Mr. Utley: The Educator/Ski Lift Operator

Finally began my substitute teacher duties. Only about 10 months after I starting talking about it! Teaching the little ones. Started last week, so far have "taught" pre-K, Kindegarten and 3rd grade. It's actually kind of fun. The children seem to like me. They must be able to see deep down into my kindhearted soul.

It has all gone smoothly for the most part, with the exception of a small fight breaking out in my 3rd grade class and the one little wiseguy who felt it necessary to kick a pair of somebody's soiled, abandoned skivvies into the classroom from the bathroom. He was attempting to be a funny guy. So, how did I handle this situation you may wonder? I had this little pr*ck pick up said soiled skivvies and carry them down three floors to the lost and found. Nobody gets one by ol' Utley!

And I've also accepted a position at a local ski area. I will be working nights as a lift attendant. Or "liftie" to those in the industry. Standing outside on cold winter nights and helping the skiers safely onto the chairlift.

So here's where I stand for now: For the foreseeable future, I will be working most days teaching and most night at the ski area. Goal is to at least earn some respectable income, which in turn gives me more time to search for the "golden opportunity;" meaning the full time sales/marketing opportunity I've been looking for. Until then, I am getting in touch with my blue collar roots...

The month of October was actually pretty busy with interviews, although no bites. Some of the interviews I went on merely for the interviewing experience, and a couple of the interviews I was actually really interested in the position. Haven't heard an official "no" from the front-running company, but it has been a while now, so I'm really not banking on it. Thought the interview went so well!

So, loyal followers, I am still here, still plugging away. Perhaps this holiday season will bring some good luck for me, in the form of the dream gig. But we wait patiently. And in the meantime, you can find me wiping runny noses and making sure the little ones are sitting "criss coss applesauce" in their appropriate spots on the reading rug...

Making Strides

Utley is back b*tches! And the good news is I have been interviewing. Finally!

Over the past few weeks, I have interviewed at three different companies. And they shall remain nameless, in hopes of not "jinxing" any of the opportunities.

And oddly enough, the three opportunities are all very different. Similar in the fact that 2 are sales positions, and the other is a marketing position. One sales interview I got through LinkedIn, and the other through networking. The marketing position was obtained via responding to a posting on the company's website. Also, the marketing position requires obviously creativity and a marketing background, but also the ability to successfully interact with the sales staff. If anyone can work with other sales dbags, I certainly can!

I felt very prepared for all of the interviews. And I do attribute that to working with my Career Management Consultant, the CMC. I felt I have been prepated for all the questions asked, but also the proper questions to ask each respective company. So been happy with the CMC thus far. F'n should be, right, it was so f'n expensive! The only thing that disappoints me about the CMC is that they really do not help me find prospective companies. They are great with preparing me for interviews, and hopefully will continue to be as the interview process moves along. But I have to find the companies on my own, which I did expect to do, however, when I intitially met with the CMC, the woman spewed a bunch of happy horsesh*t about employers contacting them and having a tight network of recruiters etc; That must have been some serious BS, because nothing proactive has come from them. They will send me a Hoovers report on a company I'm interested in, but thats it. But, despite the minor b*tching, I am glad I have someone to brief and debrief with before and after each interview.

In other news, speaking with various people I know, all in their late 20's, it seems many people are "less than thrilled" with the current state of employment at this stage in the game. I even know some others who have done the same thing I have...taken an upaid sabbatical. More power to them! Let's all hope we all get what we're looking for.

If you have been reading this blog, you must have noticed the ups and downs I have been going through. Because I have had ups and downs, smiles and frowns... But it's really nice to get support from people. Got an email a couple weeks ago from an old college friend, first expressing her support for me, saying I did the right thing, but also expressing some worries, as I obviously haven't been writing as much. I've explained it as writer's block/not wanting to jinx anything/not wanting to write when I was experiencing little progress. Or write about the good times I was having, when it'd probably be better if I just shut the f up. But hearing from this person (who may or may not have been the former love of my life) really made me feel better and realize that I'm not alone, that it took some serious cojones to do what I did, and to have faith that it was the right move and it'll all work out it the end...

So, I thank you all who have reached out with their support and stay tuned, we just may be on to something...

Hey

I'm alive.

I really am. Obviously haven't been writing. Lost the urge a bit. Felt like I had nothing to say. Kept reporting doom and gloom. Which was putting me in not the best of moods. But I haven't forgotten about all of you. Or the blog. Just haven't been ready.

I turned 29 a couple weeks ago. Last year of my twenties. Wow. Let's hope this will be the year! The year for what you may ask? The year for everything, that's what. But mainly, the year to truly find myself...in many ways.

I'm not going to go into detail, but I've actually had a couple interviews lately. One of the companies I'd love to work for, the other not so much. I'm just so happy to finally get an interview. And I must say, I felt very comfortable and prepared in one of the interviews. The one I want. The other one...felt fine, but it was different.

I've also been working a bit. A little bit. But it's kind of cool, at least I think...I've been working putting up signs for my city's top candidate for mayor. Pays cash, gets me out of the house, and who knows, it may lead to a valuable connection with our future mayor.

Have an interview next week for substitute teaching. My thinking, is, of course, I need money, but to use this activity to gain positive momentum and land the big one.

So, I know its been a while, but just needed to back off for a minute, stop talking and start doing.

Time will tell if that's the "write" idea...

Its September...

I have been approached by numerous people who were a bit "concerned" shall we say, regarding the last post I put up. Which was about two weeks ago. Not gonna lie, past couple weeks were a little tough. However, after a tremendous outpouring of support, I ended up not resigning from the fantasy football league. As I said, the move was probably an overreaction.

And last week unfortunately, my grandmother passed. This was tough for me, as I had been spending a fair amount of time with her, going to dinner with her over the past 6 months, as well as visiting her weekly while she had been in the nursing home and hospital over the past 2 months. She was my last blood grandparent. So last week, my focus really was not on "finding a job."

Although I may have found a "lead" at the memorial service. I don't know if I mentioned it, but my uncle, who lives in St. Croix, owns an independent supermarket, and his father owned up to 6 grocery stores at one point. (You may recall a follower of the blog suggesting I get into the grocery business...) Well, my uncle introduced me to the VP of Sales at a company called Associated Grocers, a large wholesale grocery coop. This company I know for a fact is growing "muy rapido." We spoke for a bit, he asked for a resume, I sent it, and he suggested we get together in a couple weeks. So, who knows, maybe something will come out of this whole thing...

Also, I actually just had my first positive conversation with a recruiter. He was very nice, is in charge of the company's newly formed sales/marketing staffing division; we spoke for a while, he seemed "not unimpressed" with what I had to say and let me know about a position he currently had an opening for. An inside sales/technology role, which I'm probably not interested in at the time, but I liked the way the conversation went. So lets hope for some positive karma here...

No bites on anything Liberty Mutual yet either...

Almost Famous

What, are you like the star of your school?
They hate me.
You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.

I was reading an article earlier this morning by The Sports Guy, ESPN's Bill Simmons. He wrote a column comparing this current NBA Offseason to one of our generation's greatest films, "Almost Famous." He utilized quotes from the coming of age film to illustrate his points regarding certain NBA players.

Stemming from an incident that occurred last night/this morning, the above quote struck me. If you recall, the quote in the movie takes place during a conversation between the film's protagonist, awkward teen William Miller, played to a tee by Patrick Fugit, and the character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, a writer, who is giving young William advice. I think it is such an epic quote, one that rings so true for all of us, thinking back to our awkward high school years.

Anyway, a friend of mine, posted some sh*tty things about me in our Fantasy Football message board. Which, by the way, I am the commissioner of the league. This "friend" was reacting to an earlier post from me, and he went over the top, attacking my current state of "joblessness" and my "sense of entitlement", because I write a blog, talking, talking, talking, about work/job, not actually doing it.

Well, in probably an over reactionary move, I resigned my post as Commish and also resigned from the league. F that.

I will admit, I am facing an uphill battle at this stage in the game, one which I created for myself. But, in the face adversity, one must buckle down, suck it up, and overcome. Adapt and overcome, that is. I learned that theory and college and try to live by it.

My goal is to learn from this low point in my life. Learn from it. Grow from it. And perservere from it. Have it make me a better man. A better man who will use this sh*t as fuel on my way to the top.

And on that way to the top, "I'll see you again, on your long journey to the middle."

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Proactively called a meeting with the CMC (Career Management Consultant) on Monday. As an attempt to keep myself motivated, check in, get some fresh ideas, etc; We went back over the fundamentals of the job search campaign. Which was good. I always leave that place feeling confident. He tells me I will get a job, companies would kill to have someone like me, that the fruits of my labor will pay off soon enough. When people get back to reality in September and sh*t. I hope that is true! Really just like to get in front of a live person. With a personality.

As you loyal followers may have remembered, I have/had decided I wanted to solely pursue the Insurance field, mainly Group Benefits Wholesaling...got a friend who does well, etc; This is not totally out, however I recently have been more focused not on that gig, but getting into a very reputable local company, Libery Mutual. I know 5-6 people who work there, one of whom is a very good friend. Who after, let's say seven years of working there, has 5 weeks of vacation, and has just been granted to go on a sabbatical. A real sabbatical, not like mine...

None of this has anything to do with the type of work I'll be doing. Does it even matter? I want to make good money, get benefits, have a great opportunity for upward mobility. I want to be a big shot. It's weird. I have networked, spoken, socialized, drank with many on these so-called "big shots." And I fit in, can hold my own, whether it comes do conversation, wit, look, whatever. Hence, I'd like to put myself in an opportunity, where if I work hard, do good work, get along with people, I can move up. Financially and in status. Because I can handle it. I have told people no matter what position you put me in, I'll do it and do it well. Yeah.

So I want to get into Liberty Mutual. I've applied for 1 job, which now that I think of it, I posted the rejection letter. Maybe I should go back and read these posts sometime. Anyway, the other position I have not heard back from, but my app was submitted through a friend. Not sabbatical friend. Other guy, whom I was told to submit through by another guy I know, who's a VP. Apparently, this VP cannot submit apps at his level. But, there's got to be some level of influence...

I saw another job opening that looked super cool, but again, its an "MBA Preferred" position. I know I can do the job, but I don't want to just submit to every position I see..., if I applied to that position, it'd make 3 I submitted for. I don't want to look like some type of a**hole here, you know?

My next move is to investigate a little deeper into the personnel, try to find SOMEONE who will meet with me, to let them see me in person, to see I'm a big stud. Also contact VP friend and see if he has any other bright ideas...or recommendations or referrals...Got to find some way in the door! I know, I know, patience....

On a positive, un-job related note, last week I fired an 86, a career low, on the golf course, while at the same type beating my good friend, who is way better than me and always beats me. Fired a 90 this week. Like I said, Un Job related...

Today, while doing these activities, writing letters, net surfing, researching, etc; my goal is to not wear a shirt the entire day. I think I can do it, as long as I don't decided to go to the store. Wish me luck. A real hero.

I'm Back

Back to the blog on this fine Monday in August. Yes, I'm aware no posts last week. If anyone is still reading and following along on this journey called On Sabbatical.

Last Monday, while leaving the gym, I got notice that I would not be invited in for an interview at Lewtan, the company I applied to for a sales position, and where I also knew several people working there. Apparently not enough of a finance background. Although deep down I knew I didn't really want the position, I would have at least liked to be asked in for an interview. But things happen for reasons, so I'm hoping, big picture, this was a good thing.

Despite perhaps not being 100% super psyched about the Lewtan position, the news last Monday kind of bummed me out. Put me in a bit of a funk. You see, I applied for 2 positions recently where I knew a lot of people employed at said company. I was hoping that the whole "its not what you know, but who you know thing" would come to play. But is hasn't yet. But I know I need to be patient during this process.

However, one of my contacts at Liberty Mutual was able to cheer me up a bit. He explained that he did not get into Liberty until the 2nd or 3rd job he applied for, despite having a very good contact high up within the company. And, as we know, I was denied for the first position I applied for. I applied for position #2 earlier today. I'm thinking I'd really like to get into Liberty Mutual. Big company, which means plenty of money to pay, lots of room for upward mobility, great benefits, and lots of positions available (not necessarily available know, but in the future) whether they are sales or marketing roles.

As with getting an interview, I know I can make a positive impact within a company once I get in front of an actual live person. This has always been the case. Just need to get the interview first.

I have been writing some good cover letters, and I believe my resume is legit. So I wait and keep my eye on prospective opportunities.

However, when I applied to Lewtan, my friend noticed a couple mistakes in my resume. Of course I should have noticed these; my friend then wondered if the CMC I hired came up with this. He did put the resume together. For all the money I paid this company, I was a little bummed that there were typos. I had proofread it, but just hadn't seen the errors. And I had been sending out this resume to numerous companies and execs...maybe they didn't notice. Even though the resume content is ultimately up to me, I was upset that the errors were there in the first place. So...confidence in calling anyone I sent the bad resumes to was, shall we say, lacking.

So last Thursday took off for a brief family vacation up to Vermont. Should have been a carefree, relaxing time, but family issues kind of stressed me out a bit. So I did escape for a day to a friends house and went up to beautiful Lake Champlain, where we took the boat out for a terrific day on the big lake. Something about being on water that has a calming effect on me.

State of mind is better starting this week so far...this question is, can I roll with it? Hopefully roll with it better than the Red Sox have been rolling since the trade deadline...

Ask and Ye Shall Recieve

One must be careful what they wish for:

Thank you for your application for the position of Marketing Analyst-07179. At this time we have decided to pursue other candidates whose background and skills more closely match our requirements for this position.

Although we have decided not to proceed with your candidacy for this position we will retain your candidate file in our database and may inform you of job openings that match your profile if you selected this option. We also invite you to visit http://www.libertymutual.com regularly and apply to openings that are suited to your qualifications and of interest to you.

We thank you for your interest and wish you all the best in your career.



Best regards,
Human Resources Department

CCCCCheck it

It's finally summer here in New England! Sweltering humidity, uncomfortable heat, loud cracking T storms....yes, the dog days are summer are here. Suck it.

Last weekend I participated in a New England summer tradition that is, for lack of a better term, the absolute balls. Beach on the coast of Maine, big waves, body surfing, urinating in the ocean, steamers, chowda, burgers, seasonal cocktails, music, campfire and great company. Those/these are the times from which memories are made.

Applied to another job today. And keep in mind, I'm NOT simply applying for jobs for the hell of it. I'm looking for a CAREER; a position that will be both personally and professionally rewarding for years to come. The position today is with Anthem BC/BS. Specialty Sales Manager. "Responsible for acquiring new specialty business through brokers in conjunction with the health account executive..." This obviously sounds like a manager's role, but I have been looking for the broker-sales model, so why not?

The frustrating thing for me right now is that although I applied for a couple jobs in the past 10 days or so (where I know 4-5 people at each company) I have yet to hear back from either about scheduling an interview. It is frustrating because of all the unknowns: do they not want me? will they let me know if they don't want me? Have they just not gotten around to calling yet? Will they call at all? Am I qualified? When will they call? You get the point. But we know this already. Companies hiring typically do not have the same urgency as the actual job seeker themselves. Boo who. Boo mothagrabbin' who I say!

It's Friday...

and, as the immortal Ice Cube stated in the epic film Friday, "ain't got no job, ain't got sh*t to do..." Fill in the blanks with the rest if you like.

I will now share an recap of a conversation I recently had with a Mutual of Omaha District Manager. If you recall, I believe I posted the initial email I sent him. Very professional. I'd been told by a recruiter that I should investigate Mutual of Omaha's Life Experience Hire Group Benefits Rep program. So I respond to this gent's job posting on LinkedIn. I kind of knew he'd be looking to hire straight commission Insurance Agents, but figured I could just talk to him and pick his brain. Get pointed in the right direction, if you will. We finally caught up and oh my, what a dbag. Hence, I will now refer to him as "said dbag."

Said dbag first asks what I've been up to. I tell him my story. I mention what I like about sales and don't like, and what type of sales job I'm looking for. And not looking for. After saying I didn't want the type of gig where I'd have to sell all my friends and family and work on straight commission he immediately got defensive. I then told him how I had a friend who does very well in the group benefits field. And I was looking for a wholesale role.

Said dbag than proceeds to jump on his soap box and belt out quite a soliloquy; saying he's been a wholesaler forever and companies only want to promote from within; if you don't bring in tons of business they will fire you. "If you don't have established relationships you will not succeed. The days of wholesale reps making 250, 300k are over" he whined. "Why is that?" I ask, looking for a somewhat constructive answer. "Because that's how it is", lamented said dbag. I'd already been thinking that this guy sounded like he'd been burned in the past; that he'd been bent over a time or two...at his request. But after his "because that's how it is" line I knew this guy was a joke. Even if he was right, he was a joke.

I then mention the name of the recruiter who told me to check out Mutual of Omaha for group opportunities. And by the way, I felt this recruiter was super professional, knowledgeable, and an overall useful asset. Said dbag says first that, M of O doesn't have wholesale reps. Ummm, OK. Then he says that the recruiter I spoke with "was OK...he's not a heavy hitter by any means." At this point, said dbag sounded like whiny little b*tch. Bashing recruiters? Come on. Really, speaking negatively about anyone, especially during the first conversation, is quite tacky. Ashy. Very little class. Thats why we call said dbag, "Said dbag." The conversation didn't last much longer. I asked if knew of anyone I could speak with further, or could make any recommendations. He rattled off a few names, didn't know how to spell them and didn't give company names along with them. OK, thanks for your time, said dbag.

This exchange basically reminded me that there are going to be those people in any profession. The bottom feeders. The dbags. The people who don't get it. The people who have a chip on their shoulder. The people who don't have a lot of friends. The people who are negative, and have an overall negative impact on society. And as is the theme with my life these days and my job search, one must remain positive, because you have to sift through a lot of BS in order to make it in the world. There's so many obstacles to hurdle, it's difficult to stay positive and focused, but we try. We try. We vent in blogs. Even if we don't vent in blogs as we did a few months ago...but I digress...

Progress?

Saw Elton John/Billy Joel at Gillette this past weekend. Went down on a bus with nearly 50 people. Epic times. One of the better live shows I've seen. I suggest you check it out.

Applied for two positions in the past few days. Not just applied for the sake of applying, but I am actually interested in the positions. The first of which is a sales position, a higher end position, like I've been looking for. I know 5 employees at this company. Should at least be able to get an interview, right?

The second is a bit different. It's a non-sales role. Marketing Analyst to be exact. And whadya know, I was a marketing major in college. Though my experience has been predominantly in sales (which falls under the marketing category), I do possess some basic marketing knowledge. Anyway, the position seems great, with tremendous upward mobility, and the opportunity to present in front of "senior level execs". Get me in front of a room full of senior level execs, and look out, the possibilities may be endless. However, only if they have personalities. Also know 4 people who work there. Large company, so not sure how that whole systems works...but we shall see.

So, why don't we keep our fingers crossed here for the time being, and see what the near future holds for one Mr. Utley...

Rolling On

So one thing I've learned throughout this process is that people do not call back. This should not be a shocking revelation to me, with all my years of sales experience, leaving voice mails only to never hear back from that person again, until that one lucky day when you catch them on the phone. I wonder what people think when they listen to my voice mails? They must not think much!

On somewhat of a positive note, I applied for a job at a company called Lewtan Technologies. I saw an opening online, and lo and behold I know about 5 people who work for that company. So I contacted a friend of mine who is submitting my resume. The company is made up of not only Bentley College alums, like myself, but also alums of my old fraternity. So if I can't get an interview here...well, then we may have issues.

The field is a bit different than the insurance gigs I've been shooting for, but I think its close to the type of high end sale I've been looking for, and I believe it pays well. Plus a "warm" referral. Who knows, we may have stumbled upon something. We may have not.

What I have started thinking about is when I do land that job, what I will write about, watching this thing come full circle, wondering if it was worth it, what I've learned, etc;

But we are definitely not there yet, so let's not count chickens here.

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

I read the following blog this morning, from Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist. While not really a Palin fan...I like the tone of this article and wanted to share...

Sarah Palin's resignation inspires me

There are a million times we intuitively know what we should be doing in our careers, but the chatter around us makes us question ourselves. Too much. If I have one regret in my career it’s that I didn’t trust myself more, earlier.

Watching Sarah Palin resign from her governor post in Alaska inspires me to be more brave in my own career. She’s running her career in ways I intuitively think we should all be running our careers. And she’s reflecting my own experience back to me in a positive way: That breaking new ground is difficult but it pays off.

Here are four new career management ideas that Sarah Palin's modeling, in an inspiring way, right now:

1. Get out of a job when you're done doing it

We know that the old ways of managing a career aren’t working. But it’s so scary to try something new. For example, you know you should job hop, but it’s not what careers used to be. And it’s scary. People are constantly telling you you’ll destroy your career if you job hop.

But Palin is refusing to waste her time in the Alaska governor’s office. Who can blame her? It’s a lot of small-issue local politics that take away from her establishing big, national-level ideas. Of course quitting a local job is a good idea if you want to run for national office.

But most people who run for national office pretend to still be in their local-level office. When McCain announced he paused his presidential campaign to go back to congress, he was widely mocked, because really, if you are running for president, you can’t be in congress. But for some reason we have been embracing the bullshit value that it’s more important to stay in your job and perform badly than to admit you want to change jobs.

I like that Palin refuses to kowtow to the idea that you have to finish a job just because you started it. There is always someone else who would love the job that you're leaving out of boredom. This is true of Palin, and all of us as well.

2. Ideas matter, not your resume

We don’t need to elect someone based on their resume because the world changes too fast for experience to be a huge factor. On top of that, the internet makes most information available to everyone, so putting in long hours gathering knowledge is not as valuable anymore. Authority isn't what it used to be — it's based on what idea you have right now, not what you've done in the past.

We should judge people for their ideas, not their experience. I think we know this intuitively, especially young people: At my company, Brazen Careerist, we talk all the time about how your ideas are your resume – and you should aim to be known for your online conversation rather than for your resume.

If you put a resume up on online, the older people look better than the younger people. But the resume gives a false sense that older means wiser. Palin knows this, so she’s not afraid to break resume rules – like leaving a job in the middle, and aiming for a job largely outside of her experience.

3. Careers are built on teams and networks

Today Palin announced that she’s building a right-of-center coalition. This should not surprise anyone who uses social media to manage their career, because the career of the new millennium is about connections. A resume of experience is only valuable if the experience creates a network of people who genuinely care about you. Building your personal brand only matters if your brand stands for helping people create value in their lives. And online connections are only good if you are able to translate that to an offline life.

Palin knows all this instinctively. She is ditching the governor’s job, which, by nature, is about helping people in Alaska, and she is making herself available to help a wider range of people. So smart. She is campaigning across to help people she respects.

And she’s building a team, which makes sense because the best way to sidestep the need for experience is with teams. Entrepreneurs overcome their lack of skills by taking on partners. Middle managers overcome their lack of authority in the hierarchy by building internal coalitions. Palin is doing what we should all do: form teams in order to fast-track our lives beyond our limited experience.

4. No one controls your career except you

She could do what she’s supposed to – finish up her job, focus on state-level politics, and talk to the press about ethics problems. But that’s not what she wants to do. She isn’t complaining that other people are thwarting her. She’s not letting them.

So many people complain about being controlled by sexual harassment, unfair treatment, bad bosses, etc. But we each have power to control our own career. We can go where we can do what we want, how we want. We have to take risks to do that, though. We have to believe in ourselves and our own vision for what’s best.

Palin does this. She does not make it look easy. She makes it look smart, though. And that might be just what we need to inspire the same bravery in our own careers.

Shake n Bake

As I was going about my business over the past few days, a couple interesting things came about. I found out one old contact of mine just got a job in employee benefits...not wholesaling, but selling to companies. Straight commission. So, who knows something may come from that contact down the road.

During a conversation with another contact, I was told how the whole face of healthcare is about to change, due to our man Obams trying to shake things up. I really don't know if that's a good or a bad thing for me trying to break into that industry. Can't be good, but who knows. Maybe it'll be good for my currently uninsured arse.

Now I have been sending out some nice cover letter/resume combos to selected individuals. One of these individuals was Charlie Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim. I saw him speak last winter; topic was "Blogging for Business." Baker writes a healtcare blog. So I thought perhaps that could be a "warm lead" as we say in the trade. So what do I see front page on Yahoo! yesterday. Baker resigned as CEO of Pilgrim...to set up a campaign to run for Guvna of the Commonwealth! For those who didn't understand that, what I meant to say is he is running for Governor of Massachusetts. Head Masshole, if you will. Too bad I didn't get a hold of him sooner. Although I am no Masshole.

However I am a bit conflicted because a headhunter I've been speaking with told me not to go after specific healthcare providers, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Harvard Pilgrim, because they are basically just order takers, and once on that side of the industry it is difficult to cross over, as one can easily be pigeonholed. And I'm no pigeon. He also said stay away for The Hartford Group, because their sh*t is hitting the proverbial fan.

Submitted my resume to an RVP at John Hancock who I was introduced (online) to. He was friendly. Planting seeds, seeds, I am planting.

Saw a job posting on LinkedIn looking for finance/insurance professionals in NH. I emailed the chap, along with a nice note. Actually, I'm going to include the note, for everyone to judge. I'm pretty sure he's looking for "agents" meaning selling insurance/financial stuff to consumers. Remember, folks, I'm looking for B to B. Anyway, I think the note was both professional and appropriate:

Good afternoon Clarke,

I am a life experience sales professional, who was recommended by a friend of mine to explore the field of the Group Benefits Representative.

One of the companies he suggested I reach out to was Mutual of Omaha. I am a seasoned sales professional, with experience in both "pound the pavement" sales as well as in account executive/wholesale roles. As a result of these experiences, I feel I would make a very successful Group Rep.

While I realize your company may not have any current openings, I would love to speak with you about Mutual of Omaha and/or if you have any recommendations.

Sincerely,

Utley

Not bad right? I had been told by this headhunter to check out M of O for the Group Benefits thing. Supposedly, they tend to hire Life Experience Reps, and that's me! So this guy got right back to me, invited me to connect on LinkedIn and told me to call him. Done. So we'll see what he has to say, maybe meet, and take it from there. I tell ya, nobody seems to ever answer the phone these days...

Also located a regional sales office for another company that does what I'm looking for; called up, got the name of the local sales mgr and sent him the nice letter/res combo. Follow up call next week. This is exactly what the headhunter told me to do, so...

So trying to keep busy and laying the groundwork here. It'll pay off. Sooner than later, I'm hoping. At least that's what I keep telling myself!

Have a wonderful weekend people. 3 posts this week, getting back up to speed here. And yesterday's...song I've been listening to, really nice, so I felt I share it. Sometimes we all just want to live like Jose...

The Life

It was early one mornin’
Playa del Carmen
That’s when I first met Jose
He had a 12 foot Schooner
A 3 foot cooler
Full of the catch of the day
And he was wrinkled from grinnin’
From all of the sun he had been in
He was barefoot, cerveza in hand
He said “Gracias senor”, when I paid him too much for
All of the Snapper he had
Now I told him my friend it ain’t nothin’
In the best broken Spanish I knew
I said I make a good livin’
Back home where I’m from
He smiled and said Amigo me too

He said I fish and I play my guitar
I laugh at the bar with my friends
I go home to my wife
I pray every night
I can do it all over again

Somewhere over Texas
I thought of my Lexus
And all the stuff I work so hard for
And all the things that I’ve gathered
From climbing that ladder
Didn’t make much sense anymore
They say my nest egg ain’t ready to hatch yet
They keep holding my feet to the fire
They call it paying the price
So that one day in life
I’ll have what I need to retire

And just fish
And play my guitar
And laugh at the bar with my friends
And go home to my wife
And pray every night
I can do it all over again

And to think that I thought for a while there that I had it made
When the truth is I’m really just dying
To live like Jose

And just fish
Play my guitar
Laugh at the bar with my friends
Go home to my wife
Pray every night
I can do it all over again

Wouldn’t that be the life?
Wouldn’t that be the life?

Sittin on the Dock of the Bay

Spent a nice holiday weekend down at the Cape. Good company, times and food were all prevalent. BBQ's, lobsta, golf, beach, Otis Redding are a few images of the weekend that come to mind. In regards to "On Sabbatical" I did have an opportunity (more than one actually) to state my case to some qualified listeners.

The more I travel around and meet new people, the more "unemployed" I find. I proves to be very interesting just to see how everyone is spending their time...

Saturday evening, the 4th of July, I attended a BBQ a friends home, where I was staying. The neighbors were invited over, only after a walk through tour of their new motor coach. It was like 50 ft long or something ridiculous. The owner of this coach was a character, and it wasn't long before we started talking business.

As I made sure the guests cups were never empty (with some fine American wine on the holiday), a certain rapport was developed and they soon asked what such a charming gentleman of my age and stature did for work. I then explained my situation and the type of career I am now looking for. The area of insurance. My friend's father replied, "Well, that's smart, going to where all the money goes to."

I then spoke of my family history, on one side there are the pharmacy entrepreneurs, and on the other, the grocery entrepreneurs. I feel the entrepreneurial spirit runs in my blood, but the question is where do I go with that? The jovial fellow I was speaking with then told me if I wanted to make money I should be a grocer. I said that sounded great, but I can't just go into buying/owning something just like that. Time will tell I suppose.

In the meantime, I continue to plant seeds, in hopes of sprouting something very lucrative, rewarding, totally awesome, etc;

dot dot dot

Chip Shot

Chipping away over here. That's all I can say at this point. Chip chip chipping away... as we in the Northeast continue to experience rainy day after rainy day after rainy day. As my man Jimmy Buffett says, ...I wanna go back to the island, where the shrimp boats tie up to the pil'n; gimme oysters and beer, for dinner every day of the year, and I'll feel fine...

And yes I did go to the Buffett show last Saturday, only to get down poured/hailed on for about 3 hours in the parking lot. But I digress.

So last week I had a mock interview on camera with the old CMC. This was very useful, as seeing yourself on film can help get rid of some bad habits when speaking, or interviewing. That is, once I get an interview! Either way, apparently I nailed it, giving me a little dose of confidence, which sometimes is needed these days.

Also spoke the recruiter my friend in the biz was dealing with. Great guy, very professional, with a vast amount of knowledge in the Group Benefits industry. Unfortunately, he generally works with experience Group Reps, not the "life experience hire" as people like me are known. He did say the field I am shooting for might be the best career going these days, so thats nice. Now just a matter of breaking in. He provided me a list of companies to target, who hire more LEH's (life experience hires) than others.

He mentioned the one company I should shoot for is the same company my friend works for down in Philly. However, they recently had an open position in this area. I passed my old resume to my friend to pass to his boss. Figured perhaps I could just get a meeting with the guy. Well the guy wanted nothing to do with me. Apparently he got a "bad feeling" about me. Well f this guy, no one's ever got a bad feeling about me in their life, mf'er! I'm not quite convinced my buddy did a great job "selling" me to his boss, but that's besides the point. My experience is fitting for the position...but if this guy doesn't even want to speak, meet with me and can make a decision based on a piece of paper, well, pardon me, he just may be a _______ (insert profane name here).

But of course, I expect this type of stuff. No said it would be easy. Let's only hope it'll be worth it. I was told a while back that this job search/interview process will go something like this: no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, yes. If that's the case, I've already got a few no's under the belt, so that's a start!

And Ted, see last blog when I say keep your comments to yourself! No, of course, I welcome comments, but remember way back when, we were taught as youngsters, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?"

Yeah, exactly.

Well Hello There

Well, here I am, back in action after a brief hiatus. There was just nothing flowing in the head for a short period of time. Needed some mental time off. Yeah, I know, keep your comments to yourself. But what I have done in the past week or so, I think, demonstrates I have some made some slight progress.

I have decided that I'd like to get into the insurance field. A friend of mine does pretty well in a wholesale role, selling group policies to brokers, so that's what I'm shooting for, but we shall see where I will end up.

I have established a series of different channels through which I am attempting pursue my goal, and at the mean time, get pointed in the right direction. The direction of someone seeing my potential and choosing to hire me.

Last week I met with a family friend who owns an insurance agency. While he was a bit unfamiliar with what type of position I was looking for, he did offer to make a few calls on my behalf and promised to get back to me this week.

My friend in the business is currently working with an insurance recruiter, who has said he will pass my info along.

An old fraternity brother, who I've reconnected with at a recent bachelor party/wedding is an executive at a large, reputable insurance company. We have spoken and are working on this avenue.

I have identified a couple execs at 2 other large reputable insurance companies who I am targeting for the "informational interview" routine. Hope to meet, ask for recommendations, hope they like me and see potential.

I have crafted a cover letter/resume combo targeting these execs. One that I spoke with was impressed by this method of attack. Let's hope others are as well.

Goal for this week is to get some of those execs on the phone and book some meetings. Of course, easier said then done.

Another thing to contemplate is I may have the opportunity to go on a sailing trip next week, heading out of Boston, to Mystic, CT to Block Island, RI, to Nantucket for 4th of July weekend, than back to Boston. This, of course, seems like it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Although given my circumstances (time, money, lack of job, should be looking for one, etc), I'm not sure if I should do this or not.

What do we think?

DSL's

So activity the past couple days consists of attempting to implement my new strategy: use various techniques to get in front of decision makers, or in laymen's term some mf'er who will hire me, hire me to a very lucrative position at that. I have drafted some very nice cover letters, made a phone call or two to figure who to send them to, then follow up. Haven't hit follow up stage yet. I of course, also respond to some job board postings, see if any of my contacts know something or can give me any bright ideas of who to speak with etc; My hope is within a few weeks of doing this consistently we will have some bites.

Yes, it has dawned on me the 4+ months into this sabbatical I am just now beginning to seriously search for something. Let's just say it has taken me a while to get "focused". On a positive note, we now have a new printer! Luckily, I have quite a support team that gives me...support. Now I can print up my own sh*t.

Also updated my LinkedIn profile the other day to align with my new resume, complete with new descriptions under all of the jobs I have had. I also removed the blog link...don't get me wrong I am in no way embarrassed etc; of the blog; however, if someone I am sending a letter to were to go on LinkedIn, see I have a blog, click on it, and see the term "f'n dbag", perhaps that may come off as unprofessional. But hopefully I won't have any "f'n dbags" looking into my actions.

At this point I'm thinking I really want the insurance wholesale gig. Just the way I am leaning. Wholesale is good. Not to say there's nothing else out there, but just they way the heart is going at the moment.

Had a slew of work done to my '06 Infiniti Tuesday. Nearly $500. Cars are awesome.

Watched the movie "Changeling" last night. Angelina looked a bit too skinny for this 1920's period piece...But I bet she could polish the chrome on a trailer hitch very nicely with those DSL's. Oh yeah, there was the line, and I just crossed it. Ooh, boy, Utley, how we digress...

I am contemplating wearing a skinny tie to a wedding this weekend. Not gay skinny, but cool skinny. However, I am unsure the skinny tie pairs well with a 3 button suitcoat. Somebody give me some tips, before I have to google "skinny tie fashion faux paus..." I like to make a statement at a wedding...I'll typically go with a nice suit, shirt combo, sans tie. My thought is I wear a tie every f'n day, why do so for a wedding. Actually, I don't wear a tie every day now, but you get the point. I have utilized the pocket square as well at times. Don't want to look like every other person there, who clearly is not as sophisticated as I am...

Rainy Day Rant

Needless to say, last weeks posts sucked, as I knew, but was reminded when a follower commented and said I was running in circles. Kind of an eye opener. My blogs will generally suck if I feel constricted, am not feeling super about myself, or any other relatable reason. A main reason for this I feel is that over the past couple of weeks, certain circumstances of mine have changed and perhaps I am not feeling as free and relaxed...

And of course my main goal right now is not to pen awesome blogs, but to find a career, and perhaps sometimes I forget that. I also feel I am using the f'n word perhaps too much. On that note one reason I feel the blogs have sucked or been nonexistent relates to a post I saw the other day on barstoolsports.com. There was a post about how the blogger's parents never see him and only follow him by the blog. Well, my blog is nowhere near as smutty or popular, but I understand what he's saying here. Lately I will write a blog and later get an email from my parents saying, "why didn't you go to the networking event?" or "maybe you should spend more time looking for jobs" or "you are a dbag" or things along those lines. Which has taken a bit of a toll on me, but we must work through it. Poor Utley, wah, wah, wah...

I did begin a structured approach to the hunt yesterday...until I had to bring my car to the dealership, only to fail the state inspection. So I have no inspection sticker, 20 days plates which I got yesterday, AND ALSO EXPIRED YESTERDAY, have to go to the shop this afternoon to get brake pads and god knows what else, than go back to the dealership tomorrow to get the inspection sticker, than go to City Hall to register the car, than fork over an exorbitant sum of money for god knows what. All for buying out my leased vehicle.

And I continue to be engaged in battle of the non working printers, but that may all change this afternoon. Its like trying to hammer a nail with a f'n sponge. Just making things that much more difficult.

Oh, yes, the bachelor party. One of the better I have attended, if not the best. Golf, white water rafting, river house, food, alcohol, whores I mean strippers (yes arranged at the 11th hour) and a real good crew. Memorable moments indeed. Phenomenal road trip. End of story.

Things (continued)...

So I didn't attend the big networking shindig down in Boston last night. I know I probably should have. Hey, what can I say I'm not perfect. Far from it. Got tied up doing "things'', see yesterday, and didn't do it. What can I say. We win some, we lose some. The thought of schmoozing, seeing some old dbags from college, and 2 hours in the car just didn't appeal to me last night, considering the busy day and 4 hours in the car I will be partaking in later today. So I told myself if I were to miss this event, I had to be productive about it. I believe I was...

What I did do was fix that printer of mine (75%)...its now printing, however with a large smudge running down the whole right side of the page. Baby steps. I also officially submitted my first resume to a company I'd like to work for. This may be considered monumental, since it's the first of the "new" resumes I have submitted. It is perhaps 1000 times better than the old ones I made up, so we'll see how it goes. I will also follow up with a targeted cover letter via mail. I will attempt to do this regularly as part of a structured regimen that will begin Monday.

I was also contacted by a recruiter (I think) via LinkedIn yesterday and I followed up w/ her. I wonder how people like this find me. Phone tag, you're it.

Laundry was also done, needed for the trip this weekend up to God knows where, Maine. God knows where, Maine, for a bachelor party minus female entertainment. I thought it was kind of a prerequisite. But I guess we shall see...

So Monday starts a new chapter for me. The chapter where I actually approach this thing with some structure, with some goals and strategies. Like a young Vince Lombardi.

Yes, think of me as a young Vince Lombardi, leading my team to the promised land. My team being me, and the promised land being eternal consciousness (aka personally and professionally rewarding career.)

Here we go.

Things...

So I sit here today, writing a blog in my underwear, drinking a nice, hot cup of coffee from my "Life is Good" mug, fresh off the morning workout. Hot topics for today are...

Today I have my last meeting with CMC before the "launch", meaning when I start getting my newly crafted resumes and cover letters out to some targeted companies/individuals, following the marketing campaign that is the point of this whole thing. This is exciting, and also a chance to see if this thing will work.

I am supposed to attend a "Speed Networking" Event down in Boston tonight, sponsored by my college alumni association. I know this is the proper thing to do, as "you never know...", however I just really don't want to go. Stay tuned and I guess we'll soon find out the answer.

My printer has been busted forever and I just can't seem to fix it. It would really come in handy these days, as I should probably be printing up resumes on nice paper, etc;

I leave tomorrow late afternoon to head up down'east Maine for a bachelor party. Golfing, whitewater rafting, male bonding are just some of the things that are on the docket. And just received an email, that due to our rural location, female entertainment has been cancelled. You may discuss this amongst yourselves.

I fired a career low 87 on the golf course last Sunday. At least some things are progressing.

But, in all seriousness, we are making progress here. Just trust me on that one...

Intro to Cake Baking

So I have been asked by more than 1 person lately just what the f I am waiting for. Well, as we know, I have hired this CMC (Career Management Consultant)* to aid me in this process called finding employment that will get me going. That will propel me from bed every morning. I got a first look at the new resume yesterday, gotta say it looks pretty good. According to this resume, I can leap small buildings in a single bound and perform open heart surgery with a ball-point pen...in a crowded opera house.

I have two more meetings next week with CMC and I will be turned loose for a bit, to use my newfound knowledge to see where it leads. Start getting some nice resumes out there, and also see what the old CMC can dig up as well. There's got to be something. So, again, why is everything taking so long? Well, let me try to put this into laymen's terms. Or provide an analogy, if you will.

Say I'm baking a cake. I want to do it right. F'n best cake ever. I put together a list of ingredients. Chocolate, coconut, eggs, sugar, whatever, all that sh*t. I go to the store and get these ingredients, making sure everything is just right. I return to the kitchen. Start preparing, again making sure everything is mixed properly, texture is right, etc; Now I don't bake cakes, but let's say bake time is 1 hour. I put the cake in the oven. Now, do get so antsy and fired up, sh*t my pants and take the cake out after 2o minutes and eat it? Of course not. I make sure the cake is fully cooked before enjoying it.

Hence, right now, for me, the cake is in the oven.

There you have it. Contemplate that morsel of philosophic deepness over the weekend.

And oh yeah, for those who think it's one big picnic here On Sabbatical, I did turn down a ticket to go see Phish at Fenway Park Sunday night. Now I love concerts. Good concerts that is. And I've never seen Phish, have always wanted to, there's a fun crew going, and Fenway would be the perfect buffer concert to see them for the first time, (rather than going to one of those week-long festivals, where bathing is optional. Or should I say frowned upon.) Oh yeah, penthouse hotel suite as well. Turned it all down. Trying to be responsible. For once. Or twice.

I have a meeting with CMC Monday morning, and believe it or not, I am eager to get this process rolling and find a nice career. Whatever the f that may be.

So its not all fun, games and grabass over here. It's more like fun, games, grabass and a couple good decisions, thrown into the mix, every now and again...


*If you're confused by this term, please, for the love of God, read back a few posts. I will lose my mind if I have to explain this every time.

The Climb

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb


(sometimes I find inspiration in the unlikeliest of places...)

Brazen Careerist

Greetings friends!

I hope the memorial weekend treated everyone well. I meant to be back here last Friday to pen some additional ground breaking material, but I ventured out to the beach on Thursday morning and ended up staying a couple days. Phenomenal couple of days. However the ocean is very cold these days, but not cold enough to keep Utley out...

As for today, I will share with you a little story, perhaps solidifying my credibility as a blogger, perhaps not...

So last week, or maybe the week before, I was reading a daily blog I visit, barstoolsports.com. For those unfamiliar, its a Boston based blog touching on anything from sports to pop culture, to grading the latest sex scandal teacher. Diverse cross section of material. On this particular day, El Pres (the owner, head writer, whatever) posts of how his site was just complimented by a reputable blogger source. He posted a link to this website, Brazen Careerist, (http://blog.penelopetrunk.com) written by a woman named Penelope Trunk. Apparently her careers column has been published in the NY Times, Boston Globe, Time, all sorts of big time stuff. Her careers blog has over 35,000 subscribers. I found myself perusing the site, thinking to myself that this is right up my alley. She also runs some type of career advice company. Hmmm.

I found a link that said "email Penelope" and immediatley thought about emailing her. After all, I must be a targeted reader; having taking a sabbatical from the working world back in February. And started writing a blog. On my career. Or lack there of. But she must get tons of email from bloggers looking for money or what have you. I put the plan on the back burner.

But last week, endorphins cranking fresh off of a workout, I decided to f it and I emailed her. Correspodence went something like this. Or exactly like this:


On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 10:13 AM, Mr. Utley wrote:
Penelope,

Not sure why I am emailing, but figured why not. I came across your blog/website last week (via a link from Barstool Sports...hope that didn't turn out too bad for you). Anyway, I think your blog/website is right up my alley.

After almost 7 years in various sales positions, back in January I decided I wasn't happy with the direction things were going, so I resigned, with no new job. Didn't want to continue to job hop, on the company's dime, when I didn't really know what I wanted to do anyway. And I started writing a blog. Not to make money. To keep my brain working and hopefully keep my thoughts moving in the right direction. But I like writing

http://onsabbaticalnh.blogspot.com

As I said, not sure why I email, just one of those things I felt like doing, as these days I regularly contemplate just what it is I've been put here to do...

So, I've been enjoying your site; perhaps I may even learn something here.

Cheers,

Mr. Utley

Shortly after I sent the email, as I was preparing to tee off on the first hole, the blackberry started buzzing:

Ah ha! I love Barstool Sports, so it's fun to see which readers would cross over from that blog to mine -- takes a special person, I think :)

Anyway, you are a good writer, and it's fun to read what you're thinking -- like when you are thinking it's good that you're sounding like you're selling something when you talk about the beach. That's insightful and funny.

Blogging has gotten me through so many tough times. Really. Cliche, but true. So it seems great that you're blogging now. Good luck!

Penelope

And yes, I did email with my real name. In case you didn't know, Mr. Utley is not my real name. Wasn't sure about the direction of this blog at first, so I went with a pen name. And if you also didn't know, Mr. Utley, or Mike Utley is the keyboardest for Jimmy Buffet & The Coral Reefer Band. And Jimmy and the gang have been a heavy influence on my life, since I was just a wee lad. But I digress.

So, even though short and sweet, this email from Penelope made me feel good. First, that my writing/blogging was actually OK. But second, and most important, it gave me validation that I am not alone in this journey, that what I'm doing is OK, that now is the time to do it, and that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

So I am now rubbing elbows with internet celebrities. Somewhat. Or not so somewhat.

Oh and yes I did reply to Penelope's above email:

Thank you Penelope

I am flattered to receive an email from a "famous" person...

Hump Day Ramblings

I just returned home on this bright sunny Wednesday from a meeting with my Career Management Consultant, which I will from here on out refer to as my CMC. Hopefully everyone will be able to follow. As I was driving home I thought to myself, "So this is what a morning looks like!" Just kidding, sort of, as I do get up around 8am these days to head to the gym. And of course its easier to get up earlier when the weather is nice...so got up at 7am today, showered, shaved, threw on a suit and headed out the door. Now I've been told a suit is not necessary for these meetings, after all I've hired them, however I put on a suit to make me feel like I'm actually doing something, like I'm going off to interview, and eventually to work. Baby steps, my friends, baby steps.

I may have mentioned that I have assignments to complete as homework before each of these meetings. For today's meeting, I had to complete about 40 common interview questions and compose 2 different forms of cover letters, the first based on a job board ad and the second based on a "dream" company, for lack of a better term. I put some decent time into these assignments and I believe it showed. Together my CMC and I went through both the good and bad answers, and he gave me the "right" answers for the tricky questions. I will say I am learning things and feel I will be very prepared when I do start to interview. I f'n hope so, right?! And throughout this process I believe I will start/continue to build confidence, which should be very helpful when this sh*t takes off. I have these type of meetings through the first week of June, then we have what is called "The Launch", which is when I am ready for interviewing, sending out correspondence, etc; In the mean time I can slowly but surely ramp up for this monumental occasion. Boy, do I hope this works! But I am very confident it will. However, hopefully my good spirits/patience/ability to hold out for the right job will outlast my cash money...actually I think I meant to say the opposite...anyway I think you smell what I'm steppin in here.

So my days are mixed with doing a little work, a little research, and a little leisure. For example yesterday I woke, hit the gym, did work on these assignments, went outside, had lunch, caught a few rays, read a bit, then went in and did some work in the afternoon. Did I mention I have a killer tan left over from St. Croix and I'm doing everything in my power to preserve it. Yeah...

So, I just spoke to a friend on the phone and proposed a beach day tomorrow. He told me I sounded like I was trying to sell him something. I am thinking that is a good thing, for I need to start speaking in the business lingo again, sound like I'm confident in whatever point I'm trying to convey. So I'll take that as I sounded professional. Yes, 2 kona coffees deep on the day and I'm sounding professional...

To digress slightly, the book I am now reading is AC Weisbecker's third, Can't You Get Along with Anyone? (remember I read his first two books, muy rapido, down in St. Croix: Cosmic Banditos and In Search of Captain Zero). I'm telling you, go out and get these books and read them in order. Or contact your man Utley and perhaps I'll let you borrow them one by one. But go buy them, support AC...

And what a dramatic episode of 90210 last night! What will those cats at West Bev think of next?

It's now time to hit the links for 18...wish me luck, I'm struggling terribly with this new p wedge I have...

In the words of Eric the Midget, bye for now...

Recap

For all of you following at home, I thought I'd take today to offer up a little recap. Bring everyone up to speed, if you will. And bring myself up to speed. Just what is On Sabbatical all about? Well, let me try to sum things up at this point.

Back in late January, I had a realization that I just was not happy with the way my career was going. Back in 2002, things started great, got off to a nice start with Cintas after graduating from Bentley College, learned some incredible sales skills, worked with good people, made nice money. However, the cold call, new business, always pushing something on someone who doesn't want it lifestyle got to me pretty quickly. Left Cintas in 2005 to go onto a nice career in the mortgage wholesale world. Started off fantastic, loved the job and the tasks associated with it: speaking in front of people, flexiblity, entertaining clients, B to B sales, etc; However, as we all know, the mortgage game crashed, resulting in me going into a tailspin in regards to my career.

What happened? Took a proactive very nice offer to go back to Cintas, hated it from day 4, left to go to a local, small, family owned company, an quickly realized, although in a different atmosphere, I was doing the same routine as Cintas every day. Rather than string the owner along, for in a small company every dollar counts, and to be fair to them and myself, I decided to proactively resign and go "On Sabbatical". Figured some time off may allow me to clear the old head and something would come to me. I didn't want to continue to job hop, and did not know what I wanted to do. Still really don't, but attempting to figure it out. However, I do know there is something special out there for me...

So in early February I began to write this blog. To keep my brain working. To keep moving toward a goal. To get my creative juices flowing. To get those who care about me involved in my life and perhaps give me some feedback, because I really can't go at this alone. In addition to blogging, I hit the gym most mornings, I've been traveling a fair amount, and meeting with people along the way for guidance on this journey 0'mine. Travels have taken me to Vail, Colorado, Chicago, The White Mts of NH, and finally St. Croix. These trips have been amazing. But we've heard about that. Been going to some networking events as well. Those are fun...

After a couple months of "nothing jumping out at me" and the dream job not appearing at my doorstep, it was time to take a more aggressive approach to the career search. I attended a big clusterF of a job fair, but met up with a company that deals with "private and corporate outplacement." They claimed to be selective in who they so choose to work with, for a client must be marketable. I met with them, we hit it off, and I have recently hired them to represent me in all aspects of the career search. From analyzing my strenghts and weaknesses, completely revamping the resume, finding spot and unknown opportunities, everything. And they did not come cheap, but of course, I don't view myself as a "commodity" so why should I hire the cheap guy. This is my career, my life we're speaking about, which is a very important aspect of my life here. I view this as an investment in my career, and if they can help, than it's worth it. But of course, I know I need to put a lot of effort in. And I'm ready.

I have meetings with said company set up through the beginning of June, with homework assignments in between meetings. 1 or 2 meetings per week. They boost my ego when I go in as well, which is nice. Need to be confident during this time.

So that right there is the Cliffs Notes version of the past 3+ months


Hope you're enjoying the ride.

Bob Marley Concert

As I ventured down to the Caribbean for my two week Double Secret Sabbatical, on top of relaxation, sun etc; I had a small goal. Based on my theory (and blog) from a couple months ago, my simple goal was to engage in some interesting conversations. And, always the overachiever, (ha) I did accomplish this.... and some were better than others.

Four days into the trip, I was given the keys to the truck and was on my own for the day. I've been going down to St. Croix for a long time now and this was the first time this had happened. Not a huge deal, but they do drive on the opposite side of the road down there, so some brief "driver's ed" was needed. I think driving on the left is actually cooler than driving on the right, but that just could be the island bias talking. After passing the "driver's test" I was off to conquer the island.

So I packed a bag and headed down to Cane Bay, the closest beach. This beach is generally pretty quiet, ( it was a Tuesday), however it's considered kind of a hotspot for diving and snorkeling. Both not particularly my cups of tea, but it was fun to watch them mill about the beach and ocean. There also are a couple beach bars in the area, so I there was no doubt I'd be frequenting one of those. Or both.

I began the day sitting on the beach, reading The Last Lecture (see previous post if you're confused). After a couple hours, the stomach was growling, so I jumped in the truck and headed to beach bar #1, a place called Off The Wall, for it's location on top of a rocky wall overlooking the sea. I'd eaten here before, knew the food was good, so I was looking forward to the excursion.

I sat down at the bar, and appeared to be surrounded by a crowd of locals. It's easy to spot locals on St. Croix:they are cranking butts, heavily tanned, wrinkled and look about 10-15 years older than they actually are. Locals who've been there a little to long I should say. I ordered a rum punch and a turkey club from the bartender, who basically grunted something inaudible. OK then. I proceeded to smile, peer around the outdoor establishment...not really getting any "bites." Well, perhaps this wasn't the world's friendliest place, but nonetheless food was good, the drinks had rum in them, and I went on my way back to the beach. With my to-go cup, a perfectly legal practice on St. Croix.

I got into the book for another couple hours, mixing up chapters by diving in the blue Caribbean Sea. As my man Jimmy Buffett would say, That salt air, it ain't thin, it'll stick right to your skin, make you feel fine...

After more rays, I noticed the other beach bar, called Spratnet, basically meaning "minnow net" just a short walk down the beach. There was a large Cruzan fellow blasting what appeared to be Bob Marley: Legend and dancing raucously around the bar, which was unoccupied. After watching this guy for a while, who looked like he was having the time of his life, I decided to walk over and see what all the fun was about. I walked on down the beach, up to the bar, sans shirt or shoes, and said, "Hey man, you look like you're having a great time over here...figured I'd come join you." The man let out a ginormous smile, greeting me with the island handshake (a handslap followed by a fist bump) and introduced himself as Calvin, the bartender/proprietor. No one else was there just yet, so Calvin poured me a rum punch, we chatted it up and continued to jam out to Bob Marley. Being caught in the moment, I couldn't help but sing most songs word for word, as I've been listening to that album since I was a freshman in high school.

After another rum, more people started to show up and conversations began to flow naturally. A couple from Colorado, a local young lady, an engineer at the local resort. And of course Calvin. I'm beginning to have a great time. Minutes later, as the reggae rythyms continued to play, Calvin comes over to me and asks, "Hey mon, you goin' to de Bob Marley concert in New York next month?" with a big, sh*t eatin grin on his face. I immediately put on the same grin. "Calvin, are you serious? You takin' me for a fool, my man. Bob's been dead for years! Come on man!" He then let out a laugh, and said he was jus' checkin'. After thinking about this later, Calvin was probably trying to test me, to see if I was just some clueless tourist or poser or whatever. Apparently I passed the test, because then he pulled out a big jug of a dark liquid, label scraped off the side of the bottle. Some people may consider this a red flag, however I did know that some of the local establishments concoct there own thick, rum like liquor, though really not sure what's in it. He sent plastic cups to the girl to my right, the engineer, myself, and finally one for him. He explained this concoction was called "papa wama." Fair enough, we all raised our glasses in celebration of the fine mood of the day.

Shortly after that, three twentysomethings approached the bar, ordered a round of Heinekens and made there way to some loung chairs down on the beach, a few steps from the breaking surf. After studying these three for a bit, I realized they look like my type of cats: 2 laid back, skater/sufer looking dudes and 1 stunning brunette. They looked like a good time, so I proceeded to ask my new friend, "Calvin! Hey, you think those kids down there would have a problem with me going over to join them on the beach?" "No mon, of course not," he replied so I went on my way.

I sauntered on down to them, introduced myself, said I was on the island for two weeks and would love to hang out with a few twentysomethings. The three seemed cool with the idea, so I sat down and conversation would ensue. Turns out they knew some of my family down there, so we began to get along famously. I offered to buy a round, which turned even more famous. The afternoon ended up to be a blast.

But we headed our separate ways, never to reconnect over the course of the trip. I did visit Spratnet again a few times; Calvin and I became fast friends. As for the bartender at Off The Wall? Well, let's just say that over the course of the trip about 5 other people I spoke with said the exact same thing about him. Let's see, how does it translate...oh yes, prick. He was a complete prick.

Moral of the story, if you act poorly, your reputation will precede you. And not in a good way. And if you act like a decent human being, perhaps chat it up a bit, you really never know what will happen...but then again, that's what it's all about, right?

Remember: Always Talk To Strangers!

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Returned back to NH Saturday night after 2+ weeks on the island of St. Croix. Did you miss me? Some of you may have thought I just would not return, but this is not the case. As much as I love an island lifestyle, and could absolutely live there, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment my friends. Onward with the search.

A vacation like that is refreshing; I almost always come back from one rejuvenated and ready to embrace whatever there is to embrace back in normal life. And some of you are probably thinking, "He's been On Sabbatical for over 3 months now, what does he need to be rejuvenated from?" Good point, Utley, however a break is needed every so often from the monotony of everyday life, and the challenges in which every day life entails. Mission accomplished.

On top of getting plenty of sun, beach time and eating and drinking very well, the most memorable or effective aspects of the trip were the books I read. Now, at home, I occasionally read books, but don't have a super urge to get through them. At home I'm more of a newspaper and magazine reader. And TV watcher. And for those keeping score, I regularly read The Union Leader (NH's statewide newspaper), Men's Health, Esquire and Playboy. Great articles and overall useful stuff for today's male. And typically on vacations I will read some type of self help book, in hopes of gaining some new found enthusiasm to bring back to a job I don't really care for. Most of my reading is nonfiction, however there has been plenty of fiction sprinkled in there throughout the course of my days.

Along the "self help" lines, I read The Last Lecture, by Prof. Randy Pausch. Pausch was a tenured prof at Carnegie Mellon, who one day found out he had pancreatic cancer and only a few short months to live. With a wife and 3 young children, he had to decide to how to spend the rest of his days and how to leave things behind for his family. What he chose to do was create one last lecture to share with whomever chose to listen, but mainly for his kids to remember him. Inspiring reading and I recommend the book.

However, the reading that really effected me were two books by Allan Weisbecker. Some of you may or may not be familiar with Weisbecker, but he has kind of developed into a cult hero. The first book, Cosmic Banditos, was a gift from mi Peruvian amigo, who highly recommend it. It is an absurd comic romp, I'd say loosely nonfiction based. It was a short read, not terribly deep material, but what it primarily did was get me very intrigued into Weisbecker's other works. I finished Cosmic Banditos in just 3 days, and immediately ordered his second book, In Search of Captain Zero via Amazon. This book came a week later, and wow was it amazing (In between reading these two I read The Last Lecture and half of The 4-Hour Workweek, which was OK, but not ready to go there just yet...)

I began reading Captain Zero last Wednesday, hoping to finish it on Saturday, the day of my departure. Once I picked up the book, I really couldn't put it down, reading it on the porch overlooking the lush green hillside of St. Croix, the beach at Cane Bay, and finally at the airport in San Juan and the whole plane ride back to Boston. Finished it as the plane was landing, which provided a unique state of emotion, finishing the gripping story as well as ending my vacation and the thought of what's to come in my life. I won't say too much about the book, but its basically about a middle-aged surfing expat who partakes in a journey down through Mexico and Central America in search of an old friend. I don't even know how to describe the overall emotion of the story, however judging by the huge cult following of these books (aweisbecker.com) many have felt the same way. And the day I returned to NH I went straight back to Amazon and ordered his third book, eagerly waiting it's arrival.

So here I am, back in the States, in hopes of becoming a better person, a more directed person, and ready to embrace the newest stage of the "job hunt" for lack of a better term, head-on. About f'n time, some might say.

In the mean time, I will continue to live my life like a song, and see just what the future holds for one Mr. Utley...

Double Secret Sabbatical

Took a big step yesterday and hired a career outplacement firm. I've mentioned this sparingly before, but now its all systems go. While recruiters/staffers' clients are companies themselves, this firm's client is me, Mr. Utley. Rather than be molded into some company's job description, they will work with me to find the best fit for me. It makes sense, let's just hope it works. Things they will do for me include, but are not limited to: complete resume revamping, job/career assessment of strengths/weaknesses, access to the unadvertised job market, as well as coaching each step of the way. Could be the biggest mistake, could be the best move I have ever made. We will see now won't we...

And of course this new breakthrough will be beginning on Wednesday, May 13. Why wait until then, one may ask? Well, tomorrow I will be flying down to St. Croix for 2 weeks. A break from a break, if you will. Time off from time off. Double Sabbatical. Double Secret Sabbatical. That's what I'm going to call it: Double Secret Sabbatical. With the goal of this latest jaunt to completely re-clear the head, enjoy some fine living, relax, read, exercise, beach, etc; Than immediately upon my return, I hit the ground running. And I mean that, really I do. Rhymin' and stealin' baby, rhymin and stealin'.

My main weakness thus far during On Sabbatical has been lack of direction. Yes, I have been doing close to my best seeking out opportunities, networking, sending out resumes, but it has been, shall we say, less than fruitful thus far. Therefore, when something is unsuccessful you must refocus and try something new. Hence I will refocus down in St. Croix for two weeks and start fresh upon my return.

And yes I have to pay for these newfound services, however, I am viewing as an investment into my future. This whole sabbatical is for that matter. The same way people invest in school, degrees, etc; I am investing into an all out job hunt, a complete refurbishing of professional self image, in hopes of finding that dream job. Or at least a job that pays well, that I will enjoy. Another point is that with millions unemployed these days, companies are hesitant to shell out recruiter fees when its a buyers market, with employers being the buyers. So I will be coached in a more caring manner than recruiters and companies will not have to pay for my amazing talents. It makes sense. Almost everyone I've spoken to about paying for these services is skeptical, which is fine. But I am confident that this is the right move. F the naysayers, by jove! This is my world!

On that note, I leave you with an excerpt from a magazine I read at the gym this morning:

In order to be happy, you have to be willing to be disliked. In order to respect yourself, you have to be unafraid to disappoint others. You have to make tough decisions. That takes balls. The people who have made the greatest impressions on me in my life take care of themselves and don't always look for the most pleasing answer in any given moment. Happiness, like so many other things, is a choice. I know this only because I've worked with and spent time with so many people who don't choose it.

You may wonder who penned that exceptional prose. Or in laymen's terms, who said it. Well, it is none other than the legendary Van Wilder, actor Ryan Reynolds himself. Now I'm not a huge fan of this dude, but if that philosophy is good enough to get him Scarlett Johansson, than it's good enough for me...

And with that, I'll catch you on the flip. And I will attempt to throw up a blog or two while on Double Secret Sabbatical over the next 2 weeks...

Sisterhood of the Travelling Unemployed

After a stellar round of golf Friday, I headed down to Providence, RI for a friend's 30th birthday party. Yes, I'm reaching the stage in life when friends start turning 30. Luckily I was always the youngest one of the group, so I have some time left in that aspectt. We assembled a solid group of "partygoers", always essential for a successful road trip/party etc; Although today I will not write about the good times had by all, I will write about a "sub-committee" that formed that evening. An imaginary sub-committee, formed only in my head, one that I just came up with. However I did learn some things from this so-called imaginary sub-committee of that fine Spring eve.

This sub-committee was formed by 3 of us that night, all of whom happen to be unemployed. Funny that, me writing about the unemployed. The first of which being myself, and hopefully by now we all know my story. Excuse me, my epic story. The next member of the group was Joe, a friend of a friend, laid of a month ago from a job as an inside sales manager. The third and final member was Simone, an old college friend who met up that night, laid off for now for 7 months; she did some type of finance for some type of company. That night I found myself talking to these two most of the night. Out of necessity? Dare I say ney. Out of reality, or the fact that we could relate to something so monumental? I think so.

Joe is a bright young salesman, promoted to inside sales manager about a year ago. When time for his company got tough, surprisingly, Joe was asked to exit stage left. This surprised me as well, for sales are usually the last thing to be cut. On top of a severance, Joe made an agreement with his former company, stating that he could continue to claim he worked there until he found a job. This is a good deal I suppose, however generally I find honestly is the best policy. Joe and I talked a lot about what we are doing to find employment from networking via LinkedIn to networking the traditional way, through good old fashioned human interaction. During our many conversations that evening, I realized that although unemployed, we were both in the process of learning many life lessons, from how to network to how to be frugal, to how to keep the "nose to the grindstone" in times of peril.

Now Simone's story is a little different. She was working in a job she hated, so a lay off came at just the right time. She is married and hubby does well, so she is not in that bad of a position. In addition to a severance and unemployment checks coming in, Simone negotiated to continue to receive paychecks for an additional 6 months after the lay off. This is one of those things where being a strong willed Italian girl from RI paid off. Where as Joe is now looking rather urgently for a job, Simone seemed to be quite content, even telling people she was now a "homemaker."

And that brings us back to the story of one Mr. Utley. I see myself as having an advantage over these two, an advantage over all the casualties of this recession (the laid off). I am voluntarily unemployed. I chose this path, in search of much greener pastures. In search of the dream job, in search of happiness, in search of a better life. And as you can probably tell if you read this regularly, life's not been that bad. But I know there's more out there for me, and as I have said, I am determined to find it. While I may not collect unemployment or a severance I believe I possess more in terms of intangibles. The things that cannot be taught. Yup, I got those, thank you very much. I have my head on somewhat straight with my eye on the prize.

And this time off has forced me to find life lessons wherever I can; on the ski slope, the golf course, the bar, a late night cab ride, etc; It took a night out with some new faces in Providence to realize that although we are unemployed, we are picking up valuable skills and lessons that the employed are simply not. Yes they may be collecting paychecks, but life is not all about paychecks, my friends. Yes, the are certainly essential and certainly nice, but life is made of more than just money. Don't get me wrong, I want to earn buttloads of money, but I'm looking for the bigger prize: Eternal Consciousness. Which encompasses everything I've written about here On Sabbatical.

And unfortunately for me, I have not caddied for the Dalai Lama just yet, so I must find this "eternal consciousness" on my own. For now.

Fore!

As I woke up this morning, ready for a solid gym workout and just ready to jump into another edition of award-winning On Sabbatical, my phone rang. Is it the dream job calling? Another lucrative offer? Wrong. All of you! It was a friend of mine, who had crushed his sales number for the week. "It's a beautiful day outside, had a great week, let's go golfing...."





Chance I may be back to finish this. Chance I won't. But its been a good week. Me and Uncle Mo.

Searching for Bobby Fisher aka The Unadvertised Opportunity

So I just completed about 4 homework assignments I was given from the career outplacement agency I met with the other day. Very stimulating I must say. Over the course of this sabbatical I have become very comfortable talking about myself, analyzing myself, my strengths and weaknesses. If anything else I will have a good grasp on just "what makes me tick." And I've been told in order to go out and get a great job, be successful and contribute to society in a positive fashion, it is vital to understand one's strengths and weaknesses. So I have that going for me...

After addressing these topics and meeting with the above company, an alarming statistic caught my eye. Apparently 85% of all available jobs are unadvertised. To gain exposure to to the best jobs, you must penetrate both the advertised and unadvertised job markets. So...if the best jobs are almost always unadvertised, how in the world does someone like myself find one? That's the million dollar question, one which I am determined to find the answer. It also explains why I've had no responses to the handful of resumes I sent in, in response to advertised opportunities. And it explains why so many get horribly frustrated with the job search.

Well, as we all know by now, I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. I'm hell bent on using this sabbatical to my advantage and find, for lack of a better term, a super kick ass career. And if I get this new company on board I will be doing just that. I'm attempting to go after these unadvertised positions, the good ones. The really good ones. The ones that pay the big bucks. However, more important than the big bucks is the fact that I need to be truly happy with the job, which in turn will make me work my hardest, get my creative juices flowing at their best, and contribute to me providing tremendous value to said organization.

So its been a busy day and the grill is calling my name. "Utley! It's red meat time!" I must answer. I must. But I will be back tomorrow, earlier in the day, in an attempt to summarize this week, where I'm at at this point, and to put things in perspective. Then again, something else may pop into my mind while on the elyptical machine tomorrow morning which we may need to address. Guess you will all just have to wait and see...