Bball and The History Channel
I can tell already that this is going to be a boring one. Sorry kids. You can't expect gut-wrenching self-pity every day.
Boring: My NCAA bracket is totally shot. I had Gonzaga in the Final Four and Duke in the championship game, and both of them lost last night. That Gonzaga/UCLA game was a heartbreaker. With a minute left, I was all set to send out a couple of consolatory/taunting emails to people who had picked the Bruins.
I can't quite put my finger on the reason for my Gonzaga affinity. There's just a freshness about them. They've got polish without the pedigree. And maybe it's also their unfortunate habit of late-season disappointment. Even when they're dominating, they still feel like an underdog.
Slightly less boring: A copy of my resume is currently in the hands of an employee of The History Channel. He's the boyfriend of the daughter of one of my father's coworkers (got that?). It'd probably be a cool gig, if I can land it. I'd get to move to NYC, which is the most appealing aspect of this opportunity. (I stopped looking at New York-based job ads a couple of months ago.) I've got to say, though, I'm not too keen on all of this someone-who-knows-someone business. I'd rather make my own way in life (even now; especially now), and I try to avoid getting things via backdoor channels. But my father has been hounding me (in his unflinchingly passive-agressive way) to allow him to help me in my job search. He wants to "take a more active role" in my life, and says that I should "use him as a resource." It's a last-ditch parenting blitz, and I'm trying hard to grin and bear it. Just between you and me, I can't !#%@* stand it.
But I said he could give my resume to his coworker, who in turn would give it to his daughter, who in turn would give it to her boyfriend. (I can just imagine my resume fluttering around the offices of The History Channel. It's probably being shuffled from pile bottom to pile bottom. If I'm lucky, maybe somebody is using it as a lunch napkin.) I'm supposedly going to have a phone interview early next week. I'll let you know how it goes.
These are the jobs that I'm currently waiting to hear on:
-Part-time literary assistant in North Branford (no response after several weeks, even after repeated follow-up emails).
-Temporary office worker in New Haven real estate office (no response after one follow-up email).
-Assistant for small public relations firm in (get this) West Cornwall, CT. Here's where it is in relation to New Haven. Yikes.
Boring: My NCAA bracket is totally shot. I had Gonzaga in the Final Four and Duke in the championship game, and both of them lost last night. That Gonzaga/UCLA game was a heartbreaker. With a minute left, I was all set to send out a couple of consolatory/taunting emails to people who had picked the Bruins.
I can't quite put my finger on the reason for my Gonzaga affinity. There's just a freshness about them. They've got polish without the pedigree. And maybe it's also their unfortunate habit of late-season disappointment. Even when they're dominating, they still feel like an underdog.
Slightly less boring: A copy of my resume is currently in the hands of an employee of The History Channel. He's the boyfriend of the daughter of one of my father's coworkers (got that?). It'd probably be a cool gig, if I can land it. I'd get to move to NYC, which is the most appealing aspect of this opportunity. (I stopped looking at New York-based job ads a couple of months ago.) I've got to say, though, I'm not too keen on all of this someone-who-knows-someone business. I'd rather make my own way in life (even now; especially now), and I try to avoid getting things via backdoor channels. But my father has been hounding me (in his unflinchingly passive-agressive way) to allow him to help me in my job search. He wants to "take a more active role" in my life, and says that I should "use him as a resource." It's a last-ditch parenting blitz, and I'm trying hard to grin and bear it. Just between you and me, I can't !#%@* stand it.
But I said he could give my resume to his coworker, who in turn would give it to his daughter, who in turn would give it to her boyfriend. (I can just imagine my resume fluttering around the offices of The History Channel. It's probably being shuffled from pile bottom to pile bottom. If I'm lucky, maybe somebody is using it as a lunch napkin.) I'm supposedly going to have a phone interview early next week. I'll let you know how it goes.
These are the jobs that I'm currently waiting to hear on:
-Part-time literary assistant in North Branford (no response after several weeks, even after repeated follow-up emails).
-Temporary office worker in New Haven real estate office (no response after one follow-up email).
-Assistant for small public relations firm in (get this) West Cornwall, CT. Here's where it is in relation to New Haven. Yikes.
posted by temporarily unemployed at 11:21
4 Comments:
you know, i went through a long phase of not wanting to get work through connections also...it's very understandable, but it will just result in someone getting the jobs you want through their uncle's housekeepers daughter-in-law, or what have you. the sad truth is that everyone works their connections, and if you refuse to, you're shooting yourself in the foot. i can personally think of no one who got their current job cold. i'm sure there are people that do this, and it's a lovely idea...but i don't think it's worth handicapping yourself.
~C
Definitely, definitely true. Anyway, that's mostly pie-in-the-sky bullshit. In fact, I don't think I've ever held a job that I didn't get through some connection or other (e.g., the Toledo Blade sought out one Yale intern every year). And I don't even want to think about the college admissions process. Call me Mr. Backdoor Channels. I think I was mostly reacting to the specific source of this potential job hook-up, if you catch my drift.
i do indeed. and i would love to call you mr. backdoor channels (AHAHAHAHA come on that one was asking for it.)
~C
While I agree that it's much harder to get a job that one wants without the help of connections, it certainly is not impossible. I got my current job without the help of a connection- in fact, both research positions I worked (my current job and at UCSD) were obtained without the help of inside connections. Both positions were at major research universities, and coming from a small, little-known Jesuit school, I had a large handicap against me.
It's not the easy path but it can be done. And I think those people with the insight to recognize someone trying to forge their own path will respect it- it's something that can only be earned based on one's own efforts. It embodies a level of devotion towards something that you don't get with the "my brother-in-law told me about this job" route. But with a 95% chance a failure, it may not be the best approach for you right now.
As for your love with Gonzaga, a Jesuit school, it may be your subconscious love for JC poking its head.
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