Day 3

Slowly but Surely

Well, no job offers yet, but I'm not surprised.  I've been talking to a lot of people who aren't in the position to hire me.  Right now I'm gathering information, which will allow me to adjust my Master Plan as I learn more of what I want to do and what I can do.

What I did
Today was another day of travel.  I started by heading to Salem to talk with another church career resource center.  She gave me a new list of resources, but even more important, she told me of someone she knows who works at a community college in the area.  So now I have a specific name, and I can say X sent me (not her real name).  It's always better when there's a previous connection.  I would have followed this up immediately, but I had to drive 45 minutes south to my next appointment.

I had a meeting scheduled on another college campus.  The person I talked to was able to, among other things, give me more insight into a job I'm currently applying for.  This allows me to customize my resume and cover letter to exactly what they're looking for.

I had already driven for over 2 hours by this point, and I decided I didn't want to leave yet.  So I wandered around the building, carrying on mini-interviews in various offices.  I walked into the registrar's office, where I got a 6-minute interview with the director.  It turns out I don't want to be a registrar.  Then I went to the career services center, and talked to the receptionist, who was very helpful and gave me a lot of information.  Then I went to another promising-sounding office, where I interrupted them from their work, and I got the impression they just wanted me to go away (not my best interview of the day).

I then headed off to the admissions office (they are extremely busy this week), affirmative action office (very informative interview), disability access center (too busy again), and intercultural student services office (another helpful receptionist).  I learned a lot about quite a few offices on campus, and I feel like I have a better idea of what each area requires in the way of education and experience, and which ones I'd be interested in exploring further.

On the way home, I stopped at a wildlife reserve and got pictures of some very interesting animals.

What I learned
While it's possible to just drop in for informational advising, it works better if you schedule beforehand.

Leave enough time between scheduled appointments to follow up on leads (especially when your appointments are long distances apart).

Receptionists/secretaries/office managers generally have helpful temperaments; don't dismiss them as a source of information, and always treat them with respect.

I've got to come up with and memorize a 30-second introduction

Not all people are people people.

How it went
Interviews – 4 interviews with professionals, 2 with support staff, 2 were too busy, and 1 failure
Cold Calls – 0
Friend reunions – still none
Mood – Confident in my informational interview ability, still not sure how to find a job.