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WELCOME TO THE SAM'S CAFE JOB FAIR, where our motto is "Being unemployed is some bullshit. Give me a job."

We are disorganized, but that's excellent preparation for life!

Basically, the idea is to bring all three thousand of us together in an orgy of job-seeking. We ask for advice and give advice and network without all the really gross slimy bits of networking.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB...leave a comment! Tell us what you're looking for and where, and what your qualifications are, to the degree that you're comfortable.

IF YOUR PLACE OF WORK IS HIRING...leave a comment! Tell us what the job is and where, and what kind of person you're looking for, again, to the degree that you're comfortable.

Feel free to post anonymously if you wish, especially if you're linking to a resume or LinkedIn and don't want your screen name associated with your facetime identity.

Make sure you also read the comments, in case a match is out there waiting for you, or a colleague in your field has also commented and could be a good connection. If you have questions about applying for jobs or interviewing or anything career-related, ask! If you have some awesome advice to give, now's the time to share it!

If you're curious about how this has worked before, you can check out the previous two, and you may want to have a look at the Job Advice Sub-Thread snaxcident started last time.

Have at it, and keep checking back!

Comments

10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

Hi. I am ideally seeking a job (in New York City), but I will also accept advice.

For ten years, I was a constantly-active office temp, while simultaneously working as a) a stage manager, and b) a literary manager. I have retired from stage managing, but am still an active literary manager: I run a playwriting contest (http://reverieproductions.org/guidelines.html) every year, and have done so for 9 years.

In nearly all those ten years, I was working in finance, almost all of it at one corporation (my temp agency just kept on sending me back there). However, I have also worked here and there in a) academia and b) publishing.

In addition, prior TO that, I worked for 3-4 years in a television production company, where I was the one single assistant backing up the 3 officers. I was also production assistant, research assistant for new program ideas, sales assistant for our storefront (people bought tapes of the show), associate editor for our web site, and I was even the script doctor for a couple episodes (even though I probably shouldn't talk too much about that). So I also have media experience, even though it's from 10 years ago.

I would like a permanent administrative job that is in a field that is NOT banking. I can proofread, copyedit, I have a strong writing background, and I can do lots of non-writing admin things like filing, expense reports, calendar mainentance, travel booking, and screening calls.

My phone voice is stage-trained.

I can research like a mofo.

Ideally I'd like to work in media, publishing, or academia, but really could check out anything that isn't banking.

As for the advice; the problem I think I've been having is that lots of people don't call me back because:

a) they see that I temped for ten years, and just don't give me the chance to explain "no, but that was because I was a stage manager and needed the flexibility, and I actually turned down some offers in that time," or

b) they only call me about banking and finance because that's where I've been all this time.

SAVE ME FROM WORKING IN A BANK FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

I can send anyone my writing portfolio or my resume, and my Linkedin profile is here (http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlywadsworthny).

Thank you.

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[ehbeeceedee.livejournal.com]

As best as I can guess from not actually seeing your resume, I think your issue might stem from your presentation of yourself. I work for the career services office at a program that sees a lot of 30-40 year old students with a lot of non traditional work experience (temp positions, self employment, working 2-4 jobs at once) and a common mistake that gets made is trying to show too much of your work experience and/or using a traditional resume format that doesn't fit your experience.

You may want to cut out some of your background in stage management as many employers (unfortunately!) tend to view those with experience in the visual and performing arts as looking for a filler between their "true" interests.

You mentioned that you have approximately 10 years of temporary experience that is mostly with the same company: You may want to consider modifying your resume slightly so that you're only listing the experience with that particular company.

Example:
2000-2010 XYZ Company
- Various Positions included blah, blah, blah

Or:
2009-2010 XYZ Company
Position Most Recent

2007-2008 XYZ Company
Position Next Most Recent

(etc)

You may also want to list your stage management and literary management experience as one block as well to give your resume the appearance of more continuity:

2000-2011 Stage Management
Stage Manager for the following shows:
- (selection of most prominent or longest running shows)


The other issue I can think of is that you may not be emphasizing your transferable skills enough, which could be why positions that are not banking/finance are not offering interviews. You may want to consider adding a separate section to your resume where you can list non banking skills. You may also want to tailor the responsibilities / job tasks to slightly more generic skills that include your filing, expense reports, calendars, phones, etc.

Last thought: with your banking/finance background, have you considered looking for work in an accounts payable/receivable capacity? What about as an administrator for an accountant? That might be related enough that your banking background gives you an advantage!

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

I've already done exactly what you describe. (Actually, if you want to have a look at my resume, I can send it to you, or I think it can be downloaded from my linkedin profile.) The only thing I can think to do would be to remove all mention of the fact that I was a temp altogether, but wouldn't that be dishonest?

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[brainwane (from livejournal.com)]

Check out my old firm, Behavior Design, which is in NYC and is looking for an administrative assistant and a project manager:

http://behaviordesign.com/careers/

I believe the previous assistant was also in theater, so they might be more understanding about your schedule and past experience.

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

YOU ARE A GOD.

(May I say you referred me? If that's okay, let me know your name: I'm at nyge at pipeline dot com. THANK YOU.)

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[brainwane (from livejournal.com)]

Sure, go ahead. I'm Sumana Harihareswara. Good luck!

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

I have applied.

However, doing so required me to send an email to a generic "Jobs@blah.com" address, and I'm wondering how often they check the thing...any info about that?

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Publishers would love a skillset like yours, I suspect.

Look up "Publishers' Lunch" - it's tough to find jobs in the field right now because the presses aren't necessarily hiring a lot after 2008, but PL is usually the first to put up the want-ads. Better still, use PL as a jumping-off point to trawl the presses' websites for *their* job openings, tailor your resumé to what they're looking for, and if necessary just let them know you're interested in working with them.

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you.

A thought -- do you think it may be smart to try to get into the business department or something, as a sort of "stepping stone" to get my foot in the door? I'll apply for anything, but I'm wondering if the business-heavy environment I've been in may make some people think it'd be too big a step to jump right from there to the creative department or something.

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Definitely a good idea to keep an open mind. I know people with seniority in publishing who have made all sorts of lateral jumps within the field, so you could try something administrative, or possibly marketing-related, and see where you go from there.

Re: 10 YEARS OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE SHOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING

[(Anonymous)]

I always see lots of posts for executive administrative assistants on Craigslist here in the DC area (I think most are in Alexandria). I know you're in NY right now, but I don't know much more about your field.