Job Hunting for International Women in Their Late 30s: It Depends on How You Use Agents
Continuing my job hunting journey as an international woman in her late 30s. Today, I'm revisiting my thoughts on recruitment agents (please forgive my condescending tone, lol).
Between mid and late October, I applied to 23 companies through a major agency. It was the first time in my life I'd applied to so many at once.
I was told that if you don't cast a wide net, you won't hit anything, so I did it reluctantly.
Until now, I only applied to jobs I felt I 'absolutely wanted to do,' and honestly, I don't think I've ever applied to more than two companies at the same time.
Within one to two weeks, the document screening results started coming back from the companies. I was rejected by almost all of them, lol. But I was only disappointed by one or two; for the rest, I was honestly relieved. After all, it's not like there are that many jobs I actually want to do.
In fact, the companies I managed to get interviews with were a great match for both what I was looking for and what they were looking for, so I thought, 'This looks promising.' I have an eye for these things. (Or so I like to think.)
But here is where using an agent was actually good:
They keep sending me matching job listings (Note: there are a lot of duds).
They push me to just apply anyway (Note: sometimes it's annoying).
They send reminders with advice at the perfect time, like 'Prepare for your interview,' 'Don't be late on the day,' or 'Reflect after the interview' (Note: in this day and age, it all seems to be automated, template-based emails, though).
I'm the type who doesn't move unless I'm forced to. I don't get a fire under my butt to prepare documents or interviews until the very last minute, so having someone pushy is helpful. (By the way, I also prefer men who are a bit pushy, lol.)
And, I realized this after I started looking, but there are so many types of jobs out there that there are even jobs that would suit me perfectly that I didn't even know existed.
Actually, there was a job listing in a super niche industry/field that I was glad I found.
The industry was such an unknown world that I didn't feel like applying at first, but it piqued my interest, so I talked to my husband about it.
He said, 'Wait, that job sounds like a perfect fit for you.'
'And why are you deciding not to apply? lol'
My husband listed all the points that matched, and that's when I finally thought, 'Oh, you're right.' I realized it was a great match for my language skills, overseas experience, and my work history to date. No wonder the agent introduced it to me. (In this day and age, it seems like it's matched by AI, and the introduction emails come with AI explanations.)
I wrote the other day that I 'stopped relying solely on agents,' but they do have their good points—it really just depends on how you use them.
How will they support me as I move to the second interview?
What kind of advice will they give me regarding salary negotiations? I wonder how my agent, O-san, will handle that? Will they earn the millions in commission they'll get from the company? (O-san, I'm counting on you!)
By the way, I also applied to two jobs I found myself, both at foreign-affiliated companies. I passed the document screening for one and have an interview and skill test (English and Excel) next week. I'm happy because I took the plunge and put a lot of effort into the application.
The other one is a casual interview next week.
It seems like it will be in English, so I'm a little nervous.
Fingers crossed!