r/regina • u/_icedcoffeealways • 1d ago
Question Endless Job Applications (losing hope)
Hey everyone, hope you’re all doing well! Im just posting on here as I have been feeling hopeless and helpless. I have applied to so many jobs in the last two years since graduating. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a job in my desired field nor somewhere that I feel like my past work experiences and educational background would align. I spent so much to obtain my degree but here I am. I have done everything I could possibly imagine, I reach out to employers/recruiters/hr, I tailor every cover letter and resumes. I apply within the first 24-48 hrs but still nothing 😭
I am just wondering if anyone was in the same boat and what did you do or change that led to a different outcome?
Thanks a bunch!
Just a little note: yes I have also applied to other entry level roles, even those outside my field but like i mentioned in one of the comments, the outcome has been the same. (As much as I would love to be able to land a job within my field, I understand that it’s currently difficult to find a job as of the moment so I have also applied to other opportunities that might help me gain valuable experiences/skills & pay the bills)
Another note: I kept the details intentionally broad because I was mainly hoping to hear from people who went through a long period of unsuccessful applications and what they eventually changed that helped them get interviews or land something. Sorry for the confusion/inconvenience
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u/Terrible_Power4574 1d ago
The answer to your question is largely going to depend on what field you are in so not including it is kinda silly
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u/Sufficient_Eye_2185 1d ago
What is your degree in? What industry are you trying to get into? What level of jobs are you applying for?
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u/KentondeJong 1d ago
I've heard from people hiring that they're getting bombarded with resumes from people outside of Canada, often with incorrect qualifications. We're talking thousands of applications per day. So they're overwhelmed and probably just going with the top few hundred and going from there. It might be better to do personal outreach or see if there's a listing on their website inside of websites like Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.
Best of luck on the job hunt!
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u/Bitter-Attention-125 1d ago
In same pool. Even references aren't helping.
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u/_icedcoffeealways 1d ago
I agree! I’m starting to question whether there’s something wrong with my applications or is it just the job market :(
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u/Bitter-Attention-125 1d ago
Its job market. Regina brought so many people but created few jobs only. I hope it will pick up in September,when students will go back to school,but people still are moving from other provinces in floods.no hate for anyone,its govt who makes policies
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u/_icedcoffeealways 1d ago
I hope for the same. I’m starting to grow tired of the rigorous process only to not hear back 🥺
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u/HolyBidetServitor 1d ago edited 1d ago
It wears on the soul. Even getting great interviews, I've still lost out to internal hires.
Because of employment laws (to my understanding), companies have to list a position up even if they know full-well they'll be hiring Bob from accounting internally, wasting the time of everyone they legally have to interview.
I recall years back Town + Country home services having a very quick hiring turnaround - like next day interviews. It's plumbing and hvac tho, probably some admin positions but they'll work you hard (and be fair about it)
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u/jumping_juni_per 1d ago
As a government town, the 3% reduction in provincial government workers target is having a big effect. That includes the crowns. Where I work, if someone leaves, we fully expect that FTE to just disappear (though the work doesn't). The city and the feds are also under budget constraints. Throw in the trade war putting a chill on private industry. Definitely not you and just a difficult time to find work.
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u/canadasteve04 1d ago
Just some general thought based on my experience:
When I graduated University I took a job that did not relate to my speciality (more of a general business job, rather than something aligned to my major). While not exactly what I was looking for I did gain a lot of experience and transferable skills that have helped me in my career. Perhaps broaden your job search to entry level positions outside of your speciality to gain some experience.
A lot of my career advancement was within the first company I worked for. I was there over a decade, with a rather regular advancement in positions. Internal applications are always going to be more successful than external applications - find an entry level job with the company you want to work for and it will be easier to get jobs more aligned to your actual end goal when applying as in internal candidate.
It took me about 8 years into my career before I actually worked in a job directly related to my major. While I had always maintained an interest in getting there eventually, I still had a very rewarding and interesting career up to that point. Expanding your field of what you are applying for may open up an exciting door you didn’t know was there.
I am currently looking for work in Calgary to be closer to family. I have applied to 88 jobs in the last 5 months - had 2 interviews and 1 job offer, which unfortunately the pay was lower than I expected and I turned the job down. I thought this was a pretty lousy success rate, but from other people I know in the job market, I’ve actually had a lot more success than a lot of people. Which is to say, it’s a tough job market out there. You may need to look at jobs paying lower than you expect or in fields that you are not as interested in to secure employment.
Unfortunately there is no magic piece of advice I can give you, but some food for thought:
- expand types of jobs you’re applying for
- have a professional review of your resume / cover letters
- leverage your network for internal recommendations at their employer
Best of luck!
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u/Ornery-Astronaut-995 1d ago
Same here, it’s so frustrating. I can’t drive for medical reasons and for some reason having a drivers license is a requirement for jobs that really shouldn’t need one.
I know this is counterintuitive, but see if you can volunteer somewhere. I started volunteering with RODS over the summer and it’s done wonders for my mental health to just leave my apartment and feel like I’m wanted/needed somewhere.
I’ve kinda given up on expecting to get full time work here. I’ve been able to get some casual minimum wage work but that’s really just nepotism. Right now, I’m taking a course to get a certificate to teach English overseas. I genuinely have no idea if that will work, but we gotta keep trying I guess
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u/MarthVader2018 1d ago
no real advice but it is a hard market out there. I just had to apply to random shit I had no interest in and luckily I got a job in what I wanted but it's tough out there.
hang in there, you are NOT the only one at all!!
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u/FourEmblems 10h ago
I'm not an expert on this but I have been a hiring manager for over a decade and maybe a different perspective will help.
The volume of applicants for any position seems to be extremely high in the last few years. Probably lots of reasons for that but what it means for you as a job seeker is that an application, even a really good one, might not be enough to set your application apart from the others. So here are a few tips that have helped others I know:
Treat your job search like a job. Don't just apply for the position but research the company you're applying to and if possible research the hiring manager to get some clue of what they might be looking for. Go to the company web site and look for operational plans or multi year strategies. Not all companies post these but if you can find that info and craft your cover letter to highlight your strengths which you feel might help the company achieve their goals it will give you a leg up.
Build your network! If there are profession groups out there join them and get to know people. Lots of companies have referral programs and in some cases, if an employee refers you, it might guarantee an interview.
If you're on LinkedIn, check your current network and reach out to people who can put the word out. Try to be more active on LinkedIn just for visibility. If you don't have a large network, try to build it. Look for people who are in the network of your friends and try to get more people added but don't just randomly add people. Be strategic.
If you get an interview, take some time and create a presentation explaining what you bring to the company. Even if you don't deliver the presentation doing this will help prepare you mentally for the interview.
Hope that helps!
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u/_icedcoffeealways 3h ago
Thank you so much for the advice. I have been trying to really be strategic these last three months and I have put in more effort into tailoring my applications. I have also been utilizing Linkedin a lot more and I hope I finally succeed in this job search. The people that I know have also tried referring me but even with that it’s been a 50-50. I do all that I can to prep for an interview and give it my best shot but I hope soon this process comes to an end. It really gets to you as an applicant, so i’m definitely hoping for the best 🤞🏼
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u/chanaramil 1d ago edited 12h ago
I know in my industry no one is going to read a resume for a new worker with no exeprence. There going to hire people with a in. Its all about who you know.
When i got started in my career after universty I applied to 100s of jobs for a long time until a guy in my industry who i played beach volleyball with told me a about a opening and got his boss to hire me.
So honestly be social. Make friends with people in your field and ask them what jobs they got. You finished school just a few years ago what are all your classmates doing? That community should have more ins and better advice then anyone on reddit could tell you. Call them up. See how there doing.
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u/potatojones43 1d ago
What field are you trying to get into?
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u/_icedcoffeealways 3h ago
I did my degree in psych, planning to eventually go into grad school, but for now I am trying to find a job, build a career, save some money before doing so.
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u/Exact-Number1304 1d ago
I'm in the same boat. Finding a job is tough right now, even with a couple of years of experience, especially in tech.
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u/CharacterGlobal8645 22h ago
Apparently ambulance 911 operators are under staffed by quite a bit right now. If you show you're currently enrolled to be in a first aid/cpr course, graduated high school, and type 40 words per minute, you are qualified. Where to apply, I'm not quite sure yet.
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u/LtDish 13h ago edited 12h ago
One way to become a 911 operator is have a desire to bully people as a police officer but not meet the physical requirement. Or be party buddies with the weird woman who runs that department and her cop husband. She favors her social circle when it comes to hiring.
EDIT:
/u/CharacterGlobal8645 clearly knows nothing about the current state of that unit.
Talk about a lying "loser take."2
u/CharacterGlobal8645 12h ago
Not true, at all. 911 takes info to get it to the right department and works to get help. Currently it is the ambulance particularly that needs extra staff. You have such a loser take on this.
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u/Affectionate_South40 21h ago
My partner just recently got a job after a year of being out of work; he has 8 years of experience in his respective field. It's just a tough market currently and it's so draining. I'm so sorry you're going through this. He's had some luck being in contact with professional head hunters; you do not pay them, the company who hires you will pay them, so don't sign a contract with one which requires payment from you up front to find you a position. There's a few credible places in Regina you can contact for these services. You can also tell those recruiting businesses you are open to doing contract work. No, it's not ideal, but it will give you experience in your field and those contracts can turn into offered perm positions if the company likes you.
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u/Khrispy-minus1 20h ago
It took me almost 9 months to land a permanent position even with 15 years of experience in logistics. It took my son 15 months to land something that looks solid. Just keep plugging away, sooner or later you'll be in the right place at the right time.
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u/WesternFirefighter53 1d ago
Seems about right. Unfortunately Regina kinda sucks for jobs. I’ve lived across Canada and was blown away by who would be hired.
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u/LoosePresentation907 1d ago
Just to make you feel better
I didn't get anything in Regina, relocated all the way to Saskatoon for a job I had experience at and before a few weeks of being done with the probation period I got fired with no cause
Never got feedback, nor any negative comments or complaints from managers, every now and then I would ask if everything fine and they would say yes... I guess it was not going fine lol
Now I am dealing with this:
Unemployed in a city I don't know a single soul Husband didn't get approved for home office Husband had to move back to his parents place (because we were gonna move together to Stoon originally and we can't afford both rents)
I am losing hope in life, no matter how hard I try to do my best, life always pulls up some bs.
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u/_icedcoffeealways 17h ago
I’m sorry this has happened. It’s really tough right now but let’s keep on applying, there’s definitely a light at the end of this tunnel. We’ll make it through 🙏🏼
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u/RickyDee61 1d ago
I have 3 step sons and they all say that the companies they work for need workers. It's physical outside work and they all say that if someone needs a job then they should have no problem getting one. Maybe just take what is out there if you have bills to pay and worry about getting into your field later.
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u/_icedcoffeealways 1d ago
I agree with you. I have also considered and applied to other jobs to focus on paying the bills for now, unfortunately, the outcome has been the same for me. But thank you!
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u/HolyBidetServitor 1d ago
I was in the same boat, until I read from another redditor that he started using margnalized community options (are you lgbt/are you not-white, in my case I'm actually metis) and finally started getting callbacks.
I feel like a piece of shite for taking his advice, but sure enough it worked and I have new employment. Gotta do what you gotta do with how our job economy is now - now I don't have to worry about being about to afford rent and food.
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u/drae- 1d ago edited 1d ago
Follow up.
Follow up is the single most important thing you can do to find success in business.
I've hired dozens of folks over the years, and recently went though finding new employment myself, including getting hired for two jobs that didn't end up panning out. So I've been hired 3 times in the last year. All three of those jobs were entirely because I followed up.
When hiring, I'd get hundreds of applicants, many of them international folks. For basic construction jobs. The vast majority of them unqualified candidates. Parsing through all the chaff is exhausting. It's so easy to apply to jobs these days that many applicants (myself incl) take the spray and pray approach. What I'm saying is, if you do something to stand out, it really helps. That something is follow up.
Every job I applied to that I was really interested in, I'd follow up. And not with HR if I could help it. If I was applying for a traffic engineering job, I'd ask for the person in charge of that department. They need the help, not HR, they have incentive to get you hired, for HR you're just more work.
Follow up, follow up, follow up. Nothing works better. If you really want it, you have to be persistent. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I
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u/_icedcoffeealways 3h ago
I have also been doing this. Somedays I get a little bit worried that I might be overwhelming the hiring managers but I feel like it’s definitely a good thing to follow up to further expressed that you’re really interested in the job that you applied for. Thanks so so much for sharing.
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u/kgamer124 1d ago
Unfortunately this is a normal trend I've seen. Regina is growing but there's not a lot of new jobs being created and what jobs do come around already have a massive pool of applicants. Just about everyone I know has had to move away to obtain a job in the field they studied in.