How Do You Job-Hunt If You Work Overtime?

Lord_Dweomer asks: "As a recent college grad, I took a job to pay the bills, but soon realized that it would end up sucking the life out of me. I work a lot of overtime in a high-stress, tight deadline job. Once you get into that kind of downward spiral, how do you find another job?" "All my free time, during the week, is completely non-existent, and the weekends are needed to take care of chores, and preserve my mental health. Are potential employers typically sensitive to the fact that I may not be able to interview during the week or during standard work hours? Also, will having left here after a year seem like a real black mark on my resume? My reasons for leaving, aside from the overtime (I am non-exempt), would be that I've basically been promoted in work load and responsibilities -- and have even taken on another job role, IN ADDITION to my current one. All of this without a raise in pay, or new title.

I'd quit if I had a choice, but I really need the money, yet I'm unable to look for a new job because of lack of time. How am I supposed to job hunt under these circumstances?"

Comments

Re: How Do You Job-Hunt If You Work Overtime?

[Lord_Dweomer]

"Choose your vector first before you start accelerating so hard in that chosen direction"

Hi, story poster here.

Its funny that you said that...because while I've been thinking about other jobs, I have no idea what I want to do next. I have thoughts of law school, but I don't want to go through all of that if I end up disliking it as much. Although the rewards would be big...

Hell, part of me just wants to be a lazy ass and become some surf bum in Hawaii.

I guess that would be a good follow-up question...

Once you're in the real world, how do you get to test out jobs since you can't exactly intern somewhere at a certain point. Does anybody have any suggestions for a test or some guide I can read to perhaps gain some insight into what kind of jobs I might be interested in?

Re:Headhunter?

[Auckerman]

Recruiters are a fascinating breed. They can be a pain in the ass to deal with. They love to offer you positions that are hardest to fill first, because noone wants that job. But once you find one that likes you and actually wants you find a job that you want, you're home free.

Re:Mandatory or Voluntary "Overtime"?

[Lord_Dweomer]

It is mandatory in that "it is HIGHLY suggested" that I stay until my tasks are done...because in the end the employer doesn't care really how late I have to work as long as we make the deadlines. Which are always short, and then adding my workload and slight lack of experience to the problem.

Re:demand a raise

[Lord_Dweomer]

While I wish I was in the above situation, unfortunately due to my lack of appropriate experience for the work they've tossed on me, I am not effective at my job. I'm late on deadlines, have errors in my work, etc. They've been forgiving so far because they know my situation, but it sure doesn't put me in any position for a raise. And unfortunately I can't foresee becoming good enough in the near future to warrant one.

Re:Headhunter?

[MichaelKaiserProScri]

I have been offered every single positon for which I have gotten a face to face interview. Headhunters get you that face time....

Re:Headhunter?

[Midnight Thunder]

The jobs I have got have either been via people I know or head hunters. While one or two have been a pain, I found they usually leave you alone if you tell them you aren't in the market. Since head hunters are interested in getting their cut, don't be afraid as using them as a resource to find out what you could realistically get in terms of salaries an conditions. They can also tell you what the company is willing to give and what will prevent you from getting through the door.

Don't limit yourself to one head hunter and definitely make a note of everyone your CV has been sent to. In company getting your CV from two different sources will trash it, since it is less complicated then trying to work out who gets the comission. In fact you should tell your head hunters only to send your CV to companies you authorise for this sort of reason.

Re:Take sick leave.

[irony nazi]

be careful with supabeast's advice. Remember that once your employer has the suspicion that you are looking for other jobs, there's no turning back. What i mean is that you may or may not leave your current job, but you can't take back the fact that your employer is now suspicious. Personally, i think of it as an ace-in-hand. I think it's better just to keep it secret until after you've accepted an offer and are almost ready to resign. Remember, that you don't want to burn bridges... even if you hate your current employer. You would be surprised how small your industry is. Even if you change industries, you may run across your former employer again in a different life. I used to get into arguments with one of my bosses on a regular basis. He was ridiculous... but i left under good circumstances, to do something that was "better for my career", not because i hated my job/boss. That boss still calls me about once a month just to see what's up and we bounce ideas off of one another. He gave me a glowing review recently for a different job.

More importantly though is your current situation. You don't need time to interview for other jobs, you just need more time, period. Once you take a few 'sick afternoons' to go interview or leave for a long lunch interview, you may realize just how easy it is to leave you job at a reasonable hour. I had a job that used to make us stay late and work long hours. I was very unproductive. One day, because i hated that job so much, i left early (granted early=6:30, 8:30-6:30). I started doing it every day. One day, as i was leaving my manager stopped me and said 'i noticed you've been leaving at 6:30' (he dare not say 'early'!). I told him, matter of factly, that tonight i was meeting a friend and had to get ready. I made no excuses for the other nights. After that he learned to have more respect for the time i was in the office. He knew that i would be the 1st to leave the office and he would make extra efforts to make sure that i would have everything i needed to finish my projects before 6:30. He knew i wouldn't stay one second later, unless it was an emergency.

My coworkers were jealous that I got to leave 'early' and they had to stay until 9-10pm every night. I told them it was their own doing and they could leave when they wanted. When bonus time came around, my billing was on target and my bonus reflected that. I got more done during 8:30-6:30 when i felt good about my job, than i ever got done working 8:30AM-10PM and hating it.

This is one of my great revelations. It was beginning of restructuring my social life, getting physically fit, starting bike racing, and generally getting my life in order.

Worked for me!

[MarcQuadra]

I wore a suit one day and left mid-day to 'get my car inspected', which was actually the truth. When I got back to the office I got a $7,000 raise from my boss. She was frantically making phone calls while I was out, trying to get immediate authorization for the money.

Playing double-or-nothing is a great way to get a raise or get canned, but in my experience, if you're on-the-ball you'll get the raise. I know my workplace would be in a world of pain if I left, just because I know a little about how everything works.