Scantlings

Thing is, I've had the same job for the last 10 years, things have changed and I'm looking at a couple of jobs.

I currently work for a smallish contracting electrical firm that does a wide range of work, Industrial mainly but a lot of marine work, fishing boats and has provided (well I have) good support on an 60 Meter off shore support vessel including spending three weeks at sea on it and all other kinds of marine work, although, not on your sail boat, no money and heaps of hassle.
I've done lots of cool projects like scratch build weighing machines and other what I call "low end automation" Jobs, stand alone machines that are PLC controlled. (enjoyable work) I do have photos of a cool project I did about four years ago, only because some else had the work camera so I used mine, I even have video footage of it working on youtube.
Local corporate owned fishing fleet uses another company, They are cheaper, the company I work for (that means me a lot of the time) does the work on the owners private boats.
I've been working as a contractor at a local sawmill for the last 12 years, Mill has staff of five sparkies and I come in to help with project work or to fill in as a shift sparky when someone wants time off, that's one of the jobs I'm looking at, I'm filling in as shift sparky on Friday and basicly got offered that job yesterday at the lunch table. No need for CV help with that job.

The other job, It's a bit out left field. It's the sole sparky on a 120M ferry working week on and week off.
I've done the job for two days (on the same boat) and have a former workmate working for the same company. (foot 1/4 of the way in the door)

The Ferry job is the preference, maybe a no-go because there is a possibility that it has been filled, and I don't have any sea going qualifications, former work mate thinks this can be worked around.

How do I make myself look good on a CV when I have nothing to add for the last decade and no sea going qualifications?

What do corporate employers looks for? Yea I can write lots of lovely story’s about work I've done but anyone can make shit up.

I'm better at my job than selling myself, hence the ask for help.

jeroen

Well, I don't understand any of the Union or Licensing requirements of the job, so YMMV

when I have nothing to add for the last decade

Absolutely untrue. It's not always a bad thing to have similar or same job for ten years, especially if they are looking for consistency and stability or a particular skillset. You need to sift through your experience and find the relevant ones. Have your friend tell you what they are looking for and then go through your experience and pickout/highlight the things that you feel demonstrate those skills and experience best. You have at least 10 years of projects to go through, which ones put you on your best foot? Be honest, not overly modest or bragging (by your description, I think you need not worry about the latter).

And then have your friend tell you what he can about the company culture and the manager in question. Technical skills can be taught, but attitude and "fit", not so much. Your filling in on the job for two days will be the best interview possible - remember it goes both ways; do you like them?. Your mate is also possibly a very good character reference. For people employers like, they can be flexible about certain requirements.

Apologies if this is nothing earth shattering or helpful.

My 0.02.

Listen to Jamie...................................

as an employer I look for attitude and good fit as much as I look at technical qualifications. I can teach technical stuff, attitude generally is fixed in people.

Jeroen,

I agree with both Jamie and Kim, I have hired a lot of people (and canned a lot too) and attitude is critical. Also, for sea-going experience I'd take a guy who risks his family on his own boat at sea any day over a fella who has only ridden around in ferry boats. You have actually had a lot more critical experience at sea than many of the commercial folks I know because you've had to do it all for the folks you love. That matters. Of course you don't put that in job experience, but under hobbies a short description of the miles you've done at sea on your own will have some effect.

Finally, every (and I do mean every) job I've ever had (and I've had a lot) has come to be through a friend or contact. Be certain to let everyone you know that you're looking and what you're interested in. When I start out looking for a job I quite literally spend a couple of hours a day on the phone calling folks to "chat" and bring up the fact that I'm thinking of moving onto something new as we talk about sailing, food, skiiing, our kids, whatever. Only one in a thousand will know of something, but you only really need one job. I know it sounds weird, calling your buddies, but it's the best advice I can give. Also, if a buddy ever calls you - do everything you can to help him/her out. That is paying forward that will yield returns far off the scale of "fair". Folks never forget a person who spent the time to find them a job when they needed it. I know I never will.

Cheers,

Beau

Apparently Jamie, Beau and Kim are on the same page on this subject. I agree with everything the other two guys say.

OK, here is my great unifying theory of gettting somewhere in life.

It may surprise you to see that it is also about sailing.

Getting somewhere in life is like sailing upwind, if it was like sailing downwind everyone could do it.

First, you have to know where the next mark is. This is goal setting. If you dont have a clear goal, you sail around in random directions.

A goal should appear to be out of reach at the time you set it and five years is the maximum interval, less is better.

The key point here is that when you are sailing upwind you never set your course directly for the gaol, you take the best fit you can achieve.

No point sitting in irons pointed directly at the mark, when you can progress in its direction if you take advantage of the prevailing wind (opportunities).

At some stage, things will change. A wind shift or an obstacle appears, and you throw a tack to another course which moves you closer to your goal, and so on.

So the trick is look out for opportunities and dont be afraid to throw a tack if they are favourable.

On the other hand, keep on course if they wont get you closer to the mark.

Pretty soon you are around the mark and looking for your next goal.

So, in my CV, and in the CV's I see, I am much more interested in outcomes than process.

Sure, you describe your experience, but dont forget your results, and the skills you learnt getting there.

Thanks heaps fellas, Lots of good constructive things here.

I was going to just list "sailing" under hobbies, I'm going to elaborate a lot more on the kind of sailing I've done and that I do it with my family.

Reading your posts and I had a BIG penny drop moment, They want to know about ME, not just my skill set, well Duh.

Mum sat me down when I was young and tried to explain to me about how difficult is is to find decent jobs, then sat back and watched as I just seemed to get work whenever I wanted, and I've had some good jobs, she told me later that the chat was a waste of time, I didn't need it.

Applying for a job by e-mailing a CV is a bit different to me, I'd rather do the door knocking thing. Your guys help will go a long way.

Jeroen

Well, there goes nothing! fingers crossed now.

My fingers are crossed for you floater......

Good luck!

Hey, Floater, when I'm looking for a job I go after at least 100-200 jobs before I actually land one. Don't get bummed if this first email doesn't hook the big one. Sometimes it takes a while.

BeauV wrote:Hey, Floater, when I'm looking for a job I go after at least 100-200 jobs before I actually land one. Don't get bummed if this first email doesn't hook the big one. Sometimes it takes a while.

When I was a med student, one of my colleagues was remarkably successful with the nurses.

He didn't spend much time with patients, he was always up the back of the ward chatting up the nurses.

One day I asked him what his secret was, he replied "its easy, five percent of nurses say yes"

That is when I learnt the basic lesson of marketing, you focus on the strike rate, not each contact.

Of course, once I knew his technique I was able to focus on the nurses he found who said yes, so I spent more time with my patients and passed my exams.

Well they have filled the position on the ferry, Dam.

Oh well, I'll pursue the job at the mill, that could be a waiting game, they need a sparky, they know they need a sparky, but corporates don't always think that way.

Beau, 100 to 200 job's? what on earth? If I strike out three times I'll look at what I'm doing wrong.
The decision to look for another job was made about 6 months ago, this was attempt one, I'm not going to apply for a job that is no better that what I'm doing now, good jobs will come up, Patience is the key. I already turned down one job that I didn't even have to apply for, was not what I wanted.

Jeroen

floating dutchman wrote:Well they have filled the position on the ferry, Dam.

Oh well, I'll pursue the job at the mill, that could be a waiting game, they need a sparky, they know they need a sparky, but corporates don't always think that way.

Beau, 100 to 200 job's? what on earth? If I strike out three times I'll look at what I'm doing wrong.
The decision to look for another job was made about 6 months ago, this was attempt one, I'm not going to apply for a job that is no better that what I'm doing now, good jobs will come up, Patience is the key. I already turned down one job that I didn't even have to apply for, was not what I wanted.

Jeroen

Jeroen,

Let me clarify a bit. The industry I've spent my life in creates literally hundreds of start-up companies each year in the US alone. Well over 80% of them fail in their first year, of the remaining 20% half of those fail in their second year, and by the time they get to be a 'real' company with profits and positive cash flow there is about 1 in 40 or 1 in 50 that make it. As a result, if you want to work with small start-up companies in Silicon Valley, you have to kiss at least 100 frogs before you find a princess (I'm not into kissing princes).

If you choose to work with later stage companies that have grown up a bit, then you'll find that the percentage of truly terrible companies has been reduced from something in the high 80% range down to something like 50%. If you choose to work with companies that are well on their way the percentage of truly terrible is down around 10%.

One might ask: "Why in the world would you try to work with companies with a 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 chance of success?" You'd be quite rational to ask this. The reason is that the really successful companies in my field pay off between 100 to 1 and 500 to 1, there are some that have paid off at over 1000 to 1. Examples in the 500 to 1 category include Cisco, BEA, Oracle, Network Appliance, Sun Microsystems, Arix, Veritas, etc.... and examples in the 1000 to 1 category include Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc.... Sure, the probability of finding that 1 in 200 company is pretty darned low, but if you change jobs a lot and keep looking you can find one or two in a 30 year stretch of hunting. I'm fortunate enough to have found 1 of the 500 to 1 deals and two of the 100 to 1 deals in my life. Thus, I keep looking.

One might then ask: "How in the world do you look?" Because clearly there isn't a list of these tiny companies, which typically consist of two guys and a fuzzy dog hanging out in a studio apartment or garage someplace, you talk to EVERYONE. I really mean, quite literally, you talk to everyone you who will tolerate talking to you. Some may have noticed my propensity for long and frequent posts, well that characteristic (found obnoxious by some and adored by few) results in my making contact with literally hundreds of people per month, not just here in this sort of forum but at sailing venues, bike races, coffee shops, barber shops, private clubs, dive bars, beaches, piers, everywhere I go. Simply put, I like to meet people, and I listen to what they have to say. For example, I was running a race in San Diego and one of the Race Committee crew was chatting with me. I asked her where she was from and she said Clairmont California. I asked if she knew the Munter family and she laughed and said she did. I asked if she knew Cameron and Marry Munter and she said she went to school with them. Bingo, a linkage was made. I've since recommended to another sailing buddy in San Diego who is a friend of the woman on the Race Committee I was talking to that he talk to Cameron Munter because Cameron is a big deal in the US State Department and this guy wants to work there. Why did this work, because I'm constantly asking folks about themselves and testing for linkages and areas of interest. This is the primary way I've found all the jobs I've had, and I've had a mess of 'em, and all the companies I've invested in. It's all through an insatiable interest in people. Those people, whom I've helped, immediately turn to me if there is a job opening even remotely like what I'm looking for that they stumble across.

So.... when you mix someone with a clear personality disorder like mine with an industry that is creating hundreds of new companies a year, you get a lot of mixing and matching.

When I worked for a big New York firm we would meet with about 250 to 300 companies per year and invest in two or three. We distilled that 250 to 300 companies from a first screening of well over 2,000.

Finding a needle in a haystack isn't hard if you're willing to look at ever piece of hay, or take the direct approach and just sit on the haystack letting the needle find your bumm.

BV

You meet a lot of very interesting people on these sailing sites; Beau clearly is one of the most interesting. Nice guy too, so if any of you get the chance to take him to lunch or dinner, jump at that chance. You will have a great time. SWMBO and I sure have had a great time with him.

Better yet, invited him sailing, We sure plan to do so as soon as we have a vessel that is operational.

kimbottles wrote:You meet a lot of very interesting people on these sailing sites; Beau clearly is one of the most interesting. Nice guy too, so if any of you get the chance to take him to lunch or dinner, jump at that chance. You will have a great time. SWMBO and I sure have had a great time with him.

Better yet, invited him sailing, We sure plan to do so as soon as we have a vessel that is operational.

Beau is always invited. So are you and SWMBO. I can show you all the good bits here.
It's not so nice out today though...



Edit: It's been showing 19 degrees for months.

Ish and Kim,

I'm blushing.... Ok, maybe I'm just pinkish. I haven't ever thought of myself as interesting. Irritating, maybe.

Ish, that view looks like home this time of year, nice and white and gray.

BV

Well, up-date. The job at the sawmill that I have been waiting to come around, has, well, Changed. Become a whole lot less attractive.
New Maintenance Manager. Enough said.
An then I get an e-mail from my former work mate. Seems the fella that took the sparky job on the Ferry has handed his notice in!
I'm not concerned about him working for a firm for a short while then quitting, there is more about him, apparently he took a big step down to do this job for a big cut in pay for life-style reasons, guess that did not work for him in the end.

I do like the idea of working week on week off, Kind of like semi retiring at 39. and for more money than I'm on now, and interesting work, and good work environment.
Mrs is only tolerating the idea of me being away from home for a week at a time every second week, but I'm promising a new and better car, Honest!

Ah, what will happen will happen.

Jeroen

Jeroen,

Thanks for the update - good luck with the ferry job. Good luck for all of 2014. I'm sure the Mrs. and you'll work out what's right.

Cheers,

Beau

Thanks Beau.

Anyway, thing's just got funny.

I've had a few beers and so has my former work mate, who had just rung me.

Apparently my former work mates boss asked for someone just like him to fill current position a while back, I think the words were "where can I find another person like you?" well by the time I got wind of all this and applied, the job had been filled. oh well.

My former work mate was my apprentice. Now the job is vacant again.

What will happen will happen.

Jeroen

Well. Interview tomorrow.

FD

floating dutchman wrote:Well. Interview tomorrow.

FD

I hope it goes well for you Jeroen.

Rooting for you from this corner of the globe Jeroen. You’ll do okay. Ed

Good luck Jeroen, we are all rooting for you.

Kim

They'd be lucky to have you, mate.

break a leg

Good of those guys to root for you, but I'll just wish you good luck Mate.

Back yourself mate, you know you are good.
But I'm sure you will understand when I say I am not rooting for you.
(I couldn't anyway, Sweethart is in Denver being grandma)

Don't forget to ask for the job.

Well, thanks people.

Interview did not go as well as I'd have liked, This is a big deal for me, It's a career change and a lifestyle change for me and my family. I was nervous.
Anyway, got a call back today, He liked what he saw from me in the interview and wants to talk to my referees, one of them is my current employer.
Unfortunately I was unable to talk to my boss in person so I had to tell him over the phone, not ideal but them is the brakes sometimes.

Things look real good at moment!

Jeroen.