The Musings of Brian Groce

After eighteen weeks into unemployment here is the tally*:

Resumes Sent and Job Applications: 36
Phone Interviews: 5
Face-to-Face Interviews: 2
Rejection Letters: 2
Job Offers: 0
Unemployment Vouchers Sent: 15
Unemployment Checks Received: 11

* The numbers are correct as far as I can recollect.

This was an extremely busy week for various reasons so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to really think about job prospects. In my “free time” this week Watershed kept me pretty busy with current projects and pursuing potential projects, so that’s a very good thing.

The adventure continues next week…

After seventeen weeks into unemployment here is the tally*:

Resumes Sent and Job Applications: 33
Phone Interviews: 5
Face-to-Face Interviews: 2
Rejection Letters: 2
Job Offers: 0
Unemployment Vouchers Sent: 14
Unemployment Checks Received: 11

* The numbers are correct as far as I can recollect.

The first thing in the week was a rejection letter. This truly seems to be a lost art because this is only the second one I’ve received. (And the first one was actually an e-mail.) What’s up with that? Are companies afraid of being sued? That’s the only thing that I can figure.

The other major news was the face-to-face two hour technical interview. Overall I felt that it went pretty well, but after I thought it was over I was asked a simple question that I knew the answer to but gave a simple answer that was very wrong (standing at the elevator I realized that). The thing that gets me on that one is that it was a question related to a college class that I achieved 103% in. I could blame the lack of sleep, but hey, life goes on and that’s not the first mistake that I’ve made nor will it be the last.

And finally, it was an excellent week in the Watershed Studio world and I won’t be receiving an unemployment check next week, which is an excellent problem to have. Consulting is a fun gig, but the peaks and valleys are still taking some getting used to.

The adventure continues next week…

After sixteen weeks into unemployment here is the tally*:

Resumes Sent and Job Applications: 33
Phone Interviews: 5
Face-to-Face Interviews: 1
Rejection Letters: 1
Job Offers: 0
Unemployment Vouchers Sent: 13
Unemployment Checks Received: 10

* The numbers are correct as far as I can recollect.

The major news of the week is that I have been invited in for the technical interview for the position that I mentioned last week. So that will occur either next week or the following week.

Other than that, I’ve added a few more job applications to the tally.

The adventure continues next week…

After fifteen weeks into unemployment here is the tally*:

Resumes Sent and Job Applications: 30
Phone Interviews: 5
Face-to-Face Interviews: 1
Rejection Letters: 1
Job Offers: 0
Unemployment Vouchers Sent: 12
Unemployment Checks Received: 9

* The numbers are correct as far as I can recollect.

This week was a pretty productive on the unemployment front.

First off I had a phone interview which seemed to go quite well and the position is definitely something that I’m more than qualified for. Of all of the job openings that I’ve came across thus far, I’d put this one at the top in regards of being something that fits my skill set AND is realistic in technical expectations. (Don’t get me started on that rant.) Anyway, now I have to sit back to wait to hear back to see if they want me to come in for the technical interview.

Other than that, IU had a job open up that would also be a good fit. And since I have an IU RIF status I know that they’ll at least review my application a little closer. So we’ll see what I hear back from them as well.

The adventure continues next week…

After fourteen weeks into unemployment here is the tally*:

Resumes Sent and Job Applications: 28
Phone Interviews: 4
Face-to-Face Interviews: 1
Rejection Letters: 1
Job Offers: 0
Unemployment Vouchers Sent: 11
Unemployment Checks Received: 8

* The numbers are correct as far as I can recollect.

There’s nothing new on the “full time job” front, but it’s getting to the point where I need to sit down and *really* evaluate some things in regards to what is necessary for my employment status and “career path”. I’m starting to wonder if holding down a full time job would actually make it easier for me to balance family time and the numerous internal Watershed Studio projects since I wouldn’t need to take on nearly as many clients by already having a steady income. (That statement will make prefect sense to anyone who has ever run their own “full time” business…to paraphrase a quote I once heard about running your own business, “you only have to work half a day and it doesn’t matter which 12 hours it is”.)

The adventure continues next week…