How did you get your job?

[peekaboo]

I ask this because I'm sorta stuck in a job which pays less than $9 an hour and they are starting to cut back on hours...not really sure where to look for another job or if I'm good enough and can hold down a better paying job. My bf doesn't understand this he thinks I can find something much better which pays more money on the other hand I'm not so sure...so my question is how did you find your job?

[Karen]

I think finding a job, for a shy person, can be incredibly difficult. Its a stressful thing for anyone, but add social anxiety to the mix and it can be a trial.
I got my current job because I knew one of the people on the board of the place I work at. I had done some work for him in the past, and he knew I was looking for work at the time, so he recommended me. They gave me an interview and the rest is history.
before that the way I always got a job was by going around everywhere, and putting in as many applications as possible. Something will always come up if you do that. Its no fun, but its just part of the process, everyone goes through it.
I don't know what you do now, but if you want to change jobs, I am sure you will be able to get another. Just start putting out apps everywhere and see what comes up. Its scary but not impossible.

[missklew]

I think the best way to find a job is to have lots of connections. When you are young, start to build a network like through linkedin.

Keep in contact with people once a month or so.

The other way to find a job is to apply everywhere you can think of and follow up.

If you are sending out a resume, make sure it is perfect. Have someone proofread it etc.

When you are way established in your career, then people call you.

[putter65]

I joined a job club and sent 100's of spec letters out. (The club pay for the stamps). Got a phone call, went for the interview, got offered the job there and then. I had worked for the company before and I knew the manager. 14 years on, I'm still there.

Before that from 18 to 29, I struggled to get a job, hardly worked. Interviews were awfull. I hated them. I was shy and people didn't like me.

[Farouche]

For me what eventually paid off was having my resume on Monster. An HR guy found it and gave me a call about an entry-level position, which I ended up getting. I also heard from a very small number of recruiters--and again, that's just entry-level. If you already have some solid experience, this should pay off better and quicker.

One great piece of advice I was given: make sure your resume includes the up-to-date keywords that recruiters will use to search for people with your skills, whether on a job site or in an employer's resume database. Just scanning a few relevant job ads gives you a good idea of the language to use.

So job boards are a nice, shy-friendly supplement to the more active techniques that Karen, MissKlew, and Putter mentioned. I did not do enough active searching, and my job search dragged out waaay too long as a result.

This thread needs an encouraging smiley-face now, so here one is!

[Stranger]

My experiences were similar to Farouche's when I was starting out, and I agree with everything that's been said here.

If you don't have much to set yourself apart from the rest, like when you're starting out, it's more of a numbers game. While you need to put in a little effort to tailor each application to the position you're applying for, it pays to put more emphasis on quantity than quality. If you're going for more specialized or experienced roles, it starts tending towards the opposite.

Only other thing I would add is that, if you're in a creative field (art, writing, software, ...), build up a public profile somewhere. Put up a site that showcases your stuff, and spread links far and wide. Whenever you add something, blog it, tweet it, put links on forums, mailing lists, local community sites. Aside from getting your stuff in front of more people, it can help drive home how serious you are about what you do - which as a hirer I'd find extremely important. The good news is this doesn't even have to involve talking to people.

[redribbon]

I bought a plant. Noticed their job ad and just couldn't walk past it. I fought every fear and went back in to give my name. Three years later I have a career in horticulture and am studying to further it. I feel lucky.

[Jeremy]

As I have just said in another thread, I hate job interviews with a passion and have had very little success in my working life, of some 16 years.

I worked for the same company for 10 years (1995 to 2005), during which time I had various interviews, most of which were spectacularly unsuccessful. I finally got a job elsewhere in May 2005 and left the following month. 16 months later I was made redundant when the company was bought out and were to be re-locating. At the time I was just setting the wheels of applying for a mortgage in motion and couldn't be out of work. I contacted my old boss and said I was job hunting again and would he mind giving me a reference, to which he said 'of course, and by the way we have a job going here, come in for a chat and if you're interested it's yours, if not then no hard feelings and you can still have your reference.'

Despite applying to various other places and having some interviews (including 3 on one insane Friday in September 2006) I had no choidce but to go back to my previous employer. 4 and a half long years, a takeover and a merger later, I'm still there.

So yes, having connections is a good thing, but there is a huge amount of luck involved as well. A coupel of other people I know have got jobs purely through word of mouth or asking companies they know if they have jobs going.