Resumes, Bios, and Profiles - an exercise in narcissism.

I recently started an internship with a great branding and marketing firm here in Denver.  The principal of the company is an incredibly intelligent, educated, and accomplished professional (and a good friend of mine) with a laundry list of professional achievements and accolades.  So, when he asked me to put together a personal bio to be included on the company website, I was super flattered.  He wants to include me as a representative of his company, his brand!  So I went to work, writing out a list of my accomplishments and capabilities... and hit a wall.  All of a sudden, my resume didn't appear that impressive.

So what did I do?  I compared myself to a Slap Chop.

She slices, dices, makes tuna salad...!  Hilarious, right?  I thought so.  But, this is what I always do when I'm uncomfortable: I make a funny.  Why was writing out my accomplishments and professional experiences making me uncomfortable all of a sudden?  Oh, that's right... I'm unemployed, and have written and re-written my resume about a hundred times while applying for jobs, to no avail.

I didn't realize the major toll this had taken on my ego until yesterday, when I literally couldn't get past the Slap Chop comparison.  It's not that I don't think I'm intelligent, educated and accomplished, because I am.  It's just that sitting down and trying to explain it on paper, again, was really difficult.

In the professional world, one has to be a bit narcissistic.  You're selling the greatest product in the world: you!  But what do you when your ego has been badly bruised, and all of a sudden that product isn't feeling so hot?  That feeling can make or break the search for a job or promotion, and can definitely get in the way of achieving any personal/professional goal.  Personally, I'm trying really hard to fake it 'til I make it.  Even when I don't feel great, I'm trying to get out there with my chest puffed out and my head held high.  Because, let's face it, if you don't think you're awesome, no one else will either.

I'm not going to let my bruised ego get in the way of an awesome opportunity.  So I'm going to step away from the bio, go to the gym and come back with a freshly oxygenated brain, and hopefully some endorphins.  The skinnier me I find at the gym can't hurt my inner narcissist either.

What do you do to give your professional ego a boost?

Taking the bull by the horns, and hoping not to get stabbed.

Last week, I came across two amazing job opportunities available with one company.  The jobs matched my experience perfectly, and the company sounds amazing!  It's a small operation with national reach, and asks its employees to wear many hats and to come together as a team to get the job done.  DONE!!  That is how I love to work, and fits my "jack of all trades" experience to the tee.

So I applied for both positions on LinkedIn, writing a personalized cover letter for each position and attaching my profile and resume.  And then... I never heard back.  That was over a week ago.  Yesterday, I saw that the hiring manager had viewed my LinkedIn profile.  That's good, right?  Or maybe not, as I haven't heard form them since...  AAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!  This is so frustrating!  I hate tossing my resume out into the abyss and hoping it sticks.

Not one to give up easily, I've been cyber-stalking the company since and am falling more and more in love.  Their social presence is funny and inventive, and garners a lot of feedback from their fans - always a good sign.  Their work is creative, and the company culture sounds laid back and yet hard-working: perfect!!  I found their address and am contemplating my next move: dropping off my resume in person and asking if the hiring manager is available to chat.  Bold?  Yes.  Arrogant?  Perhaps.  Stupid?  I hope not!

I really don't want to let this opportunity go without a fight.  So what would you do?  Would you walk in uninvited and ask to chat with the hiring manager, risking the potential of turning them off entirely by not going through the right channels, or by interrupting a busy day?  Or, maybe instead of turning them off, I'll impress them with my go-getter-ness and can-do attitude.  I don't know... I'm leaning towards just doing it, and taking the proverbial bull by the horns.  If you strongly envision me getting stabbed by a horn as a result, blogosphere, please let me know!!!

Cheap Eats: Walter's Pizzeria

If you find yourself in the Uptown neighborhood in need of a great lunch special, look no further than Walter's Pizzeria.

I joined my friend and fellow lunch-special enthusiast, Drew, here for lunch today, and I must say it's one of the best lunch deals I've found!  For just $5.99, you can get a fountain drink, house salad, and "slice" of cheese pizza (and by "slice", I mean a quarter of the pizza).

The restaurant sits on the corner of 19th and Pearl, with great patio space and indoor tables.

The house salad comes with your choice of dressing, and is pretty large!  I couldn't finish it, as I would much rather stuff my face with greasy pizza than a healthy salad.

I got a slice of cheese, and Drew sprung for some meatballs on top for a whopping $.50 extra.  The pizza was really good, and had a nice thin, flakey crust.

Still hungry?  You can get a cookie the size of your face for $.99.  Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the cookies are really big, and looked delicious!  I decided to control my inner fat kid and skipped dessert... this time.
Check it out and let me know what you think!  Have any other great lunch spots for cheap?  I'd love your suggestions!

Stopping to smell the... music.

 I was driving to a networking meeting yesterday, when "Summertime" by Sublime came on the radio.

I hadn't heard this song in AGES, but over the past two days, it comes on the radio every time I'm in the car.  Could it be a sign?  Hearing it in my car, driving with the windows down and the sun shining in put a smile on my face, and made me realize that I haven't had a summer off since... I can't remember!  In my frenzied search for a new job, I often forget to take time to appreciate the little blessings that have become a part of my unemployed life. Little blessings, like the fact that it's summer, and I don't have to sit in a cubicle staring longingly at the few rays of sunlight peeking through a tiny window above my walls, aching for a breath of fresh air and sunshine.  Instead, I get to sit at coffee shops and patios, chatting with new and interesting people and contemplating my next step.

So, while I'd really love to find an exciting place to work, and to know where my next paycheck is coming from, I'm going to take the time to stop and appreciate the little things.  If you see a girl driving down the street with the windows down, belting out a Sublime tune (off-key), that might be me stopping to smell the roses.

"Summertime and the livin's easy..."

I have no idea what i'm doing... and neither do you.

In my recently embarked upon quest for a meaningful career, it has become increasingly evident that I have no idea what I want to do with my life.  Actually, that's not true.  I have waayy too many ideas of what I want to do with my life, and am having an impossible time sticking with any single one of them.  How do I pick a profession or industry and decide that's what I want to do for the next however many years of my life?  I am experienced in and capable of so many different professional functions within lots of different industries*, so my path is definitely not clearly laid out for me.  Just to give you an idea of how disparate my job search is, here are some of the positions I'm currently applying for:

• Inventory Analyst/Merchadise Planner
• Writer
• Account Manager, Marketing or Ad Firm
• Consumer Goods Marketing
• Sustainability Expert
• Small business Ops Manager/Consultant

This is the first image that showed up when I googled "confused".  I find that hilarious.

Uh... yeah.  And I have experience doing the majority of that, just to give you an idea of how disjointed my resume looks.  Apparently no one is hiring for a "jack of all trades" these days.

I was in the middle of looking at Masters Degree programs in Urban Planning (to add some indecisive icing to my confusion cake), when a girlfriend called to ask if I wanted to grab coffee.  Yes!  So I left my cave and joined her for some much needed sunshine and caffeine.  We got to chatting about my job search, where I promptly diarrhea-style dumped on her about my lack of direction.  It turns out I'm not the only one.  She told me story after story of people she knows that went to school for very specific degrees, only to find they hated their chosen field or couldn't find a job in it, and are now going through a predicament very similar to my own.  Apparently it's a pretty common issue amongst my peers.

Should I be relieved?  Well, I was at first... but then I realized my lack of uniqueness in this quandary may be a bad thing... Are there thousands of late twenty-somethings roaming the interwebs looking for professional purpose just like I am?  And if so, how do I, with my random cornucopia of capabilities,  look better than the rest in case someone is hiring for my dream-jack-of-all-trades position??  Ugh.  I have no answers or insightful references to end this post with.  Maybe you do?

*I  have yet to discover whether this is helping or hindering my job search, although I am inclined to believe the latter, but that's a whole separate discussion.

Networking to a new job.

"It's all about who you know."  We've all heard that saying.  The hubs is particularly fond of saying this in regards to, well, everything: finding a job, getting an oil change, going to the dentist, getting a hair cut, taking a cab, and other relatively mundane daily activities.  I stubbornly ignored this advice.  I was so sure that I would find my dream job solely through the spectacularity of my resume floating through the cloud to land in the lap of my dream employer, who would then be so in awe of my paper representation he/she would hire me on the spot.  I also believed any dentist's office I walked into would care enough about me as a person to use every pain relieving measure at their disposal before attacking my mouth with those horrible torture tools for a "cleaning".  I was such a fool.

I have been networking A LOT lately, partly because I hate sitting at home, but mostly because I love hearing about what people do and how they got there. It turns out that who you know is really important, especially when looking for a job.  9 out of 10 people I talk to got their job through someone they know, not through an online application.  It is so much easier to stand out and make an impression in person than it is to stand out as a random resume online.  So make it a point to get out at least once a week and meet new people.  Here are some great ways to get out there:

• Volunteer.  There are non-profits for every professional organization out there: PR, Marketing, Education, Arts, etc.  There are even non-profits for non-profits.  Contact the local chapter of a non-profit that deals with an industry you are interested in working in and offer to volunteer for an event.  This is a great way to meet contacts at large and small organizations within your industry.
• Play Sports.  Every city has some kind of amateur, just-for-fun sports league.  These are a great way to meet new professionals, have some fun, and get some exercise!  Two of my favorite leagues in the Denver area are KIFAC and SportsMonster.
• Join a Networking group.  There are hundreds of networking groups dedicated to everything from shared hobbies to business sharing.  Check out Young Professional Networks or the Denver Chamber of Commerce.

I've been meeting a lot of great people through networking that are so genuinely caring and are happy to help.  I've even made some great new friends through the process.  While there haven't been any job offers yet, I've been learning a lot about some great companies that are hiring and have been getting some invaluable advice on my resume and application process, and am feeling clearer about what direction I want my career to take.  I even got a great referral for a new dentist.

Cheap Eats: Denver Street Food

Looking for cheap, tasty food with a dose of fresh air and sun?  Head over to Civic Center Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 11 and 2 for a food truck corral: the Civic Center EATS Outdoor Cafe.  There, you'll find shaded seating surrounded by 25 different trucks, serving everything from tacos to ice cream sandwiches.

The hubs and I went on Tuesday and made the rounds.  We started at the Cupcake Truck (I have a vicious sweet tooth) where we got Vanilla and Lemon cupcake.  

Then we hit up Stick it to Me for some Korean BBQ Organic Beef on a skewer.  It was dripping with flavor and really tender!

The hubs at Stick it to Me

After that we parted ways.  The hubs went to Pinche Tacos where he got Tacos la Lenguas.  I went to Quiero Arepas where I got the vegan arepa.  We reconvened to devour our food on the steps of the amphitheatre where I discovered my love for said arepa.  Seriously, if you've never had one, do it now!  They are made of a corn-meal bread that is baked to a crisp and filled with delicious ingredients, which in my case included plantains, black beans and avocados.  It made for a really tasty mix of flavors and textures and was pretty filling.  The hubs really enjoyed his lengua taco too, as told by the fact that he inhaled it within a minute.  The taco consisted of beef tongue tacos with onions, avocado, tomatillo salsa and guajillo honey mayo.  The hubs described it as "very tender, and the mayo added just the right amount of kick to play off the freshly squeezed lime juice."

(sorry for the lack of pictures.  I promise to deliver more food pics next time!)

We were stuffed, so we had the cupcakes later in the day and they were AMAZING!  The Lemon was both our favorite, with perfectly sweet/tart lemon cake and cream cheese frosting.  The Vanilla was also delicious with a moist vanilla cake, vanilla frosting and sprinkles.

Civic Center EATS will get you fed and on your way for well under $10.  It's also a great setting for networking* lunches, which is where I plan on having my next one!

*more on networking in a later post

And so it begins...

Hi. My name is Sam and I'm unemployed.

"Hi Sam," responds the similarly disaffected group around me.

Sometimes, the very admission of my unemployed status lifts a weight off my shoulders, as though my dirty secret has been aired out to dry. Other times, it leaves me in fear of the stigma that some, myself sometimes included, will thereafter attach to me. Do people question what got me into this situation? "What did she do wrong?" This stigma, whether self-inflicted or real, makes me wish for an AA-style forum, full of anonymous acceptance, understanding, and the errant success story of gainful employment.

My outlook is definitely not all doom and gloom. It's hard to be gloomy sitting on a sunny patio sipping an iced mate latte (as I currently am). I'm actually feeling a bit bi-polar about the whole thing. I bounce between euphoria over the endless possibilities the future holds, and despair over the loss of a job I held for almost three years (and over the lack of funds in my bank account). The way I was let go was really the most hurtful and disappointing part about this whole experience, but I'm not going to turn this blog into an angry and desperate rant. Thanks to this whole experience, I have a clearer view of what kind of company I want to work for, and how I want to be treated as an employee. Here's what I know:

• I will not work for a company that doesn't value its employees and their ideas. I want to be empowered to take personal ownership over the company's success, and not be micro-managed into complacency and mediocrity.
• I will work for a company that appreciates and thrives on creativity and forward-thinking, not one that tries to fit me into a stifling, archaic mold.
• I will not work for a company whose ethics don't align with my own. I can't spend 40 hours a week doing something I don't feel good about.
• I will work for a company that makes efforts to operate in an environmentally responsible way. That means little things, like no ridiculously wasteful packaging, shipping and printing practices. I'd like to be able to ask people to "consider the environment before printing this email" in my signature line (my last employer made me remove this as it didn't "represent what the company stands for." Seriously.)

With these goals in mind, I'm looking forward to taking on the future. I'm meeting a lot of great people and am excited to share my experiences, tips and tricks along the way. I'm also finding new, cheap and free ways to enjoy all that Denver has to offer.

The sunshine and beautiful summer breeze are helping me de-stigmatize myself. Maybe I'll even change my greeting...

Hi. My name is Sam and I'm excited to be here.