Nathan Key

Dear Readers,

Two major life events have happened to me that are making it rather difficult for me to keep blogging as deeply and definatively about philosophy, policits, and religion:

The first is that I recently took a role as a Senior Trainer with Liberty Mutual's Personal Market Team. It's meant A LOT of research into the insurance industry and a lot of studying so that I'm ready to teach these materials.

The second is that I'm about to buy a home. We were supposed to close on June 22nd, but the date got pushed up to June 11th, next Thursday. That's put a lot more stress on me, personally, so I haven't been able to put as much thought into this blog as I might otherwise.

In any case, thanks for bearing with me as I work through these major events and continuing to visit this site, daily, and comment on my thought experiements. It's really wonderful to interact with everyone who comes here to learn or debate!

Interestingly enough, June 11th also marks the First Year of this website's existence, and I have a mini celebration in the works to feature some of my favorite blogs, articles, and friends who have made this site fun for me to write and produce.

Stay tuned for more details!

Addiction is when the gambler puts his last quarter into the slot machine, hoping for the jackpot that continues to elude him. It's when the junkie takes one more hit, wishing for a high like the first time. It's when the kid who called the elusive girl every day this week picks up the phone again.

And it's when I lose a few games of Halo and end up losing rank because I can't just put down the controller and come back another day...

What's your addiction?

Don't try to tell me that you don't have one.

Some addictions are a little worse than others, granted, but no one- I mean NO ONE- is without them. Addictions are those things you do to escape. The secret obsessions that you're a little embarrassed about. Sometimes, we're embarrassed or ashamed to even admit that we're even involved. Other times, the activity itself is innocent enough- but if anyone knew how MUCH we indulged in it, we'd blush.

Maybe it's video games or coffee?
Maybe it's sex?
Maybe it's conversation?
Or books?

We're all addicted to something and it's only going to get worse if we keep it hidden. So, I'm going to encourage you to tell someone about your addiction, today. You don't have to write it here in the comments if that makes you uncomfortable (although you're more than welcome to do so if that's the kind of confession that you think you need to make). But please think through your addictions for a moment and talk with someone about them.

Even if it's video games...

Today, I'm being featured again on Weebly's main site which is a big honor for me. The Weebly Team has been fantastic and have created an amazing product that's basically free and very easy to use. Make sure you check out Weebly if you haven't yet.

That said, if you’re new to this site today, you might want to check out who I am and read through some of my blogs to get a better idea of what this is all about.

Some of my favorite posts (and collections) include:

How to Live Well in Desperate Times
7 Ways to Get a Job
Same Bad Policy, Different President
Letters to the Church in Orlando
Watchmen Week
Heroes and Philosophy

I also like writing really short stories, poems, and articles (if you’re inclined to check them out).
 
And if you’re the creative type, I’d really love to have you participate in the weekly banner design contest I just began for my site. Each week, I pick one banner from the designs that have been submitted and give lots of “link love” to the creator. I welcome submissions from any of my readers!

Seth designed the one for this week.

If you like what you read here- please check out some of the other sites on my blogroll- especially Micah Tillman, Christopher Cocca, Seth Wright, and Matt Addington. I wouldn’t be the writer I am without reading the thoughts and ideas of others, so do me a favor and head over to their sites, too!

For the next few days, your daily dose of politics, philosophy, and religion may be a bit intermittent as I'm adapting to a new role as a Sr. Trainer with Liberty Mutual. I'm going to try to keep blogging through it al, but it may not update in the middle of the day as normal?

In the meantime, check out this amazing review that Chris sent my way this afternoon!

Also, be sure to send your submissions this week for the banner space on my site.

I know what it’s like to be unemployed. I was laid off in November and spent the next four and a half months searching, interviewing, and hoping for someone to give me a job. It was stressful, to say the least, but now I’m not only employed, I’m also leaving the job I took for a better one.

How did I do it?

1. I treated unemployment like a job

Every day, I followed a schedule similar to the one I kept when I was employed. I held a fairly rigid daily ritual of job hunting, blogging, networking, and resume targeting. I treated my unemployment checks like a salary (albeit a really small one). I was required to make a minimum of three employer contacts each week- but I tried to find that many per day.

2. I set up a SimplyHired.com RSS Feed

I have this theory that unless you’re first or last on the pile of resumes, you’re probably not going to get any attention. So, I subscribed to an RSS feed through SimplyHired.com that would alert me the moment anyone posted a job in the keywords I’d set. SimplyHired pulls jobs from all the major online job boards- sort of like the “google” of job searches. I’d have the opportunity to apply to these jobs the MOMENT they were posted instead of having to look for them or have them delivered by careerbuilder’s “we think this is a good fit” e-mail campaign.

3. I worked toward self-employment and self-improvement whilst unemployed

I learned new programs, wrote a LOT of blogs, wrote a ton of freelance articles (mostly pro-bono), and offered to help my church leadership team in any way possible. I needed to have something tangible that I could show for my day other than a completed application. I tried to target my self-improvement toward things that would be attractive to businesses (I’m an expert in ________ and I’m honing my skills by doing ______, _______, and _______ even when I’m not employed).

4. I didn’t try to begin a new career

When the economy is doing well and businesses have a lot of flexibility, you can branch out and try something new. But during a bad economy, it’s important to stick with what you know. Even if you’re not completely thrilled with what you do (or did) for a living, apply for jobs that utilize those things that you have a lot of experience doing. The fact is that people MUCH more talented that you are getting laid off from jobs they are better at. Fighting to be noticed when you have little or no experience isn’t going to work out very well. You’re competing against the best of the best, so try to target your job search at careers that you’re really suited for.

NOTE: This could be a very good time to go back to school if you want to gain learning and experience. But that’s different than getting a job. What I’m talking about is applying for jobs outside of your career path- rather than choosing this as the moment that you’ll go back to school.

5. I was respectful and encouraging to hiring managers and recruiters

When I interviewed with Liberty Mutual back in November, I didn’t get the job. But I sent a thank you note and asked the hiring manager to consider me in the future if a similar role was available again. A few months later, I touched base with him again to let him know how much I really enjoyed meeting him and that I’d love to work for him. He called me a month ago, before a Sr. Trainer Role was even published to the job boards and asked if I’d be interested. I’m going to begin working for him in a few weeks.

When I interviewed with Florida Virtual School, I told the hiring manager that she was the kind of person I wanted to work for.  We later agreed that it’s important to find someone who is valuable and find a job for them even if they aren’t suited for the job they’re interviewing for. I made it to the final round of interviewing and even though that position was filled by someone else, she had me come out and interview for another role that hadn’t been officially requisitioned yet- she liked me and wanted to find a place for me to work in her organization.

When I interviewed with Advantor, I was in the middle of interviewing with Florida Virtual School and so I told the hiring manager that even if I wasn’t available for employment, I’d be willing to come in and meet with her to help her narrow down the other candidates. She liked that and hired me because of it (coupled with my skills and abilities of course).

Contact hiring managers after interviews (even after they’ve given jobs to someone else) and ask for leads. Tell them you really want to work for them. Tell them that you’d love to be in contact again if anything comes up in the future. This isn’t desperation- it’s networking. It’s making friends.

People want to hire people who WANT to work for them.

6. I asked for honest feedback from interviewers and hiring managers

Toward the end of each interview I had, I’d ask something along the lines of:

"What reservations do you have about my ability to excel in this position?" Or "Is there anything about our conversations or my resume that sends a red flag that I might not be qualified or accomplished enough for this role?"

I did this for two reasons.
First, I wanted to clear up any concerns (it’s called Resolving Objections in the Sales Model).

Second, I honestly needed to know if I had the chops for the positions I was applying for. If you set your sites too high, you’re not going to get the results you’re looking for.

7. I learned how to wait

The biggest problem for those who are unemployed is that they don’t hear back for a long time regarding whether or not they’ve got the job (or even an interview). My good friend Brad told me early on in the process that hiring managers aren’t ONLY searching for someone t o backfill a position. They’re at work, working. They’re doing their job and they’re also shorthanded because they’re hiring. That means that it’s going to take a while for them to get back with you. They aren’t just sitting around waiting for you the same way that you’re sitting around waiting for them.

So, have patience.

Also, in a college class I took a few years back, I remember the professor telling us that for every ten thousand dollars in salary, you’re probably going to hunt for that many months to find a person to fill the position ($60,000=six months). So, it’s probably similar on the unemployed worker’s timeline, too. If I want to make $50,000 I may need to look for about 5 months before I begin getting a lot of attention.

Believe me, if you’re looking for roles you’re suited for and knocking ’em dead with encouragement and sincere thanks, the jobs WILL start coming. Seriously, I know, because I was unemployed just two months ago and now I’m about to leave my current job for a better one.

It’ll happen for you, too.

Today, when I was checking out my analytics stats I noticed this...

Why do people want to destroy me?

Chris reminded me (through one of his latest posts) that I'm a bit overdue for a linkfest blog! So today I'm going to ask you, my gentle readers, to check out some of the blogs and sites that I've been really enjoying lately.

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GrizzlyBearCouture & KateKing
Two of my really good friends have each just started up a vintage clothing business. They salvage amazing clothing and find new homes for it. Please give both of them some love and encouragement by checking out their products (and buying something)!

Mirrorshards
100 word short stories, every single day. I subscribe to this site through an RSS feed and I’m telling you- other than my daily ESV feed, this is my morning fuel. Each story is smart and fun. And since they’re only 100 words,  even the ones that aren’t as great are still worth reading.

BabieMamaDrama
My wife just began blogging about our life. She is so much funnier than I could ever hope to be. If you want a really honest, humorous look at two new parents learning about life- this is a great blog (and I’m not just saying that because I’m married to the author). Two of my personal favorites include this One and this One.

A Book Elegantly Bound
Megan is one of the most articulate and descriptive writers I've ever had the pleasure of knowing/reading. Start following her now because she's bound to be on par with Sylvia Plath in another few years (although her writing doesn't smack of depression like Plath's does).

Dinosaur Comics
It’s hard to get into this comic at first because the art doesn’t change. Author Ryan North took the static form idea from David Lynch´s postmodern strip “The Angriest Dog in the World.” Seriously, though- it's a must read. Not only is it very funny- it’s also very thought provoking. It’s a comic about philosophy, religion, social commentary, and all sorts of other topics written concisely and with grand intellect and narrated by a self-absorbed T-Rex.

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Extra Credit
If you really want to read something of mine today, re-read through my Watchmen or Heroes Series cause I really enjoyed both of those. Prepare yourselves for tomorrow, too. I’m going to go on a tirade about THIS and I'd sure like your comments and thoughts.