I'm not the greatest technological person there ever lived so I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around technologies that could prove helpful to me:
RSS Feeds--I understand that it's a way of getting information updated from websites automatically. I just don't understand it and need to find an explanation approximately on the level of a kindergartener;
Google Analytics--I understand what it's supposed to do but haven't quite figured it out;
Google Reader--scares me. I read an article and clicked on a website. The next thing I knew, I had a list of jobs and could see what one of my friends had been reading. Until I realized that my job search didn't appear in the shared area, I was a bit disconcerted. Nobody needs to know anything definite about my job search!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Fireworks Season
Driving home yesterday, I noticed that the annual fireworks sale tents are up. I had already seen fireworks in the discount stores. This is a relatively new phenomenon around here, as fireworks were illegal a few years ago and had been my whole life. We went to my mom's hometown for 4th of July every year when I was little. And always had sparklers, provided by my mom's uncle. Who must've bootlegged them from another state. They were legal in at least three surrounding states. My uncle and sister used to bring fireworks across state lines for my brother when he was in junior high. One year, he was in the backyard with bottle rockets and my mom. A cop stopped by to see what was going on; he had seen one of the rockets flying. Because he had adult supervision, the cop left with no problem. Illegal must be relative.
A couple of years ago, I had gone outside to get something from my car and unknown to me a cop I knew had pulled up; he asked what I was doing and I told him and returned the question. He was on his way to the park at the end of the street, checking on reports of gunshots and figured he had time to stop and chat. He correctly expected that the gunshots were firecrackers because it was the season.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Avoiding Bitterness
I could be bitter about so many things right now but am doing my best to move forward. Bitterness won't help me at all and could hurt me in the long run.
I read part of Deepak Chopra's The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, which I have been reading bit by bit; for those of you who can't stand the thought of new age books, sorry! My yoga teacher periodically reads short excerpts at the beginning or end of class, usually consisting of a paragraph that goes with the theme of that day's class and a mantra. I found my copy at a thrift store for $2.
The relevant passages?
Imagine that you're detached from the outcome.
Imagine that a deeply profound ocean of calm exists in you that is not affected by any turbulence.
If I can imagine detachment, I'm less likely to take it personally that I was cut from a project about which I had received good feedback and that the next project was canceled.
If I can imagine a place of calmness, I'm more likely to move on without bitterness. My tactic is to remember that contract work is variable. No matter the original plan, something else is likely to happen.
Meanwhile, I contact agencies weekly, send resumes to suitable jobs and network.
I read part of Deepak Chopra's The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, which I have been reading bit by bit; for those of you who can't stand the thought of new age books, sorry! My yoga teacher periodically reads short excerpts at the beginning or end of class, usually consisting of a paragraph that goes with the theme of that day's class and a mantra. I found my copy at a thrift store for $2.
The relevant passages?
Imagine that you're detached from the outcome.
Imagine that a deeply profound ocean of calm exists in you that is not affected by any turbulence.
If I can imagine detachment, I'm less likely to take it personally that I was cut from a project about which I had received good feedback and that the next project was canceled.
If I can imagine a place of calmness, I'm more likely to move on without bitterness. My tactic is to remember that contract work is variable. No matter the original plan, something else is likely to happen.
Meanwhile, I contact agencies weekly, send resumes to suitable jobs and network.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Diverse Philosophies on Sending Resumes
I was too complacent on that last project so not nearly paying enough attention to sending resumes and networking. I've sent a few resumes today and started thinking about attitude. If there's a reasonable way to follow up, I do; if not, I don't worry too much about it. My resume is in as good a state as I can get it right now. I need to revamp it and create a functional resume, which will probably take awhile. Meanwhile I have a fairly decent resume.
Everyone has a different philosophy about applying for jobs; one of my friends views it as a hobby. She's in a position where companies will fly her in for an interview, so she gets a free trip to wherever, a good dinner and gets to learn about a new job and corporation. Since she has a job that she likes pretty well, she doesn't have to worry about whether they actually make the offer. Wouldn't it be nice if it was like that for all of us?
I've known others who are pretty much opposite of that; first, is the person who sees an ad for the perfect job and applies. While she follows up on that job, her mistake is in focusing on that job to the exclusion of all else. Until she receives a response on that position, she doesn't even look for other options. On average, that wastes at least six weeks. Assuming you receive a response at some point. We all want the perfect job, but meanwhile, what about the job that isn't perfect but would put you in a better position to obtain the job of your dreams? Not all dream jobs can be attained in one step. Many of us forget that.
Still another example is someone who applies for jobs and is way overqualified. That happens. But is it any reason to send a rejection letter telling the company how insulting it is that they'd interview for that job and not a higher-level position? Because I heard that out of the horse's mouth. This person had worked in steadily lower-level positions, was over 50 and was very negative. Due to conversation on other topics, I think those companies were very lucky to have been rejected by their candidate; in my opinion, the trouble with this candidate is the extreme negativity, which pervades every conversation. Because I have insufficient history with this person, I have no idea whether the negativity has been there all along, or has increased as the prestige and pay scale have decreased. Either way, this is someone with whom I no longer associate; it's way too draining to spend time with people who are that negative. So I do my best not to.
Everyone has a different philosophy about applying for jobs; one of my friends views it as a hobby. She's in a position where companies will fly her in for an interview, so she gets a free trip to wherever, a good dinner and gets to learn about a new job and corporation. Since she has a job that she likes pretty well, she doesn't have to worry about whether they actually make the offer. Wouldn't it be nice if it was like that for all of us?
I've known others who are pretty much opposite of that; first, is the person who sees an ad for the perfect job and applies. While she follows up on that job, her mistake is in focusing on that job to the exclusion of all else. Until she receives a response on that position, she doesn't even look for other options. On average, that wastes at least six weeks. Assuming you receive a response at some point. We all want the perfect job, but meanwhile, what about the job that isn't perfect but would put you in a better position to obtain the job of your dreams? Not all dream jobs can be attained in one step. Many of us forget that.
Still another example is someone who applies for jobs and is way overqualified. That happens. But is it any reason to send a rejection letter telling the company how insulting it is that they'd interview for that job and not a higher-level position? Because I heard that out of the horse's mouth. This person had worked in steadily lower-level positions, was over 50 and was very negative. Due to conversation on other topics, I think those companies were very lucky to have been rejected by their candidate; in my opinion, the trouble with this candidate is the extreme negativity, which pervades every conversation. Because I have insufficient history with this person, I have no idea whether the negativity has been there all along, or has increased as the prestige and pay scale have decreased. Either way, this is someone with whom I no longer associate; it's way too draining to spend time with people who are that negative. So I do my best not to.
 |
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Attorney Sues Own Firm and Wins
Remember the attorney suing his firm because he didn't like the way the AOL/TimeWarner award was split? He won. Now we just have to see if the firm appeals.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
More on Networking
Now that my monitor has been replaced and the keyboard convinced to play too, I'm back online. I was online minimally the last few days, which is not a way to be when job-hunting. I had social obligations as well, so am not likely to have been online terribly much more, but it's much different to be offline by choice than inability to connect.
My CLE Thursday, as I mentioned, wasn't terribly helpful as far as meeting people, but the information was excellent! That firm has engaging speakers so it was no hardship to sit and listen to the presentations. The loot we were given included a nice pen with the firm logo; I believe I previously mentioned the big, giant book of information with matching CD as well as the firm logo-ed shoulder bag.
The presentation and array of food were scaled back this year; last year was the first time the seminar was presented and they had two simultaneous topics, breakfast and snack buffet in a different area and lunch in yet another room. This year there were four events hosted by other companies taking place at the same time; this firm split its presentations and will be hosting a CLE on the other subject-matter on another occasion.
Coffee, tea, orange juice, rolls, bagels, muffins and a case of water, lemonade, pop, energy drinks and green tea were outside the room; at break time the orange juice had been replaced with iced tea and fruit had been added to the remaining rolls, bagels and muffins. We were at round tables this year and had a lunch buffet which was in the same place the breakfast and snacks had been.
The lunch buffet was amazing: salad with craisins and walnuts; pasta salad; chilled grilled carrots, string beans, zucchini and mushrooms; rainbow trout and salmon; roast beef; I can't tell you how many kinds of cheese; three or four types of bread and squash soup. There was a vast array of desserts featuring miniature eclairs and cream puffs; apple pie; tiramisu and a chocolate ganache torte.
The Friday morning session of an all-day free CLE, in contrast, had regular and decaf coffee, water and three kinds of juice. They give you a bound information book to go with the seminar. It's a great class and how often do you find a free, all-day CLE directed toward the masses? It was 6.5 credits in my state and was also registered in a neighboring state.
I left before the final speaker of the morning to meet someone for lunch. I was excited because my lunch companion paid, which wasn't my objective; I also have the name and phone number of one contact and am expecting contact information for someone at a company in which I'm interested.
It was a much better day, despite my decision not to bother trying to network after my abysmal failure the day before. Next time will no doubt be better!
My CLE Thursday, as I mentioned, wasn't terribly helpful as far as meeting people, but the information was excellent! That firm has engaging speakers so it was no hardship to sit and listen to the presentations. The loot we were given included a nice pen with the firm logo; I believe I previously mentioned the big, giant book of information with matching CD as well as the firm logo-ed shoulder bag.
The presentation and array of food were scaled back this year; last year was the first time the seminar was presented and they had two simultaneous topics, breakfast and snack buffet in a different area and lunch in yet another room. This year there were four events hosted by other companies taking place at the same time; this firm split its presentations and will be hosting a CLE on the other subject-matter on another occasion.
Coffee, tea, orange juice, rolls, bagels, muffins and a case of water, lemonade, pop, energy drinks and green tea were outside the room; at break time the orange juice had been replaced with iced tea and fruit had been added to the remaining rolls, bagels and muffins. We were at round tables this year and had a lunch buffet which was in the same place the breakfast and snacks had been.
The lunch buffet was amazing: salad with craisins and walnuts; pasta salad; chilled grilled carrots, string beans, zucchini and mushrooms; rainbow trout and salmon; roast beef; I can't tell you how many kinds of cheese; three or four types of bread and squash soup. There was a vast array of desserts featuring miniature eclairs and cream puffs; apple pie; tiramisu and a chocolate ganache torte.
The Friday morning session of an all-day free CLE, in contrast, had regular and decaf coffee, water and three kinds of juice. They give you a bound information book to go with the seminar. It's a great class and how often do you find a free, all-day CLE directed toward the masses? It was 6.5 credits in my state and was also registered in a neighboring state.
I left before the final speaker of the morning to meet someone for lunch. I was excited because my lunch companion paid, which wasn't my objective; I also have the name and phone number of one contact and am expecting contact information for someone at a company in which I'm interested.
It was a much better day, despite my decision not to bother trying to network after my abysmal failure the day before. Next time will no doubt be better!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Plaxo Pulse
Plaxo Pulse is another networking site but seems to be more of an organization tool to me; I was invited by one of my LinkedIn connections who works in Marketing, so is far more outgoing than I and has a ton of connections.
It's another site to which you can invite your contacts; no, I haven't invited everyone whose e-mail address I have captured! It seems to function as an address book and calendar, in case everyone you know needs to know what's going on. The calendar is prominent and I received an automatic notice of a contact's birthday; she's in the network but we're not connected.
It doesn't seem as useful to me as LinkedIn. Maybe there's something obvious I'm missing.
It's another site to which you can invite your contacts; no, I haven't invited everyone whose e-mail address I have captured! It seems to function as an address book and calendar, in case everyone you know needs to know what's going on. The calendar is prominent and I received an automatic notice of a contact's birthday; she's in the network but we're not connected.
It doesn't seem as useful to me as LinkedIn. Maybe there's something obvious I'm missing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)