'Dairy Queen is hiring for $12/hour'

---

This is the second in an occasional series by Laura Blewitt, who was introduced in a previous post.

(See all posts by Laura Blewitt at this link.)

---

The dreaded question: "So, what are you doing with your time now that you've been laid off?"

I have trained myself to respond in full confidence, "Well, I've been blogging."

"Anything else?"

"Ummm, microblogging."

Is it so wrong to just microblog all day long? Is it??

The thing is that I spent much of July, August, September, October and November sending out résumé after résumé to employer after employer hoping for some sort of response. Sometimes it got so bad that a rejection e-mail was welcomed, because at least that meant somebody actually considered me for a position.

I just don't think sending out résumés to potential employers really works anymore. Don't worry, I mean, I'm still doing it just in case. But my heart's not in it.

I wish I had kept track of the number of positions I applied to right around the time of my graduation so this could be a little more scientific, but alas, I did not think about the potential for statistical analysis in online résumé submission at the time. So for now, let's just say I applied for many, many jobs. (So scientific, right?) And in the course of five months I interviewed for four full-time jobs. I rejected two offers. One company rejected me. And then FINALLY God graced me with an offer I wouldn't dream of refusing.

The point of all this personal information is that my returns weren't successful enough for me to be very enthusiastic about jumping back into the saddle and spending my time writing and rewriting cover letters and résumés for employers who don't even plan to look at them.

I know there are other options out there, but are they realistic? Has anybody ACTUALLY found a full-time position via Twitter, or was that just a tall tale construed by the Twitter Gods to get poor Shmoes like me to waste their days seaching for #jobangels hash tags?

Either way I've come to terms with the fact that this process will take a long time. I'm hoping for a quicker come-back than my previous five-month record, but I'm realistic.

In the meantime I've agreed to freelance for a pretty well-established political blog based in Austin. I think it will be good for me keep myself active and out in the journalism game, even though the pay will be, well, not likely too great. But the exposure will be great.

This leaves me with one final question: should I get a temporary job working behind a coffee bar or tutoring kids after school just to get by while I'm hustling the Web for a "real job?"

It came to my attention last week that Dairy Queen is hiring for $12/hour. I tested the Twittersphere with notion of working there. Because as the late 2Pac said, "Only God [and Twitter] can judge me." (He died before Twitter's creation - but it totally sounds like something he would've said, right?)

Here's the response I received.

The Twittersphere has spoken.

(Twitter This)

-- Laura Blewitt

---

*** Sign The Petition ***

---

Two Weeks After the Layoff

---

This is the first in an occasional series by Laura Blewitt, who was introduced in a previous post.

(See all posts by Laura Blewitt at this link.)

---

Time to move on.

It's been exactly two weeks since the media's gigantic, ever-swinging axe sliced me off its shrinking chopping block. I've spent the past 14 days gathering condolences, free drinks and words of encouragement from my loved ones and ex-colleagues. They tell me I'm young, talented and will be fine. I tell them thank you. But you know what I'm thinking? It must be nice to be so delusional.

2009 is a terrible time to be young, if you're the type of young person who wants a job in the media, as opposed to the drug distribution industry. The "entry level" is...closed.

Those are the kind of words of encouragement I get from Gawker. And while I've tried to be as optimistic as possible through all of this, it's just not always that easy. I've always answered "neither" when asked whether I'm an optimist or a pessimist. Duh, I'm a realist! And I can joke about unemployment and make myself feel hopeful about my industry's future, but I don't know if I can truly believe in that hope.

There's no real comfort to be offered. Just ride out the bad years, sell your drugs, and bide your time until all the ad money comes flowing back in (6.5 years).

OK, so I won't be selling drugs (at least not anytime soon). But as much as I love being a part of the media, I won't be so opposed to stepping outside the publishing world this time as I go on the job hunt.

After all, as Jill Geisler wrote for Poynter last week, there are 10 compelling reasons why "hiring journalists presents you a terrific opportunity." I wonder if non-journalists would agree with her point of view. She writes of laid off journalists:

They didn't leave their jobs; their jobs left them. Many are still shell-shocked, wondering if potential employers in other fields will place any value on the things they do best.

Shell-shocked is the best (if not only) way to describe the way I feel two weeks after my layoff. Getting over the shock was more difficult than getting over the pain, confusion or despair of the job loss -- really -- the shock still won't wear off.

Nobody could really tell me how long it takes to get over a layoff. I know I'm not over it yet. But I know I'm ready to move on now.

(Twitter This)

-- Laura Blewitt

---

*** Sign The Petition ***

---