Unproductive Hours

It's been a little while since I posted, but I've been using my time to conduct job-hunting activities that ultimately have gotten me not even one iota closer to a job.

Last evening, I headed downtown to the Rivers Club for a presentation sponsored by the Pittsburgh Foreign Policy Association.

Although I was interested in the presentation topic, I was more interested in the potential for job networking.

Surely some of the movers and shakers in the Pittsburgh region would be on hand, and after some light conversation, would hand me their business card, urging me to call them to discuss job opportunities at their organization.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the vast majority of the attendees were well into their retirement years.

Other than myself, three grad students from CMU's Heinz School and one or two others who were in their 40s or 50s, everyone else in the audience was considerably past their working years.

I sat there for a minute, mulling over my alternatives, and realized that if I left immediately, I still could make it to another event -- this one billed as an actual networking event for young professionals -- at Station Square.

I hurried to the Houlihans restaurant in Station Square where the Pittsburgh Young Professionals group was holding its 'Speed Networking' session. PYP's Web site stated that speed networking was "a great opportunity to not only meet new acquaintances, but also to catch up with ones that you have not seen for awhile, and it all happens at break necking [sic] speed. So bring your business cards, yourself and a high desire to interact with other individuals."

Why not? I had nothing to lose. So I joined the speed networking activities taking place, moving from one table to the next for a timed four-minute discussion with the person at each table, only to discover that many of those in attendance were there to push the multi-level marketing programs they were involved in.

Sigh.

Out of politeness, I sat through about half an hour of these brief networking meetings, then slipped out at an opportune time to get something to eat.....and mull over a relocation to a city with a better job market.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

For some time now, a little voice in my head has been telling me that trying to build a life in Pittsburgh will be the kiss of death for my career.

"Move somewhere else," the voice says. "Pittsburgh is not where you want to develop your talents." But where?

New York?

Ugh. In my opinion, that town's motto should be: 'The City That Eats Its Young'.

Chicago?

Not a bad city at all -- but I don't know if I'm up for schlepping back and forth to visit my family.

Atlanta?

I had enough of the South's insufferable humidity during my college days at the University of Missouri. Okay, so some may not consider Missouri to be the south, but regardless, the summer humidity was awful.

Washington, D.C.?

Ditto on the insufferable humidity. The fact is, I didn't like Washington, D. C. metro area the first time around, when I lived there in 1990, and I doubt that it got any better in the ensuing years. My main issue was that the cost of living, specifically rent prices, was insane. The only way to afford to live there was to share living quarters with several other people, and the lack of privacy got to be too much for me.

Sadly, if I cannot find a good job in Pittsburgh, I will more than likely end up relocating to the D.C. area. It's fairly close, situated along the Eastern Seaboard, and offers PLENTY of job opportunities.

And, if I do relocate to D.C., I'll join the hordes of relocated Pittsburghers who make the trek back to the 'burgh on the weekends to visit their families. Leave D.C. on Friday and be back on Sunday night. Sounds like fun.

Why Did I Bother?

I made the unwise choice to attend 'Career Wise: A Diversity Job Expo' held today in the Lexus Club at PNC Park.

Attending the job fair was a complete and utter waste of my time. Here's why:

I'm a friendly, outgoing, articulate individual. I'm able to converse on a variety of topics and am very accommodating to anyone with whom I speak. Any employer meeting me could correctly assume that I would represent their company well and would be an excellent hire for their organization.

So one would think that some of the Human Resources representatives in attendance at the career fair, after a brief conversation with me, would hand me their business card, stating something like, "You sound like you handle yourself well. We have some job openings that you might be interested in...."

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Most, if not all of the recruiters at the fair simply directed job seekers to fill out an application or submit their résumé at their company's Web site. I could have saved myself the trip to the stadium and the $6 for parking if I knew that in advance.

Further, by the time I visited the job fair at around 2:30 in the afternoon, many of the recruiters were tired and grumpy. They certainly weren't in the mood for conversation at that point. One recruiter even refused to give me his business card, stating brusquely that he "didn't give out business cards at job fairs." (My aim in asking for a business card was simply to establish a contact at that company.)

And while I didn't get this man's business card (which, after he was rude to me, I didn't want anyway), I did end up with a plethora of plastic junk -- mini flashlights, keychains, bag clips and pens, pens, pens -- all printed with the name of each company that was giving it away. And of course, I'm going to turn around and give most of these tchotchkes to my young nephews and niece.

Maybe I'll get a job as a result of attending this job fair, but I highly doubt it.

But at least I'm now the proud owner of a 'Dick Builds Quality' travel mug from Dick Corporation. That's worth something, isn't it?