The hunt, part 2

As a follow-up to my previous post, I realized after talking to a friend that there's something else I don't do: try to circumvent the stated application process. There are all sorts of tricks and tips out there on how to get your resume to the top of the pile by doing something sneaky like calling HR to ask if they have your resume, showing up at the office and asking for an appointment, stalking other people who work at the company and asking them for help, etc. In general, my MO has been laziness, mostly because I have been a stalkee in the past and I'm not inclined to give the time of day to people whom I don't know when I'm busy. Plus, I figure if the company is interested in talking to you, they will call you. Kind of passive, but so far the passive approach -- i.e. following the process as stated in the application (if it says no calls, don't call!) -- has worked for me.

Along the same lines, I don't think I've ever followed up after an interview. If a certain amount of time has passed and I haven't heard anything, I don't bother emailing or calling to uncover the status of my application. It's the same attitude I stated above -- if the company is interested, they will call ME. If they are not interested, then me calling to find out if I got the job or not is probably not going to help me in any way.

As I said, I'm a terrible job seeker. I do everything completely backwards and in a rather solitary fashion. Maybe I would find jobs quicker if I followed the advice given by experts, but I do take a peverse delight in that I conduct a job search in all the wrong ways and somehow -- with a lot of patience -- it seems to work out for me. Your mileage may vary.