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Laid off? What are You Doing w/ Your Newfound Freedom?
dmorin asks: "Like many of you I'm recently laid off. So as I wake up every morning wondering what to do with my day I got to thinking, how everybody else is handling the new found free time? My original idea, that I would simply spend all my time working on my own software projects in order to learn new skills, went out the window when I realized that I'd burn out far too fast if I thought that the most important thing in life. My wife is working part time so I have at least 3 days a week to take care of my 10month old daughter, time that I would not have had if I was still employed. I'm doing my share of the chores around the house, not just taking care of the lawn but also doing groceries, laundry and so on. As for geeky stuff, I play with projects and technologies because they are fun, not because I think they will make me more marketable. I put away my "personal Java portal" and lately am playing with voice synthesis on my Zaurus just because I think it's cool. So how about everybody else? What are you doing with this new free time that's been forced upon you? How much of it are you using to job search? How much is 'honey do' list, how much is just free play time? Disclaimer: I'm researching an idea for a possible book. Not planning to quote anybody without their permission, just looking to hear what people are up to."
Reading and posting on Slashdot... a lot.
When I was laid off, I made looking for a job a full time job.
You could've hired me.
Learn a different skill and stay out of IT. One less person to compete with. Not that i need to worry about that based on your question you lazy BUM....
If you are paying more than a grand a month in child care, consider sponsoring an Au Pair from Europe. The ones I looked into were recent high school grads with average English skills, wanting to spend a year in the US before they go off to college or whatever. My expenses would have been $255 a week, or thereabouts, plus including her in the household grocery expenses.
... but the agency got upset when they found out I didn't have a child. Those pesky agency clerks ... mess up a perfectly good dream.
Sounded like a great deal, have an 18 year European woman live with me to help out with the housework, etc
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
Ice Cubes - they are cold and hard, like the truth.
: .COM flunky wannabe's have already flooded the poster with lies err... resumes.
Statistically speaking
1. You are not going to find a job on Monster, Dice, etc... A job may find you there, but if a job is posted it is either a scam, fake job because some recruited is collecting resumes, or 1,200 other Random L. User
2. You are not going to find a job in the Newspaper want ads.
3. You are not going to find a job watching TV.
4. Job fairs are a joke. I think the only purpose of job fairs is for people with jobs to go to a zoo-like environment where people without jobs are laughed at behind their backs.
Where are jobs found?
1. Personal references. Odds are your next job is going to be a direct result of you being walked in the back door by the hand of someone that knows someone.
2. Friend of a Friend. Just because the company where your friend works isn't hiring, doesn't mean that your friend doesn't know someone at a company where they need someone.
3. Existing Professional Contacts. If you interacted with other companies, you collected a bunch of business cards and you left a very good (memorable) impression. Do not email them, emails containing 'looking for work' get deleted faster than 'bigger schlong' spam - call ahead of time and meet them for lunch. Discuss your situation with them, see if they have any leads.
4. Contract solutions. They suck, and they suck even more if you don't speak Hindi, but if you are willing to suck it up and work for peanuts just to get your foot in the door and are willing to lie a little on your resume (actually the placement agency will create a wonderful work of fiction and put your name on top of it - don't laugh) then you are back in the workplace. The purpose of being back in contact with loads of new people isn't to make a lot of money, it is to make a bunch of new contacts because your existing contact base failed the first three options.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
My idea was that braintrusts NEVER go out of fashion. I took 2 weeks off and then spent 8 weeks stalking Universities and BioTechs. I think i damn near resumed every University in the Western Hemisphere.
I shit myself when the fuckers didn't respond.
Thankfully, in the meantime, i'd spammed enough businesses in my neighbourhood with rent-a-geek flyers to keep myself in a hand-to-mouth existence. Savings got lower and lower until the a flood of invoices from mom 'n pops coughed up. I was actually making a living on my own! Whoopie! Some advice - work around retainers - sell saving 5-10 desktop + 1 server companies money on a dedicated IT guy - then hit 'em up for $2-400 a month + expenses or per Desktop + per Server flat rates. Resell 'em prerolled website packages (opensourcecms.com). Sell Dell machines. Sell soho firewalls. Sell MS SBS and SUSE office server. Swing by a couple of times a month for new machines, virus updates etc. Get 5-10 clients and you have enough to pay the mortgage and feed yourself. Do a good job and it snowballs from there.
After 2 months i started to get responses. A lot of responses. Universities are so swamped with dot bomb resumes that even getting a response is almost a bloody lottery. Academia moves at a glacial pace anyway.
When i started interviewing, i was in the luxurious position of having a choice, again. I was in the driving seat. After another 2 months, i accepted a position in Harvard. I.S. here is a mix of laid back, relaxed hippies and semi-rigid offloaded corporates like myself.
I can reliably state, i'm better off for the experience. Knowing i can bounce back and stand on my own 2 feet is a great comfort.