How the recession hit me

I think I’ve mentioned at least once or twice how I love my job at the Chamber of Commerce. I’ve learned a lot since I started working there. I’ve learned so much; about myself, the kind of job I want in the future, and about the kinds of work I want to do. (An ode to why I love the Chamber is in the works, just not for today.)

Last week, I approached my boss to ask for the week between X-mas and News Year’s off.  And was informed that my services would not be needed after Wednesday. This coming Wednesday.  Sadness (and panic), ensues.

I mean my boss was is awesome.  He made sure I understood why I’m being laid off. I’mbeing laid off because they can’t afford me, not because I suck as an employee.  He even said that I rock as an employee and he wishes he could keep me and he’s being talking me up to folks who may be in a position to hire me.

I can’t believe that I’m being LAID OFF, this is so weird.

Why I’m being laid off (a longer version):

You see, the Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization.  Their members are local area businesses. And in a recession, businesses make less money.  All the businesses, regardless of whether they are professional services, restaurants, retailers, bars, or financial institutions when they make less money, they cut stuff to preserve the bottom line.   And some (I don’t know how many, exactly) of the Chamber’s members are not renewing their dues. I know the real estate and development community has been hit pretty hard.

As the Chamber’s members tighten their belts, the Chamber has to tighten theirs. And the intern budget disappears.

So I’m jobless. And not because I did anything wrong. Which makes it so much easier and happier (you can tell by my use of flowers and smiley faces and exclamation points, how much I mean this)

How the hell did I not see this coming???

But I didn’t see it coming. All this time, I’ve been making fun of the Big 3 and how they failed to innovate or do ANYTHING really.

And I’ve been scratching my head about the financial crisis and have shaken my head in disgust in my policy class when we would learn about the greed of Wall Street investors and am incredulous that they could do the sh*t they’ve done and still be holding their hands out.

I still haven’t figured out what the fu*k is the problem with the banks and why the hell can’t they just LEND money.

I’ve rolled my eyes at folks who made bad mortgages decisions. I mean, when I was looking for a home at age 24 I knew enough not to get into a ARM or a Balloon or a variable rate mortgage, so how are all these other people stupid enough to fall for it?

Well, I’ve heard the Chamber’s Executive Director talk about how next year will be the hardest year for the Chamber, who over the past 10 years has experienced double digit growth, but for the first time ever will be facing a cut.

But I didn’t know that meant that I’d be history.

Basically, I was stupid.  I thought that if I did more than my job, took initiative (asked for more work), and stayed visible and engaged, I’d have a job as long as I wanted it.

I was wrong. Sometimes when you do everything right sh*t still happens. And since I’m the low man on the totem pole, I shouldn’t be surprised that I happened to me.

It is fu*king hard out there for a pimp. (and I should know, as I am a pimp)

And the more I’ve thought about it today, even as I made a list of all the organizations in the area that I’ve like to work for the next semester, places I’m going to call right after the holiday break, I realized that probably every one of those organizations is going through a hard time. And as organizations slash millions from their budgets I KNOW that hiring me is going to be a hard sell.

Then I read this offer on Havi’s blog today and it seemed like a dream.  So I applied. And while I didn’t get the offer, it has given me another angle with which to approach my next move. And it gave me hope that work does exist. And I mean work from anywhere in the world kind of work, which would be awesome.

I mean, I’ve been toying with the whole freelance copywriting idea since the summer, and even talked to Naomi about it. But I never followed up or through.

So I’m developing my pitch, which will highlight the fact that hiring me as a contract working is WAY cheaper than hiring a full time employee, the fact that I can research and write, and the fact that I know all the local players.  And one of my favorite local news sources has even mentioned the fact that I’m hirable.  And that gives me hope.

And Kelly gave me a whole list of sites that I can use, in addition to what Naomi gave me, to start seriously start copywriting. And I starting feeling a little better. A little more hopeful.

And I talked to the gf and shared my fears about never getting a job (now or before May) because this is like a replay of 2003 right after Bush bombed Iraq and all the job leads I had dried up (I wanted to be an au pair in France, but after the bombs fell and the whole freedom fries thing, French parents started specifying English, from England au pairs, not American English-speaking girls.)  That’s right the Spring of 2003 was the pre-cursor to Hell Year!!

And when I think about that I get nervous and I start to sweat and I get paralyzed and unable to do ANYTHING. Then the gf tells me that she believes in me, enough even, that I don’t have to believe in myself today. And that gives me LOTS of hope, because she’s pretty smart, and she wouldn’t have faith in me if I were a complete loser.

To all my fellow low men on the totem pole, I wish I had something uplifting and spiritual and sh*t to share with you to make you feel that your job is not  in danger.

Sorry, I can’t say that.

But I can say that even if the complete bottom falls out. I am NOT too proud to work at Target. I am NOT too proud to bus tables. I am NOT too proud to work at the mall. (and neither should you be)

But I don’t really want to work at any of those places (and neither do you). What I do want to do is convince organizations that they need my skills (even if they don’t necessary have the budget for staff) and that hiring me to work on projects saves them time and money, and helps them to check small-ish projects off their to-do list.

So I’m still tackling the list of organizations that I made earlier today, I’m just refining the way I talk to them. And I’m no longer panicked. I have a plan. A plan that I probably should have BEEN working on, anyway.

How are you recession-proofing your job?

 

There is nothing new under the sun

For a couple of months, I’ve been toying with the idea of developing an on-line networking site.  I’ve spent countless hours (when I probably should have been working on my studies) thinking about the different aspects and features of my very cool networking site.  I multi-tasked in class looking at different software that I could use to develop it. I thought about domain names, and mission statements, and how to build a business brand (or at least a non-profit) around my idea.  Like everything I do, I obsessed about it.

So.

Here’s my idea. Or the story behind my idea.

2 weeks ago I listened (or pretended to) to a lecture by a government hack who was talking a group of other government hacks (and future government hacks, i.e. MPAers) about the way we Gen Y and Millennial (and Gen X to a certain extent) MPA, MPP degree holders manage our careers.

His main points:

We change jobs frequently. We aren’t attached to a job title, an organization or a boss.  If something better, more fun, more interesting, more engaging comes along; we bounce like a bad check.  On to bigger and better things. (This is not a surprise to anyone under 32.)

We change sectors frequently. We don’t particularly care if we work for non-profits, governments (local, state or federal), or the private sector or ourselves. And at some point in our careers, most of us will have worked for a combination of these entities.  Most of us are in it to make a difference, change the world, start a revolution-otherwise we would be getting MBA’s and not MPA’s. And chasing the almighty dollar.

Ahem.  That is the back story.

This is the front.

I am looking for a work opportunity and I want to expand my professional work-related network. I would say I want to start my career but that sounds so stick in the mud and is so.not.me. I would say I’m looking for a job, but “job” sounds hard and boring and I don’t want work to be hard, I want it to be fun, engaging and I want to contribute to the welfare of my fellow man, dammit.  And I really don’t care who I work for.

And I figured there are lots of others just like me, graduating with a MPA, MPP, Political Science, Social Policy, blah blah blah degree but not really looking to be a cog in someone else’s wheel. And I know there are other young professionals and recent grads just like us who are trying to get off the bureaucracy bandwagon and actually DO something useful.  Even if it’s just for volunteer.

And then I thought, Wouldn’t it be fun if we all (all the world changers, in all job sectors, around the world) had a place where we could meet, greet, exchange ideas, talk about available jobs, share our work/war stories (horror and other) network, chit chat, build a community, make a difference, help each other and save the world (and the whales)?

My networking site could be a hub for all the sh!t that I think about when I’m sitting in class learning (supposedly) how to affect organizational change or read a regression line.

Today my school sent me a survey, no doubt sponsored by the government hack from the beginning of the story, and it listed some of the best known on-line social media outlets (myspace, facebook, linkedin, blogs)  and asked the question, which of these do you utilize  most? I scrolled down to the bottom of the list, because, of course, I use them all and I want pick the other box so I can add twitter (and ping) and when I get to the bottom I see a website that I have never heard of.

Like all things internet related, I must know what this mysterious, unknown website is……

And damn if it’s not my f*cking idea!  Just in case you, like me, have been living under a rock, apparently, and have never heard of this site; it is Idealist.org and it is pretty f*cking cool.  I’m just mad I didn’t think of it first. Dammit.

Now I have to think of another big idea. Sh!t.

 

People Power

So I’ve been thinking (for ages) about writing this post, but something else always trumped it. So today is the day! Because,…well, I just want to give the relationship series a break for a little while.

I believe in people. I believe that it is people (not policies or businesses or markets, or any other inorganic, non-breathing thing) that make the world go ‘round. I believe this so much that, right now, as I look for my dream job I’m not hella keen to fill out a bunch of job applications. I just don’t think my life works that way.

Let me back up and explain.

Last year, I really wanted (not wanted, needed desperately) to spend the summer in Atlanta. Unfortunately, I’ve lived and build my network in North Carolina, so the idea of trying to find an internship in another state gave me heart palpitations. I didn’t know what I was going to do.

I mean, I could have d*amn near picked from a stack of NC internships (yes, the girl is THAT good) but no one KNOWS me in Atlanta, and worse, I DIDN”T KNOW ANYBODY. And I knew that I would be competing with students from Ga schools who would also be in the market for summer professional work experience. (which also increased my anxiety level)

For weeks, I spend tons of fruitless hours looking for internships; cold calling, cold emailing, I did online internship searches, I was on listserves… you name it, I did it. All the while, I felt a clock ticking telling me time was running out. (Granted it was freaking October, but I had a mission, remember?)

Wanna know how I got my internship?

One person who knew me =>  knew two people who worked in Atlanta => who got me two interviews => which got me my internship.

I was at a student/faculty meet and greet where I introduced myself as, “Monica, a first year grad student who wants to intern in Atlanta for the summer.” One of the professors said, I used to work in Atlanta, send me your resume and I’ll see what I can do.

Summer internship? Check!

Before I left for Atlanta, I was already thinking ahead to where I wanted to work when I came back to NC for school.  I happened to be at an event with the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce (where I knew I wanted to work). I approached him, reminded him of who I am (he remembered) and I asked him for a job.

I told him that I was going to be away for the summer, but that I would love to do a phone interview to talk about the arrangement. A business card, a month, and one phone interview later, I already knew where I was going to be working when I left Atlanta (and I hadn’t even gotten to Atlanta, yet!)

Year-long internship? Check!

This summer, the day that I was moving to Atlanta, I was in a car accident. Allegedly, the accident was my fault and I got a traffic ticket. The terms of the ticket were that A.) I could just pay it (NOT.GONNA.HAPPEN!) B.) I could get a lawyer to appear in court (NOT! That costs $$$, which I didn’t have) or C. I could appear in court.

By the way, I always appear in court and defend myself.  I think of it as practice for when I’m an attorney.

The problem with me appearing in court in North Carolina was that I was going to be living 6 hours away, and my court date was a Wednesday. So, I would have to miss some work time (and $$$) to drive, appear in court, and drive right back. (And gas prices were NO JOKE).  I knew there was no way that I was going to make that court date.

So I did what anyone would have done. I called the court to see if I could get the court date moved.  No luck. The lady told me some story claiming that I had to appear in person to change my court date. I tried to explain that I was a student who was out of the state, and I couldn’t appear in person to change the date anymore than I could actually appear on the date they gave me.  She didn’t get it.

There was an hour or two when I was frustrated and almost willing to just say “f*ck it! I just won’t show up, since they are making it so difficult to play by the rules”. BTW, that would have triggered a warrant for my arrest, which would have been unfortunate.

Then I remembered my ace.

I once interned in the Clerk of Court office, and later I’d interviewed for a job there. So I emailed the guy that I’d interviewed with (like three and a half years prior), reminded him of who I was (he remembered), told him my situation, and asked what he could do.

Less than an hour later, I had a new court date.

This is the story of my life.

I could go on and on. At least 4 other jobs/internship that I’ve had over the years I’ve gotten because I knew someone who knew someone who got me in front of someone who could get me a job.

I can also tell you of at least one job that I was the runner-up on (also got that interview because I knew someone who knew someone). Guess who got the job? Someone they already knew.

This is the power of people. This is why I network my @ss off. This is why I collect business cards, shake hands and kiss babies.

The people you meet and the people you know totally make a difference.

This is why, during this new job search, I roll my eyes every time I fill out an application. I don’t think I’m going to get my dream job from filling out applications. I totally believe that I’m going to get my dream job by telling my network, “Hey, everyone! I’m looking for my dream job in the San Francisco Bay area.  You know anybody out there? Can you help a sista out?

Then I’m just going so sit back and wait for the goodness to happen. It NEVER fails.

And I’m not playing. Do YOU know anybody in the Bay area? Hit me up. I’m looking for a job.

 

10 RANDOM THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

1. Why does it hurts my heart a little bit to see something in print that I already knew intellectually but am still having problems with in reality?

2. I heart my new job already even though (or maybe because) I’m in waaaaay over my head and this is only day one!!!!!

3. I love conferences and hanging out with folks that I can learn from (and I get to do it twice in September)

4. I’m so glad it’s Friday, even though I really haven’t done sh*t all week.

5. I have a great network of colleagues (and a hell of a lot of institutional knowledge) in NC that I will be sad to leave next May

6. I think I am (finally) getting used to being back in NC, even though I still can’t bring myself to try to cook for one

7. I have a feeling that there will be heavy drinking this weekend

8. Apparently there are lots of promiscuous women in America, and I happen to NOT be one of them (did I miss out on anything?) For those of you raising your hand and objecting at this information, shut up, the f*cking numbers speak for themselves!!!

9. How lucky blessed am I to be living my life?  This is the f*cking dream!

10.  My boss is 26.  And his boss hugged me this morning.

 

Sometimes finding a job is as easy as knowing where (and how) to look

As my summer internship is coming to a close, the gf and I have been talking a bit about what we are going to do after I graduate from my super awesome MPA program.

We’ve talked about staying in Atlanta. I vetoed that because I hate the traffic, hate the sprawl, hate the rampant poverty, hate the politics (I could go on). We talked about staying in North Carolina, where she could finish some course work and I could work in a place where I have already established a network. She vetoed that because she’s already lived in NC for 10 and wants to try something else, and she also made a good argument about me moving beyond my comfort zone. So, bottom line, we are moving somewhere completely new.

I have been building a list of “places to live” for a while, and amazingly so has the gf. And even more amazingly, we have a number of cities in common. So the places that we are currently looking at for next year are Denver, Colorado and Tempe, Arizona.

The gf, who is a bit more “control” than I am, asked me last week if I had started looking for jobs, to which I replied that no, I hadn’t started looking at jobs (I’m not moving until next year!!! I have some time yet.) I was able to report that I had started researching the different organizations in the city to see if any interest me. Actually, I started looking at a number of cities as early as last August to see the different kinds of downtown planning they were engaging in.

That’s when the gf said something that I’d never thought of. She said that by looking at the job market now, I could start preparing for what will be on the market next year.

In her care, it totally makes sense. Her field is Educational Technology, which is still so new of a field that she sometimes has to explain to potential employers that they need someone with her skills. So if there are organizations in Denver and Tempe that already understand that they need someone with her particular skill set, then she already has a leg up.

In my case, I’m not so sure that canvassing the job market now will give me any indication of what will be available because local governments don’t really recruit on CareerBuilder. They usually recruit on their own sites and on government specific job sites. I can put myself in a better position by making friends with government headhunters or with local government managers in the area or that already work in organizations that interest me. It makes more sense for me to tell them that I’m interested in moving and working in Denver/Tempe/wherever and beg them to keep me (and my resume) in mind. (I’m already starting to work on strengthening my network in the mid and southwest)

We did have a giggle at my ability to get jobs just by expressing interest and asking for an informational interview. So often when talking to potential employers, I start by saying, I’m Monica. I’m an MPA student at UNC and I’m interesting in learning more about what you do. Can I come by and talk to you? During the interview, if I like what I hear, I give them my pitch. I tell them how I can help them with whatever problem/issue/new development they are having. I’ve gotten at least two of my last jobs that way

And even if having informational interviews doesn’t get me a job, it still gives me one more person to add to my network.

 

How I got my Atlanta internship

So many people have asked me over the past few weeks, “How did you get an internship all the way in Atlanta from North Carolina?”

After answering the same questions about 10 times, I have consolidated my response. I hustled and I networked! I knew where I wanted to be and I knew that I only had myself to depend on to get me there.

I thought about all the new things I could learn in Atlanta. I love Orange County, but I knew I wanted a different kind of experience. I made a list of all the things that I’m interested in and that would make an interesting topic for my capstone paper.

I am interested in learning everything so my list is long. It ranged from regional government, land use and transportation planning (traffic is horrendous in ATL), public transportation, non-profit development and management, economic development, public private partnerships, consulting firms, etc.

I did way too much research on different agencies and organizations in the Atlanta area. I Google-bookmarked over 50 agency websites- that I obsessed about everyday. I sent letters of interest, I got my career person at school to send job fair invitations to people, and I sent email inquiries. I did everything I could to get a job.

And I got nothing. But here is the interesting part. I started telling everyone I knew that I wanted to be in Atlanta this summer. I told my classmates, I told program alums, I told my professors, I told people I met in hallways. It became a standard part of my introduction: Hi, I’m Monica; I’m a first-year MPA student. I am interested in Economic Development, Social Justice, Regional governance, and Downtown Redevelopment. I want to be rich and famous. Most importantly, I am interested in interning in Atlanta this summer.

It was amazing the response I got. Professors and alums immediately started talking to me about the people they knew in Atlanta and people I should call. And it worked; I met great people, made some great contacts, and got myself an internship. And if I decide to move to Atlanta after graduation, I’ve already started building my network.

And all those useless emails and letters that I sent before? Not a waste at all because I’ll start meeting those people, too and I can revisit them for jobs later.

Honestly, I hate networking. It feels like begging. But it works and I’m starting to get good at it. So what does that say about me?

However, slowly and surely I’m beginning to understand that the world is such an easier place to move in if I have my peeps working for me. Life is truly all about WHO you know. And if I know some people and you know some people and then you and I network, at the end of the day we leave with twice the resources. Which rocks!!!

I’m learning that I’m not using a person if I network with them. Most people like to be helpful. I love when I can help someone make a useful contact. So it’s a win/win, right?

By the way, I’m Monica and I’m looking for friends and fun stuff to do in Atlanta. Any ideas?