Online Applications/ Finance Plan II

Online Applications

Day three of joblessness was spent applying for jobs and reaching out to friends.  A recruiter friend of mine communicated to me today that she didn't currently have any opportunities open but advised just what I did today, apply for jobs and reach out to friends.

As to the online applications, I applied to a variety of roles that my skills were suited for.  I've read many articles and posts on online boards lamenting the lack of response applicants get from HR folks on the other side.  Sometimes I see outright rage at those "awful HR jerks."  There's really no point getting upset.  Each online posting gets dozens, if not hundreds of responses.  It's nothing personal at all.

Faced with piles and piles of applications, most companies use software to search for keywords to eliminate applications.  That said, you want to fit as many keywords in the job posting as you can in your application.  For example, if the job posting is looking for an "Experienced zoo-keeper that has handled Kodomo Dragons," make sure your zoo-keeping resume contains "handled," "Komodo" and "Dragons."

The following company, Job Scan, optimizes your resume by comparing the wording of job postings and your resume. 

https://www.jobscan.co/

I highly recommend it.  The use of keyword searches proves the importance of having a few different resumes tailored for different roles.

In my previous job search from overseas, I applied to about 230 companies.  Of those 230 applications, I say I would get a response in about 1 out of every 20 applications.   And from those roughly 12 responses, I got 6 or so interviews.  So... It's important to not lose hope here.  Don't let not hearing back from companies dishearten you.  Like I said earlier, it's nothing personal, but just the sheer number of online applicants.

I am proof that if you stick at and go for volume of applications using correct keywords, you can succeed in getting that job.  And here I go doing it again.

Finance Plan II

Back to the Finance Plan, after your figured out your Monthly Balance (your total Monthly Expenses subtracted from your Monthly Income), use Excel to create a simple chart totaling the amounts you have saved.  If you are Excel illiterate like me, I'll explain.  Hit the "Home" tab, select two boxes, and then hit the "Format as Table" button.



Once you do this, you can enter your savings amounts as below.


 

After you enter your savings, select all amounts on the right side of the table and press the AutoSum button on the Formulas tab.  Doing so will calculate the total amount of your Egg for your search.





Repeat the above steps and subtract the Monthly Balance amount from your Egg to determine how long you can survive without loans from friends/family, credit cards, etc.  Note that Excel does not have a subtract Formula, rather you add negative values to "subtract" them.



Once you have determined the length of your survival, you can adjust your Monthly Expenses as necessary to prolong your financial freedom.  For our adjustments, we will cut back on food expenses as well as the amounts that go into the kid's 5/29 plans and our IRAs.

As to my ex-Company, I heard from a colleague that our COO was let go today and confirmed it on the website.  I wonder how many more cuts will occur...

For readers in the same situation as me, hang in there.  We will get through this!

Day Three Lessons: 

1. Keep Applying to Companies, and Don't Take It Personally When They Don't Respond to You

2. Use Targeted Keywords For Submitted Resumes 

Total Contacts Reached Out To: 21

Total Applications: 13

Finance Plan

I couldn't sleep well the night earlier. Ex-coworkers populated my dreams and I kept thinking of my old job. I really liked my old office, work and co-workers. I woke up for good at 6am (9pm Tokyo time) and contacted two of my colleagues in Japan. We chatted on Line about the unfortunate series of events. Both of them went through a period of unemployment; one was let go from his law firm in 2008 or so and one was let go from a major Japanese video game company in 2011. Both survived, moved on to respectable companies and are doing well. Assurances that I would do the same from them made me feel better.

As to my search, I spent most of the day working on a financial plan and reviewed materials on how to file for unemployment insurance. I'll go into filing for unemployment insurance (based on the materials and my experience doing so over the next few days).

As to the financial plan, having a family like mine accustomed to living an upper-middle class lifestyle requires me to conduct a careful accounting on what needs to be cut back and how long we can survive on the job search based on our savings and the unemployment insurance amounts we will receive. For this financial plan, it's probably easiest to start with Excel to create a spreadsheet.
There's a really easy-to-use template called "Simple monthly budget" as shown below.



First start with your monthly expenses and click on the tab Monthly Expenses on the bottom of the page:




Then, when in the Monthly Expenses chart, enter your itemized expenses as follows:


Once that is finished, click on the Monthly Income tab on the bottom of the page.



And identical to the Monthly Expenses, enter the amounts you will receive as income, including the monthly amount of unemployment insurance. I'll go deeper into the calculation about how much you will receive for unemployment insurance in the next few days. As a primer, a handbook for this calculation can be found here if you live in Illinois:

 http://www.ides.illinois.gov/IDES%20Forms%20and%20Publications/CLI105L.pdf


Once you have entered your Monthly Income, click on the Summary tab on the bottom of the screen.



The Summary chart will detail how much each month will cost you in the form of the number called the Balance. It will be a negative number, one that hopefully won't be too shocking.



Once you have this number, you can create another chart subtracting your monthly Balance from the amounts you have in savings. This calculation will determine how long you can survive on your job search without getting loans from friends/family members/use credit cards, etc. I'll detail how to do that in tomorrow's post.

Mom invited us over to dinner, so not much was accomplished on the applications and contact to additional friends front. Mom treated for an Aldi pizza. They have refrigerated/non-frozen pizzas for 5-6 dollars. It was a great cheap dinner as it tasted really good. I recommend getting one whether you have a job or not.



That night a colleague in Japan gave me a Line call to encourage me on the search. As described above, he had lost his job at a law firm years ago and was able to get on his feet in a few months. His concern and encouragement improved my spirits. I also talked to my HK buddy who had a plethora of ideas to get past this difficult time. So far my friends and family have been great in getting us through this. If you are in the same boat and haven't done so yet, please reach out to friends and family right away. They are awesome.

Day Two Lessons: 

1. Creating a Finance Plan for Your Job Search Is Essential and Easy Using Excel 

2. Aldi Pizza is a Great Cheap Eat 

Total Contacts Reached Out To: 13 

Total Applications: 1