UNDER CONSTRUCTION

My words of wisdom

If you first don’t succeeded keep on trying, the odds are that you will not get a job on just applying to one job. Send out as many resumes and fill out as many applications as you can. The worst case scenario is that you will have a difficult decision to pick the best job for you. Also network, check out different sites many sites will have different jobs. Pick something that is give you experience this will make you more marketable in the future. Keep shooting your shot and don’t get discouraged or ever give up.

The job search process for a recent/soon to be graduate can seem a little daunting. Finding a a starting place can get a little confusing. I hope my blog on my experience will help a little.

I first started my search by creating a LinkedIn profile, and then had to create a resume to add to the profile. There are a lot of sites out there to help create resumes. I found one that did cost some money. I did the 2 week trial for $2.99, if I didn’t cancel before the 2 weeks was up I’d have to pay $23.95. The site i used was https://www.myperfectresume.com/. I was able to create a few different resumes and cover letters that I downloaded and used to apply to multiple jobs.

I also created an account on USAJOBS.com where I used their in site resume builder to create a government resume. A government resume is a lot different then your standard resume. A government resume has more detail and will be much longer. The USA Jobs site will walk you through it.

My final Update

I guess I did good in my second interview with PathPoint because they offered me the position. The position is IT tech which will give me great experience and allow me to eventually get into a Sysadmin position in a few years. Thanks for following my journey. I already got the max amount of blog points so I did this in-case you wanted to know the ending.

The Search Continues

After applying to many positions the previous week through LinkedIN and USAJOBS, I was able to get a few responses. One company responded on the LinkedIN messenger and another company emailed me. The company on LinkedIn asked if I had a active TS/SCI Clearance. I currently do not. A TS/SCI clearance stands for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information. If you are interested in learning more about this here is a good link https://militarybenefits.info/how-to-get-ts-sci-clearance/. To obtain one on your own is very expensive and once you receive it is extremely useful to obtain a good job with the government or contractors for the government. The process takes months to obtain the clearance but is well worth the wait.

My First Interview

The other response I received was from RGNext in regards to the Pre-Flight Analyst position. I received a phone call and they would like to interview me. I accepted the interview and set up a time and date. This is the first interview Ive had in the last 10 years, I felt a little nervous but not to much since Ive conducted many interviews in my previous position. So how did the interview go? I showed up early, I am always early to everything, I met with two interviewers who asked me a series of questions. The questions were the typical interview questions nothing abnormal. The interview took about an hour, I felt I did really well, I guess we will see if I get the position. The job is pretty cool though I would be on a design team that sets up the screen for launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base and I’d be able to watch the launches in the launch room. So when Space-X launches and Elon was in attendance we could talk about rooming together on mars or DOGECOIN. This was all the job related information I received this week hopefully I get an offer for next week.

The Rejections

They’re were a few rejections, I did receive a few emails notifying me that I failed to meet the basic requirements for the job. I failed to meet the requirements for the Space-X positions and knew this when I applied. I was still going to try, my hopes were that they were desperate and would take a chance on a person who didn’t graduate yet and didn’t have any experience. You never know if you don’t try.

Still no offers

Elon still hasn’t called me yet, or neither has RGNext but I did get contacted from the ByLight recruiter. This person was extremely helpful and gave me a few great pointers. Some of the pointers suggested to me are s follows the resume shouldn’t be some fancy design, the resumes shouldn’t have crazy fonts stick to the basics and also the resume shouldn’t be colored. The reason for these suggestion is that many companies have a program that researches the resumes and if the resume has any of the above items in it the program may just discard the resume.

So to ByLight

After the above suggestions, she wanted me to fix my resume and resubmit it to her so she could pass it on the Hiring director. I was then contacted by their Security Officer who sent me instruction and forms to fill out. The forms are to conduct a background check, this position is for a Help Desk Specialist position. The great part about this position is they will get me experience and also grant me Top Secret Security Clearance, so I’m am interested.

The security forms she needed me to send back were my basic information like history, social security, driver license number and other questions. The strange part about this process was she wanted me to zip and encrypt the files then send two emails. The 1st is the encrypted files and the other was the password to decrypt the file. I submitted both of them now I will wait and see again…..

Another Interesting Suggestion

When I was talking to the recruiter I made a comment about putting a suit on for an interview. She suggested that many companies would prefer if I didn’t show up to interviews in a suit and attend the interview in a more business casual attire.

No news is good news is not always true

The last few weeks I’ve had a few interviews, some phone some in person. I have reach back out to the companies and I could not get a hold of anyone that could provide me any update. I will take it as that I was not chosen to move on to the next stage of the interview process. I will remain hopeful that the process is slow due to the jobs being on the Space Force base. I guess I’ll continue applying for other positions I find on LinkedIn.

The cool Substitute

While I continue to look for a job where I can use my almost newly obtained degree, my wife suggested the idea of becoming a substitute teacher. To become a substitute teacher here in California you need a bachelors degree and need to take the CBEST test, along with a few other things like background checks etc. The CBEST test has 3 parts a reading, a writing and a math. They also cost $30 each to take.

Study No Thanks

The CBEST test has a first time pass rate of 69%, my wife tried to scare me into actually studying for it. Since I am actually spending money on the test you would think I’d study for it. Nope I just scheduled it and went for it, I took the Math portion 1st. I had 120 minutes to answer 50 questions. I then took the English part which was 50 questions in 100 minutes.Lastly I took the writing where I had to write 2 short essays. You need a total combined score of 123 to pass the test. I scored a 141 just think what i could of scored if I actually reviewed some of the material.