Applying for jobs for no reason at all

[Rhody31]

So I've been out of work since January and there are no journo jobs in this state.
I'm worried a job will come open and I'll go in and blow the interview.
Is it wrong to apply for a job I have no intention of taking just to keep my interview skills sharp? My buddy - who does investing - says it's fine. On one hand, I'd feel bad wasting someone's time, but on the other, I don't want to be cold if I get an interview I should nail.

 

[BTExpress]

When you interview, doors can open you never even knew existed.

I worked 26 years at a place to which I never even applied.

Interviewed at Shop A. Didn't get job. A few weeks later Shop B contacted a former Shop B employee currently at Shop A, asking whether he knew of any candidates for an opening he had.

Shop A gives Shop B my name. Shop B calls me.

Not exactly the scenario you're describing, but the moral of the story is . . . interviewing can only help --- and not just for the reason you're considering it.

 

[WriteThinking]

Besides, if or whenever you've been out of work long enough, you just might end up taking some job you never thought you would.

 

[Bradley Guire]

Go for it. I interviewed earlier this week for a seasonal job at Old Navy, even though I've got a seasonal job at Toys R Us. They weren't going to do any better in terms of pay or hours, so I stuck with TRU because I'm getting into the swing of it and the managers are pretty cool. It doesn't hurt to see what's going on else where.

(My anecote isn't as high-falutin' as a journalism job, but it's the best I can do after two years of unemployment and too many health problems.)

 

[clutchcargo]

Go for it. Do any interview you can get. Part of me thinks that the less interested in a job you are, the m ore relaxed you will be and therefore chances are you might get an offer. And you might even decide to take it. Good luck.

 

[reformedhack]

Agreed with all. In fact, I have a story very similar to BTE's that further proves the value of applying for jobs ... even ones that aren't perfect for you.

About 15 years ago, I was working at a major metro paper (Shop A) when I saw a job opening at a major metro paper in another state (Shop B). The position looked interesting, and I was curious to see my value on the market, so I applied and got an interview. The job eventually was filled in-house, but I was the top outside candidate. That was nice to hear, and it didn't kill me to know I finished second since I already had a good job.

That on-a-lark interview paid off about a year later. A paper closer to home (Shop C) needed a sports editor, and I hadn't heard about the opening. But the editor at Shop B was a good friend of the managing editor at Shop C. The managing editor called me out of the blue because his friend suggested it. (He had kept my resume.) I took the job three days later.

Point is, consider ANY job interview as an opportunity to make a new business contact. You never know when it will pay off, or how.

Of the six full-time jobs I've had in my career, five of them came because somebody knew me.

 

[SixToe]

Point is, consider ANY job interview as an opportunity to make a new business contact. You never know when it will pay off, or how.

This ^^^

Knock off the rust, go talk, do your best. You never know what may transpire.

 

[Mark2010]

Yeah, I suppose it never hurts. You might learn something that will surprise you. Maybe a certain job is a lot better (or worse) than you anticipated.

 

[Rhody31]

Yeah, I suppose it never hurts. You might learn something that will surprise you. Maybe a certain job is a lot better (or worse) than you anticipated.

I can't think of a place I wouldn't move to in order to stay in this business. I'd cover anything.
Problem is, Mrs. Rhody isn't going anywhere and we're building a house right now. Geographically, I'm limited to RI, Southern Mass and Western Conn.

 

[Mark2010]

That's pretty limiting in a business where changing jobs often means changing addresses. A big part of the reason I never bought a house.

But, you are certainly not alone in that and you'll have to decide what's in your and your family's best interest.

One of the things I've seen a lot of in recent years is guys with a lot of seniority having the rug pulled out from underneath them. Family, house, the whole deal, established in one place and then, bam, one day out the blue, you get axed in some corporate cost-cutting measure. Then what? You've been in one business for a couple of decades. Do you pack up, sell off and move hundreds (or thousands) of miles away and take the family with you? Or try to find a different job in your present city? Or (like my dad) call it quits at an early age? Tough call. It's sort of like coaching in that regard.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I'm a big believer in talking to anybody who wants to talk to me, whether I think I might be interested or not. And having some job interviews for "practice" can be a good thing. Sharpens your pitch.

 

[JakeandElwood]

If you get an interview and an offer you can always take it and continue to look for a journalism job.

 

[Cigar56]

You should ALWAYS be looking for your next job. Really best to have a lot of irons in the fire should you lose your current position.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Not saying other people's advice isn't better than mine, but you do run the risk of pissing off people. I kind of learned they should get SOMETHING out of me, even if it's just a great critique or that I recommend a friend who could be a better fit. I had a LOT of opportunities in my 20s, which meant I said no a lot (as well as a lot of yesses and maybes). One guy offered me a job at a good-size metro and I said yes and then changed my mind (which is something I wouldn't recommend). Then he got a job at a metro twice the size of that one and brought me in for a tryout. The place was so overstaffed (LOL) that I was bored and told him I wasn't interested in working there, I'd feel like a retiree at 27. A week later I received a pretty nasty note from him calling me the "boy who cried wolf," when in fact my reasons for turning him down twice had absolutely nothing to do with him -- actually, I liked him and have heard very good things about him. So since, I've tried to give something of myself during the process. They always get a thank-you note from me no matter how it works out, and I try in that note to mention something we discussed and expand on it. To one publisher who interviewed me to be editor of his small daily, I even sent him a book I'd read. The process at its best ought to be almost like sex -- if you don't make an effort for it to be good for both, then what's the point?