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...

Uncle Mo

Since my post last Thursday regarding the Job Fair I attended, I'd like to think I've gained a little momentum. A slight amount of momentum. Or Uncle Mo, as we sometimes call it. And for everyone's sake, let's hope Uncle Mo and myself put together a nice relationship here in the upcoming days/weeks/months/years/lifetime...

As I have mentioned I will probably need to start to attempt to make a little cash money for myself. A little pocket change if you will. I have mentioned the substitute teaching in the past, which I still may actually do, perhaps in a couple weeks. I have been assured I can get right into that whenever I want. However another small opportunity arose, which could be a lifelong income source, greatly diversifying my portfolio. My portfolio of income that is, or at the moement, lack there of.

An old college friend who lives out in San Fran was swinging through town last Friday morning, so we scheduled a last minute lunch. College friend until the old "keg out the window" incident sophomore year. But I digress. We spoke of a lot of things, mainly the "side" business he has started up. He lives in the world of search engine marketing, works for a reputable firm and uses his startup to test the company's software. Anyway, he has a batch of small clients, a couple of which he could use some help with. Hence, I said I'd be interested...it involves Google Adwords and attracting consumers to certain websites. Once running, it almost provides automatic income. Now, I can't pretend to be super computer-savvy, however I think I could figure this out. Just need to put together the time to do it, but as I said, it could provide a nice additional income source, requiring only a minimal time commitment each week.

Last Friday night, another old friend also was visiting town. This friend, another follower of 'Tical, is an Insurance Wholesale Rep...and if you follow closely, you may know that is a position I may be interested in. In fact, this fella got me turned onto the gig, for he makes buttloads of money and also enjoys it. And it provides many of the job duties I experienced as a mortage wholesale rep, which you may recall I wrote about a couple weeks ago. Social aspects I enjoy. And yes, I did just say the word "duties."

Anyway, apparently there may be a job opening with this company in a local market. Which is nice, because I have wanted to get in that company before. My friend than called me on Monday and asked me to send him a resume. Done and done. So, let's keep our fingers crossed on that one!

And then yesterday, Tuesday, I had an appointment with the Private and Corporate Outplacement Firm I spoke of last week, resulting in my attedning the job fair. That is what they call themselves, which I learned is different than a headhunter, recruiter, staffing agency, etc; I think the meeting went great, and we'll see what comes of it. I will probably write additionally about it later this week (and yes I plan on putting up 3 blogs this week) for it was a jam packed session with great ideas exchanged. So, lets just say I may have some high hopes for this method of the job search, but wouldn't you know I have a tee time shortly...so that's all for now folks!

However, do not fret, I promise the rest of week will bring some highly inspired sh*t...

Slob Fair, er, uh....I mean, Job Fair

Today I decided to venture out into the world of the unemployed; join the tired, poor, weak and hungry and attend a job fair. Not just any job fair, one of the largest in state history, with thousands expected, sponsored by local news station WMUR, held at Southern New Hampshire University; Although I will always refer to it as NHC (New Hampshire College), the site of many a basketball/soccer camp I attended as a mere lad. Who would have thought I would have ventured back to the campus in such a fashion...

Now I have been to job fairs before and they can largely be considered a gigantic waste of time. A waste of time, that is, if one does not possess a game plan. A game plan is necessary, because once you walk in the door, in the expression of American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, "I got 5 words for you: pan-duh-mon-i-um!" Especially with an event of this magnitude, if you do not scout out a handful of prospective companies and approach them, you will be doing yourself a tremendous disservice and severely depress yourself. Therefore, I went online, picked out roughly 5 companies, and set out to achieve greatness.

Because this is of course the worst recession in the history of the universe, and mobs of people were expected, attendees were instructed to park 10 miles away at the Mall of NH and take a bus to the job fair. Ha, that's a good one, there was no way in hell I would be doing that, thank you. Luckily I have a friend who lives across the street from the college, so I was golden in that department. I woke up this morning, showered, shaved, threw on a suit and headed out the door. In the words of the big homey Snoop, I was suited and booted.

Now I had very little expectations for the event, but I felt it was an important thing to attend, because "you never know." My main goal was to locate a particular company, an executive staffing/recruiting firm aimed at higher level job seekers, speak to a representative, set up a first appointment, and be on my way. As long I could achieve that main goal, the day could be considered somewhat of a success.

I parked at my friends house and began the short walk to the fair. Already I could tell it would be a zoo. Cars everywhere, people everywhere. I could smell the aura of desperation in the air. I could not help but have a smirk on my face...I figured I was in a better position than most of these people, but who knows. I must say, I was dressed as nice as anyone I saw; attires ranged from the properly suited (like myself) to the frumpy shirt and tie paired with wrinkled khakis look, to the "I must be a drug dealer, because I look like a yo" look. Alrighty then, moving right along...

I entered the facility and immediately I began to perspire. It was an absolute sh*tshow. Thousands of job hunters, wandering aimlessly between two separate gymnasiums. Thousands. You could barely walk. I quickly decided that finding all of the companies I "scouted out" would not be possible...I had to "go big or go home." Seeing as I wasn't super interested in a few of the companies I researched, this wouldn't be a big deal. I only selected a handful of companies to pretend as if I was doing my homework. My due diligence, if you will.

After attempting to walk around the upper gym, I said "F this" and headed to the lower gym, the larger of the two. I wandered amongst the masses, trying not to look at people, as many had the "where is the nearest skyscraper, bridge, noose etc" look on their face. I was determined to stay positive. I then entered the larger gym, determined to find my "numba 1 stunna". For those who don't speak hip hop, this means I was determined to find the executive recruiting firm. It may sound easy, but you could barely walk in the place, so finding anything provided a handsome challenge. As I walked very very slowly to the end of the first aisle I noticed a couple of nicely dressed gentleman who looked like they knew what they were doing. As I approached, I noticed the sign below their table. It was the firm I was looking for. One gentleman was unoccupied; the other gentleman had what looked like a line in front of him. I quickly skirted around the line and approached the unoccupied gentleman and began a conversation. I introduced myself, asking if I needed to wait in line to speak to him. Of course not, he replied. We then begain conversing, I explained my case a bit, and then he stated his. Or maybe vice versa. Bottom line, they place executives; higher end employees who have made good money; these type of employees who routinely waist time through traditional job search methods. (Translation: I think this describes myself...I have applied for 4 jobs over the past 2 weeks online and heard back from none of them). I always knew I would need to get a recruiter involved, just haven't found one yet.

The gentleman went on to say they do not accept just anyone for their services, in this market they must be selective. There are many more people that approach them than there are jobs available. Fine with me, I hold myself to a higher standard than most. He also explained that while the average job search can last 9-12 weeks, his firm guarantees placement within weeks. They do not go through Human Resources, they approach decision makers. I liked the way this chap was rappin. We exchanged business cards, he instructed me to call the office, and I was on my way.

I was satisfied with this exchange, however figured I would see what else was out there. As I continued to move amongst the crowds, I legitimately felt like I was part of a herd of cattle. A very large herd of cattle. What a nightmare. After attempting to visit other companies on my list, I decided to abort. I had achieved the primary goal of attending the event. Now time to head for the hills, as my armpits were becoming quite saturated. Or should I say, my shirt was becoming quite saturated from the moisture coming from my armpits.

I walked out the back door (because I know the layout of the place; I'm an insider) and walk past the enormous line at the door to get in. Luckily I didn't have to wait in that monstrosity! I cooly slipped my shades back on and continued the brisk walk back to my car. I saw a couple people I know (am I too old to call them "kids"?) and they asked how goes the proverbial battle. Crowded in there? Yes, that would be an understatement. One of these "kids" then told me I should apply to be a fireman. Not a bad idea, thanks, but don't think thats quite my cup of tea. Plus they haven't hired in a year. However, it is a noble profession.

I got back to my car and it took almost 10 minutes for me to back out of the driveway of my friend' house. At least it was over. And as I said, I'm glad I went. I achieved my goal, and got to take a firsthand look at the results of this economy. A bit scary. I felt bad for some people. I'm sure they have wives and children to support. Not me, thank God... and can't be feeling bad for myself now can I? Especially I after I chose to join this madness!

I got home, had some lunch, threw on the gym clothes, ready to get the daily workout in. But first, I picked up the phone, called the aforementioned firm, and scheduled an appointment for this upcoming Tuesday. Which is a step in the right direction. And I know I've said this before (to no avail yet) but I feel good about this one. And at least I have that going for me...


which, of course, is nice...

Kharmic Exercise

As I have mentioned a couple times over the past couple months, I am a believer in the principles and theories of The Secret, the concept, book or movie, whichever you like best. The Secret states that if you truly believe in something, ask for it, put it out there, live like it has happened, and most importantly, again, truly think positive and believe, it will come true. Also similar is the Law of Attraction, which states (more or less) that if you are constantly thinking about something, that something will come true.

Why, you may ask, am I rambling about these concepts? Well, perhaps they actually work.

Now you may have picked up over the past few weeks that I have been rooting for the UNC Tarheels in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I put it out there (in writing, via this blog as well as picking them to win in my March Madness Bracket) and truly believed that they would prevail. Of course it wasn't that difficult because they beat opponents by an average of 20+ points over the course of the tournament, but I believed in them. Therefore, if anyone did not notice, North Carolina stomped Michigan State last night, which means I won my March Madness Bracket, taking home a decent chunk of change. Which is nice considering I have no income.

So what we will do today class is ask for certain things (all pertaining to me at this time in my life) and then believe in them. And by asking I mean, asking out loud, asking the powers of the universe, putting these positive thoughts out there...and we shall see what happens.

First and foremost, I am asking that I will soon find a career that will be both mentally and financially rewarding. We know the fields I have been looking at, medical sales and/or insurance wholesales. Now as soon as you read this say out loud, "Utley I believe you will find a rich, rewarding career in your chosen fields." Thank you. Remember, you must say it aloud!

Second (in no particular order) I almost ran over a nice young attractive girl at the parking lot at the gym earlier today. We exchanged a quick smile. Now, lets put it out there, "Utley, I believe you and this little minx will strike up a meaningful conversation at some point this week." I'm not asking for much here. Remember say it aloud, and you must believe!

Third, I will put a "shot out" to the kharmic gods regarding our beloved New England Sports Teams. "Utley, I believe the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots will take home their respective championships this season." We've gotta try, right?

Fourth, I am going to a job fair on Thursday...and yes I'll write about it after. "Utley, I believe something significantly positive will result from your attending this job fair on Thursday." Again, say it aloud and truly believe it.

Finally, although I haven't mentioned it yet, but I am taking a trip to the islands soon. I'll discuss it later, but, "Utley, I believe your trip to St. Croix will result in a positive, life altering, monumental happening." Say aloud and believe.

I will do the same. It's the power of positive thinking people. You will all be doing me a solid if you read these requests, say them aloud, putting these thoughts out there in the universe, and believe in them. 100% believe in them. I will be doing the same.

And...I'll get back to you on how these are going. Until then,