Pounding the Pavement As An Out Of Work Conservative

I have spent most of my career as a Technical Writer. What I do is work with computer programmers and take the technical concepts out of their heads and put it into English so everyone can understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how they are doing it. If the top programmer gets hit by a bus, then all the documentation and procedures are in place for the next person to keep the organization going.

As a Conservative, I have been doing mostly contract work, where I get paid on a W2 hourly basis until to work is completed, then move on to the next opportunity. My last contract position was supposed to end on April 15^th, however my contract was cut short and I have been pounding the pavement (literally) since December 5^th, 2008.

As a Conservative, I do not like being out of work. The only thing I like about being out of work is I can listen to Rush Limbaugh and surf the web for jobs when I am not on the street.

One of the things I learned about myself is that I am too independent to work in Corporate America. Although I am a staunchly loyal team player, I think outside of the box. Although I love politics, I don’t seem to be able to play the corporate political game very well. I never see it coming when I get stabbed in the back.

I was out of work during the last recession(9-11/IT Dotcom Bust) and learned some very hard lessons that sadly I became too complacent while I was working contract.

I learned that there is no stability or safety in Corporate America, and it is up to you to provide for your self and your family. Companies have no loyalties and when times get tough, the knives come out as employees fight for corporate scraps like lions.

During the last recession, I worked 5 jobs at once. I had to claw my way back and it took me almost 7 years to make the income I used to make before June 2001. At one point, I even worked 5 jobs at once which included working as a Caddy at an exclusive golf course. I got great exercise, had 5 hours of face time with those of influence, and I made $100 a round. I got paid to network. In addition to Caddying, I also taught college at night and wrote freelance articles for the Chicago Sun-Times as well as worked for my Cousin’s plumbing supply business and a startup dotcom.

In 2002 I began to do Salvage work. Two colleagues and myself were given the opportunity to strip the assets of a piece of property for an owner who was going to rebuild on the property. We were able to sell the toilets, doors, computer equipment, desks, etc. My friends and I wound up selling $10,000 of assets out of the property surprising our selves as well as our Client. We proved to ourselves that we could do it. In addition, I started doing transportation salvage. A truck tips over on the highway and we work with the insurance adjuster to find a buyer for the cargo. I made some good money at that too.

Then in the Spring of 2002, I got a full time job at a bank. I vowed to myself that I would never put myself in a position to be out of work again. I told myself that I would always have a side source of income as an insurance policy to soften the blow of Corp. America’s whims. When I started working contract I let that lapse as the money was so good and it took extra time and effort to do Salvage that would take away from family time. Big mistake.

Not the economy has hit us hard. Not only did I lose my income, but my wife had to take a pay cut too. We’ve lost 60% of our household income.

Starvation and depravation can lead to innovation. Opportunities in my Technical Writing expertise have dried up. I’ve given up on Corporate America and decided that I’m going to forge my own destiny. I’ve decided to pursue Salvage and other efforts full-time.

In looking for work not only have I used the internet, and networked, but I’ve also been going door-to-door with my resume. Since December 5^th, I have hand delivered my resume to 50 companies in the Chicagoland area. Most people have been very nice, although I did get kicked out of one building and one company refused to accept my resume because they were laying people off.

Ever since I graduated college during the 1989 – 90 recession, I would pass my resume out by going door-to-door. That was before the internet and they way you found a job back then was to send out your resume through the US mail from job ads in the Sunday paper. Then you waited for the phone to ring. I couldn’t sit still, so I would put on my suit and go door-to-door. Doing this gave me hands on sales skills and built confidence. It also hardened me for rejection. Nobody likes rejection but after hand-delivering hundreds of resumes you become grounded and humble.

So I’ve decided to forge my own future and do salvage and other opportunities on my own keeping with the Conservative tradition.  No one is going to do it for you have to do it yourself.  I will refuse to become complacent in the future.