And What Do You Do?

If there was ever a meaningless question it's "What Do You Do?" It's meaningless in the sense that with so many people unemployed these days it seems almost pointless to ask. But ask we do. When you are the unemployed respondent to question the first impulse is to say "I'm___" but that's not true anymore. You could always make up an answer or try the truth. The truth though gets you either pitying looks or a certain amount of attitude from the from the questioner. It's as if the questioner is saying "I'm better than you because I still have my job." Or maybe the looks and attitude are just merely covering his/her insecurities about their own employment status.

The pitying looks are even worse. It's if the questioner is thinking "You poor, poor dear how did you loose your job?" Of course these days most people loose their jobs due to cut backs. Then, if to add salt into the wound, the pitying looks are often accompanied by unsolicited job seeking advice. "Have you tried a temp agency?" or "What about looking online?" For the record, I have my resume posted on hot jobs, career builder, College Art Association, and the Society of Architectural Historians. My personal favorite bit of unsolicited advice is the old why don't you go to a career counselor or take an aptitude test? I really don't need a test or a counselor to tell me that I'm more suited to a career in a creative environment. Sometimes in the great job hunt you just have to trust your instinct.

Instinct and previous experience tells me to avoid things like secretarial work or careers in finance. Not that there's anything wrong with those professions but that's not me. In short I suck at them. Yet that hasn't stopped anyone from thinking the opposite. For example, recently I received a couple of responses to my resume from a financial services group and a well-known insurance agency. Both of whom seem to think I'd be perfect as an account executive. Did they actually read my resume or did they think that I would just be a natural fit. I think they got the impression from my Avon website-www.youravon.com/llowen-in case you want to see it for yourself-and thought great. No, cosmetics are one thing, getting people to buy life insurance or invest their money is quite another. Whatever.

What I really want to do is produce and direct-just kidding-living in Los Angeles does that to a person. No really what I want to do is work in architectural preservation. Any thoughts?

More tomorrow,

Lenore