job fair

I printed two different one-page versions of my resume--one emphasizing tech, the other editorial--and got a bunch of copies yesterday.

This morning, bright and early, I got up, showered, had a cup of tea, and put on business drag, low-grade. That is, a pantsuit, with real shoes I could stand and walk in, but also a pocketbook, and almost nothing in my pockets. And headed out, with lots of copies of the resume, to the Javits Center, where there was a job fair.

I got there a little before ten, and furbled back and forth and forth and back in a long but quick-moving line. Along the way, I was handed a banana, a bottle of water, and a minimal registration form to fill out. I ate the banana, drank about half the water, and eventually handed the form to someone, who stamped it and waved me on. The next person took it, and I got to wander among assorted tables set up by companies that were hiring.

Well, that's the theory. Some companies that are hiring, some employment agencies, some government and non-profit groups offering training and/or referrals, and one or two Other. Social Security is looking for people to answer phones, but the Dept. of Labor was there to let us know of our rights if we'd been laid off, as most of us had.

Mostly I wound up using the techie resume. Lots of places seemed to be looking for drivers and salespeople; those hiring professionals were geared more toward computers than editorial. There were even one or two agencies that explicitly said "Unix admin" on their signs listing what they wanted. (We'll just gloss over the people whose sign said "entry level only," by which it turned out they actually meant they were hiring only data entry staff.)

And then there was Primerica. They were collecting resumes, so I gave them one. I was vaguely suspicious when they asked if I knew any homeowners, but I said yes, and they said this was good, people who know homeowners earn more in their program. Then I went and talked to other people. Four hours of it, all told, walking and standing and queueing for the chance to talk to someone for 30-90 seconds. I wound up with some business cards, a list of places that now have my resume, and even a few promises of callbacks.

Primerica called soon after I got home this evening. The caller said they were looking for financial advisors, and asked if I had any experience. No. That's fine, they'd train me, could I come in tomorrow or Thursday at 2, and bring six references, friends or relatives or coworkers, anyone who could say I'm a good person. I blinked, checked my calendar, and picked tomorrow. After I got off the phone, I did a little research. They aren't training financial advisors, which is a meaningful job title. It's some kind of multi-level marketing thing. I won't be there at two tomorrow; I may call and tell them so, though if the Web can be believed, it'll be a roomful of people and they'll never notice my absence.

job fair

I printed two different one-page versions of my resume--one emphasizing tech, the other editorial--and got a bunch of copies yesterday.

This morning, bright and early, I got up, showered, had a cup of tea, and put on business drag, low-grade. That is, a pantsuit, with real shoes I could stand and walk in, but also a pocketbook, and almost nothing in my pockets. And headed out, with lots of copies of the resume, to the Javits Center, where there was a job fair.

I got there a little before ten, and furbled back and forth and forth and back in a long but quick-moving line. Along the way, I was handed a banana, a bottle of water, and a minimal registration form to fill out. I ate the banana, drank about half the water, and eventually handed the form to someone, who stamped it and waved me on. The next person took it, and I got to wander among assorted tables set up by companies that were hiring.

Well, that's the theory. Some companies that are hiring, some employment agencies, some government and non-profit groups offering training and/or referrals, and one or two Other. Social Security is looking for people to answer phones, but the Dept. of Labor was there to let us know of our rights if we'd been laid off, as most of us had.

Mostly I wound up using the techie resume. Lots of places seemed to be looking for drivers and salespeople; those hiring professionals were geared more toward computers than editorial. There were even one or two agencies that explicitly said "Unix admin" on their signs listing what they wanted. (We'll just gloss over the people whose sign said "entry level only," by which it turned out they actually meant they were hiring only data entry staff.)

And then there was Primerica. They were collecting resumes, so I gave them one. I was vaguely suspicious when they asked if I knew any homeowners, but I said yes, and they said this was good, people who know homeowners earn more in their program. Then I went and talked to other people. Four hours of it, all told, walking and standing and queueing for the chance to talk to someone for 30-90 seconds. I wound up with some business cards, a list of places that now have my resume, and even a few promises of callbacks.

Primerica called soon after I got home this evening. The caller said they were looking for financial advisors, and asked if I had any experience. No. That's fine, they'd train me, could I come in tomorrow or Thursday at 2, and bring six references, friends or relatives or coworkers, anyone who could say I'm a good person. I blinked, checked my calendar, and picked tomorrow. After I got off the phone, I did a little research. They aren't training financial advisors, which is a meaningful job title. It's some kind of multi-level marketing thing. I won't be there at two tomorrow; I may call and tell them so, though if the Web can be believed, it'll be a roomful of people and they'll never notice my absence.