One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

balbert Jan 16, 2009 General The week started out bad with the news that I was not being considered for a job I applied for before xmas. It was a front end web developer job with 3Tier and I was really excited about the job and the company. I was pretty optimistic last month when I got a phone screen the afternoon that I sent in my resume. I thought it went well, but I guess not as after calling the recruiter several times last week and on Monday, I received an email response Tuesday saying thanks but no thanks. Not really sure why I was rejected, but rejected was what I was… two steps back. Everyone wants to be liked and after what felt like a “Dear John” email, I was kind of depressed. It didn’t help that the news on the economy is not great right now with more layoffs in the Seattle area. This first rejection brought up some feels from the lay off… Turn to the mirror… “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” Wednesday morning I had a call/webinar with the transition company DBM. This was the introduction to the program webinar were i learned about the company and what they offer. My former employer is paying for 30 days worth of their services. It was an interesting call with people from all over the country in job transition. It also was a little encouraging since they seem like they have some good programs I can take advantage of. The main thing I learned is that finding a new job is a markting process and I’m the product being marketed. Also learned that 70% of jobs come from people you know and that networking is a big part of it. Also this week I made more progress on my CakePHP book and started one on Ruby on Rails that looks really good. I’m starting to understand the MVC program/platform model and hope to convert one of my simple DB sites into a CakePHP site. I also plan to use CakePHP to build out an events section for Robin’s site. The week ended on a step forward. I kicked ass, at least it felt like kicking ass, on a section of the upstairs project. I got all the rigid insulation up in the office area in two days. I also was able to get some of the west wall insulated as well. The last part that needs to be done is about the same size as the office, so I think I might be able to finish that this weekend depending on how much football I watch.