"New" Blog(s)!

**UPDATE: please redirect yourselves HERE for all of my blogging adventures and other places of social media interest.** And thank you for all of the positive words about this silly blog about my life. I may one day resurrect this, but I think my latest blog  will encompass everything I've tried to do on all of the blogs below. (Here's hoping!)

So, go over there and become a follower and then we'll all be together again!


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Okay, so I am a little bit of a blogging maniac. If you are someone who happens to stumble on this blog and want to read more... well, I probably won't be posting here (unless I have some sort of a rant that doesn't fit in anywhere else.)

I do post in other places, though..... so go to these and become followers, if you haven't already.

My newest blogging venture is Look Nook. This is going to mostly be artsy stuff, less about me, per se.

I also contribute to Just For Scuz (under my alter-ego Anita Rackow).

And Adventures in a Tiny Kitchen is sort of on hiatus but might come back when I move into my new apartment in Brooklyn.

Also, I wanted to update the formatting of this blog and AIATK, and things were all wacky. So that's why now it looks like this and I don't like it very much. Blerg.

Just For Scuz

In celebration of NaBloPoMo, I am posting all of my thoughts in Just for Scuz. See link to the right for the month of November if you want to know what I am thinking about.

Posts I can't seem to finish:

I know I said the reason why I haven't written anything is because I have nothing interesting to say. Well, I am a very interesting person, and it turns out it is less about having nothing to say and more about having things to say but being incapable of writing complete posts about them. I am going to steal a little trick from 2 Birds, 1 Blog and write a post about the posts I can't seem to complete. Here they are:

(1) Am I a robot? Lately, I've been wondering if maybe I am a robot. When I used to work at the place that sucked out my soul and spit it out into a cold abyss called Boston in the winter, I was never allowed to interact with people. This I found to be quite boggling considering normally I am fairly social and most people seem to like me. I used to joke that I was a robot and could only communicate with people over email or with computer programs. Now, it seems Google thinks I am a robot. I won't deny the fact I have about 3000 email addresses with gmail. What can I say, I am one of those people who thinks of a good email address and so I sign up and take it before anyone else can. I also tend to sign up for website alerts and instead of putting in my real email address, I make one up especially for the occassion. I know, I might be insane... but the question isn't my sanity, it's whether or not I am indeed a real person. More recently, Google has denied me opening new email accounts for weeks at a time, because as it tells me, "The answers you have given are very similar to spam robots and therefor we are cutting you off." Okay, Googs doesn't really say that, but that's what they meant when I got the error message. I admit, Google McGoogley has some valid points. All of my email addresses have the same password and verification question answers, which does seem suspicious. I also have a lot of trouble with that goofy looking jumble of letters that you are supposed to type (correctly) into the field in order to authenticate your answers. Does anyone else find those troublesome? The letters are all squiggly and I'm telling you, b's could be b's, or they could be a combination of an l and an o. How do you tell the difference? I can't be the only one with this problem.

(2)Miley Cyrus. Okay, Hannah Montana, I am not a big fan. A few months back (maybe more than a few), Miley appeared on the cover of Glamour magazine and this was honestly the first time I really became irked by her. First of all, she was way too young to be on a women's magazine such as Glamour. She is a child star produced by the Disney Channel and she cannot be taken seriously until she leaves the world of Disney and at least moves up into ABC Family. Hello. Second, she's one of those people who I look at and just don't like her face. Miley, if you are reading this, I am not calling you ugly nor do I want you to develop low self-esteem. I realize you are still in your formative years. However, I just don't like the expression on your face. It's a combination of "aw shucks" and confusion. I hope you grow out of it. Third, and last point in the Anti-Miley tirade this is becoming, what the heck is with that Party in the USA song. Since it is on the radio pretty much every second of the day, I have been forced to listen to it regularly. I get that it is a catchy tune, but why is it called Party in the USA? My understanding of the lyrics is that it is about a girl (cough-Miley-cough) who lives in Nashville and goes to LA (to escalate her music career? Fame? To get out of the Disney shadow? The reasons aren't clarified although we can guess at the options). Upon arriving, she is nervous and butterflies are flying around in her stomach, but fortunately, she hears a familiar song on the radio and feels more comfortable and can let loose and dance around. Okay, cute. But, can I remind everyone here that yes, she is in the USA, and yes she is partying (in the car, in the club, etc). But.... she is an American citizen. She came from Nashville (also part of the USA) and is now in LA. It's not like she is a foreigner and it's her first time in the US. This one little detail annoys me. Also, does anyone else kind of want to say to Miley Cyrus.... maybe you don't belong? Sorry, kid, go back to Nashville and the Disney Channel and stay out of my local radio stations, dumb song and all.

(3) "I've got a crush"--- since I've spent most of my afternoons with high schoolers, I've started picking up their lingo. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, except that the rest of my day needs to be spent writing incredibly smart, concise, and informative cover letters that clarify why a prospective employer should hire me. The issue is that after you've spent an afternoon with a JV field hockey team, not only are you tired when you get home and need to lay on the couch and watch two hours of Dancing with the Stars (with your mom) while eating handfuls of special dark chocolate hershey kisses, you also cannot form proper sentences. In fact, I can't even count the number of times I've wished I could use the phrase "I've got a crush" in my cover letters. It works out so nicely and so perfectly explains how I am feeling. For instance, "I've got a crush on the Slow Food Movement. I've had it ever since I read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and the September 2008 National Geographic. For this reason, I would love to be part of Slow Food USA in the role of the Special Assistant to the President." I mean, if you think about it, having a crush on something is the perfect expression of blind adoration that every employer should be looking for in future employees, am I right or am I right?

(4) After reading a really stupid Yahoo! article on inconclusive scientific research, I wrote the beginning of a fake news article:

Scientists do research, No conclusions drawn
EVERYWHERE, THE UNIVERSE- It has recently come to the awareness of the Associated press that all across the universe, scientists are out there doing research but no relevant conclusions have been concluded as of this date.

I think we all can see why that one fizzled.


Well, that's it from me. Hopefully I will be able to come up with some complete posts for your entertainment at a later date.

Woah

So, I haven't written in this in a while, largely because I have nothing interesting to say. I know, I know, when has that ever stopped me in the past? But, aside from getting into daily fights with Comcast about the equipment I have yet to return (I'm trying to get them to cover shipping to a payment center, meanwhile I am holding my cable box and remote hostage), nothing is really going on.

Except that fairly random people are finding my blog. I love that. You know, this started out as a blog almost no one knew about, then my mom found it and sent it to all of her friends, and now my blog is famous. If you do a google searches about various topics like cargo pants, you will get my blog. If you input, "Horatio Caine vs. Chuck Norris," my post is the VERY FIRST RESULT. How cool is that?

Clearly, I am awesome and I write about topics people want to read about.

In other random news, there are two new video clips on the right hand side of this website. How did they get there? That wasn't the kind of question I normally ask and then answer myself. I really want to know. The only one I posted was the one with Miss Piggy roller skating through Central Park. Now there are two other muppet related youtubes hanging out with Miss P. I love muppets, so I am not going to remove them, but seriously, how did that happen? Did someone hack in and add more youtubes? Did youtube take it upon itself to add more content to my blog? I am boggled.

Also, if you are a new reader to this blog because you stumbled upon it accidently, don't read the most recent posts-- they are dullsville. Skip ahead (or skip back?) to some of the earlier ones.

That's it from me today-- catch ya on the flip side.

P.S.

If anyone has ever had to sit through an exit interview and the situation is such that you are being terminated.... it pretty much sucks. You basically have an HR doofus (I know, it is not his fault he has the worst job in the universe) reading a letter aloud to you about how you lost your job and you better be nice to "The Company" and he knows this is confusing but "we" just have to get through it together.

My thoughts on that are:

(1) I can read
(2) I don't think this is confusing
(3) If you think this is confusing, maybe I should be the one doing your job
(4) I am not an idiot
(5) Stop looking at me like you feel bad for me. I feel bad for you, because you have to run this pointless meeting about how I no longer work here.


To make the 20 minutes go by even faster... I decided to make the meeting as awkward and as uncomfortable as possible.


When he said: Do you understand you need to turn in all property and information you have on "The Company" by the end of the day?
I said: The only property I have is my ID (here it is) but the information is in my head... soooo, I am not sure what you want me to do.

When he said: Do you know what COBRA is?
And after I explained it perfectly succinctly,
he said: Okay, well it sounds like you know exactly what COBRA is! But, let me just read this aloud to you anyway so we make sure this part is covered.

When he said: Can I verify this is your current address?
I said: Yes, until August 30. After that I am homeless.

AWESOME. I love being laid off. Except for the fact I don't get my severence check for 10 days. 10 MORE DAYS until I can apply for my Australia Visa. (Yes, it is still on the table. It is just waylaid until I get that check, unless I get a job in the meantime).

Wait for it... wait for it...

I finally got contacted about a job. And it wasn't just any job.... it was the one I called my Dream Job (in a previous post but I am way too lazy to link to that right now. If you are reading this and there is a link, then I can pat myself on the back for getting over the fact I have to navigate away from one page to get the address and then come back in order to link it up).

Anyway, I didn't get an interview, but they did ask for more information about my perspective on things... You know, the read this and respond and then we will decide if we like you. Which I was completely fine with because I actually like getting assignments and completing them. If I could have printed it out on pink paper and submitted it in one of those plastic report folders I would have been a happy camper. I also sort of wish I could have made it a multimedia report, but we'll save that for another time I guess. Nerd Alert.

I turned that in and am waiting to hear if I get a call for an interview. In the meantime..... I have already started researching apartments in New York City. Because you know, why not? It's clear they are going to hire me and I am going to move there, so I am just preparing for the inevitable. Not jumping the gun at all.

My number 1 (and only) place to find apartments is Craigslist. It serves me well in Boston. I know which ones are the scams and which places are legit. I know the neighborhoods. I know if you find a really cheap apartment in Back Bay it's actually in Framingham.

New York city apartment searching via Craigslist is a lot trickier. I put in "Chelsea" and got places in Harlem. Then I tried "Brooklyn" and I got New Jersey, Bridgeport, and even New Haven.

Okay, I am not sure where this story is going. END SCENE. Shut it down.

Insanity Part 2--- Keeping Organized

One of the most stressful parts of looking for a job is keeping track of things during the application process. Every place these days seems to have their own systems of accepting applications. Some ask you to email an HR type inbox (after which you immediately receive a form response with the details of their hiring process or a basic thank you and we’ll get back to you- maybe). Others will ask you to fill out a form online and upload attachments for your cover letter and resume… or worse, make you copy and paste your resume and cover letter into the dreaded text box. As much as I’d love to give you a world of tips on how to navigate through those systems, I can’t… you just have to suffer through it and do it. But, I can help you stay on top of your applications so you know who you have already applied to, who you need to follow up with, and applications you still have pending. Read on.

When I want to stay organized in life, I have two main methods. Since so much of applying these days is via the internet, your inbox can be a great way to keep a handle on everything that is going out and coming in. Another way is to set up some sort of what I like to call a “Tracker.” This is an external database that you create and maintain to hold all of the information on every job to which you have applied or want to apply. I will outline both ways below and you can choose what makes sense for your personal style; I typically do a combo of the two.

Make your Inbox work for you
I am a huge fan of Gmail (you know, the email system provided for free by Google). If you have something else, what I mention here will still apply, but you might need to make minor adjustments.

Since I submit almost all applications electronically, I’ve devised a system to keep track of all of the emails I am sending out and receiving back. It’s pretty basic:

• While searching: I don’t search for jobs and when I find one apply for it right then and there (unless I am extremely excited and cannot wait even a second to begin my cover letter and update my resume). Instead, I copy and paste the posting into the body of the email (including web links, who needs to get this email, and notes to myself on the opening and what I might write in my cover letter), enter the subject line as the job opening and the company, and save it as a draft. I DO NOT enter anything in the “To” field. Doing that would probably result in a slip of the hand and the hiring manager reading my notes on the job posting which could say something like: “Might be way under-qualified but highlight college experience working in the writing center.” At the end of every day, I can look at my drafts and see how many jobs are out there waiting for my application.

• The initial application: Once I am in the mood to hammer out some cover letters and play around with resume formats (again), I go to my drafts and start working. When I have stuff ready to send out, I simply email the hiring manager with my attached documents and BCC myself on the email. I blind carbon copy myself because I think CCing yourself looks weird. I’d rather they not know I am including myself on the email. Then again, maybe I am just a secretive person and like to be stealth. Your call. Anyway, this just keeps a copy in my inbox with all of the relevant documents relating to that position, to which I can then attach a label.

• Application Statuses: To keep track of where each job stands, I attach a label to it. This is the Gmail version of a folder, so if you use Outlook or Hotmail or Yahoo or whathaveyou, you can use folders to do this very same form of organization. The labels I use are: Application Sent, Follow Up Call, 1st Interview, 2nd Interview, etc. When I am bored and I need something to do, I can click on Application Sent and see if any of them have been pending for more than a week and then I will do some sort of follow up call on those and switch their label. You can also have multiple labels on them, so you can keep everything in Application Sent and have the full list there.

• Threads: Since Gmail is brilliant, anything with the same subject heading will stick together in one long email thread. So, if I get a phone call from someone, I usually reply to my own email (just to myself) with notes on the phone call. Example: Spoke to Edith, had brief phone interview. Scheduled meeting with Jack for blank date, blank time. By doing this, I am keeping all records related to the job in one place.

That’s the basic system. If you are looking for something more detailed, then think about:

The Tracker
If you are the sort of person who likes to check things off as they get done, this kind of system is for you. You can tailor it to fit exactly your needs and at the end of everyday you can look back on your accomplishments and feel proud of yourself, which might be just the thing you need to feel if you are struggling through unemployment. It can be as simple as a word document or an excel sheet, or if you are super technologically savvy you could even set something up in Access or another Database application. That’s your call.

My personal favorite form of a tracker is in Excel (Spreadsheet if you are a Mac user). In my current job I practically live and breathe Excel trackers. I love them because you can add and remove columns (categories) with ease and you can filter and sort based on what you want to see. You can include links to websites or documents for easy reference. It’s a great way to keep everything in one place.

My basic tracker would include the following columns:

• Date Updated: Under this column you can keep track of when you last worked on this job opening. Don’t disregard keeping track of the date. You’d be surprised how fast the week goes by so you want to keep a record of when you last checked in on this job. Maybe you applied for it and haven’t heard anything and it has been a couple of weeks. That could be an indicator you need to check in. Maybe you have done all of your follow up and it has been a couple of months. Maybe it’s time to make this job inactive. Keeping track of the dates is a good reality check.

• Company: This one is pretty obvious. You need to know what company the job that you applied for is in… but, make sure to take this to the next level. The company name should be a link to the company website so you can easily access information on that organization if they call you and you need to jog your memory on who they are and why they applied.

• Open Position: Again, hello Captain Obvious. Enter the job you applied for in here and link it to the job posting/description. Why do you need to keep track of specific jobs/postings? (A) You might need to access the job description in a pinch and this will make it easier (B) These companies are probably posting multiple jobs and you might be interested in more than one. (C) They also might post it, remove it (either they filled it or decided not to hire at that time) and then post it again later on (maybe their new hire didn’t work out, maybe there are multiple people in that role and it opened up again). If you see the same posting later on that you’ve already applied for, you don’t want to send out the exact same application. What you want to do is write a follow up email or give a phone call and express something along the lines of: “I applied for this job back in April and I noticed you posted it as available again. I am still interested in this opening and would love to discuss my qualifications in person.” This shows that you are committed to their organization and the opening, and you will likely get an interview. (True story, this happened to me).

• Status: Where are you in the process? Here is where you can make note of whether you submitted your application yet, did the follow up (if possible), got an interview, had a second interview, etc.

• Resume Sent: Enter a link here to the copy of a resume that you sent out. If you are like me you have upwards of 10 versions of your resume. It’s always good to bring the same resume to your interview that you sent with your application (unless you have an improved version, in which case bring that).

• Cover Letter Sent: Enter the link to the cover letter you included. Sometimes I write silly little cover letters and I just like to read them to myself before I go to bed. Kidding. (A) It’s good to refresh yourself on all of the materials you sent to an organization before you go on your interview. That way, you can reiterate those main points and if they compliment you on your cover letter you know what they are talking about. (B) If you are applying for similar positions in multiple organizations, you can use the same basic cover letter tweaked with specifics that their organization might find applicable. If you have them all linked up here in this tracker, it’s easier to find and makes the application process that much easier. No one likes to write cover letters, so this way you have access to all of yours in one spot, linked up to job titles that they were used for.

• Other Notes: Here’s the place where you write all of the things you want to remember about a job. Maybe there was a concerning salary range you will need to know to address in case they give you an offer. Maybe you are bad with names and want to keep track of all of the people in the organization you have spoken with—Phone interview with Edith, Face-to-Face scheduled with Jack, etc. Anything you want to keep track of that can be useful down the road can be stored here.
  

The reason why Excel/Spreadsheet works so great is because you can filter. Depending on what aspect of your job search you are looking to focus on in that particular day, you can pull up your tracker and get the information you need. Maybe you are not in the mood to search new jobs that day. You can use this tracker to see which jobs you still need to apply for and make sure none fall through the cracks (I always think the fresher a posting is when you apply, the more likely you will get an interview). Or, you can see what jobs need follow up. Maybe there are jobs you haven't checked in on in a while and haven't heard back from them. See if they are still posted and if so, give that company a call.

**I realize this is a lot of info and it might seem like too much work to set up and maintain. I promise you it is not. And I truly believe if you have an organized system, eventually you will have success in your search. And if you don't, at least you will have a record of all of the jobs you have applied for and you can print out all of the cover letters and resumes you've sent, all of the email correspondance between you and corporations, all of the rejection letters.. and use them to wallpaper your bathroom as a last resort to curb boredom while unemployed. Happy hunting!**