Reading this really took me down memory lane...
In the summer of 2002, I had posted my resume at several places. I had
also made business cards. I was emailing, calling, searching. With all
the efforts mixed with uncertainty it was hard not to lose momentum.
I don't know if there is a 'right' way to go about looking. I attended
an evening event called the layoff lounge, and they gave great advice.
There is no shame in being unemployed - the more people know about it,
the better!
I alternated from being optimistic to being worried. I tried to devote
daytime to calling, and evening to web browsing. In spite of numerous
attempts, the number of responses were few, and interviews fewer
still. One of them of course was with my now current employer. It hjad
gone well, but it was a long shot, and afterwards I went right back to
looking. I could not allow myself to think that I had the job in the
bag...
A month later, they called back and we discussed a starting date and a
salary. I was employed on November 20th, 2002. It was almost seven
months since my last day at SyVox.
I was extremely lucky. I got this job not so much on my resume, but on
my connection to someone already here. A great resume certainly helps,
but lots of people have great resumes. Some are more accurate than
others, of course.
For seven months in 2002, I did not work in an office. I could sleep
in, or stay up late, or maybe leave on a month-long road trip. Why
not? Anything was possible, I suppose. But what did I do with my time?
Most of it was outright searching, or thinking about some other way to
find work. I kept a notebook (which I still have) of all the calls I
made. When someone told me to call back in a few weeks, I definitely
did so! Looking for work was a full-time job in itself. Very little of
this time was for relaxing. There is no way that I would call those
seven months in 2002 as "time off".
John
--- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, "Hiram Gonash"
<okfreddy_at_...> wrote:
>
> I was quite simple. My resume was on Monster, DICE, Hotjobs, and a
> propriatary board courtesy of JPL. Add to that networking and creating
> my own database of companies in my area with their careers sites
> bookmarked. Add to that submitting to jobs that I was over-, under-,
> and remotely qualified for - about 180 of them. Add to that fielding
> calls from headhunters and search companies. Add to that going on
> numerous interviews and getting as many rejections.
>
> In short, I got freaking lucky. The job I originally applied for at
> Universal was way beneath my skills and the HR Director recommended me
> for another position, a position that would never have appeared on my
> radar. Two interviews later and ta-da! Back to the workflow.
>
> Ironically, my main co-worker is best friends with the lady who
> replaced me at JPL. Go figure.
>
> However, I felt that I was in a win-win position. I'd either get a job
> eventually or continue to spend "quality" time with the kids, receive
> a paycheck or sleep late. Not a bad choice really and quite valid as
> long the Debster continued to work her three jobs to support the family.
>
> --Ozzy
>
> --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, Susan Oudiz
> <soudiz_at_> wrote:
> >
> > Congratulations, Dean!
> >
> > Mind telling us how you got the job?
> >
> > Mark could use the "inspiration".
> >
> >
> > Susan
> >
> > >
> > > Message: 1
> > > Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:23:11 -0000
> > > From: "tschibasch" <tschibasch_at_>
> > > Subject: Re: Good News and Bad News
> > >
> > > Hi Dean.
> > >
> > > Congratulations!!!!
> > >
> > > Um, could you possibly take my screenplay with you
> > > and have some of
> > > the Big Execs look at it? It's a really cool story
> > > with monsters, evil
> > > scientists, spies, and a death ray. I think that
> > > George Clooney would
> > > take the lead part with George Kennedy would be his
> > > sidekick. I want
> > > to use that little dog from the Taco Bell
> > > commercials as their
> > > courier. We could shoot the whole film in Oxnard,
> > > but change the
> > > street signs to make it look like Beirut.
> > >
> > > John
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com,
> > > "Hiram Gonash"
> > > <okfreddy_at_> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > The Good News is...I got a job. The Bad News
> > > is...I got a job.
> > > >
> > > > Though it's not signed and sealed until I pee in
> > > the cup and affix my
> > > > John Hancock to a variety of forms, on May 15th
> > > I'll be an official
> > > > employee of...
> > > >
> > > > Universal Studios.
> > > >
> > > > Yep. No rodent. No loonatics. Just Universal, GE,
> > > and NBC (with a
> > > > trace of Microsoft on that last part).
> > > >
> > > > My job title will be:
> > > >
> > > > "Manager, Market Research and Research Databases"
> > > >
> > > > which while quite lofty sounding really means that
> > > I am a
> > > > project/process owner (that is, I get a toothbrush
> > > instead of using my
> > > > tongue, but if I work real hard I can achieve a
> > > scrub brush). I'll be
> > > > in the "Marketing - Customer Insights" group which
> > > surveys customers
> > > > and analyzes the data for trends regarding why
> > > people visit the
> > > > Studios and CityWalk, and what marketing programs
> > > are succeeding in
> > > > getting bodies to visit. It's a very
> > > pressure-oriented position but
> > > > stress is my middle name (SHUT UP JOHN!).
> > > >
> > > > My location will be in CityWalk about 200 feet
> > > from the Chocolate
> > > > Store. It's a great location. The people I'll be
> > > working with are
> > > > intelligent, fun, and humane (no overtime, no
> > > weekends). I'm looking
> > > > forward to it.
> > > >
> > > > And I will commute via the Metro. We figure to
> > > save about $3000 on gas
> > > > right there.
> > > >
> > > > Yay!
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
>
Received on 2006-05-08 14:42:25