Since searching for a job is by no means an easy task nor a particularly easy-going one, I thought (being the half-full guy that I am) I’d post some of the frustrating happenings that come my way. Take for example:

I applied for a job via creativehotlist for a job squarely in line with my background. A senior rep with the organization emailed me the day after asking if I could come in for an interview. Being that I was out of town, I suggested a new time pushed forward one day when I would be back in the area (it was, after all, the week of the inauguration). I got nothing back. Despite, even, emailing twice after that initial message I sent, which went to two people (one was CC’d).

In the long run, I’m not sure I’d want to work for an organization that is so sloppy in their communication (especially for a communications company!), so it’s not a real loss I suppose. Just rude, really, and a time-waster. You can tell a lot about a company (and people) in how they handle the little things.

When you get a hold of your spouse’s credit card and go on a road trip! 

Finally getting my W2 from the company I dare not speak its name and filing my state and federal taxes. (Gawd bless being able to write off interest!)

I really wish I would have thought of this, since it would have made a great photography project. Not that I have teddy bears lying around, mind you. Check out the full assortment at Kent Rogowski’s site. And I think I’ll go ahead and purchase a book of the work from Amazon. So cool.

Since I have a good deal of time on my hands and I’m trying to process what variables help me be productive/keep me from going insane, I thought I’d put together a short list of those items that I think will help me over this employment bump.
-click here for the list-

Well, it’s not that exciting, really. And thanks to the interwebs, it’s not something that necessarily requires a lot of in-person applying or interactions. I recall my experience with the Virginia unemployment office years ago was extremely…what’s the word…humbling. “I’m sorry ma’am, but I think I’m looking for something other than painting houses.”

I was able to file my paperwork online thanks to DC Networks, and can apparently log my weekly claims there as well. Oddly, though, they sent me a slew of letters that are the type where you tear off the sides and pull apart (like the kind you get with a credit card pin). It’s important information, nevertheless, but the format struck me as odd.

Weekly benefits apparently range from $50-$359 with a cap of $9,334. As they say, it could be worse.

I’ve had a LinkedIn profile for years now, but I can’t say I ever really leveraged the connectedness and kept my network up-to-date. I guess being an introvert extends to the virtual world as well. With my recent layoff, however, the portal has quickly become ground zero for job hunting and I’m LOVING what I’m finding.

Connecting to top-of-mind friends and colleagues is a must, obviously, but I found a veritable treasure trove when I went through the process of importing my Gmail contacts. The result was access to LinkedIn profiles of pretty much anyone I had emailed over the last few years. I’m no social spammer, to be sure, but the system did jog my memory of folks to whom I should probably reach out. For instance, I discovered an AOL recruiter with whom I had a number of pleasant exchanges with back in 2005 is now a recruiter at VW, which is a company I would LOVE to work for. She’ll be getting a friendly ‘howdy’ email here soon, asking for advice on how to break into that company.

I’m definitely going to nurture this profile going forward, considering how useful it can be and how uncertain the future is. Lesson one learned.

Well…despite everything I believed and felt to the contrary, the agency I came to regard as possibly the best of my career was forced to lay off a number of folks last week. Me included. I guess you never really know all the behind the scenes details. But you know what they say, when life gives you lemons…you the smash the shit out of them and combine them with vodka. Kidding. I’m not at all bitter.

And so begins the always laborious job search. I started a new category on the site called ‘the hunt’ to chronicle what will hopefully be a short-lived, but interesting pursuit. Fingers crossed.

If anyone comes across appropriate leads, do send them my way! My LinkedIn profile gives a pretty comprehensive look at my skill set and background. Hopefully, I can turn this surprising turn of events into something positive, possibly finally getting on with a wildlife/environmental shop, or another cool agency.