Tough time to find a new job

Damn, this is a tough job market.

I've been applying for jobs for like five months and got one interview and two rejection e-mails. I've sent out probably 60-70 resumes/cover letters or applied online.

I'm confident my resumes and cover letters are good as I've gone over them so many times and others have checked them, too. I even cater each to the specific job for which I'm applying.

I've sort of handcuffed myself to one area because I want to stay close to family and friends, but I'm beginning to think I should open my options.

Over the last two years, my newspaper has done a lot of cutting back and I'm afraid there isn't much more to do. We don't get raises this year. Hourly workers got cut 2.5 hours a week and salary loses 6%. Plus 401K match is down (haven't started that yet as I'm still pretty young plus I don't make enough money to start anything substantial). The circulation is down almost 3K in a year and that's saying a lot given that we're sitting around 21K right now.

I don't enjoy coming to work every day anymore. The pay is lousy, the hours inconsistent and the newsroom can be listless. I want out so bad. I'm so frustrated.

Sorry. Just wanted to rant.

 

There's always Roswell.

 

Going from 60k reporting jobs to 40k in 36 months while j-schools pump out more graduates every year will do that.

 

I hear you. I've been looking eight months, without a job, and I've had no interviews and no rejection emails. Not even from Office Depot for that stocking job.

 

Exactly. And let's not forget that there are many laid off employees w/ plenty of experience that want back in.

 

J-schools can pump out all they want. I want out of this entire profession. They can have my damn job when I'm gone.

 

Update: I have an interview Friday morning (my first since I began this search in September). It's for a state job. They just called me.

Hang in there. You never know what an opportunity will come along.

 

Best of luck!

I just got my latest rejection letter after an interview. I'm at least getting interviews, but I haven't gotten over the hump yet.

 

That about sums it up. Newspapers are a horrible place to be right now.

 

Hey, wow. That's great. Literally moments after you post about not getting an interview, you get one. State job, eh? If you don't mind, what exactly did you apply for?

Congrats! Have you found interviews "easier" to handle and get through? Almost some repitition seems to help, no?

I was kicking myself after my interview because I knew there were some parts of the discussion that I could've made clearer to my prospective employer. I've learned from those mistakes.

 

Good luck to you. Care to share how you landed the interview? How you tweaked your resume and/or made the connection from past experience to this particular job?

 

Ditto.