Job hunting/career changing

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
As most of you know we are relocating to Md. I am giving up my union job in pursuit of a less hectic lifestyle. Interested in a career change but questioning where to really look. LinkedIn premium? Indeed.com? Direct on websites? I have a backup plan but realistically where is the best place to put your resume out there? I am a welder to start, mechanic at heart, jack of all trades. Some computer skills, leadership skills etc. I’m willing to work but sick of the grind in NJ. 2 hours commuting each day sucks. I have some money saved up so need to rush but I am anxious to keep working.
 
I’ve learned it’s hard for anyone to take you super seriously unless you have a address in that state you’re looking for a job. You may need to wait until you get down to find something, which sucks, but sounds like you’re prepared for that
 
Dave Taylor said:
As most of you know we are relocating to Md. I am giving up my union job in pursuit of a less hectic lifestyle. Interested in a career change but questioning where to really look. LinkedIn premium? Indeed.com? Direct on websites? I have a backup plan but realistically where is the best place to put your resume out there? I am a welder to start, mechanic at heart, jack of all trades. Some computer skills, leadership skills etc. I’m willing to work but sick of the grind in NJ. 2 hours commuting each day sucks. I have some money saved up so need to rush but I am anxious to keep working.
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If you stay in a union slot in MD can you keep adding to your credits?
 
As a perpetual job seeker I would say Indeed.com is not a bad place to start and the search results usually turn out some good leads.

You could also try dice.com which has more temporary stuff that you might be able to connect with until you get settled.

Beware of scammers and don’t ever pay for any “interview deposit” or application fee especially coming from out of state those f**kers are pretty slick.

Good luck.
 
With the lack of skilled mfg labor, I would hope you shouldn't have a problem getting a job. The biggest problem is finding 1 that will pay what your skills are worth, especially in an area that has a lower cost of living than NJ. But if you're looking to change the type of daily grind, that doesn't apply. Good luck.
 
It’s not that I don’t have skills to fall back on or my crane license but that I want to change. I can get an a similar union in Maryland but at the same time it’s not necessarily what I want to do. I had considered a snap on franchise and still lamb but at the same time I thought of starting my own business. I thought about a handyman business, business where I organize peoples garages, a small Bagel Shop and several other small businesses. The problem is more that I don’t know what I want to do.
 
Maybe set some priorities, and see what jobs fit?

Kid's organized activities - sports, clubs, etc are you going to take them to practice/meetings?
you'll def want to be at the games/presentations
This means somewhat flexible hours

Do you want to work with clients?
Do you want to have employees?
Do you want to have work follow you home? (managing, planning, or calling people)
Do you want to have a boss or do your own thing?

Personally, i'd stay away from the food business. Hard work (hours), with lots of risk.
Can't trust anyone - although it could turn into a family thing.

Working for the government isn't bad - either as a contractor, or civilian employee (could take a year or more to be hired.)
Project or shop manager, or vendor manager - should provide some flexibility. Just need to be able to get a security clearance.

Could go with the franchise idea. Tools, uniforms, supplies. Gotta be consistent with hitting the shops tho.
Might also fluctuate with the economy. Driving in that area may suck??

Any consideration to get your license/certifications to do insurance/investing/retirement planning advice?
You already like that space - get hooked up with a group and start expanding your network.
There would be time to build your client list and get rolling -
 
How about doing multiple things part time? Be a handyman and teach welding at the votech school. I have plenty of friends/family who own restaurants or other retail. They all say it's 60-hour weeks and you're chained to the store. My current gig is cool, but it just pays the bills and I'm not contributing any $ to my retirement fund. You have a young family, so you really need good health insurance and to save for their college. I didn't quit my good job until my son was done with college.
 
Dave Taylor said:
LinkedIn premium?
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LinkedIn is the Fucking Worst, but it does seem to work for people. Don't know if it's worth paying for though. My coworkers are regularly telling me about recruiters hitting them up via LinkedIn with job offers.

Dave Taylor said:
Indeed.com?
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Indeed is pretty good, but you can also just google "welding jobs frederick md" or whatever and they do a good job of aggregating from a bunch of places, including indeed.

Dave Taylor said:
Direct on websites?
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This is a good option if you have an idea of where you want to work, or who you might want to work for. When we moved to Parsippany I was commuting an hour each way. I drove around the corporate campuses writing down the name of every company I saw, and then I went on all of their websites to see who was hiring. Now you can just use google maps though.
 
Patrick said:
Maybe set some priorities, and see what jobs fit?

Kid's organized activities - sports, clubs, etc are you going to take them to practice/meetings?
you'll def want to be at the games/presentations
This means somewhat flexible hours

Do you want to work with clients?
Do you want to have employees?
Do you want to have work follow you home? (managing, planning, or calling people)
Do you want to have a boss or do your own thing?

Personally, i'd stay away from the food business. Hard work (hours), with lots of risk.
Can't trust anyone - although it could turn into a family thing.

Working for the government isn't bad - either as a contractor, or civilian employee (could take a year or more to be hired.)
Project or shop manager, or vendor manager - should provide some flexibility. Just need to be able to get a security clearance.

Could go with the franchise idea. Tools, uniforms, supplies. Gotta be consistent with hitting the shops tho.
Might also fluctuate with the economy. Driving in that area may suck??

Any consideration to get your license/certifications to do insurance/investing/retirement planning advice?
You already like that space - get hooked up with a group and start expanding your network.
There would be time to build your client list and get rolling -
Click to expand...
Not against getting licensed but not sure what is involved? If I was younger I would be training to be a realtor.
 
Career changes are hard. Being in construction for so long, I always wonder would I be interested in something enough to make a switch. Even working for myself sounds great but I'd have to confirm to sustain my current lifestyle.

Being a well-paid employee can also be better than being an owner.

ladders.com
glassdoor.com - can give you insight into companies if someone has reviewed them. They also have job postings.
 
ekuhn said:
Career changes are hard. Being in construction for so long, I always wonder would I be interested in something enough to make a switch. Even working for myself sounds great but I'd have to confirm to sustain my current lifestyle.
Being a well-paid employee can also be better than being an owner.

ladders.com
glassdoor.com - can give you insight into companies if someone has reviewed them. They also have job postings.
Click to expand...
This is the thing. I don’t want to be miserable my whole life for the $. NJ is all about work work work…drink…sleep. I’ve been going 45-60 hrs/wk since I was 17. I’m 44 now, have some money saved but not enough to retire. I want to do something I enjoy.
 
I don't have any advice on which job-search tools to use because I've been with my current employer since before most of those things existed. But as someone who has been called upon to interview and assess a ton of job applicants over the years, I'd say that one thing you want to keep in mind is that the employer on the other end of the transaction is only ever concerned about their needs, not yours. So unless your plan is to be your own boss, keep in mind that you need to fit the parameters of the job you're going for and your belief in your own ability to learn something you aren't demonstrably qualified to do means absolutely nothing. I know that seems harsh and flies in the face of feel-good notions like "age doesn't matter" or "you can do anything you put your mind to" but while those things can be true in practice, to a possible employer, they're simply not. For example, calling yourself a "jack of all trades" is a good way to get your application or resume thrown in the trash. Because every employer will expect you to do more than the job calls for, but they're looking to hire for a specific need right now, and they will always hire the person who is demonstrably excellent at that one thing over someone who is pretty good at that thing and a bunch of other things. So if you are truly looking for a new challenge in an area you have neither official qualifications (e.g., a degree, professional registry, etc.) nor actual experience in, either start your own business and learn as you go or go back to school for it before you apply anywhere. And I'm not saying that school is necessary for being able to actually DO a job - I'm saying it's in all likelihood a requirement of the potential employer. There's a difference and that's a shame, but it's reality. For example, I know plenty of people who are more than smart enough to be a "data scientist" (a ridiculously broad term for my area of semi-competence), but if I'm hiring for that kind of position, I'll never interview any of them because they'd never make it through the initial culling of applicants because they don't have the right degree or the right keywords on their resume.

All of that is to say that you should expect that a complete career change is going to be a pretty big challenge. You may find that one person out there willing to take a flyer on you depsite a lack of prior experience or a degree, but that's pretty unlikely. Maybe instead you can find a job where you already have the skills (e.g., a welding position based on what you said above) and make sure they know in the interview that you're looking to learn other aspects of the business as well. Because if you look at it from the employer's perspective, that's a win: you're offering them your existing skills, presenting yourself as eager to learn more and implying that you're likely a good long-term investment. But that only works if you can offer them your current expertise right now.
 
Dave Taylor said:
It’s not that I don’t have skills to fall back on or my crane license but that I want to change. I can get an a similar union in Maryland but at the same time it’s not necessarily what I want to do. I had considered a snap on franchise and still lamb but at the same time I thought of starting my own business. I thought about a handyman business, business where I organize peoples garages, a small Bagel Shop and several other small businesses. The problem is more that I don’t know what I want to do.
Click to expand...

Can I give you a millennials perspective of snap on? Since we're going to be your customers, my buddy owns a shop and I know a few wrenchers
 
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