I guess I DO need a deadline after all...

[alicebentley]

I hadn't realized until this week just how dependent I had become on having outside forces structuring my activities.

I mean, I'm used to having way too many ideas and projects to be able to fit in any reasonable time, and getting most but not all of them done - but these last few weeks have been stunning in their unproductivity. And I'm guessing this is mostly because I don't have a "schedule" any more. If I don't get something done right away, there's no longer a stream of inquisitive phone calls, or a pile of incoming paperwork. The stacks (and STACKS) of books won't get packed and moved out of here by themselves - but there also isn't anyone except me that's screaming to have them be somewhere else.

This whole job search thing is strange for me too. Yes, I'd prefer to have a regular "come in, do the work, get paid" job now, but I haven't looked for a job since 1982. I already applied to a couple of places that I thought would be a good fit, and while no one's replied I'm told that's now the norm. And discovering that one of the openings I applied for had a total of 17,000 applicants makes it clear why Thanks But No Thanks letters are no longer common.

My personal inclination to let fate naturally offer up a perfect match is probably just laziness. And until this week, I didn't even know I was lazy!

Part of the trick, of course, is targeting what to do. My background is varied, my interests wide, my patience fairly excellent. The bookstore taught me that I love customer interaction, which would lead to anything from more retail sales to tech support. I know I'd prefer something in the downtown Chicago area, but really anything a reasonable commute away would be fine.

I thought about posting my resume on my website, and realized that I've custom written it every time I apply for something - and which one whould I choose?

So, does anyone have any personal favorite suggestions for job hunts? Read through the Chicago Tribune? Any on line listing services you really liked?

Even the job search doesn't really have a deadline, since my husband's income has been enought to cover the bills. But it would be a good counter to laziness.

Comments

[erik]

I've heard several friends say that monster.com is the place to get a job. It didn't work for me.

I have only ever gotten two jobs that were not through the FOAF network, and one of those was my first job as a drugstore soda jerk when I was like 15.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I think it's not laziness, but a complete break from the past that's driving you right now. After my last job ended, I just did nothing for months. I needed to rebuild my innner reserves and strength after 5 years of full time work and full time school. (Including the exciting 6-month stretch when I worked a full-time and a part-time job and didn't get any days off at all.)

You've been working really hard for a really long time. I think taking a few months to regroup is very natural.

K.

[chanson.livejournal.com]

The online job sites like Monster.com and Dice.com are OK. I haven't really found any work through them though. Even with the major project I did in 2001-2002, where I got in touch with the broker via Dice, I also already knew someone working on the project so I really had an "in."

I think one of the best ways to get work now is to use your network. It lets you bypass being one of those 17000 résumés and can even lead to people coming to you about work if they know you're looking and have something in line with what you want to do.

A weblog like your LiveJournal is especially good for this. I built a reader base by writing extensively on a bunch of technical topics over the past couple years, and also by posting comments in others' journals and weblogs and on mailing lists when I have an opinion on something. I always make sure to enter my LiveJournal's URL when asked for one in a comment form, and that seems to have gotten me a bunch of readers. This has been useful in a bunch of situations, like when I posted in mid-December looking for new work.

Another way to get readers is to read a lot of weblogs yourself, and comment on the things they say in your LiveJournal. Just be sure to post a link in your LJ, and load your LJ and click the link once. An unbelievable number of webloggers watch their web server logs obsessively to see who's talking about them, and they tend to start reading the people who point to them in return. There are even automated mechanisms ("trackback" and "pingback") in some weblogging services for this kind of thing, though I don't know whether LiveJournal supports them.

I also agree with minnehaha: Take some time and sort things out for yourself. Figure out something you'd like to do, recharge your batteries a little, maybe let the economy pick up a little too, and then dive into it.

PS - A belated welcome to LiveJournal and the wonderful world of weblogging, Alice!