It occurs to me that I might as well make some hay out of my current job situation as well as provide an ongoing update to the ongoing ripples of Hammerfall 3.0. The "hay to made" is, of course, working on a different kind of documentation as well as hopefully providing some kind of historical record to myself at least (if not others) for the next time this happens (as I assume it will at this point).
In general, the report will run from the previous Saturday to Fridays (when I am writing this).
Period: 29 December 2023 to 05 January 2024
Positions applied to: I applied to 16 positions this week. Total jobs applied to/opportunities investigated are 31 unique positions.
A note on the number of positions applied to: "applied to" is not the equivalent of "screened". At this point I am applying for positions that I think I have a reasonable chance of getting, which are 90% in Quality Assurance, mostly in biopharmaceuticals. Project Management jobs in this field are not forthcoming at the present time. At the moment, I am applying for positions that are on-site, remote, or hybrid in Old Home and here in New Home or remote in general as a move is really not in the cards at this point beyond Old Home (as it gets me farther away from where I want to end up, not closer). Currently I am applying for titles ranging from Site Head/Director to Manager. My thought is that if at this point I go much below Manager to Supervisor or level of individual contributor, selling myself as staying "in place" without looking for another position will be tough. It is easier to make that sale if you have been "out of work" for a bit longer.
Rejections: I was rejected by five companies I had applied to. In three cases the rejections came within two weeks of my CV submission and two came within 24 hours, which is actually pretty quick and somewhat surprising.
I assume with the use of AI and application management platforms (as we used at my company), these will get weeded out a lot more quickly. Also, as was pointed out to me by a friend, likely the HR departments are back from the holiday and catching up on these matters.
Conversations: I had two phone conversations.
Conversation 1: My impression was that it was going to be a phone screen for a defined position; it turned out to be an introductory call for a position that is pretty early in the process and was actually a contact point for the recruiting firm. I suppose the best outcome is that I am "in their system" now. We will see if it amounts to anything, although I am not terribly hopeful.
Conversation 2: This was with an actual company employee for an actual company position I applied for (In New Home). It actually turned into potentially a discussion for another position (if the first one does not work out). I should know more by next week.
Job losses: This week in my industry, job loses were announced at Intellia and Aera, (If anyone is interested, dailyjobcuts.com provides a daily list of companies that have announced layoffs or closures. For biopharmaceuticals, FiercePharma and Fierce Biotech have handy updates on such things). I mention this because, perhaps self-evidently, these are all now potential competitors (as will be the December college graduates that were just launched into the world, to be followed by the next wave in May/June 2024).
For historical purposes, I will note that Fierce Biotech has an article dated 02 January 2024 noting that 2023 layoffs were up 57% year over year from 2022; per the article of 187 workforce reductions, only 60% of companies reported actual numbers (at 9,150) with the remaining 40% only reporting percentages of total employees or not reporting numbers at all(e.g., we do not really know the final count; I know for Hammerfall 3.0 this was not publicly reported).
My completely uneducated opinion is that it will be this bad or worse in 2024, due largely to a combination of loss of capital markets and the economy.
Mood: I will be frank: this was not a great week.
I cannot point to any particular item: being that we are coming out of the holiday season, I had already anticipated that responses would very likely be slim to none. The fact that they were slow, though not surprising, was too easy to dwell on.
I am already running through the "what ifs" in my mind. Like my friend the Dog Whisperer pointed out, at some point one has to start to go for the positions one is likely to get as well as the ideal ones even if they are less desirable. Yes, one can (and should) keep looking, but that really goes against one of my beliefs that if I accept a job, I commit to it at least as long as it is feasible (or, apparently, they lay me off).
It is pretty easy to let myself get mired in "no-one is ever going to call".
I am continuing to work on creating a structure for my day. Part of that structure is that I have a set aside time every morning to job hunt - honestly, it can be done in about an hour. After that, I turn my attention to other matters. I perhaps check in one more time but if one is searching for "positions updated within the last 24 hours", it becomes a pretty quick activity.
As part of this activity, I am working on actively studying/training. No reason to let the moss grow.
TB are you too old to learn plumbing, welding, electrical work?
ReplyDeleteIn my state there is such an ongoing shortage that the state will PAY a decent % for your education in these trades as part of getting folks off unemployment.
I've seen personally two of my family electricians and one plumber retire so far. I've encouraged two youngsters (sub 30's) into the plumber apprentice in my area. They get 20.00 an hour to LEARN Plumbing. One has already taken his Journeyman's tests and still works with his Master plumber earning 30 dollars plus a healthy % of services performed.
I don't know your Biomedical Field, but I ask you, is the # of your job description INCREASING or decreasing? Can AI replace a % of your job openings?
So far AI cannot fix or replace a backed-up toilet. Ask yourself just HOW LONG do you Defer getting the toilet fixed?
Payment is at completion of service, cash, good check or credit cards accepted (thank Square).
Around here ALL servicemen talk together at coffee. Folks that don't treat them well or stiff them DON'T get any response when they call.
Michael, if I am being completely honest, I probably am not old enough to learn (mid-50's), although not sure my body would be up to some of the work.
DeleteChecking in my local area, there are plumbing programs but nothing I see suggests one gets paid to go.
Is my role increasing or decreasing? I suppose I would answer that by saying "Do you want your pharmaceuticals made compliantly, or not?" If yes, then there will always be a role. And likely no, AI cannot complete all of the tasks that a Quality Person does (but to be fair, a percentage of them).
Investing in yourself, you did it for your previous job?
DeleteSNIP: Everything is draining but when Mom runs her washer the pipe backs up so the clog is beyond the toilet. Mom has a plumber coming on the 8th to do a proper pipe clean out. I saved all of the old stuff I changed out and had Mom write down every thing we did and in what order it was done to clean out the clog. The plumber guess it will be about $300.00 to get the job done. That seems like a good price for the job considering drive time and how fast he can get to the job.
And the plumber did not rule out more expensive issues that may be found. 300 bucks quote for a clean out, install a wax seal properly and reinstall the toilet.
I've done this myself last year at 64 years of age, slowly, smelly job but the cost was hours of my life, a bemused wife, about 15 dollars for the wax seal and new bolts and nuts as I didn't trust the old rusty ones.
I did indeed invest in my career, and will likely do so in the future.
DeleteThanks for this update TB, as time passes the job search should clarify. Perhaps Michael's advice will result in your casting your net wider.
ReplyDeleteAnon - It is something to consider. A career change was not quite what I had anticipated, but perhaps that is what is in the cards.
DeleteDon't let yourself construct the walls of your box. Thinking out side of it usually leads to eureka moments. Schools, both high school and colleges, two and four year are begging for substitute's and tutors. With your dept of knowledge I would certainly look into it. I know I mention contract work but look for that in your area. I worked multiple jobs in town that paid extortionately well for 1 to 3 months. Retired ER Doc friend went nuts not having to rush to hospital and he's now a math tutor for the high school. It was his minor. Just my penny for the day.
ReplyDeleteGL - Substituting is a possibility, although I have no idea if I could manage a modern classroom. Tutoring certainly might be a more viable option.
DeleteER doc tutors but does it at their library or public library. Sub teaching right now in today's climate, I shudder. Whatever your path is we all are cheering you on.
DeleteGL - I have family members that teach and I have heard the stories. I will say there is a reason that they offer substitute teachers so much money, and it is not because it is an easy job.
DeleteGreat ideas above. Substitute teachers used to get paid at the end of the day. I don't know if they still do. I assume the Berzerker gets a bit of coin from you. Could you mentor someone as a coach that is below your level for a few quid? or maybe tutor novices in drawing the shinto or shinshinto or.... Tutor classes on how to tell ripe, fresh fruit and veggies? Hmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteSTxAR - Unfortunately, anything involving Iai is not really is possibility. That would involved opening a dojo, and getting formal permission etc. For weight training, I do not feel I have the range of skill to write programs for others - I would just be coasting off my coach, which does not seem right.
DeleteTeaching might be something.
Hey TB, I often say "I will pray for you," but after reading this post, I stopped and prayed for you and this situation. Prayed for Mrs. TB too. Blessing to both of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob! Very much appreciated.
DeleteI'm with Bob. A door will open when you least expect.
ReplyDeleteYou all be safe and God bless.
Linda, I have no idea that such a thing will not occur. It is just the patience to wait for it and trust the process.
DeleteHaving been in your position, twice, I can sympathize with you. Even I the optimist, gets mentally strained during these times, especially as time passes by.
ReplyDeleteTo add to one of the comments above, I'm guessing in your field you have a better than average knowledge of statistics. Perhaps teaching said subject at a local community college/state college is a possibility. I say this because of a friend that was laid off alongside me during Hammerfall 1.0. Although he was an electrical engineer, he was skilled in programming. He reached out to a local community college, on advice from someone who worked there, and was immediately offered a job teaching programming. All these years later, he is still there and still can't believe how fortunate he has been for the "career" change.
Sadly Ed, statistics is one of my least knowledgeable subjects. I have enough to do my job, but not more (although in retrospect it would have been a great subject to be in).
DeleteTeaching at the community college level is a possibility, but likely not in New Home due to a major university and several smaller ones being present; they have a surfeit of riches.
That said, I just checked the local Community College closest to The Ranch. No specific position under full time, but I likely would qualify for adjunct, at least educationally, for History and Political Science. That said, the application process includes a great deal of modern think, which I would likely not be in a position to effectively write on. Probably more likely to find a tutoring job or even private college position.