I’m coming up on nearly four months of unemployment and the job search has been pretty dry. I must admit I’ve been a bit picky; I’ve enjoyed my last couple of jobs and would like my next job to be just as enjoyable.
So far, my tally is:
- Facebook: 5 phone interviews, 1 onsite.
- Blackbag Technologies: ∞ phone interviews, 2.5 onsites.
- Plaxo: 2 phone interviews, 1 onsite.
- Netflix: 2 phone interviews.
- Loopt: 1 onsite.
- UC Santa Cruz: 1 phone interview, 1 onsite
- FBI: 1 passing exam, 1 pending interview.
- Approximately 10-20 random phone interviews
- Applied for over 200 jobs
I did the math: for those 200 or so jobs I’ve applied for, 3% got me an onsite interview. My “successes” month-to-month vary, due to the fact any luck I have that month is based on jobs I applied to the month before. Most of the interviews I’ve had with these companies went well (at least from my point of view), but I haven’t really been able to judge how successful they actually were (obviously not ultimately successful, otherwise I’d be working right now).
I’ve been vigorously trying to get interviews at Apple, Adobe, and IDEO as well, but to no avail. Facebook (my 1st choice) has actually been the most responsive, but they appear to be in a hiring freeze; there’s one role that looks good for me opening next quarter, but I would preferably want a job before then.
While applying at these companies has worked well, I’m also finding that posting ads on Facebook has gotten some positive attention. It’s relatively inexpensive and can be sharply targeted to specific companies or locations.
Most of the companies I want to work for are in tech, be it offline or online. However, I’m definitely open to working for a nonprofit. If I could combine the two, that would be great. I’m seriously thinking about going back to school (economics, stats), but pretty sure I don’t have the money for that right now. Teaching (computers, math, or science) may also be a good option if I can get it. Lastly, the FBI gig is still an ongoing process.
I’ve completely over-analyzed this (this is the condensed version; I have graphs as well). Blerg.