Whoa, buddy.

Anyone who doesn't have a job knows that there are not many options out there. I remember in 2003 when I was unemployed after a move there were at least 293 jobs per day listed on Craigslist within my given category. Now there are about 9 per day and at least 3 of them are internships. I have contemplated endlessly the future ramifications of having either a bunch of teenagers creating strategic marketing plans or of having 42 year old professional interns at work. Both are depressing. Anyway, I have recently come to the conclusion that it is necessary to take serious sweet time when applying for a job. I have started writing down the details of the job description on a big piece of paper and sitting with it for a day. I list every task and function at previous jobs that relates to each point on the description. I then use that to draft my cover letter and customize my resume. I tangle with the dilemma over whether or not I should be the very first person to apply or if I can literally sound like I have identical experience only submitted a few days after others. It's tough out there, but I think patience is key. At some point the interns will start sucking and they will need us back. 

Card me.

I realized the other day that I was formerly addicted to handing out business cards as a half joke, half tipsy attempt to make tons of friends. Unfortunately, when you don't have a job anymore that effort is challenged by the fact that you don't have any accurate business cards to hand out to people. Random torn up pieces of paper and gum wrappers are not hot, so I decided to order business cards. Have you heard of Vista Print? They like free magic things like business cards. Basically there are 10201010 different designs and you just pay for shipping. I assumed there were other sites where you could make this happen, so just Google "free business cards." You'll be shocked. 

Anyway, thankfully last night I had a social engagement where I found myself the one person with whom I was not intimately acquainted (not like that) and decided to try out my new business card. It was pretty satisfying, not an exact replica for the feeling of confidence that comes with handing out a card associated with an actual job, but close enough!

Toot toot beep beep.

This is one of my favorite soups, however I hear many people have a fear of soup made with broccoli due to the fact that...let's just say...it gives them a tummy ache. If you either have an iron gut like myself or live alone and are jobless so if your "tummy hurts" no one is there to notice. This one involves a lot of "riffing," if you will. You can really add anything you want when it comes to spices and veggies. I will italicize things that I got creative with. Word?

BROCCOFLOWER SOUP

5 c Stock (any kind you like)

5 c chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower in any ration you prefer

2 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped onion

spices (I used salt, pepper, dried basil, chili flakes, and this 21 flavor seasoning crap I have from Trader Joes)

1 T tomato paste

Dice veggies and add to stock. Simmer for 20 minutes and puree. It is super delicious and is relatively cheap. Yummy, right?

Post-camp blues.

Yesterday was LaidOffCamp in San Francisco. It was a huge gathering and I had high hopes that I would leave with some kind of amazing inspiration and also a job. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It was quite unorganized and for someone like me who is overly regimented and likes to plan things to death, I got distracted by the mayhem and had to leave after lunch. However, before I did, I sat through one really informative session about social networking on social media sites and how to brand yourself appropriately. 

John McCrea, VP of Marketing at Plaxo spoke along with Valerie Gonyea, a career consultant. They had a lot of great insight into the job hunt, considering the fact that this is the first major economic downturn with so many efficient tools to leverage one's network. Some thoughts:

• Use people you DO know to make connections to people you DON'T know on LinkedIn. They list connections to certain people who are directly connected to other contacts whose companies are hiring. Request introductions through your contacts.
• When trying to make connections related to a new job, don't go after the HR person but try and find out who the hiring manager is. 
• All networking sites should be accessible to the right people. If you have a personal blog or photo site featuring parties and running around like a freak, make that either an alias or private to only your friends/family. Plaxo has the ability to link all of your sites (Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn) but you can edit accessibility so you're able to share different things with different people. 
• Your brand is the sum total of your education, personality, skills and expertise brought together to form an identity. In order to form an online identity, use a dashboard like Plaxo or Friend Feed to bring all of your information together in one place. And to reinforce this, use the exact same user name and photo.  
• Blog! Twitter!
• Make your "About me" the same across all sites.
• When commenting in forums, create a stamp with links to all of your appropriate sites. Comment intelligently on sites that pertain to your industry. When you sound like a serious expert, you want your LinkedIn profile to be the thing they click on to learn more about you.
• Think about the descriptors that best describe who you ARE personally and what you want to BE professionally. Flush out this description and apply that to your profiles.

So, again, I feel like this was a great opportunity that was in some ways squandered. I know they were eager to have the content generated by attendees but I think some kind of expert involvement and pre-planned programming would have lent itself to a more streamlined experience. Anyway, I tried! 

Laid Off Camp.

I previously mentioned that a lot of people are job-free. So many that things called LaidOffCamps are springing up all over the place. The website says:

LaidOffCamp was founded in January 2009 by Chris Hutchins. It is an ad-hoc gathering of unemployed and nontraditionally employed people (including freelancers, entrepreneurs and startups) who want to share ideas and learn from each other. At LaidOffCamp, attendees will discuss topics in sessions that may include: living on an extreme budget, building your personal brand, how to be a freelance consultant and more. The first LaidOffCamp will occur on March 3, 2009 in San Francisco, CA.

I am attending this gathering in the morning with another laid off friend of mine. Like the first day of school, I am a little nervous. It says it's casual but I haven't gotten out of lounge wear in the non-weekend daytime for the past month. Anyway, we decided that we will go find a very cheap bar if it's scary. The website lists upcoming camps in tons of cities nationwide, so check it out.