It Works – Got A Job Offer From Going Door-to-Door With Resume

I have worked for 5 Major Financial Institutions and Banking and Finance is not the industry to be in right now.

I met my friend for lunch in Lincolnshire and wore a suit coat and tie as I planned on going door-to-door with my resume on the way back to Bolingbrook.  Yesterday I was pretty depressed and angry after hearing about Janet Napolitano’s treatise on extremists and then listening to Rush Limbaugh made me even madder (Not at him) at the general state of the economy and where this country is headed.

My friend told me I should be in marketing as I take the initiative. On the way home in the afternoon, I went door-to-door with my resume hoping someone will see my initiative and give me a break.

That is just what happened.

I went to a building in Schaumburg and went to the top floor ( 8^th ) to work my way down in passing out my resume. I met several receptionists at several firms who were very nice in accepting my resume. I told my self that I could not go home until I handed out at least 20 resumes.

On the 6^th floor a miracle happened. Of course when it comes to miracles, the more effort you put in to it, the easier it is likely for the miracle to come true. I knocked on the open door of a small office that was a logistics firm. There was an older man there. I he asked if he could help me and I asked if I could give him my resume. Now when I ask this question it can go either way. Lately people have been very nice and understanding, but as I mentioned in my last post, I got kicked out of a building for passing out my resume. The gentleman welcomed me in. The front desk in the small office suite was covered in papers and he was going through a file. Seeing all the pictures of trains trucks and ships and given the name of the firm, I told him about my related experience. The man opened the envelope and read through my resume then invited me into a private office with a large desk and leather chair.

The Man proceeded to tell me about his days in the Navy and how he went to college after WWII and met his wife there. He told me his whole life story. I love when people tell stories, especially about the old days. I then told him how my wife and I met in college as well and a little about my related work experience. Then he told me to follow him out of the office into the common area he was first at and he began to look up the name of a VP from a large firm he did business with and told me to call this person. Then he picks up the phone and talks to the VP while I’m standing there and tells him I will be calling him about potential opportunities.

The gentleman then gets off the phone and tells me that if there is nothing for me at the firm he just called that I should come back to him as he needs a good salesperson and I could work for him for a commission or a draw versus commission. He then introduces me to his son as well as another person who had worked for him for 20 years. He told me he’d even give me his Client list to call on clients that he used to have were business had trailed off.

It was just like the old days before computers when someone was given a chance coming in off the street. I t was like I was in a time warp in the 1950’s and I was given a chance off the street. Even though I was astonished at what happened, I was ecstatic that if I just keep trying something will happen.

So I called that VP today while I was on the way to the Tea Party event at Federal Plaza in Chicago. I will be sending him my resume today. I decided I was going to pass out my resume at the rally as I thought that many people there might be business owners who might see a person with initiative and give them a chance.

But today didn’t matter much to me as I only passed out 10 resumes. Most people where enthused about my deadvoter card though. I did give my resume to an IT Project Manager and maybe we can do some freelance work together.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, opportunity still exists in America and there are people willing to give you a chance. But you have to get out there and find them. Don’t give up, you have to keep trying. That’s what makes us Conservatives. We don’t wait for someone to come to us, we go out and find it.

So I will be forging ahead the Conservative way in that I will try to diversify my sources of income and keep things going. I will do Salvage and work Logistics and one other venture.

It will not be easy. A lot of people will say no, you just have to keep moving on.

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.