'Tis the Season

At last my belated honeymoon has arrived! After a wedding, a major move and a job change (still in the works obviously) in one month, I'd say I've earned it :)

I leave you on a good note with news of a good deed in the sports world (and very, very good timing...hmmm).

First reported by the Dallas Morning News, "Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo shows heart of gold, treats homless man to evening at silver screen." I made that headline up. I also was being sarcastic. Seriously though, Romo took a homeless man to the movies and that's an admirable thing to do.

However, blame it on my Panthers roots to never trust a Cowboy or my skepticism with "feel good" media stories, but I still raise an eyebrow at the timing. Cowboys' cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, who usurped Terrell Owens as the team's largest liability this season, and his numerous off the field legal issues, along with the recent stumble of the Cowboys on the field (Dallas may or may not make the playoffs at this point) led to an onslaught of negative press and naysayers.

Then, like an angel descending upon the team, Romo restores faith in the down and out 'Boys and leads them to victory over the rival Redskins this past Sunday. Let the good news roll! Oh, wait, Romo paid for a homeless guy to go to the movies with him this week too? Man, that Romo's a great guy. And you know what? The Cowboys aren't so bad either. "Pacman" who?

"America's team" is back. The gutsy performance in Landover, MD should not be overlooked, but some well timed PR and image management works wonders. Next week: Jason Witten helps an elderly lady get her cat out of a tree on the way to play Santa Claus at an Arlington orphanage.

Ranting aside, everyone watch lots of football and have a great Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble!

Day 7 - Rolling with a Routine

When I say Day 7, I mean the seventh "business day" of searching - I took off the weekend for an early Thanksgiving. I'll work weekends. Try me.

I've developed a routine out of this job hunt. Don't worry, no play by play of my mornings in this post. I feel more productive and on top of things having developed a new routine, albeit one I'm not planning on making permanent. The first few days of unemployment were uncomfortable and foreign having not dealt with this "condition" since first departing my alma mater, East Carolina University, more than two years ago.

This is not to imply that I'm growing complacent; I'm not. Not even close. But my most recent mini-luminal moment in my journey to employment is that a job hunt routine is essential. Essential not only to finding a job (yes, I'm unemployed, but convinced it's temporary) but also to retaining a sense of sanity and satisfaction with one's status. Alliteration not intended.

That said, I recommend using your email calendar/organizer (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Outlook if you use it, mostly businesses I suspect) to the full extent - even if it's "Call Tim with VMS at 3 p.m." because he was out yesterday at 10 a.m.

Organize your day to include:
- Market research (not consumer surveys, but potential job markets and the businesses within)
- Company profiling (identify those businesses with which you would most like to work in a given market and learn about them!)
- New contacts (set a goal for a number of new companies/individuals to contact each day and meet it)
- Keep doing what you did - stay sharp (blog, watch the news, write, research, dance, draw, crunch numbers, build something, photograph, play basketball)
- Be your own brand ambassador (constantly update and target your resume, cover letter, portfolio samples, etc. to be most relevant to companies you're targeting)

Much of this is known, but it bears repeating. I'll always say that patience and perseverance are the two most underrated qualities an individual can posess - so try hard, and then try, try again. Best of luck to us all.