The blog posted below, found on the Wallstreet Journal’s blog site, is either inspiration or a thorn in the side. It’s the story of one guy’s successful quest to find a job. At first, it made me feel a little better about me & the Hubs so far frustrating and fruitless job search. Like, there’s HOPE! Then I started thinking. Thing is, Mr. Murphy, whose story is posted below, found a great job in 8 months–but he was a fancy schmancy investment banker when he got canned. I’m going to bet he had the luxury of a savings account. I, on the other hand, am a writer and Mark’s a certified history teacher. There’s no shortage or pressing need for either of us. Murphy’s chances at getting work are plain ‘ol better. And getting a job still took him eight months. We’re going to run out of cash in weeks.
However, he affirms the universally good advice about keeping in touch with past co-workers. Also, he used a recruiter referred to him by a former co-worker. I’ve scheduled a meeting with my old editor from the newspaper ‘biz next week. Mark signed up with a recruiter last week; he had an unrelated interview last week also for a sales job. He scored the interview completely through our personal connections and his past work connections.
We’re doing the hustle…but might actually need to start hustlin’. And by that I mean selling crack.
In the mean time, in T-minus 3 weeks we will run out of cash. We are scrambling to find something-anything- in between. I’ve applied with temp firms and waitress jobs. Hubs Mark constantly applies for any crap job but after a month of such: zip. Luckily, I got a freelance project that should keep us from drowning. It’s rough out there. We’re trying to keep our heads up and keep a sense of humor as to not kill each other from stress. It ain’t easy, as evident by a venemous shouting match we got into over whether or not to use a lap top lock. Yeah. Ludicrous. Later we had a WTF moment at said asinine behavior. Financial. Stress. Right under the surface. Fizzing and popping and gurgling ugliness. Especially since I got canned from my “in between” grocery job due to “slow sales.” For what it’s worth, here’s a success story:
After Eight Months, Landing the Job
Posted by Brian Murphy
Source: wsj.com
Mr. Murphy, 35, spent a year as an associate in the investment banking division of Bear Stearns until the firm collapsed in March. He holds an M.B.A. from USC’s Marshall School and spent nearly 10 years in the Marine Corps, serving two deployments in Iraq, and one in Afghanistan. During his job search, he divides his time between California and New York.
After searching for the last eight months, I have finally determined the next step in my professional career: I will be accepting an associate position at a boutique investment bank that specializes in restructuring and distressed M&A advisory services. The ironic part about this is that I didn’t discover the position through my own efforts. Instead, it was presented to me by an executive recruiter who had been referred through a friend and former Bear colleague. It makes me laugh when I think about it. After all the months I spent searching for a job, it actually found me! It reinforces what I’ve always thought–staying in touch with former coworkers can turn out to be one of the best resources in your arsenal of job-seeking weapons.
What’s even more interesting than how I came across the position is how perfect of a match it is for what I am looking to do. The interview process consisted of four separate rounds and spanned a couple months from start to finish. As each round progressed, not only did the interviewers get a glimpse of who I was but I also got to know a little more about them. I was able to answer what I felt were the two most important questions: Is this the type of work I want to be doing and can I see myself working with this person day in and day out?
I’ve learned that these pauses in life are truly blessings in disguise; they allow you to catch up on things you may have neglected, such as family and friends. You also can’t take the interview process personally, especially in the buyers market we’re in.
I’m really at peace with what happened regarding having my previous job eliminated. And if or when it happens again, I’ll deal with it. I’ve been through extremely difficult situations in life, and this definitely was not one of them.
