Job hunting in a down economy

So I haven't done this much, but I thought I would drop some thoughts about looking for a job in this economy.

I was laid off back in November, and I was lucky enough to get some consulting work right away, but it didn't last long enough to get past the termination pay. SO I started looking in the area close to where I live. Every day, it seemed that someone else was laying off. Thousands and thousands of people hitting the market at the same time.

Nothing to be found here in my field.

So, do I look to change directions, or do I look to move?

Each day we spend a little more of our savings, we become a little more willing to think of alternatives that we would not select before. We deny our kids some things that we took for granted before, like going to the movies or a special field trip. We realize that we might need this money for food at some point.

And every day is spent in the hunt for a viable work solution. Combing the job boards, networking with former colleagues, reaching out to try and find some work. Being in a specialty, I get call backs, and I am pursuing jobs that I would not have considered previously. I am considering living apart from my family and coming home on the weekends or every other weekend.

I hear a lot from recruiters that are frantic to get a position filled. Sometimes these people have a lead, sometimes, they are fishing with no bait. Sometimes they are recruiters from large companies that have some contract positions with a government agency, and God only knows what that decision process is like. They send these huge questionnaires and ask for detailed information about my experience with a flurry of emails, sometimes even a follow-up phone screen. Then "POOF," no word, no response to emails, nothing. It is like being dropped without a Dear John.

Some weeks, some days are very exciting. I get lots of emails, lots of calls, and I am thinking that I will have some offers soon. Then a day or a few days or a week goes by and the only calls are from automated messages from my kids' school and my email box has only Facebook updates and spam.

Living on Facebook has actually helped. But it also hurts. I sometimes don't want to leave the house, and I feel comforted by messages left by people I hardly know.

And the economy worsens...

This took me long enough

I guess I am not an early adopter. Either that or I never got around to actually typing something in.

This isn't a New Year's resolution or anything, but I think I will try using this on a regular basis.

I am just hanging out with the family; we are still off for the holidays. The boys and I are up in the playroom, they are exercising the new Wii, and I am exercising my typing.

Well, all for now. L8R