I lost my first! Is this the end of the world? 21

[Cutiee]

This is my first job, my first redundancy; I have never imagined I’d leave the company of being made redundant. We’re not picking up any work, over 1/3rd of people have to go, and more than ten people have already gone. In my department they only want to keep the manager, and everyone else has to go, fair enough, all clear and straight forward, but somehow I just can’t accept it. It happened all too quickly.

I have been looking for jobs (again) since I heard the news, I know it’s a good chance for me to finally move on, but so far I have got rejected by two companies and am still waiting for response from many others.

How should I look at myself now? A loser? Although In the past years I have got very good feedbacks from both my colleagues and clients regarding my work, my confidence is slowly ebbing away… I start to doubt my ability... After getting a good class MEng degree I thought I was worth something; now at age of 25 I’m unemployed!

Is there something wrong with my CV? Or my limited experience is holding me back? Or perhaps, I should change directions…?

Help me through the misery please…

x

P.S if a similar post already exist, please let me know and I shall close this one

Thanks


Cutie

 

[IRstuff]

What's the big deal? I got laid off 3 times in the same summer by the same company.

You're already too young to be thinking that you were going to work for the same company for the rest of your life. No company is going to "take care" of you, like family. That's the bad news. The good news is that means that layoffs, today, have little stigma attached, they're simply a pure economics question.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[DesignerGuy16]

Yea, the days of a lifelong employer are done. We're all just beans for the beancounters to decide if we fit in the yearly budget or not.

Use it as an opportunity to live in a new place, get a raise, a new industry with new connections, etc.

You'll be good. I'm only 27 and I'm at my 5th place since I started my career 10 years ago. I had one I was at like 4 years, but got laid off like 4-5 times, and my unemployment was drained. So I moved to another for like 9 months, they didn't want to give me a raise and I got an offer to double my salary so I left there. Got laid off from the next one after a year and a half. Now I've been where I'm at about 2.5 years.

Some people have commented on my "jumping" around, but I explain to them why and it's not so bad.

Good luck with the job hunt.

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

 

[TheTick]

In the course of your career, you are highly likely to be hired, fired, recruited, poached, promoted, demoted, made redundant, overpaid, underpaid, overworked, underutilized (not as nice as it sounds), worshipped, reviled, misunderstood, overestimated, underappreciated, ...and almost always for the wrong reasons.

Unless you plan to die where you stand, keep pressing on.

 

[SNORGY]

Cutiee...

Metaphorically, my late uncle would have put it this way:

It's definitely not the end of the world. Just the end of an early chapter in your book. Keep writing, starting with this new chapter. The book gets better.

Being terminated for any reason sucks. In the downsizing game, if numbers have to come up, sometimes yours is one of the numbers that comes up.

The first time I was ever "let go" (laid off) at about your age, I went to the kind lady in Human Resources and asked, "What do I do now?". Her reply was quite straightforward and compassionate: "That's *your* problem. I have never lost *my* job.".

That sure took the sting out of it.

The biggest source of encouragement I can offer you comes from your own post. You have looked at the facts and have already started examining yourself and how *you* can improve. You have begrudged nobody and have not spoken ill of your former employer. That's exactly the thing that ultimately successful people do. However, try to keep words like "loser" out of your vocabulary during your period of introspection.

Surround yourself with friends, family and colleagues, dust yourself off, never doubt yourself or your ability, and move on.

Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way, let me know.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[Cutiee]

ok, thanks, just felt a bit down because got rejected by a couple of companies, just have to keep on trying!

Cutie

 

[graybeach]

Keep in mind that the economy worldwide is in pretty rough shape. No shame in being a victim of that. Anyway, why not try to work at a public utility or other public agency? At least here in the US, the public utilities still offer better benefits, pension plans, more security, etc.

 

[rbulsara]

100 companies may reject,but all you are looking for is one yes. So keep the chin up and keep looking. Remember 80% of the employment opportunities in the USA are NOT advertised.

Knock the doors of every company in your locality and not wait for ads. This is more true for less experienced people or entry level jobs.

Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[KENAT]

Cutiee, I don't know for sure how things are in the UK but if it's anything like the US job market at the moment things are a bit tuff. Heck, even back in 04/05 when things weren't tuff I had a heck of a time finding my first Engineering job in the US (having moved from the UK).

In the current climate, and the situation you describe, there's no real shame in having been laid off.

Also, given some of your other tales about the place, you may be better off without them (though the financial implications right now may not make it seem like it).

You'll probably get a bunch of rejections, and likely even more complete lack of responses.

Just keep plodding away. There have been quite a few threads about tips for job hunting etc, maybe you'll find something of help in one of those.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[Cutiee]

it's really quiet in the UK as well =/

Cutie

 

[casseopeia]

You need to reinforce in your own mind that you are not defined by your job. You are the same person whether you are a bartender or working with a team of engineers on the next major technological discovery. You have not changed, only your circumstances.

When you are not actively interviewing or mailing out resumes, find something to do that makes you feel good about yourself. I recommend any physical activity and volunteer work. If you can, squeeze in some self-improvement to make yourself more marketable like taking classes at the local community college. Or just do it for fun.


"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[Cutiee]

I'm learning to play piano, it might boost my confidence?...

Cutie

 

[Japher]

I've been turned down by many companies, and most of those just stopped returning phone calls. At least you got a response.

I wouldn't worry about it, companies are looking for THE candidate in this economy because they feel they can be ultra-picky.

 

[IRstuff]

I would concentrate on your strengths, be it piano, or something else.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[ScottyUK]

Big question: are you prepared to relocate? In a town like Aberdoom where all the jobs are tied to one industry it might be tougher than average.

There are definitely jobs in the power indsutry but I don't know how transferable your skills are - mine were pretty transferrable the other way into O&G. Polish up your CV!



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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[controlsdude]

My easiest way to find a job is contracting through an agency. They know the market and you can easily know who is hiring. I must of registered with 10 contracting agencies, play them off on each other. Look at it as a game, I did and interviewing became to me a bit of an acting job. Ask yourself, do I want to work here when your interviewing? This is your chance for a big raise and you can be picky too!

Looking for a job is a journey to me. You can be miserable or you can have fun with it.

There are support groups out there that focus on job search, so seek them out, to get your attitude on right. When your with people that have the same perdicament, they can easily pull you up from the misery you are experiencing.

Even when you contract you can make up your mind if you want to work there and if you don't, who cares, it was a contract job anyway. You finished the work and now for the next assignment.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Cutiee ... No it isn't the end of the world ... just the end of the beginning. The best is yet to come. While you are unemployed, looking for a job should be your job. Keep your normal working hours and maybe even do some overtime.

KENAT ... I know you've finally received your US citizenship but, come on ... "tuff" ... shame on you.

 

[Cutiee]

KENAT, how's life in the USA? Is it better to work in the USA? I heard they only get 10 days holiday work longer hours?...

ScottyUK, I'm willing to relocate (except London and North Island) and change directions, I have spent an entire week working on my CV, it looks pretty good, so is your company looking for a young, motivated, intelligent and hard working engineer? If so, I shall forward my CV to you... (It doesn't hurt to ask...)

controlsdude, I have registered with agencies, but even the agencies admit that the market is rather quiet at the moment, but I will keep trying.

CorBlimeyLimey, yes indeed, it’s not the end of the world, after a bit of shopping, I have cheered up a lot and not giving up on looking for jobs.

x

Cutie

 

[ScottyUK]

Cutiee,

I moved to London at the end of the last big recession in the 90's. I promise it's not somewhere to dismiss without trying if there is a good position with a good employer - people who I'd have sworn would hate the place have loved it and vice-versa. Personally I hated it but I don't think you really know until you try. It was an invaluable step in my career looking back, so even though I didn't stay it was worth being there for a while.

I don't mind having a look over your CV, I might be able to add a few ideas which would attract a recruiter's eye and could possibly give you a few hints on companies to try so you can make your own approach. If you know what the unadvertised vacancy is then it is much easier to tailor your appraoch to suit. Make sure your CV highlights your transferable skills. I don't think we're recruiting right now for anyone electrical although I'll check tomorrow, but I know my last two positions with two different employers haven't been filled yet so there are certainly positions out there. I can think of at least one other company who were recruiting recently but need to check with my contact there.

Just need to figure out how to establish contact without breaking the site rules about email addresses!


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[IRstuff]

Ah, shopping; just avoid the girl in the green scarf.

As for holdiays, your mileage may vary. While I get one less week of vacation than my wife, she actually has way fewer days off than me, as I have more holidays off.

TTFN

FAQ731-376