I don’t like guests. I’m not very hospitable, and a terrible host besides. Our apartment is in a perpetual transitional state. Ripping and packing up 1500 CDs is the current project, but there’s always something. And if that weren’t enough, the cats are trained to annoy guests with their cuteness and persistent affection. Yet people still visit for some reason. It must be the scenic walk up Roosevelt Ave; the allure of slush and garbage can be intoxicating. Maybe they just come to see wifey.

I don’t really like guests on Jobless and Less either. The site wouldn’t really be about MY experiences with unemployment and under-employment if other people did all the writing. But I’m not fundamentally against guest writers. Rumor has it that other people have interesting unemployment experiences and opinions about them.

It’s been almost two years since Ben Breier—the last guest poster—shared his tales of interviewing woe. I’ve since been solicited often, though nobody ever seems to quite get it. The world just doesn’t need another post about how to write a resume or what to say in an interview. The topics have been amply covered, elsewhere, by people who actually have jobs. Why would anyone trust advice on finding work from a site run by someone who can’t find work? It’s much more fun and interesting to laugh at my repeated failures.

An aspiring contributor does occasionally get it. Charlie Johnson emailed me this past week with a link to his video. He’s a clever lad, who has been unemployed since November. Months can seem like years to a recent college grad itching to put his education and skills to work.

I know the feeling. At 23, I was impatient about my job situation too. When I failed to nail down a coveted blacksmith position at the town stables, I became a cobbler. Shoes for farmers and tradesmen would have to suffice. Then came the Great War and the Roaring Twenties, and my skills were suddenly outdated. (“Suddenly” took 15 years in my youth.) I thought my career was over, but the end of my career was just getting started.

Charlie is much younger than I am. He still has skills and experience and drive. He also has initiative and chutzpah, and a fierce jump cut to rival any Hollywood director. So I’m letting him tell his story, his way. Enjoy. Let this be a reminder that smart and creative people everywhere are struggling through this terrible job market.

[Ben thought he had a new job this time... until he didn't. His latest experience got him wondering just how his fate can depend on someone who has less experience than he does.]

Ben Breier, 23, was a reporter and web producer for the New York Observer’s Politicker.com, a political news network that suffered massive cutbacks last December. Prior to working in New York City, Ben covered climate change and energy-related issues at the federal policy level for Inside Washington Publishers, a trade publication network in Washington, DC. A graduate of Kent State University’s journalism program in 2007, Ben lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

A few months ago I landed a contract job as a web producer at a cable television station. The position seemed to have the potential to go full-time. But things took a turn for the worse when the company cut my hourly rate in half, to less than I made on unemployment. It was time to resume my search.

I landed an interview for a web producing job in the textbook department at a book publisher. The position looked exciting, and the company reputable. My first interview went swimmingly. There were two web producer openings in two different departments. And the woman who administered the first interview was so excited about my skill-set that she got me in to talk with the other department head. That meeting took place the next day – a Thursday. He had aggressively Googled me, and read my pieces on Jobless and Less. He said that applying for this job would be different than my other experiences. He even promised a quick decision on my hiring. By Friday, I would know the status of the job. The more I interviewed, the better I felt about my chances.

I celebrated my birthday that weekend. My girlfriend had given me a three-day pass to the All Points West Music & Arts Festival. But I spent Friday glued to my cell phone waiting for a response. No answer. Saturday came and went. No answer. Finally, on Sunday night I received an email. He apologized for giving me incorrect information. He went on to inform me that the job decision was in HR’s hands and he couldn’t comment any further. He hoped that I had a good time at the festival (something he discovered by looking at my Twitter feed, which I’ve since locked.)

I had been a nervous wreck all weekend long, and a 9:00 pm email on Sunday didn’t help things. But it gave me a sense of hope. I showed his email to an older co-worker at my job, and she interpreted the subtext as “he wants to hire you, but he can’t because of HR restrictions.” That seemed reasonable. The man went out of his way to apologize to me. He likely would’ve ignored me if I weren’t a viable candidate. One week went by. I heard nothing, save for an email from my human resources contact saying that the search was still ongoing. Another week went by. And then I received the automated email denying me the job. It was almost too predictable.

I typically criticize HR in my posts for what they did wrong and suggest improvements. I’m not a human resources professional, and I don’t claim to be an expert. But I do have some experience as a job search candidate. And that puts me in the position to have an informed opinion. There’s a fatal flaw in the system when the gatekeepers to entry-level professional jobs have roughly the same amount of work experience as the people applying for them. I Googled my HR contact to get her email address and happened upon her Meetup.com page. She is just 25 years old.

The interview process for one position at Company Z went well. The process for the other dragged on for weeks. The mature, experienced 30-something professional got back to me in a timely fashion. The girl who was my age didn’t treat me with the same level of respect. I realize that everybody has to start somewhere. But giving those just starting out in HR the incredible power to determine who lands a job seems like a huge misstep. Don’t they need to go through a learning process? When I picture an HR professional, I see a seasoned working professional who is an authority on what makes a great employee. It’s hard to be an authority on much of anything at 25.

[Ben continues to fight the good fight, looking for work wherever he might find it. He fell a little short of the promised land in his last post. This time, well, he's even further away and feeling a little desperate.]

Ben Breier, 23, was a reporter and web producer for the New York Observer’s Politicker.com, a political news network that suffered massive cutbacks last December. Prior to working in New York City, Ben covered climate change and energy-related issues at the federal policy level for Inside Washington Publishers, a trade publication network in Washington, DC. A graduate of Kent State University’s journalism program in 2007, Ben lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

I caused quite a stir on a popular New York City technology discussion group a little while back. The site describes itself as… “a fun way to connect both socially and professionally with up and comers who have a stake in future of tech and new media in New York City.” They tend to focus on Web 2.0/3.0 and related topics. I’ve been lurking there lately (rather than actively contributing), mostly because I lack the technical knowledge to comment on MySQL, intuitive query builders and other sexy and exciting topics. But I recently weighed in with a couple of questions…

• How does someone make the transition from the media world to Web 2.0 without an expert knowledge of programming languages?
• What kinds of jobs exist in the industry for people with my mixed online and journalism background?

My questions proved polarizing. One group member lashed out, calling me desperate. Another defended my actions, asking what was wrong with desperation in this tough economic climate. The responses were definitely more positive than negative, and I learned a lot by simply posing the questions.

Desperation isn’t a terrible thing, especially when coupled with the desire to work hard and learn new things. But an overwhelming desire to be employed can definitely play tricks on your mind. I recently applied for an administrative assistant job I found through Indeed – the Google of job sites. For the record, Indeed is a key resource in my job hunt. I simply key in my salary range and location, and the site spits out thousands of appropriate job openings. If you’re unemployed, do yourself a huge favor and try it out.

In this instance, Indeed linked me to a shady-looking, spam-infested site with design aesthetics left over from 1999. I forwarded my resume; a job’s a job to me. Ten seconds after clicking the submit button, I got a call from a telemarketing service that wanted to know if I was interested in pursuing higher education.

In this economy, people are looking to take advantage of everybody – and unfortunately, that includes the unemployed. Desperation, or at least the perception of desperation, makes you an easy target. Norm discussed some of his experiences on Jobless and Less a few months back. Unemployed people need to be active in looking for work. But we also need to be vigilant in protecting ourselves. If a job application asks for information more personal than an email address, such as a phone number, think before providing it. Does the company seem reputable? Will your information end up in the hands of spammers? The quality of their site will often reveal the answer.

Desperation is like hot sauce – a little bit can go a long way. But too much will set your pallet on fire, and send you scrambling for the nearest thing to put out the blaze. Sometimes all you’ll find is a crap sandwich.

[Ben's job search goes on, as much as he'd like it to end. The last time we heard from our hero, he was enduring new and exciting forms of rejection (nay, torture) at the hands of his HR nemeses. This time he fights back, a little.]

Ben Breier, 23, was a reporter and web producer for the New York Observer’s Politicker.com, a political news network that suffered massive cutbacks last December. Prior to working in New York City, Ben covered climate change and energy-related issues at the federal policy level for Inside Washington Publishers, a trade publication network in Washington, DC. A graduate of Kent State University’s journalism program in 2007, Ben lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

While waiting to hear back from Company Z, I put out feelers for other jobs, just like everyday. Company A – a lobbying arm for a national body – was hiring a communications coordinator. I applied for the job the day it went up and received this response 2 days later…

Dear Ben:

Every employer looking for a media professional knows that when there is a typographical error in the first line of a letter, the applicant is missing an important skill. Best of luck with your job search.

Dread and sickness immediately filled my gut; I’d sent a prospective employer an email with an unacceptable typo. The HR person – we’ll call her Betty – understandably wrote me off. I responded anyway. It was a no-lose situation to tell her that she was making a bad decision…

Betty,

I’m sorry that you think an accidental use of ‘simple’ as opposed to “simply” is a complete and total indicator of my professional ability. In this case, I would like to express to you that you are wrong – I am a capable professional, and know that I would do an outstanding job in any media related position.

Good luck on your search to fill the position.

She called me three days later to come in and interview for the job. I researched the hell out of Company A in the interim. My girlfriend works in Company A’s industry, which gives me access to a human database of information. I knew what likely to expect. 13 people would be interviewed for the job, and three of them brought back for a second interview. While not as competitive as at Company Q, the circumstances were competitive enough to worry me.

Of all my job interviews so far, this one left me the most optimistic. Betty seemed incredibly receptive to my new ideas for Company A, and believed my media background would serve them well. Following the meeting, I was asked to write a surprise press release on the conference room laptop in 45 minutes. It came out really well. On my way out, Betty commented, “I knew there was a reason why I brought you in.” I smiled.

An email response from Betty, shortly after I’d followed up with another writing sample, gave me more reason to be excited. “Nice job,” she wrote. “We’ll be in touch.”

I celebrated my birthday that Friday with friends at Essex Bar & Grill on the Lower East Side. For the first time in awhile, I felt like I was heading in the right direction – toward a second interview and potentially my ideal job. I truly enjoyed myself in the company of friends – a rarity since I’ve been unemployed.

On Monday night, Betty rejected me.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

Share your job search experiences in the unemployment forums…

[Welcome to Ben's second guest post. You may remember this talented yet unemployed media professional from his previous exploits in the job market. This article highlights some of his more recent experiences.]

Ben Breier, 23, was a reporter and web producer for the New York Observer’s Politicker.com, a political news network that suffered massive cutbacks last December. Prior to working in New York City, Ben covered climate change and energy-related issues at the federal policy level for Inside Washington Publishers, a trade publication network in Washington, DC. A graduate of Kent State University’s journalism program in 2007, Ben lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

My last piece for Jobless and Less (Note to HR… be nice to the unemployed) detailed how two gigantic media companies are handling the hiring process during the recession. Although neither company hired me, Company Z was quick with their rejection, suggesting that I apply for another job, while Company Q dragged out the process for nearly three months, keeping me in the dark and filling me with false hope.

Moving forward, I was excited about my chances with Company Z. The HR department passed me along to a different representative, who was much younger and less experienced than the rep who handled me the first time around. She was incredibly professional in the interview (April 17). I’d hear back about a second interview by Wednesday of the following week.

So I waited in anticipation. The week went by surprisingly quickly. Not hearing anything by the promised date, I reached out to her on Thursday (April 23). She got back to me the following Monday, saying that they needed some more time. Given that Company Z actually asked for references, I just assumed that checking them was causing the delay.

Two weeks later, there was still no word about the job.  I reached out on a Monday (May 4), and the HR rep said I would “…know something within 48 hours.” That meant Wednesday or Thursday. Her precise timetable excited me. But 48 hours grew to 200+ hours. I was haunted with a familiar feeling; this felt like Company Q all over again.

The ultimate smack in the face happened came while poking around for other jobs on Company Z’s parent’s Web site. I noticed a function allowing the user to check the status of a job. The job I applied for at Company Z was closed April 28 (my birthday, coincidentally). That was almost a full week after the human resources representative told me I’d “…know something within 48 hours.” Our conversation on May 4th was just a front. They had already decided to reject me, but were likely holding out on the final “no” until the job was completely filled.

Even if the economy weren’t in shambles and prospective employees weren’t facing one of the toughest American job markets ever, this is a cruel practice. I understand the logic – Company Z wanted to keep all options open in case its lead candidate rejected the job offer. But it’s unreasonable for HR to inform candidates that they are moving forward with someone else. If I were rejected for a job and then the company came back to me later with the same job offer, I’d be ecstatic.

The lesson here? HR quality varies wildly not only from company to company, but from one HR person to another. A positive experience with an organization doesn’t guarantee another the next time around, especially dealing with a considerably less experienced rep.

I’ve yet to receive final word from Company Z.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

Share your job search experiences in the unemployment forums…

[Welcome to my first guest post... pretty damn exciting. Ben is a talented and unemployed media professional looking for work in this difficult market. His article highlights some of his recent experiences, good and bad.]

Ben Breier, 23, was a reporter and web producer for the New York Observer’s Politicker.com, a political news network that suffered massive cutbacks last December. Prior to working in New York City, Ben covered climate change and energy-related issues at the federal policy level for Inside Washington Publishers, a trade publication network in Washington, DC. A graduate of Kent State University’s journalism program in 2007, Ben lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

One of the industries hit the hardest by this recession is the media. Sharply declining ad sales and a major paradigm shift from print news to the Web have caused massive layoffs and newspaper shutdowns across the country. From paper chain Gannett’s decision to impose unpaid furloughs on its employees to the New York Times’ decision to re-lease parts of its building, media professionals are in a tight spot.

I was a political reporter working in the New York media world, and lost my job after just six months in the city. I couldn’t dive right into the job market, because companies weren’t posting any jobs around the holiday season. So I took care of my unemployment, spent the holidays at home with my family in Ohio and sunk my teeth into the job market equivalent of stringy beaver meat while doing pro-bono work for a progressive advertising network.

For the three months after that I applied for any sort of job I felt remotely qualified for, across the fields of communications and politics. In that time, I landed two interviews for identical media positions at two New York-based media corporations. Both corporations are roughly the same size, but my experiences during this job application process were very different.

My first bite – for an entry-level public relations job – came in March. To say I was excited for the opportunity would be putting it mildly. I was absolutely elated. The first interview with human resources at Company Q went swimmingly, until the HR person busted me in the gut with the harsh reality of the job market. 600 people had applied for this job, and Company Q would be interviewing 20 of them. After that, they would thin the herd to about a half-dozen applicants and begin a second wave of interviews.

But the real kicker was this: each one of the 20 potential employees had been referred to human resources via someone internally, just like I had been. Any sort of advantage I thought I had going into this job interview had gone out the window. However, there was a bright spot: HR told me there were other jobs that were not publicly advertised, as they had job requirements similar to the advertised one. The implication was that making it past the first round of interviews might lead to consideration for a similar job, even if the original job didn’t work out. HR also told me that they were looking to fill the position relatively quickly, within the period of a couple of weeks.

Eight days later, human resources at Company Q called me – and I was jubilant. I felt like I had cannonballed into a safety net; my chances of getting a job seemed very good. I would be interviewing with a pair of publicists in the media relations department in just a few days. For a moment, life was great, and it looked like I had a decent chance of lifting myself off of unemployment.

Interview number two was mostly what I expected it would be – a more in-depth description of the job’s responsibilities coupled with more pointed questions about how my previous work experience would transfer over. This interview also ended with an atomic bomb. It would be a couple of weeks until the media team would finish interviewing and determine who to bring in for a third interview, as the team was traveling the following week.

Obviously, this wasn’t good news. I couldn’t believe that Company Q was really going to have a third interview for the entry-level job. Waiting for them to reach that decision was absolute torture. The longer they took, the longer I would be on unemployment. And unemployment benefits only last so long. In this case, time was literally money, and I was starting to panic.

I attempted to touch base with the team at the end of March while they were out of New York, and was told that I was “still on the radar.” This made me feel optimistic. But time continued to pass – long after they’d returned – and a decision hadn’t been made, I grew really worried. The stress this situation put on me was out-of-body. But deep-down, I knew that these massive corporations didn’t owe me any sort of response until a decision was actually made, regardless of when that would actually be.

The three-week waiting time mentioned during my second interview was pushing six weeks. There was no word about the job. Paranoia started to take over, and I wondered if Company Q had gone with somebody else, or cut the position. I even began regularly checking the contents of my spam folder to make sure an e-mail hadn’t slipped through the cracks. I didn’t expect an immediate resolution. I just wanted to know where Company Q was in with the process. I e-mailed HR and my prospective boss about once a week, but heard nothing in return.

I reached out to HR by phone in mid-April. To my amazement, Company Q was still interviewing for the position, which wasn’t a good sign. Then they struck another massive blow: the parallel positions mentioned before had all been filled. I assumed that I wasn’t being considered for any of these jobs because I was still being considered for the primary job. My heart sank, as my safety net collapsed underneath me. At this point, I was mentally deflated and exhausted. Would each interview be as grueling and drawn-out as this one? Soon, I’d find out.

I was brought in on April Fool’s Day to interview for an entry-level public relations job at Company Z – another major media company, similar in size and scope to Company Q. My first interview again went very well. This job had many of the same requirements as the other job, and I felt I had a good chance. The human resources representative told me that she’d get back to me in about a week. I mentally scoffed, knowing my experience with Company Q.

Low and behold, Company Z got back to me with a phone call nine days later. She let me down gently, informing me that they had gone with an internal candidate. I was disappointed with the decision, but the HR representative was incredible. She told me about other jobs available at Company Z that might fit me. I applied for a couple of them, and four days later, I was scheduled to interview for one.

The day I interviewed with Company Z about potential job number two was the day that Company Q finally got around to rejecting me by e-mail. Company Q probably only rejected me because I e-mailed about the position again earlier in the afternoon. Had I not sought a response, I’d probably still be in the dark. My prospective boss at Company Q subsequently reached out to me in an empathetic and productive manner that I definitely appreciated, letting me know that my persistence was appreciated and to keep in touch with him. More jobs would become available at Company Q. Four days later, human resources at Company Q e-mailed me again to tell me I had been rejected. It was more salt in the wound.

My point isn’t to curse of praise the hiring practices of corporate America. It’s to show prospective employers what effect a lack of communication has on an unemployed candidate engaged in a desperate job search. There was a big difference between the nine days it took Company Z to get back to me and the 40 days it took Company Q to reach a decision.

Every person on unemployment is trying their hardest to beat a clock; our finite benefits will eventually expire. And to be fair, it wasn’t just the long-decision time of Company Q that sent me on a downward spiral, it was the radio silence after  Company Q told me to expect a resolution.

So, I’m ending this on two notes:

If you work in human resources or are charged with hiring and you run into delays along the way, try to keep job candidates apprised of the situation. It helps maintain an air of professionalism and keeps up your company brand – something that bigger companies should consider during this process. If the ultimate goal is to land the best employees, putting them through a painful job application process won’t make your company seem like a great place to work.

If you’re unemployed and on the hunt for a job, don’t take a delay in the process personally. If a company misses a deadline, give them a day or two before following up. I’m a firm believer that if you’re passionate about landing the job, persistence and a hint of craziness will help you achieve your goal. Just don’t become “a stalker,” like the one the Company Q HR representative vented to me about. Companies are wary of pushy personalities. Expressing keen interest in a position helps your chances. Coming off as if a prospective employer owes you something most assuredly does not.

Happy hunting, and happy hiring.

Ben can be reached at ben.breier[at]gmail[dot]com. His resume can be found here.

Share your job search experiences in the unemployment forums…