A long, strange trip

The job search continues. I have interviews set up, but still I visit job sites. I look and I look and sometimes - about every other day or so - I find some positions that I find interesting. Sometimes, applying to a job is simple - rework my resume, write a cover letter and send an email. Some employers, though, have a different way of doing things. The bigger employers set up a website and have you fill out forms to be submitted to their human resources department. The first step usually goes something like this: "Upload a resume." Simple enough, right? Here's my resume, the rest of this should be easy! Then, they want you to continue to fill out their form. Contact information. It's on my resume, but ok. Skills? Alright, this is getting ridiculous. Job history. Oh, come on, now! I uploaded my resume already, why do you need me to post all of this again? Are you looking to trip me up? Really good strategy, because I won't be looking at my resume as I fil...

I always thought I knew what I was doing when it came to putting together a resume. Maybe not. I created my latest resume with the intent of hitting on the buzzwords those dreaded resume bots are looking for these days. No buzzwords, no one will look at your resume, no matter how qualified you are. I also wanted it to look nice. I took a template I liked from Microsoft Word and built it from there. That was, apparently, wrong. I handed my resume to my uncle this afternoon. He was a vice president for human resources at a pharmaceutical company, so he knows a thing or two about these things. He went right about the process of ripping it to shreds. Fancy template? Bullet points? Get rid of 'em! The coding will just cause havoc with the dreaded resume bots. And why bother making the resume look nice? No actual person is going to look at these things. It's going to go through a computer program, which is going to pull out the key buzzwords: "staff development," ...

How exactly does one become a private investigator? And why would you advertise your need for a private invcestigator on Craig's List ? Then again, I can't comprehend seeing job ads for doctors, lawyers and other high-paid executives on Craig's List. I mean, these are places that should, conceivably, be able to pay for job ads on reputable websites that advertise these positions, wouldn't you think? Has the economy crumbled that bad that the law firm of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe needs to find a free place to search for a prospective new shyster? It makes searching for jobs on Craig's List and other places, like Career Builder, difficult when I have to sift through all of these jobs that I, as a writer/editor, are in no way qualified for. And it makes me a little sad. Because it's Day 257, as the title of this post points out for you. How many people have joined the ranks of job seeker in those 257 days? And how many of those have found new jobs and have started wo...

It's been 256 days since I've had a job. On Jan. 9, I walked out of the Berkshire Eagle offices. The next day, I was told that my resignation was accepted. Since that day, I have: - Moved out of my apartment in North Adams and brought all my stuff back to my parents' place in Malone, NY. - A week later, I moved in with my girlfriend and her brother in Palatine, Illinois. - Got hired as a sales rep for a place that went business to business selling AT&T. - Quit that two days later when I realized it was in no way a job I would enjoy doing. - Gone on a dozen or so interviews, with no luck. - Was asked to be a writer for a web series about Furries. Got creeped out and didn't follow through with a treatment. - Signed on to a Congressional campaign, but financial issues made me back away. - Did some freelance work for a construction business to business magazine that did not hire me as a features editor. Twice. - Quit smoking and drinking diet soda. - Got sick and ended ...