Looking for work in the digital age

Today, Class, we'll discuss how much different looking for work is today versus the last time we did it. Sixteen years ago, you looked in the paper for jobs, you networked around, and when you found something promising, you mailed off a resume, followed up with a phone call or maybe a personal visit.

Today, it's all digital, all the time. Everything is done online. The job search? Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, TheLadders.com, search engine this and profile that (other thoughts about that here). Networking is all done on the Internet, too: LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, etc. If you don't have 100 friends, you feel like a non-entity. Phone calls or appointments? Forget it!

A friend told me a story about a young man she knows who is thinking of moving to Peoria from Chicago (huh?). He applied for a bank job, then drove down here in his suit and tie, and went into the bank. Can I see the person making the hiring decision, he says to the receptionist. No, you can't - applications online only. Look, he says, I have a wife and twins on the way, and I need a job.; can't I please at least talk to someone so they have a face with a name? If I give you that name then I'll be looking for a job, too, says the receptionist.

I can't help but think that the majority of good jobs are still secured the old fashioned way - talk to somebody who knows somebody. It's not as easy to do in the digital age, but I've always been quick on the uptake, so I'll adapt.

Eventually.

The good news and bad news of being unemployed, part 1

• The good news is now that I'm unemployed, I have time to do all those little jobs around the house I haven't gotten around to. The bad news is, they all involve outlays of disposable income, of which I have none!
• The bad news is that in the worst case scenario, we might lose our home. The good news is that the weather will warm up soon, so living outdoors won't be as bad.
• The good news: a much lower federal income tax burden next year. The bad news: much lower income this year.
• The good news is I'm conserving water and lowering my carbon footprint. The bad news is I have no reason to shower and no where to go.
• The good news is that I finally have an answer when someone asks me 'what's new?' The bad news is the answer...

I'll have others later...

Onward ever forward

OK, I'm aware I might be turning into a poster site for depression, so I'll get back to what I do best: sarcasm, ridicule and humor. I recall a friend who asked me once if there was anything I didn't make fun of. I replied that I tried to lay off death and dying at funerals...

So in that spirit, I recount the experience of receiving assistance from my former employer to file for unemployment assistance (why would they call it that? I'm not looking for help to be unemployed...):

Under the guise of good intentions, our HR department set up times to come to the district HR office and receive assistance filling out the paperwork. One stop shopping - get the state ball rolling and make the company happy, too. Fair enough. I show up to my appointed hour about ten minutes early, and join the half-dozen folks milling about in the waiting area. Folks continue to file in until there is a crowd of about 30-40.

Being me, I strike up a conversation with a fellow layoff-ee. I wonder out loud how well HR will handle this process, as they have underperformed to date. In response to my story about my boss' obvious discomfort as he laid me off, she mentions her boss started crying and she was forced to comfort him.

At appointed hour +10 minutes, someone brings out an easel with the day's schedule, posts it by the door and disappears without a word. Sure enough, the schedule confirms that they're running behind. At appointed hour +20 minutes, the security guard tells us they are in fact running late, and it will be another 20-25 minutes. A handful of people leave. Sure enough, at the appointed hour +45 minutes, the doors are thrown open and we're handed a packet of paperwork as we file into the auditorium.

The state unemployment officer gives us a ten minute review of the unemployment process - any questions? - tells us to fill out our paperwork and sits down. We file into two lines on opposite sides of the room to wait out turn in front of four reps. In less than a minute, I get the everything's fine (for you - you have a job!) and take this next door to HR. OK, next door I go, another minute and out the door I go. All told, even starting 45 minutes late, I'm out in 10 minutes less time than they advertised. As I head for the truck, I can't help but wonder what in the h-e-double hockey sticks was wrong with the first group that they took two-and-a-half hours to do what I just did in thirty-five minutes??

Ah well, I got out of the house, had a nice chat with an old friend from high school, and filed for unemployment. Not a bad morning.

now what?

Being laid off, especially in the hamfisted, clueless, insensitive way I was, enables the inner demons. They're set free to do their worst, paralyzing initiative and confidence when I need them most.

getting started

So I'm entering the Sea of the Unpaid; another piece of flotsam to ride the rising tide. Or is it receding tide? Either way, being one piece of many doesn't help much. What difference does it make if you're adrift alone or with company - the operative word is still adrift.

Sigh.