Unless I am offered and accept a position in the next six hours and eight minutes, tomorrow will mark my six-month anniversary without a job. I've generally kept quite on this here blog regarding my employment search (or lack thereof), but I suppose I can share a few of the developments over the past half year.For one, I imagine I've hit the ranks of the unemployed at perhaps the worst time in my lifetime. And as far as business development jobs go, well, there just don't appear to be many out there. I have had interviews at five or six companies and every HR person I've met with claims to have received hundreds of resumes. Some of the folks applying are overqualified, many underqualified, and an enormous number fall within the normal level of experience. Competition is fierce.
There was one job that I was after ever since SNOCAP headed towards sale. My love for the site last.fm has never been a secret. It is the one music site that I check daily. I've always loved statistics and when a site combines stats with tunes, videos, a little interaction and so forth, well, you've fit my needs. After numerous phone and in-person interviews, covering a year of pursuing a job with last.fm's parent company, CBS Interactive, I knew that my answer was coming soon. One afternoon last week as I walked home from the park, my phone lit up "CBS Interactive." With but a few words from the other end, I could surmise my fate. It was a long chase, but it had come to an end. As far as I know, the role is still open. If you're looking for a BD job in music/games, here's the job info.
I have one other job in play, but things have quieted on that front. I've had four interviews at this company, and after the final one, over a month ago, I thought it was a sure bet. There's been very little since. Perhaps the job's been nixed? Maybe they're being acquired? These are the questions that swirl in the heads of the unemployed. Many things remain unknown.
On a positive note, I have made a good amount of progress on my "book." I still intend to have it completed before we hit 2010, and I'm 99% certain that it will be. In all likelihood, I will just self publish it (order 100 or so copies via some company that does such things) and see where it goes. In addition, I have taken thousands of photos and discovered almost endless amounts of new music.
Although it's been a long while since I've had a regular paycheck, I can still say that I feel incredibly fortunate. I still have a little safety net that can carry me a little longer. Our president has helped me out by lowering my COBRA payments and chucking a few more bucks for unemployment. No, I don't go out for nice dinners anymore and aside from records, I haven't really bought any leisure items in six months. But I've come to realize that I really don't need these things anyway.
All in all, given that many in this country are in far dire positions, things are moving along just fine. I'm very pleased with our new president, there's a new Wilco record on the way and Eastbound and Down has been renewed for another season. Things could be worse.
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