Archive for Pounding the pavement

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

Posted in Chicago, Conservative, Illinois, Politics, Self-Employed, Unemployment with tags , , , , , on April 15, 2009 by mobflix

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 ( 8th ) 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 6th 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.