Hard Time Finding Work - Chicago,IL

I would call these companies a week after you submit your resume to inquire. Say something like "I'm calling to see what is the status of my application." That shows interest.

Also, consider taking a class or two to enhance yourself on your resume. Are there any classes that can further educate you in your field?

Have an expert take a look at your resume. Remember, you will only get 5 responses for every 100 resumes you send out, it's that tough out there. Persistance is the key. Good luck.

A friend just emailed this to me today -

www.att.jobs

Just a start...

I don't have any tips necessarily. Just the ability to commiserate. I got an MBA in 2003, left my HR Mgr job in 2004 and have been in Real Estate since then. This winter tested the waters a bit and had a recruiter tell me that I'd really been out of the workforce for quite awhile. Excuse me?! I've been working! Besides, I didn't realize that a lifetime of knowledge, experience and education escapes your brain if you are at home longer than a year.

Because of my previous HR experience, I can tell you that MANY job postings you see are not truly open. The company posts those jobs to fulfill an equal opportunity requirement of sorts. My suggestion is to do things like this posting, continue to network because you almost have to know someone to get an interview anywhere.

Good Luck!

I am currently working in HR and I can tell you there are a lot of people looking for jobs. For every job I post I receive at least 300 resumes. There is a lot of competition out there.

The biggest thing is to probably have someone look at your resume and see if you can make some improvements to make it stand it out. If you are applying through a job board like career builder or Monster it is better to attach your resume as a word document then to send your resume you created on their website because it will stand out a bit more and the person reading the resume will take a break from just scanning to looking at the resume.

If you can it would be beneficial to also fax your resume in addition to e-mail. Calling the company can actually backfire on you. Most companies get bombarded with phone calls and just don't have enough manpower to handle all the calls. It also gets annoying and if you don't know anything about the company or the job and you call it could count you out right away.

Good Luck and I hope you are able to find something.

I am trying to return to full-time pharmaceutical sales and it has been tough. I have been getting interviews since I revised my resume. Try that to freshen things up. But, the market is really tough right now in every industry. So, it's not you! Good luck!