I have 17 years experience of doing a thing. I have been trying for 17 years to get a job doing that thing. I have been told over and over I don't have the experience because it's not "professional".
17 years. How much more experience do I need? What else can I learn after almost 2 decades?
Someone who hires people, please help answer this, why won't anybody give me a chance and hire me so I CAN get this experience I need that somehow is better than doing it for 17 years on my own.
Have you been making money? If not, it’s not considered “professional” experience.
They want references. Proof you can work well with people. Can work within a corporate or military structure.
Although having worked on something for 17 years, why not start your own business doing that thing and pocketing -all- the profit?
What type of work have you been doing during those 17 years?
Hiring managers are probably asking themselves these and many other questions.
@amarand the sad thing is I can answer all those, but it doesn't matter. I've been in corporate environments for all these years, on teams, working right next to the field I want to be in. I've gotten certifications and a degree in this field. Still no. All my certs expired because nobody cared that I got them.
I'm being vague in case they're here and reading this and I don't want to seem like I'm complaining, I'm just furiously curious.
You want a promotion within a specific company? You do not want to leave that company to get a new job? Initially, your post read (to me) that you were unemployed and doing the work outside of a paid environment. If your communications are coming across that ambiguous, makes me wonder what your resume looks like.
My suggestions:
1) Full resume review. Find someone else to look at it for you. You may be too close.
2) Find a job elsewhere. Better position, better fit, better money.
@amarand yeah, I'm unemployed right now. I did #1 like 4 times and #2 is what I'm trying to do. I even got a new cover letter from scratch.
Cover letters should be written and tailored to each specific job opportunity. Do people still use generic cover letters?
Do you have access to LinkedIn learning? Here in Ohio, our library systems offer it for free. If you were in Ohio, I could help you get that for free and start digging in on modern/current resume and job stuff.
@amarand I tailor it as much as I can, it just includes more details about my skills and whatnot so I enter the company's name and stuff. It's not generic, per se, it's specific to me and my abilities. I just change who I'm addressing it to when I submit it.
A cover letter should be brief and to the point. It should help match up any non-obvious experience you have, to the position. It should lead the reader to key points in your resume and the job description, and show -quickly- how you can help them fill the requirement with your skills. That’s it. It’s not a thank you letter.
When I do cover letters, they are 100% new except for header and footer information. The “guts” help you match up your resume to the specific job req.
Honestly, a lot of people do without cover letters these days, and simply have a resume adjusted/tailored to the position.
The “cover letter” stuff is usually handled by whatever initial contact method you’re using. Email? Phone? You need your elevator pitch (phone) or your good email introduction. Who are you (one sentence), what can you bring to the position (specific to the company and position), why you’re the best choice. That’s one paragraph and a sign off.