Rant #2,459: Nothing From Nothing

Yesterday ended up being a real "nothing" day for me.

After spending my usual time on the Internet going through the help wanted ads, I had a job fair to go to, and in late morning, that is where I was.

The problem was that no one else was there.

No, not really no one else, but few companies actually came to this event.

After doing my usual due diligence in the morning, scouring the job ads for a few hours, responding to handful of them, and seeing two or three responses that told me that the conpany I had replied to "had moved on," and were not considering me for the position I applied to, I got dressed in my suit, one I had not worn for the longest time. It still fit pretty well, and I put on my tie and prepared to get my things together to go to my first job fair that I have gone to for my own betterment in about 25 years (I have been to a few for my son during the past couple of years).

I got there, walked into the room, and there were maybe 10 companies with representatives there. I looked up and down the aisles at the companies that were there, went over to many of them, gave out my resume, but quite frankly, this was not happening for me, as they were generally looking for service people or sales people. I think that as a courtesy, some of the companies took my resume, but that is where it will end.

I left after about 15 minutes, so it actually took me longer to drive to the hotel that this was being held at than the time I actually spent at this supposed "fair," which was more a gathering of a few companies than anything else.

I asked one of the reps there if this was the only room where companies were present, and she told me that in past years, they actually had two rooms, but she wasn't sure if they had another room this time around.

I walked out of the room at the same moment a tall, well-dressed man walked out of the room, and we both saw right next door some activity, so we both thought that perhaps it was another room of companies.

We walked over, and someone told us that no, this room had nothing to do with the job fair. I don't remember what he said it was for.

I looked up at the guy, and said to him, "Very underwhelming," and he replied back to me, "And I took a day off from work for this!"

I then left. I had had enough.

So I went back home, thoroughly disgusted. And I have another job "fair" to go to next week!

Oh, I look forward to that one, because it simply cannot be as bad as this one was!

Or can it?

Yes, I do feel like I am in for the long haul during this time without a job. I was once out for 18 months, so I do know what it is like to be out of work, and after that, I was out of work for three months right after my son was born.

But those workless periods were eons ago, and today, there clearly is a new landscape that needs to be scaled to find a job. In fact, today I am going to a three-hour class related to LinkedIn, the professional connections site, which I have been told is an ultra-important tool in finding a job, because of its network connections.

After yesterday, I am just hoping that it is not a "three-hour tour," and that my job search doesn't get shipwrecked on some uncharted island, even with Mary Ann and Ginger around.