these days is so screwed up that most people who normally would have been hired fall through the cracks.
Being a out of school for about a year now with no job, I can tell you the process is [insert a 4 letter expletive here].

Employers come to career fairs, only to give you card with their website for you to apply online.
The people who man the booths don't even review your resume.
Or the employers who have a booth but aren't hiring.

Why did I bother to go to the career fairs then (this is why I quit going)?

Another gripe of mine is the lack of entry level positions and the ones that do exist have the following requirements:

1. Typically 3-5+ years of industry experience (not general experience)
2. Required degree(s)
3. Required certification(s) - which can only be obtained while employed in said industry
4. X number of years in the software they use (which isn't always listed until the interview).
   1. This also applies if their software is proprietary
5. Other asinine stuff
6. Many give you a trial period, where you work for free for the first 3 - 12 months, with no benefits before you are hired for a paying gig
7. Oh you have to hit the ground running aka you have to know how to do the job on the first day.

You are supposed to learn this while finishing your degree.

As for internships it's nearly as bad:

1. Typically 2-5+ years of industry experience (not general experience)
2. Many require degrees and some even require masters degrees
3. Some require certification
4. Knowing the software day and date
5. Oh you best not require training, if you want this internship
6. Typically lasts one term

Internships still haven't recovered to their pre 2010 levels yet.
The ones that do exist, you're in competition with career folks who still haven't found full time employment.

When I interviewed at General Motors IT, they literally told me that if I was hired in, I'd be expected to "hit the ground running" as in I'd be expected to do the job on the first day without training.

When I interviewed at a smaller company for an elearning developer position, they refused to hire me because they wanted someone who knew all their software without any adjustment and training period.
I would have been good for this job.

Another interview I had at a different company, the recruiters loved me and they knew how high the requirements were, especially since the job was for a grad who was within 1 year of graduation.
The IT people wanted a grad within a year of graduation who had a few years of enterprising software experience, upon the work experience. Though obviously you don't learn enterprising software while in school let alone by the 5th year on a job.

I hate being asked by employers why I didn't go the internship route to be hired!
It's not my fault that most internship were only for a term or two and didn't end in hiring.
Also most internships became scarce with huge requirements.
NOT MANY COMPANIES HIRE INTERNS IN AS FULL TIME EMPLOYEES ANYMORE.

Also I hate it when I am asked about why I didn't get Industry Experience while working on my degree...
Well most industry jobs won't hire you as long as you are in school and most internships don't give you much industry experience these days, let alone something meaningful to do.

Or getting asked why you didn't have a job while working on your degree...
With the requirements for classes, their scheduling, and all the clubs and stuff you are supposed to do, there isn't much time to hold a job too.
Also most employers refuse to work around your college schedule too.

It doesn't help that I am too experienced and educated to get most low end jobs such as retail and food services.
I have tried to get them too.

This is why I have made up my mind to go through the state program for those with ASDs and Asperger's
I can't deal with the job search anymore.


Oh most companies also only keep you on file for 1 year.
Also those online application processes that require you to create and account and fill in pages of information taking upwards of an hour for each company make it quite hard not to go mental over it.
This is one of the reasons why I've made my decisions.

Actually, you're not quite correct. Linked in is good for giving you some clues about the names of the managers. You then get OFF the site, study the corporate blogs and trade press, and then, having figured out what the problems are for the manager's position, in that industry and for that company, write a personal letter connecting the dots. The personal letter is now so rare, and good writing skills are now so rare, that this can get you noticed.

And it has worked, but only if you really do your homework.

 

[Xenocity]

Actually, you're not quite correct. Linked in is good for giving you some clues about the names of the managers. You then get OFF the site, study the corporate blogs and trade press, and then, having figured out what the problems are for the manager's position, in that industry and for that company, write a personal letter connecting the dots. The personal letter is now so rare, and good writing skills are now so rare, that this can get you noticed.

And it has worked, but only if you really do your homework.

You're lucky if you can find those people.
Companies purposely don't give out contact information outside of a general number and email to answer general inquires.

I'll put it to you this way, when I interviewed with GM IT, After scouring their site and material, I couldn't find the contact information for those who interviewed me to send them a thank you letter.
I also couldn't find any information about who does the hiring let alone who works in HR.
Their application system also made it very clear that they do not give out contact information for those in HR, because they do not want you to contact them.

Same thinking was for Fiat-Chrysler.

For Microsoft's Autism hiring program, the email was something like [email protected], asking you to be patient and not contact them further.

Practically every job I have applied for has a line on the listing stating something like this: Do not contact us regarding the application process, we will contact you if we are interested.

All those professional career events I've gone too in college, have repeatedly told us never to seek out those who do hiring and interviewing, because it shows you are desperate and needy. This will lead to you not being interviewed and/or not hired.

Today anything and everything counts against you in the hiring process.

 

[Robby]

I miss the days when you could go in somewhere and tell them I am good in this and can be an asset to you and they give you a chance to prove it, without all the ********. Like for instance, I am very good at writing, and would be great as a newspaper editor, but they apparently want you to have some BS degree and a bunch of BS qualifications before they even talk to you. It's sad, because employers are missing out on a lot of potentially very talented people. I have a degree, but it was from a for-profit college before I knew any better, and so basically means nothing to anyone.

I have really good writing skills, but do not know how to use them so I am going to waste. I live at home, at age 33, with no job, and no prospects. I am depressed a lot. Nobody knows this kind of hopelessness. I just want to have a job that I like, and can be useful at, but I just don't know how to begin or to get there. And I don't want to work for Amazon and be treated like cattle or clean toilets. I have more to offer than that.

I am not on LinkedIN, but not sure if joining it would help any way. I don't have an resume to post any way, so who would want to hire me? All I really have are the skills I can do, which is writing, some communicating, and I am good at organizing things.

There has been so much outsourcing, China has taken all our good jobs. And we just let it happen. Back in the day, one of my uncles worked for GM and the other for Ford, good paying, union jobs. with great pensions and benefits. But today, unions are a dirty word apparently. The companies that have not run to China would fire you on the spot if they heard the word union. There are just no good steady jobs now with any self respect. It's all staffing agency jobs, where you're just a piece of mean, no unions, no benefits, it's like we're in the 1890s again.

I have mild autism and have certain jobs I just could not do at all, like anything very fast paced, or with a lot of personal contact. So how is someone supposed to get any work experience if nobody gives you a chance?

And another thing, do you tell a potential employer up front that you have autism but that it could be beneficial to them, or just wait? I just feel lost.