# How long did it take you to find you last IT Job?



## iburrows (Apr 30, 2009)

Hi Guys,

With all this talk of doom and gloom on the IT Jobs front I was wondering if it really is all that bad out there for those of us lucky enough to have an in demand IT skill.

The is more aimed at those of you that do contract work but would also be good to see what you permies have experienced. 

Those of you that have or have tried to change job during the current climate how has it been? How long did it take? Was it any different from when you have job hunted in the past?

Personally I have a theory that if you expect it to be hard to find a job and that it will take a long time then… more often than not it will.. but if you don’t listen to all the bad news and keep positive then you normally find that it is no different to any other time and you can find a job without problem.

Sometimes I think people use the doom talk as an excuse to not work… its easy to blame it on something else other than yourself.

Just my thoughts

Ian


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## PhoenyxRising (Jun 17, 2009)

Hi Ian.

I agree with you, whether you're contract or permanent, If you already have the predisposition that you wont find anything because the economy is in turmoil, youre not likely to. 

From what i have seen though, regardless of which IT sector you're in, companies are going for more experienced or dare i say it those with more qualifications than are needed. 

So in my opinion, maybe if you're in the process of changing jobs, or thinking about it in the near future, maybe a little at home study could be in order? The more knowledge you have, the better your prospects. 

Do you have any ideas on where one might be able to study from home?


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## Shannon104 (Jun 19, 2009)

I am also job searching. I've been working on my resume and found blog that has been really helpful:

http://resuweblog.blogspot.com/

It gives tips for writing both resumes and cover letters. Here are some of the tips they give:

*How can I build a boring/content rich resume?*

1. MS Word doc only! MS Word doc files are the standard and easiest for Applicant Tracking Systems to upload and parse.
2. List your resume reverse chronologically - Most recent positions on top
3. One font throughout your resume - Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, and Garamond are best
4. Black font color only
5. 10pt, 11pt, or 12pt font size only. Stick with one font size throughout your entire resume.
6. Let your resume flow to 2-3 pages if you have the experience (usually 10+ years or more)
7. List all start and end dates for your positions in the Month, Year format (ex. January, 2006 to June, 2009)
8. Optimize your resume content by including as many keywords relating to your skills, experiences, technologies, or activities you have worked with.
9. Proofread. Every text editor, MS Word, and Google Docs all have built in Spell Checkers. There are no excuses for typos!
10. Links to your professional blog or Twitter page to promote your personal brand. Only if you are 100% sure the content is professional.
11. Optimize your resume (coming soon) with ResuWe at http://www.resuwe.com

There is a lot of other useful information on the blog, but these tips were particularly for me. 

Hope this helps!


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## PhoenyxRising (Jun 17, 2009)

Hi Shannon. 

Hope you had a good weekend. :grin: thank you for the tips. Ill definitely look into it.


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