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  • JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Dec 24, 2012
    3,738
    113
    Bartholomew County
    Just shy of my 23rd anniversary, my company "rebadged" my position to an outside vendor. What does this mean? Well, I'm doing the same thing with the same people every day, but the new company is infamous for keeping insourced employees around long enough to absorb their knowledge and replace them with overseas or H-1B employees. So the writing is on the wall, and I'm looking at this as sort of a long term severance package until I'm officially let go. (As an aside, I have a little bit of schadenfreude about the whole situation, because the lion's share of my job is supporting customers on equipment and solutions I have two decades of hands-on experience with. They're crotchety enough now, it's going to be funny when they realize they're talking to someone who's never touched the product and is reading off of a cheat sheet.)

    I've been networking a little bit using personal contacts and LinkedIn and have applied for quite a few jobs, but I just can't seem to get any traction. I've only got one official rejection, but everything else has been automated responses to the effect of "don't call us, we'll call you." As someone who hasn't had to job hop in a while, it's pretty disconcerting. Whatever happened to personal contact and actual interviews? Have they gone the way of the dodo?
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    Yup. Unless you are a trades person and know the field you are dealing with the electronic wall. Even some of the service related company's are using on line non-personal testing to weed out the idiots.
     

    spec4

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 19, 2010
    3,775
    27
    NWI
    Is there a chance you can survive and thrive under the new regime? Are you anywhere near retirement? If so, you can play the new game, embrace the change, and leave on your timetable. Are new key players being brought in that you can get to realize your value to the organization? Late in my career a new guy was brought in that I reported to. He milked me for knowledge and I was glad to help him as it helped me to be in his good graces. Bottom line, through much turmoil I left when it suited me. Pushing 60 I didn't want to try and find a new employer. Not sure if this is your situation or not.

    On another tack, does your employer have competitors who may be interested in your skills? Best of luck whichever way you go.
     

    COOPADUP

    Accipiter
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Aug 8, 2017
    6,671
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    Hamilton County
    It's a crying shame that they are outsourcing your position. I have to deal with an outsourced service in India. Nice people but they. Are clueless compared to folks I dealt with here in the U.S.
    your only 23 so you have your whole life ahead of you.
    Cheer up and stay positive as something good will come of this.
     

    Bigtanker

    Cuddles
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Aug 21, 2012
    21,688
    151
    Osceola
    Yup. Unless you are a trades person and know the field you are dealing with the electronic wall. Even some of the service related company's are using on line non-personal testing to weed out the idiots.

    The pre-employment testing can be a joke. We started it several years ago. The new hires we were getting seemed to have a higher first year failure rate. Then when we had a few guys from other companies that were excellent drivers, they failed the tests.

    The higher ups figured something was up. They gave the test to some of our best drivers. They failed. We canned the testing after that.
     

    indykid

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 27, 2008
    11,859
    113
    Westfield
    It's a crying shame that they are outsourcing your position. I have to deal with an outsourced service in India. Nice people but they. Are clueless compared to folks I dealt with here in the U.S.
    your only 23 so you have your whole life ahead of you.
    Cheer up and stay positive as something good will come of this.


    Read closer, he has 23 years with that company.

    As to networking, these days everything is done on computer, so Linkedin is a good source. Doing things on computer is the company way of not having to tell you to your face that you aren't what they are looking for, but they don't realize that face to face is so different and a true interview can find that diamond in the rough that they can't see via email.

    Best of luck. Really sad how some employers don't value knowledge and dedication.
     

    JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Dec 24, 2012
    3,738
    113
    Bartholomew County
    Is there a chance you can survive and thrive under the new regime? Are you anywhere near retirement? If so, you can play the new game, embrace the change, and leave on your timetable. Are new key players being brought in that you can get to realize your value to the organization? Late in my career a new guy was brought in that I reported to. He milked me for knowledge and I was glad to help him as it helped me to be in his good graces. Bottom line, through much turmoil I left when it suited me. Pushing 60 I didn't want to try and find a new employer. Not sure if this is your situation or not.

    On another tack, does your employer have competitors who may be interested in your skills? Best of luck whichever way you go.

    I started when I was 18, I'm only 41. I've got another 30 years or so in the workforce unless a movie deal for one of my books pops up. ;)

    As far as competitors, that's one of the few leads that looks sort of promising. There's a potential opening in my area with a competitor, but it's dependent on some other things coming to pass on their end first to create that opening. Fingers crossed there.

    Read closer, he has 23 years with that company.
    As to networking, these days everything is done on computer, so Linkedin is a good source. Doing things on computer is the company way of not having to tell you to your face that you aren't what they are looking for, but they don't realize that face to face is so different and a true interview can find that diamond in the rough that they can't see via email.

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Best of luck. Really sad how some employers don't value knowledge and dedication.
    [/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Yeah, that's the one thing that kinda caught me off guard. I updated my resume the way I had it 20+ years ago - keep it short and simple, enough to fit on one page, get your foot in the door and demonstrate your knowledge. Some friends of mine in HR told me that they actually use keywords scanners to filter out applications, so if it's not mentioned on your resume, you might not even get eyes on it. So I went back in and added another page of skills and experience on top the more general work history and education.[/FONT]
     

    DoggyDaddy

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    73   0   1
    Aug 18, 2011
    102,059
    77
    Southside Indy
    I started when I was 18, I'm only 41. I've got another 30 years or so in the workforce unless a movie deal for one of my books pops up. ;)

    As far as competitors, that's one of the few leads that looks sort of promising. There's a potential opening in my area with a competitor, but it's dependent on some other things coming to pass on their end first to create that opening. Fingers crossed there.



    Yeah, that's the one thing that kinda caught me off guard. I updated my resume the way I had it 20+ years ago - keep it short and simple, enough to fit on one page, get your foot in the door and demonstrate your knowledge. Some friends of mine in HR told me that they actually use keywords scanners to filter out applications, so if it's not mentioned on your resume, you might not even get eyes on it. So I went back in and added another page of skills and experience on top the more general work history and education.

    This is true. I submitted several resume's to my current employer. The final version would've looked ridiculous if an actual human had read it. It was almost all "key words". It worked though. Got not one, but two offers (took the better one) from the same employer, was hired without so much as a single interview. They just called and said when and where to report.
     

    BugI02

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 4, 2013
    31,886
    149
    Columbus, OH
    [snippety]
    Yeah, that's the one thing that kinda caught me off guard. I updated my resume the way I had it 20+ years ago - keep it short and simple, enough to fit on one page, get your foot in the door and demonstrate your knowledge. Some friends of mine in HR told me that they actually use keywords scanners to filter out applications, so if it's not mentioned on your resume, you might not even get eyes on it. So I went back in and added another page of skills and experience on top the more general work history and education.


    This, JTS. Networking is very good and don't sell it short, but you are correct that some filtering is done electronically. You need to be prepared to modify your resume somewhat, and your cover letter completely, to tailor it to the job you are applying for. It is galling, but whatever buzzwords are used in the posting or otherwise seem germane need to be echoed in your cover letter as much as possible (or that you can stand). How you present your experience in your resume needs to be optimized for each particular job also. I cannot say for certain, but I believe Indeed and Glassdoor provide some tools to job posters to do that filtration. The goal is to get a FTF interview with someone who knows their **** and then you should be GTG
     

    chef larry

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Apr 27, 2010
    18,354
    113
    Hobart,In
    Good luck with the job hunt in today's market. It sure isn't like it used to be where you could talk to a real person and get a chance to be getting a position and paycheck.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    Just shy of my 23rd anniversary, my company "rebadged" my position to an outside vendor. What does this mean? Well, I'm doing the same thing with the same people every day, but the new company is infamous for keeping insourced employees around long enough to absorb their knowledge and replace them with overseas or H-1B employees. So the writing is on the wall, and I'm looking at this as sort of a long term severance package until I'm officially let go. (As an aside, I have a little bit of schadenfreude about the whole situation, because the lion's share of my job is supporting customers on equipment and solutions I have two decades of hands-on experience with. They're crotchety enough now, it's going to be funny when they realize they're talking to someone who's never touched the product and is reading off of a cheat sheet.)

    I've been networking a little bit using personal contacts and LinkedIn and have applied for quite a few jobs, but I just can't seem to get any traction. I've only got one official rejection, but everything else has been automated responses to the effect of "don't call us, we'll call you." As someone who hasn't had to job hop in a while, it's pretty disconcerting. Whatever happened to personal contact and actual interviews? Have they gone the way of the dodo?


    I'm a few months downstream of you, furiously paddling a very similar boat (which is starting to leak and I hear the sound of a waterfall around the next bend). My layoff was announced 08/22/2018 and 11/02/2018 was my last day - my boss and everyone who reported to her got "outsourced" . . . to Minnesota! I had hoped I would be able to find something new before my last day, but it just didn't happen. November and December were discouraging, but the glimmers of hope and interviews started in February and March.

    As desperation increases, I am choosing to swallow my pride and return to temp work scoring tests . . . from the place that laid me off. It's short term and no benefits, but it's better than what I have now.

    Hit it hard now while it's still early in the year. Trying to get hired at the end of the year is a depressing endeavor. Good luck in your search!
     

    KG1

    Forgotten Man
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    66   0   0
    Jan 20, 2009
    25,633
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    JT and rhino you seem like stand up individuals that got a raw deal. I know it’s tough but hang in there. If I had a company that could use the skills and apparent dedication you can offer I would hire you both but unfortunately I don’t.

    Anyway I just wanted to offer a few words of encouragement. I know it doesn’t pay the bills but maybe it helps in some small way to know there are people that care about your plight.

    God bless.
     

    JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Dec 24, 2012
    3,738
    113
    Bartholomew County
    I'm a few months downstream of you, furiously paddling a very similar boat (which is starting to leak and I hear the sound of a waterfall around the next bend). My layoff was announced 08/22/2018 and 11/02/2018 was my last day - my boss and everyone who reported to her got "outsourced" . . . to Minnesota! I had hoped I would be able to find something new before my last day, but it just didn't happen. November and December were discouraging, but the glimmers of hope and interviews started in February and March.

    As desperation increases, I am choosing to swallow my pride and return to temp work scoring tests . . . from the place that laid me off. It's short term and no benefits, but it's better than what I have now.

    Hit it hard now while it's still early in the year. Trying to get hired at the end of the year is a depressing endeavor. Good luck in your search!

    Minnesota is a darn sight more appealing than Hindustan, though not by much. ;)
     

    wtburnette

    WT(aF)
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    44   0   0
    Nov 11, 2013
    26,859
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    SW side of Indy
    Sorry to hear that for both of you. Are you and rhino both in IT? Have you thought about looking into Information Security? A lot of times someone very familiar with infrastructure, development or other areas of IT can transition to better than entry level InfoSec and do reasonably well. It's a growing field and the top end pay is very nice. You may have to start out at a lower salary than you currently make, but if you work hard you can move up reasonably well. I had 16 years of infrastructure support when I got into InfoSec back in 2012 and I've gone from just over $50k/yr to just under $90k/yr in about 6 years. I fully expect to be over $100k/yr in the next couple of years and I've seen salaries in this field in the $125k-$160k range. Something to consider.
     

    Restroyer

    Expert
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 13, 2015
    1,187
    48
    SE Indiana
    I'd recommend LinkedIn. Get on there - it's free and set up a profile. After you create your job experience profile, try to "link up" with as many people as you can (former co-workers, clients, friends, etc.). Set your profile on "Open" to Recruiters. Then the Headhunters (Recruiters) will contact you about Job Opportunities because they will be able to see you are job searching. It's surprising how many Companies are looking for help and how many Recruiters there are searching LinkedIN.
     

    Jeepfanatic

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 25, 2018
    260
    18
    Plainfield
    I'd recommend LinkedIn. Get on there - it's free and set up a profile. After you create your job experience profile, try to "link up" with as many people as you can (former co-workers, clients, friends, etc.). Set your profile on "Open" to Recruiters. Then the Headhunters (Recruiters) will contact you about Job Opportunities because they will be able to see you are job searching. It's surprising how many Companies are looking for help and how many Recruiters there are searching LinkedIN.


    Agreed. After we moved back a recruiter found me on LinkedIn and offered me an in person interview which ultimately led to the job I currently have
     
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 23, 2017
    36
    8
    NA
    My brother-in-law is looking and said he had to do a hour PowerPoint presentation about himself with this small startup company. What a nightmare.

    I still think having a strong network opens a lot of doors. Maybe hit up some people you’ve known for a while through your job and see what openings they might know about?

    Good luck with your search.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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