Yet No.

The nice, directed e-mail isn't working. Yet.

Well, it has been only about 15 minutes since I sent one out. But why haven't I heard back from anyone yet? I guess I need patience. You see, job searching takes time. Jobs take time. Time takes jobs. That makes no sense.

Anyway I may have found a free-lancer job. It's with a website, but hey, that's fine with me. As long as I can pull in a little cash, I can be sane. Having no inflow is terribly depressing. Especially when the stock market just blew up with all my money. Ok, not all my money, just a little bit.

But it's not gone yet. I'm hoping that Warren Buffet can save me. Actually, I thought about something new. I might write a letter to my local congressman telling him/her that I'm angry that I can't find a job.

I'm going to hand write it and bitch at my congressman. Sometimes, they actually will do something when people get angry. Now, I don't want you to think that I blame the government that I can't find a job. Believe me, it's not that. The problem really lies more in the fact that there is no economy.

Because of the government. Well, ok, that's only partially true. Regardless, I have been reduced to attempting to find part-time and freelance and low-paying jobs. That's no good.

That shouldn't happen. Of course, I also realize that I didn't probably do the greatest job of networking when I was in college and I should have maybe taken an extra semester or year and done an internship with an actual company, not just my campus newspaper.

I have also realized that I should have tried for a minor. A minor in finance/accounting would have been boring, annoying and I'm sure hard as flip, but I would have had something to fall back on.

Everyone wants accountants right now. I wonder why. Maybe it's because businesses are trying to save as much money as possible.

By not hiring me.

Are You Annoying? (Employers)

There's a thin line between annoyance and persistence. For me, I don't know what to do when someone won't respond back to me.

Should I call them? Should I send them an e-mail? The real question is though, what do you do if they do not send you an e-mail back or if they do not phone home. Home=you.

It's seriously a bunch of Trix and Lucky Charms that will help. Maybe even some Honey Bunches of Oats.

I tried two techniques yesterday, trying to get a company to respond back to me. I responded to a post that they put on the Internet. It looked perfect for me. Well, perfect, in my mood is really just a job.

They did not respond back to my phone call. I left them a phone message because no one would answer. They had sent me an e-mail telling me that there would be a "hiring presentation" scheduled for today. I was kind of skeptical of the term "presentation," so I did not respond for a week, until yesterday. The e-mail instructed me to RSVP through a phone number. Then, when someone answered the phone, I would be notified of where this presentation was. Only nobody answered.

I called back. Still nothing. I looked up the company website on the Internet. I phoned them in a different way. In a different department. Still nothing. Finally, I sent an e-mail to the publisher/coordinator of the website/publication.

Today I received a phone call back. "We received your e-mail," they told me. Actually the person mentioned it twice. Then she said that they are rescheduling the presentation and that they would call me tomorrow or the next day. Score. They actually seemed excited to speak to me.

So that brings me to today's point. Phone calls can work. But so can e-mail.

E-mails asking/respectfully requesting a phone call can really work. If you word your e-mail right, results will happen.

People have responded much better to me when I send them an e-mail without the "To Whom It May Concern." People also respond better when your e-mail is obviously not generic. If you are copying and pasting, they probably can tell.

On a side note, one of my new favorite websites, consumerist.com can tell you about the US Post Office and their new "up-selling technique." Pretty much USPS will no longer offer the lowest rate to send a package unless you ask for it.

But back to a job. I'm going to dream a little.

Maybe someday, when I get a job and I'm trying to hire someone, I'll be able to explain why their copy and pasted e-mail didn't really strike me as sincere.

For cereal.