Everything old is new again

I know I have received this e-mail before. This e-mail was dated yesterday from "Amy Smith" with an AOL e-mail address as a "reply-to" address. It's quick to become a classic "scam" e-mail.

Pointer to employers for November 10, 2010

Here's a job listing I found while pouring over job listing e-mails earlier today:

There are a couple of good things about this posting:

I could forward my resume through the job listing website -- I did not have to apply through a third-party website.

The pay seemed reasonable given the job description.

My advice, unsolicited though it is, would be to avoid having someone who is not proficient in writing in English create and post job openings. I have read quite a few postings using the syntax in the above advertisement that, when I read a new one written in the same style, my first thought is "Scam!".

That said, with 12.5% unemployment in my state and me being without the second job, I sent my resume in using the job posting website, not the employer's website. I also removed my physical address and home phone number. I'll post a reply, if I get one, from this mystery company. Until then, here was how the job looked from the e-mail I received. And, yes, each Customer Care Representative position listed points back to the same job description above.

In the "if it walks, talks and quacks like a . ." department

Congratulations to all of those "employers" who showed all manner of restraint in not sending e-mail direct to me offering me a "too good to be true" type of job for the past eight days.

I'll reward you by posting the one I received today from Jennifer Simmons (it doesn't really matter what the name is, btw):

For an administrative job, which would pay between $10 and $18 an hour (depending on experience, type of industry, location, etc.), an offer for a job that starts at $40.00 sounds just so amazing.

So amazing, in fact, because it is most likely a scam. Yeah, these sorts of things can be reported to authorities, I suppose, but this post is really for those who are unsure about whether this sort of e-mail is legitimate or not.

If it walks, talks and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Quack!!

Continued advice to job opening companies

I did not 'screen capture' the e-mail below because the typeface and size of font were so small, even I had to squint with bright lights on to read it. Here is a little advice to start with when trying to communicate with potential job applicants: use a font size and style which is easy to read for the vast majority of applicants.

Here's the text of the e-mail (personal info about me and the name of the job posting site have been removed):

From the Desk of Raaa Baaaaa, President of Sales and Marketing, (name of company), Inc.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

metalhead39
123 Main St

Anywhere, California (they did not add a Zip Code. My first clue that the site was created by someone outside of the U.S or Canada)

Hello metalhead39,

I am sending you this letter because you are a highly qualified Customer Service professional with over 17 years experience who may be currently seeking a better job opportunity. I'd like to introduce you to (company name and link to their site). I'm sure you realize a resume that matches your skills to the requirements of a job is one of the main keys to getting hired. Writing a resume is very stressful and time consuming. Writing a resume that contains all the right elements for each job application can be virtually impossible for even the most qualified job candidate.

(uh, resume writing is not rocket science. Any job seeker in the last 10 years can write a resume with career/industry specific language)

I'm sure you already know that the first person to read your resume will not be a person.

I'm sure you know that the Recruiting Software logic of an Applicant Ranking and Tracking System (ATS) program must approve your resume before a real person will ever read your resume.

I'm sure you realize that if your resume is rejected by the ATS program, it will never be read by a hiring manager.

Yes! One word will make a difference.
You can be one word short of a better job.
You can be one word short of a better paying job.
You can be one word short of a more fulfilling job.

(so far, the awkward grammar and repetition of subject/predicate tells me I'm not talking to a person who is fluent in American English)

The days of the one-size-fits-all resume are gone. If you are seriously seeking employment, you must update your resume for each job you apply for. (grammar police alert!) You have undoubtedly noticed that the posted job requirements for your position have become much longer and much more detailed. (they have not) Human Resource Department personnel and Hiring Managers use ATS programs to eliminate applicants with resumes that are not an exact match to a job description.

Finding the correct combination keywords, action verbs, and objective phrases for the job you are seeking is too often like searching for a needle in a stack of needles. (nice attempt at tweaking a metaphor, but the metaphor does not need tweaking)

Obviously every word in a job description is not a keyword. Blindly injecting every industry term from a job description into your resume may get you past the ATS program. But it will not get past the first real person to read your resume. Overloading a resume with too many buzzwords and too much industry jargon is a sure way to land your resume in the wastebasket.

Recruiters, consultants and advisors tell you to search the web and employer job postings sites. Manually researching all the job posting sites for each job you apply for is very impractical. It is a total waste of time if the employer is no longer accepting applications by the time you complete your research. (in my experience, if the employer is not taking applications, the link to the job posting disappears and the job seeker is told as much) (Our company) has already done this for you.

It is clear that having a tool to assist you to get the right job is a major investment in your career. If you are currently seeking a new or better job (our company) is the tool you need. (yes, the comma between 'job' and the company's name was missing).

Metalhead39, I have read your resume. Your qualifications for a better position are very impressive. However, your skill set does not include professional resume writer. (aww. I'm hurt. 99.5% of job seekers don't write resumes for a living; however, when one's mortgage, food and sundries money is on the line, one becomes fairly prolific and prosaic pretty quickly). You can spend hours and even entire days writing and updating a resume for a job application. However, if your resume does not contain what the screening software logic wants, you will not be considered a candidate for the position.

Visit our website (link to the website) to see how (the company's name) will help you get the job you deserve and why (the company's name) is the Must Have Tool for Job Seekers in the Digital Age. (where do I start with grammar and punctuation rules on this one?)

You Have the Skills to Do the Job!
You Need a Tool to Get the Job!

Sincerely,

Raaa Baaaaa
President of Sales and Marketing
(the company name)

(the company) has a strict NO SPAM policy. (perhaps they mean the spiced, canned ham popular in Hawaii?) You have received this e-mail because you signed up at our website or posted your resume with an affiliated job seeker assistance service. If you no longer wish to receive future newsletters or emails from (the company), click on the Unsubscribe link below. Unsubscribe

This e-mail may be considered an advertising or promotional message. © 2009 (company name). All rights reserved.

(the company name).
PO Box 213333, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421

So, they can't abbreviate California, but the Postal Abbreviation for Florida is readily available along with a PO Box? If you want to view this company's website, the address starts with 'www.', then starts with 'resume' and ends with a word rhyming with 'rapper' which could be synonymous with a cartographer. Ooh, and don't forget the ".com" at the end. If there was any doubt of the legitimacy of this site, a visit to it without me typing in any of my info ground the doubt into the dust. I could not find any individual person's name or photo anywhere in the site. The photos used are photos that are 'stock photos' one can purchase on-line and use in one's website. Though the service costs $49.00 (not bad for this type of service), my bet is that no one ever just gets $49 taken from them.

Pointers to employers, part 2

Two "phishy" e-mails in two days. I feel so . . lucky? The e-mail below was sent after I received three other e-mails almost like it. See if you can spot what makes this one a scam:

1) Be sure the city in which the job is located is spelled correctly throughout your e-mail (it's Glendale, not Glandale as stated in the first paragraph.

2) Grammatical errors make these sorts of e-mails smell "phishy". In the first paragraph, find ". . "

3) "Will an interview be required? No". Really? Is this the sort of job where a human resources staffer with mind reading capabilities just stare at me for 60 seconds to determine if I would make a good match? Seriously, perhaps the statement just means that the employer uses some other means of determining who to hire. If this is the case, it is always best to sell as an employer what you feel is a more positive screening process instead of saying what you will not do.

4). The section below speaks for itself:

NO EMPLOYER EVER needs one's Social Security number in full unless they are doing a background check (which is rare - other info should suffice) or verifying one's citizenship status. If that is what the employer wants to do, that is what they should say they are doing and it only should be given in person once you are sure the employer is making a legitimate job offer to you (for the background check).

Have a laugh when you check out the site from which the e-mail was sent (it is in the signature section of the e-mail). No head shots can be found, no names of owners, founders, CEOs, etc., could be found either. Perhaps you'll have better luck -- just don't give any of your own info.

I'll keep my eye out for any more of these types of e-mails. Please let me know if you spot one yourself.

Job search: a few pointers to potential employers

I received this e-mail earlier today:

It seems that ZEOXMark LLC has a website. These folks also have the unfortunate distinction of being sniffed out as a scam. Click here for the report of this scam and user comments on the scam.

As a service to job seekers and legitimate employers, here are some things to review before e-mailing potential new hires:

1) Send the e-mail from your company's website, not a third-party server:

2) If the e-mail's composer does not speak English as a first language and speaks with a heavy accent, review that composer's e-mail for grammar, syntax, etc. The e-mail is an extension of your company's image. The more egregious the errors, the more the e-mail reeks of "scam".

From the main page, there is no request for a Social Security Number and/or bank account number. Good for you for having a little restraint.

As unemployment continues to be high, these sorts of train wrecks will continue. While finding, arresting and prosecuting scam artists of this sort is pretty unlikely, if we assume e-mails like this are scams before we provide private information, we can cut down the number of hits and dry up the supply of suckers.

Five days ago.

Thirty three days ago, I was fired from one of my two full-time jobs. It was the better paying job, monetary-wise and health care benefits-wise; however, the 2 1/2 hour round trip commute and time away from my life partner were pretty big drawbacks to that job. So, for the past thirty three days, I have been one of the nearly 12 percent of Californians actively seeking a job.

The percentage above is taken from a sample. The government explains it more clearly that I can. I am not sure how exactly one tracks the "underemployed". In all honesty, my math mind falls apart at the merest mention of statistics that are any more complicated than Earned Run Averages. And the financial industry and insurance worlds of numbers? Duh . . derrr . .

So this post isn't about numbers. Liberals like me turn to folks like Nate Silver to make sense of the data. Conservatives have their own statisticians, too, though I'm out of my depth going there in this post.

It's not even about the search for a new full time job with benefits. With a four-year college degree and over 10 years (I'm not saying how far over) of work experience, the working world is like an English Garden where I just need to root around for that one "flower" that connects to me and vice-versa. My resume is posted on all the big job search sites, I apply for at least one job a day (if I was Spanish language fluent, I could double or triple that rate. Sadly, I could not ask for higher pay for that added skill. Another post for a blogger with a better perspective, perhaps?).

I have had only one legitimate job interview to date. The job opening for which I was interviewed was brought to me through a friend. I also have another possible opportunity through a friend of a friend, though the contact is affiliated with a temp agency. Still, it's pointless to dismiss anything out of hand before the agency/employer has the chance to pitch the job to me and field my questions about the job.

This long and winding post is, instead, about the other two times in the last thirty three days on which I strapped on a tie, polished my shoes and strutted out the door with resume, smartphone and business portfolio in hand.

It's disgraceful to employers who post job opportunities to call these other two events "interviews". I'll describe the scenario and just how the experience makes someone with my business acumen feel afterward. I also write this as a cautionary tale to those who are called by these types of employers so that you are made aware of the difference between a standard job interview and the slickness I encountered.

Here's how to know you are walking into what is, essentially, a sales pitch.

1) When you walk into the office/suite, the music is played loud enough to qualify the space as a coffeehouse or a nightclub. Seriously, outside of retail outlets, who plays music through a stereo with speakers any more? Retailers only play music in their retail space for one reason - to slow and confuse customers so they may buy more of whatever the retailer is selling.

2) You have an appointment time, yet at least two other people are in the reception area completing applications and you are not sitting in an office rented by a temp agency.

3) You are introduced to more than two people working at the company, not counting the interviewer. This happened only at one of my two experiences and, for the most part, the "employees" confessed to having worked for the company for "only a short time". At the same time, steps 1 and 2 above continued for still more applicants.

4) The "interview" consists of 5 questions or less. When I interviewed people to bring into a Customer Service department or assisted a manager with hiring, I asked 10 questions minimum. I watched body language and eye movement, delay time between question and answer and whether the answer is spoken like intellectual conversation instead of community theatre rehearsal.

5) Your interviewer is watching anything but your body language, eye movement and or response time and tone to the questions asked. To be generous, perhaps the interview is just anxious to get to their "second interview" with "those select few" that the employer "feels are a best fit".

6) The second "interview" includes you and at least two other applicants.

7) The second "interview" includes a PowerPoint presentation, something that approximates an orientation movie or both.

8) In the presentation mentioned in items 6 and 7, the interviewer (oh, let's call him/her what they are -- salesperson) tells you all you could ever want to know about how the company makes its profit and how you drive how much you earn. While this sounds like the employer is telling you that you have applied for a sales position with commission, you are told when you are called for the "interview" that they are looking not for sales people, but people who are "customer service oriented".

9) You are told that upward mobility in the company is encouraged in the company. Also, part of that upward mobility depends on how many other people you can manage to "work under you". Managers at these companies receive a percentage of each employees' earnings for each widget made. Both of my experiences had to do with personal finances; however, the exact description of the service offered is not important to the post. However, if you have been in the work force even a few years, the challenge to see this arrangement for what it really is only mildly engages you.

Now, here is what I have not read much about: how the people "invited" to these "job interviews" feel after the above experience. The last one I went to was this past Thursday. I went to the "interview" only because my life partner got the call from the employer and he could not recall what type of position the employer wanted to fill. As it turns out, I had visited this employer almost two years ago and was treated to steps one through nine. As the first visit to that employer was "after business hours", the vibe was more nightclub than coffeehouse. I only needed to get within 20 feet of the front door before I heard the boisterous conversation through the drywall and realized what, for the second time, I was about to endure. I did something this past Thursday I have never done to any job interview before.

I turned around 180 degrees and quickly walked back to my car.

I then turned to a tried-and-true way of dealing with the feeling of being a commodity and not a person of worth: a weekday afternoon matinee at a neighborhood movie house. I stuffed the burn and disgust with a large popcorn and complicated, fantasy plotline. It took a few hours to stop feeling like an interchangeable cog in a massive machine.

It took me five days to write about it without all of the emotions I was feeling ending in a keyboard thrown through a screen or a pad of paper scribbled and torn to shreds.

Please don't let this sort of experience make you feel like you are nothing more than dollar signs to a faceless corporation. I went through it and came out the other side of that far wiser and just a bit more calloused.

Yet not defeated.

I feel sorry for Sen. Jim Bunning

One Senator holding up continued funding of Unemployment benefits and causing a couple of thousand of Government employees to have to take furlough (no pay) days this week is frustrating, maddening and, in light of how our country has been for the past 18 months is just plain unconscionable.

Lots of bloggers, pundits, etc., are batting about guesses as to why Senator Bunning did what he did and had the bill he held up pass the Senate with 78 votes earlier this evening.

I just feel sorry for him.

He is retiring from the Senate at the end of this year. In my own limited experience, the outbursts, etc., have the feel of a teen with a bad case of senioritis or a long-term employee finding out he is being laid off at the end of the month with a shoddy (or no) severance package. Perhaps the man is suffering with his own physical health issues or is trying to manage with a major healthcare issue of someone he loves. I've had tastes of one and a sometimes-way-too-big helping of the other as of late, and that can really take a bite out of one's backside and wear one's nerves to their bitter end.

My hope is that the Senator can take the remainder of his term in the Senate enjoying all that comes with representing the state of Kentucky (a very pretty state which happens to be home to a dear friend of mine) and perhaps gathering his thoughts on a life full of success in professional baseball and public service.

Any more displays from him like the country witnessed these past few days will just serve to cause more talk about his last years and less appreciation for the decades that have led to this point.

More rainbows

Another southern California storm and another late-day great big rainbow over the Boulevard.

There have been a few stories that borrow from the principal of the rainbow -- the very picture of the beginnings of light shining through a dark and stormy scene.

First, Lt. Dan Choi, who has put a face on the fight to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy within our military, was able to drill with his unit (no laughing, please) recently. While it's not the bright, shimmering rainbow one would hope for, I'll take anything that leads toward a repeal of this absurd policy.

Another survivor was pulled from the rubble yesterday in Port-au-Prince and the man is still recovering. That would make him having survived, somehow, for 27 days. And, life goes on in that nation. If it only took sheer willpower and spirit to recover from last month's earthquake, Haitians would have already rebuilt their country and thrown a city-wide party this past weekend. Still, their needs will change in the coming weeks and months, so I'll keep the Red Cross link posted at the top. If you've been fortunate to find extra money or you're being blessed with a tax refund, a few extra dollars donated to the Red Cross or any of the other organizations who are trying to help will still go a long way.

The slowly growing rays of sunshine seem to be piercing even the darkest clouds in our nation's capitol. The President chatted with the press earlier today about his meeting with Legislators from both major parties to see what sorts of bills could be crafted to provide more help to those in need of a job and businesses who may want to hire but think they cannot afford to do so. I'm a little hazy on when, if at all, President GW Bush had done the same sort of thing in the last couple of years of his presidency. So, even if only a couple of things are worked out this week creating even the smallest movement forward toward recovery, it won't be due to a lack of effort to get both sides to work together by the President.

For liberals like me and, I'm sure, a health number of conservatives, the changes aren't coming often and fast enough. As much as I'd like to think one post written on one blog would be all that's needed to make everything come together, I'm a bit more realistic about those chances.

Then again, to get the strongest looking rainbow, you need a hard rain, dark cloudy skies on one side and bright sunlight on the other.

A meditation

Like many a politics aficionado, I would love nothing more than to wax poetic over the passing this week of Sen. Kennedy.  Unfortunately, I did not know the man personally and he was not my Senator.  Writers more learned and deeper entrenched in history and government have written many a post in the past few days.  I promised when I started the new job five months ago that I wouldn't attempt a point of view post unless I had something new to contribute and that is most certainly the case here.

So, here is what I know.

Politics as we've known them has hung on by its fingertips.  Just like the feeling of soon-to-be lost baby teeth in our mouths, we can twist it, wiggle it and play-act like we want to pull the tooth out, but they are usually lost when we stop working at it so hard.

With the hollow sentiments of various Republicans in the past few days, any kindling of the once mighty fire of bi-partisanship has gone neglected and the fire pit stone cold.  Now, more than ever, any hope of health care insurance reform will have to come from Democrats devising a bill they all can support, kept fully insulated from the Republicans.

The glass half-full part of me hopes that this is a one-time occurrence in the Legislature.  History is on my side with that bet.

On a more personal note, I have finally been hired as a permanent employee where I work.  I have much better health care benefits that start in a few days and cost a few bucks less a month than it did with the temp agency.  For my new employer to afford to cover me so cheaply, the monthly premiums soar into the hundreds of dollars a month very quickly.

We've got a few months more of fighting, yelling and intermittent sound logic -- as well as whatever comes from the liberal side of the aisle -- when it comes to health care insurance reform.  Not even someone like me should sit on the sides hoping it all works out.  Where and when I can jump in to the debate, I will.

Meanwhile, I have two songs rolling around my iPod that put me into a "rest and take it easy" frame of mind for the weekend (with the fires burning twisting my asthmatic lungs into a pretzel, even typing is getting me winded.  As I slow it down for a few days, I hope these two songs put you in a more mellow, reflective mood.  And, if anyone is searching, I'd love either of these songs played at my memorial.  Not that I'm planning on checking out anytime soon -- I just know me well enough that if I don't write this down, the idea will leave my head soon enough.  And, these are really lovely songs that capture my feelings on leaving, if only for a little while.

Tires, Shopping and Relish

I did something today I had not done in nearly nine months - had my car serviced.  As you might imagine, the car needed much more than an oil and filter change.  No, it does not mean that the car was running poorly; it was just overdue for maintenance and the dealership successfully found other things to fix, including removing air from the tires and replacing it with nitrogen.

Upon a few minutes of searching the 'net, it appears that nitrogen filled car tires makes a marginal difference in gas mileage but my guess is that it was of bigger benefit to the dealership.  So as to not sulk about my lack of all things automotive, I'll reclassify this experience as an opportunity to help an ailing industry and, more importantly, make at least a partial investment in America (or, at least, to Penske Automotive Group).

Out of a gloomy couple of weeks of bizarre weather, it seems the mall at which I wound up wandering as the car was getting serviced is, at least, holding its own.  At a time when our nation's economy is in some state of transition, it's all too easy to find going out of business sales, struggling industries and hesitancy in starting new businesses.  I found a department store that is, as well, investing in America (see the photo above), even if it is only building a new store to replace its existing store at the same mall.  The construction site still looked active -- no permanent work stoppage here.

I even stopped by a new-to-the-area burger joint that is familiar to recent followers of all things political.  If it is good enough for our President, it's good enough for me.  The vote on the burgers was mixed, though, in our household -- I could not tell what all of the fuss was about.  However, the place was busy this afternoon and the crew behind the counter working at lightening speed.

Yes, sometimes it's important to just celebrate the small victories.  Even if it's just with a double patty burger.

My days of unemployment are (hopefully) over!

I said "Yes!" to a job offer I received earlier today.  The job, pending my passing a background check, starts on 3/25/09.

Like many others who have been unemployed and found a new job recently, I had to take almost a 30% pay cut.  Even with that, the pay is still a little better than continuing to collect Unemployment.  The office is quite close to public transportation, so I should be able to keep my gasoline costs and car insurance costs down.  While my management chops will be sidelined for now, the company is in what appears to be a growth industry.

In this little sliver of the blogosphere, the only concern is that once I start the new job, I'd hate it if the volumne/quantity of writing slows way down or stops altogether.  Last time I wrote for my own pleasure was when I had a job which had several hours of down time during the day.  My hope is that the light rail rides will give me the chance to at least sketch out some ideas I can blog about here.

A whole new adventure awaits !

A sign of things to come or a reflection of California's current economic state?

A tent city in California's state capitol, Sacramento?

The story has been told on Oprah and a photo version of it is on the MSNBC website.  In the interest of being impartial, here is a version of the story as told from the English point of view.

While the photos and video tell a very dramatic story and February's unemployment figures are like icing on a really lousy cake, here's a little perspective.

As of 2007, the population of Sacramento, CA is just over 460,000.  A close comparison population wise in California is Fresno, roughly in the center of the state, at a population of 470,000.

From the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007 estimates of the homeless population in Sacramento (city and county) was 2,452.  In Fresno, the number was 4,247

As far as foreclosures, which is likely to generate some percentage of newly homeless, RealtyTrac now lists over 4400 properties in Sacramento as "Pre-foreclosure" and over 7200 properties as "bank owned".  In Fresno, over 2600 properties are listed currently as "Pre-foreclosure" and nearly 3600 as "bank owned"

While the articles I found about Sacramento estimate 1200 live in the tent city at the outskirts of the city, I could not find current estimates for Fresno, if a tent city has even been permitted to stand.  If one exists there, it is likely a couple of hundred people are living in that tent city.

So, what does all of this mean?

First of all, California is one of five states which is experiencing the highest percentage of foreclosures.  Further, our state's unemployment rate is now over 10% (San Diego county is doing better than the rest of the state - - scroll 2/3rds down the article for the entire state's latest unemployment numbers).  With figures like this, residents feeling the need to move into vans, tents, etc., is not as surprising.

While at least one charity has been providing assistance to those living in tent cities, the state is just now getting over the budget drama and is not in the best position to provide help.  The Recovery Act and the U.S's upcoming fiscal year budget will provide some assistance with getting as many as want to return to apartments/houses.  

However, as we all have heard these last few months, do not be surprised if this situation gets worse before it gets better.

Free advice from a job seeker - part 2

I received another suspicious e-mail earlier today.  Read about the "company" mentioned in the letter's salutation here.

Your best bet if you get an e-mail like this?  Delete it!!

 

Adventures in job hunting

For the first time in over 10 years, I attended a job fair today.

I was hired in 1996 to a managed care company from a job fair the company itself held one day.  I managed to stay employed with that company for 8 1/2 years and had a lot of different jobs while there.

On the other hand, I participated in the interviewing at a job fair that same company had a few years after I was hired.  That experience was less than positive.  At least for that particular fair, so many unqualified people showed up.  Of those who met the minimum requirements, many of them either had very poor interview skills (I could tell the answers were rehearsed or the applicant was way too informal with me) or were inappropriately dressed and/or unprepared for a job interview.  I do not even remember if anyone was hired that day or not.

Today's job fair experience was a mixed bag.  To avoid what I figured would be parking lots filled to overflowing and/or parking fees somewhere between $10 and $20, I took light rail into Los Angeles.  Sadly, it took nearly 30 minutes to find an available parking spot at the rail stop closest to my home (I drove to three different "park and ride" parking lots until I found one with open parking stalls).

I spent just 15 minutes at this fair today.  Here's why:  While the job posting site hosting the fair had rented out a large ballroom-sized space, there were only 16 booths set up.  Out of those 16, five were either job publications or universities who were trying to bring job applicants into their school -- not to hire folks as administrators or professors.

I also did not see were any employers who were either a) taking resumes at the fair or b) doing on-the-spot interviews or c) doing a) or b) in lieu of accepting resumes on their websites.

All was not lost today, though.  I had to get cleaned up, shaved and dressed up (where one or more of these is usually optional most days.  Ah, the joy of unemployment!). I also have a list of the employers who were at the fair today.  I can now go to these companies' web site to apply for jobs. 

Also, I grabbed a brochure for a group with which I stand a really good chance of employment, albeit on a temp basis and for not as much pay as I would have by staying on unemployment.

I also got out of the house for 3 1/2 hours and did a fair amount of walking while going to/from the light rail to the job fair location.

Another job fair is scheduled for February 11 and this one will be much closer to home, so it should be worth the much shorter drive.  After that, I just cannot see continuing to go to job fairs if it appears to have no advantage in attending versus keeping my job search on-line.

Still more good news: instead of an IOU from the state of CA in light of their recently "cash broke" status, I did receive an actual unemployment check for the full amount in yesterday's mail.

Potential employers:  My hope is that you noticed how effortlessly I found so much positive in a day that, on it's surface, did not bear much fruit.  Just write a Comment about this post and I will more than happily get back in contact with you about an interview.

Unsettling news in So Cal/where to find help

Local news has been reporting of what seems to me a senseless tragedy which occurred this morning in Wilmington, CA (about 25 miles southwest of where I am).

The most detailed reporting you'll get on this is coming, obviously, from the TV station to which the father/husband faxed and called with his intentions.

However, the most responsible reporting of something this disturbing is being done by one of our two AM all-news stations.  In addition to keeping things brief, they place a link near the top of the story to local emergency mental health agencies, a contact number for a "worksource center" and a toll-free number to a local group which can provide "referrals to counselling (sic), financial assistance, food and shelter".  

It is getting far too easy to remain isolated, even in a part of the country with nearly 10 million people inside its county's borders.  

Click here for information on a nation-wide service to assist those who feel they are a danger to themselves (and, I presume, a danger to someone else, though this is not spelled out). Both a voice and a TTY toll-free number are listed.

If you just need a quick tension-release giggle (like I did), play this quickie song from the delightfully daffy God's Pottery (sorry -- can't find printed lyrics)

Prayer

Here's the prayer I've been looking for!  With thanks to the Anglican Church. (btw, "made redundant" means "laid off" in American English)

The slowest get back to work day EVER

OK, maybe not EVER.  But, for the first Monday of the New Year, when most M-F 9-5ers are back to work, my upstairs neighbors have been oddly silent so far today (it is quite normal to hear lots of bumps, bangs, clangs and thumps from above throughout the day).  

TV today has been entirely uninteresting:  Perez Hilton on the View was surprisingly safe and dull - he even stopped dyeing his hair unnatural colors.  News today has been mostly about following Barack Obama around Washington D.C., including still photos of his daughters' first day at school (I just don't care at all and sincerely hope today was the last time I see/hear/read anything about his daughters.  I went to a few new schools as a child and that in itself is stressful enough.)

Employers are just starting to list all of the jobs they want to fill.  The last two weeks of job hunting has been like deer traipsing through the woods looking for leaves to eat in the dead of winter.  Like I do every day I check the job postings, I did submit applications at several employers.  This process was so monotonous I have no recollection of where my applications went and cannot recall the new job posting site at which I posted my resume (though I will see e-mails from them daily).

The "honesty" research will continue later today.  I've gone through the Senators from A to Maine and I'm still not sure what I'll conclude when I'm done.

I know I'm better than . .

A guilty pleasure of mine for the last few summers (and there are sooooo many), "Last Comic Standing" , like most every other reality-competition show, has tried to develop it's own signature phrase to be used at the denouement.

The best know "signature phrase" comes from "Survivor": "The Tribe has spoken".

"Last Comic Standing" uses the phrase "I know I am funnier than . ." when the comedians challenge each other to an elimination stand-up performance at the end of the episode. (btw, the comedian's name uttered most often is first into the elimination and can choose their competition from the other comedians mentioned)

I had this phrase in mind when I read this Wall Street Journal interview (which I found from viewing RawStory) today.  No matter how bad my own unemployment situation becomes, I know I am better than this guy.  I'm usually the first to empathize or, at least, sympathize with someone's misfortune.

Nuh-uh.  No way.  Not gonna happen.  No freakin' way.  He's reaping what he's sown.  Too damn bad!

What a way to wrap up the year.

Wailing and gnashing ?

I'm not sure where this post is going, so I'll preface it by giving you the option of reading my friend Randy's post from today.  I'm not sure what I have to report will warm your heart like his story did mine.

I started the day facing three big challenges: following up with a temp agency on two job interviews I had before Thanksgiving, reaching out to California's Unemployment department over no unemployment checks in the last three weeks and completing an application to move from a COBRA health insurance plan from my last employer to an insurance plan through my college's alumni association.

The first was the easiest to do:  One employer rehired a returning employee and the other employer still has not made up their mind.

The second task left me with only one option.  After calling the office and hearing a pre-recorded message telling me, basically, don't bother calling us until Wednesday because we're too damn busy to let you wait on the phone (and even if you call on Wednesday, which I tried weeks earlier, you still ain't gonna get someone live!).  The one option I had was to re-apply for unemployment insurance on-line, which I did.  Either I won't hear live from someone from the unemployment office and the checks will start coming again OR I'll get a call from someone ready for confrontation (like I did the last time I applied).

I'm ready!

The last task was the most frustrating.  I worked in the managed care/insurance industry for 9 years and I had to carefully read and re-read the twelve page application for health insurance after having spent hours printing out this ".pdf" file.  After bouncing ideas off my partner on how best to complete the fields with information I did not recall off the top of my head, I got around to page 9 and read that, because I had not yet exhausted the COBRA plan, I could not apply for this insurance!  I would have saved over 60% on monthly premiums, though I would have had to meet a $1900.00 deductible first.  Even so, I would have saved money had I been able to apply.

Even if I could successfully apply, I would have had to recall medications I may have taken sometime in the last five years and to recall the diagnoses I may or may not have had on the last couple of visits I made to the Emergency Room (I would call them migraine headaches, but pain being subjective and the doctors usually rolling their eyes at me when I listed my symptoms).

Save for my late mother, who meticulously kept records of every little thing, I cannot imagine anyone keeps medical information that detailed for that long.  Or, maybe it's just me?

Suffice to say, all of this did nothing for my attitude, which was only aggravated further by one of my dogs misbehaving.

Then, around 10:30 this morning, I got a call for a new interview which I am going to tomorrow morning.  And all became sunny once again !