Slightly Off KIlter

Everything about unemployment is wonderful… except for the lack of income.

So, being one of many unemployed in the Tech industry, I've been trying to find a job. I've been trying since January 2002 (when I still had a contract but the miserable economy forced me down to 15 hours/week).I've joined a few mailing lists – if you want a good one, try The Wednesday Group Job (don't ask me why it's called that; I don't know). I've participated in the discussions on other technical lists (not job lists but job-related discussion; we're all searching for work). I'm "using my contacts" (what contacts I have). And I thought, "Why not try one of those infamous books again?". So I got a copy of the 2003 edition of What Color Is Your Parachute.

Unfortunately, Parachute lived up to my expectations. It's got some good advice; it's got a lot of cute cartoons. But I'm not the target audience. You see, I have no interest in participating in a "life-changing job-hunt". I already know what I like to do. I know what my skills are; I know what my values are; I've gone through the "should try something else" periods. I've even tried a few variations on a theme: QA, Technical Writing, Project Management. I have a graduate degree in Microbiology (so I know how I feel about research and bench science). I did my (one week) stint in retail many years ago.

I had my first "What shall I do when I grow up?" crisis in my 3rd year of college when I realized that I did not want to be a Biochemist (and changed my major to Microbiology); I did not want to stay for 5 years (and dropped the CS double major); I did not want to be a microbiologist (I just wanted to get the BS degree and get out). I had my second crisis when I realized in the second week of grad school that Forensic Science is both Very Interesting and also Very Messy and that I couldn't handle the messy parts; so there went that idea and I left that program. I felt bad telling my advisor/dept head I wanted to leave, but he gave me advice I have held to this day:

If you don't love what you're doing, you should be doing what you love.

I had my third crisis and my epiphany in my second Grad School program – a Microbiology program I joined knowing full well I did not want to be a Microbiologist – that was the program I could easily get into. I know that seems weird, but it made sense at the time). Soon after, I met my to-be-spouse, I was introduced to Unix, and I realized just how much I love working with computers (when I don't have to punch cards to do it :-). I found a sympathetic (and powerful) advisor; I got a Masters Degree … in Science with a computing-oriented thesis and I left bench-lab-science behind forever.

So, I know what I want to do with my life. I don't want to explore my "alternatives" and "options" (most of the "possible job choices" that fall out of those "quizzes" in the job books make my eyes cross.) I don't need to figure out my values. I'm quite clear (and content) about what I like, what I'm good at, what I dislike, what makes me stressed and unhappy.

My only "problem" is how do I find someone to pay me to do what I know I want to do. How do I get my resume past the HR dragon moat and onto the hiring manager's desk? How do I convince the hiring manager that I'm the best choice he can make… even when there are 5 or 20 or 50 other highly-qualified candidates trying to convince him that they are the best choice. I get great advice: "Focus on the fit; if you're the best person for the job you'll get the job" but that advice doesn't work as well today when my competition is as qualified and experienced (and hungry) as I am.

So here I am, floating around under my maroon parachute with the teal accents (maybe, these days, it would be better to have a hang glider?), still trying to get a job I can like for at least 6 months (the apparent mean time between re-orgs). If you know anyone who needs a Perl scripter / CGI scripter / technical documentation writer/reviewer, check out my web site. If not, wish me better luck.