New Blog

After 200 days of employment (today is day 200!), I have decided to try my hand at blogging again. Check me out at: http://ericemployed.blogspot.com

So far so Awesome

Well I've been employed now for 47 days, and things are really going well. I like the company, the people, and I'm learning lots. Recently I've gained more experience with SSIS and SSRS, and I get to peek in on SSAS as well, all skills I haven't had a chance to use before. I'm guessing this will be my last message for a while, I just wanted to put a link to the first post, in case someone finds this in the future, they won't have to try work their way back.

Thanks to all my readers, I have really enjoyed this blog, and I think that there is a good chance I'll find a new topic to create a new blog on...if that happens, I'll post a link to that as well.

Take care, and I wish you all the best!

Eric...

Link to first post: http://ericunemployed.blogspot.com/2008/12/good-morning-now-get-out.html

Eric Employed: End of Week 1

The first week is over, lots of new concepts, new ideas. I started the week, a slight bit worried that the self training I did at my last job wouldn't prepare me to be a DBA in another company, and while there are somethings I need to learn, I feel that most of the basics are there, and that I will make a good addition to the team shortly, after I get up to speed on a few new concepts. The new company does things very different from my last company, the new one has structure, regular meetings used to keep staff on task, as opposed to not having meetings at all, and then projects spirling out of control, until everyone has to work 60 hour work weeks to get it back on track.

The 12 hour days (3 hours drive time to St. Cloud and 8.5 hour work day) are a bit tireing, but once I'm done with my probationary period and able to work from home 3 days a week, I think things will get much better.

I really like the people, environment and openness of the new company. They are up front about the state of the company at all times, employees are not only allowed, they are encouraged to keep track of the company financials, because bonuses are based on company meeting profit goals, so seeing how we are doing, is good incentive to keep up the hard work, or to step it up if needed.

By the way, the company is looking for .Net developers and DBA's so if any of you reading this are in the market (and you know me), feel free to let me know if your interested, and I'll pass on a resume to the right people.

Eric Employed: Day 1

I'm not making this a regular thing, but I wanted to post a Day 1 review. Wow, lots of new info to digest. The new company has a lot of databases, and uses some impressive technology, for security reasons I am not going into any specifics, but it's going to take me a while to get my head wrapped around it. The people were nice, and I'm very impressed with what I am hearing from other employees about how they are treated. I think this will end up being a great fit.

I'm tired and I have a head ache, so I'm going to relax for a little bit, then head to bed and get ready for Day 2!!!

Day 86 Log

It's official, I have accepted the offer!

I need to sign all the paperwork and am still waiting to find out when the start date will be, but looks like I'm going back to work.

Day 85 Log

It is official, I have gotten the specifics on the offer and I'm very impressed. I'll be taking the day to think about it, but I am 99% sure I'll accept. If all goes well, tomorrow will be my last post for a while (I think I might publish a follow up or two).

Day 84 Log

Had in interview in St. Cloud this morning, 85 miles one way, seemed like a huge drive, but considering that when I worked in the Cities and lived in St. Cloud (for school) I drove back and forth almost every day, it didn't seem to take as long as it might if I was used to a shorter drive. It took about an hour and a half to get there, (my drive to the old work was about 45 minutes to an hour, so it wasn't really that bad, and for most of it I was on cruse control). I felt the interview went very well, they asked a lot of questions and I was able to answer all of them but one, and even that one, I think I answered enough to let them know I was at least partially familiar with it. Their office was nice, the staff was nice. All in all not a bad setup. After around 90 days of employment they will allow telecommuting 2-3 days per week. I had initially thought it was 2-3 times per 2 weeks (they have staff meetings every 2 weeks to keep everything on track), but apparently it's ever week...that may be a bit much, I was originally interested in the position because of the option to work from home, but I thought about it and 2 times a week is around 340 miles, which is about what I was doing going to and from Eden Prairie every day.
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Got a call on my way home, looks like another company is interested in me, this one is in St. Paul Don't know a lot about them yet, going to spend some time today researching them. Things finally seem to be picking up, I'm very happy to hear this.
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Got a call from my recruiter who setup the St. Cloud interview. She said that the people I met with were very impressed with my interview and are meeting later today to make a decision and will let us know tomorrow (probably).
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Guess they didn't need a lot of time to make their decision, got a call tonight, and I'm told they will be extending me an offer. I need to call them tomorrow to go over all the details, then I can make a decision....been a long crazy ride, but it looks like this blog will be ceasing new posts, starting very soon.

Day 81 Log

Well, the day is starting out well, I have a phone screen in a bit, and just got a phone call from the recruiter I visited yesterday, turns out his hot prospect was for real (I've heard other recruiters saying that a company "wants to move fast" before, and nothing ever comes of it), he called me this morning to let me know they want to interview me this afternoon. Looks like the drive in the blizzard with worth it.
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Phone screen went well, short and sweet. Found out they want me to come to their office for a real interview, so good sign there.
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Had my interview, nice company, interesting industry, it's not exactly what I'm used to doing, but it's in the right pay range, and from the sound of it, there is flexibility in the job description. When I started working at my last company, I wasn't doing what I expected to be doing, nor what I ended up doing, so I think it might be worth it to try this out and get my foot in the door with a good company. Of course, that all depends on what they want to do.
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Heard some feedback about my interview from Wednesday, the recruiter emailed me and said "By the way, great feedback on your interview. Nice work." So I hope to hear from them soon, it'd be nice if I ended up having two offers at once, having some choices wouldn't hurt.

Day 80 Log

I had really hoped it wouldn't get to day 80, it's a competitive market out there. Got a call from a recruiter that a friend of mine set me up with. They asked some questions, got a feel for me and suggested a few possibilities they were looking to try staffing. Then they asked if I could come down to their office for a meet and greet...stupidly I thought that the snow storm would get here in the later afternoon and start slowly...so I agreed to meet at 1. I left home at 12:20 as the first snow flakes started falling, by the time I hit 94 it was falling quite heavy, but the roads appeared to be dry; until about 6 miles later in the downtown St. Paul area when the SUV directly in front of me spun out, did a few 360s and almost took out three cars. The woman who was driving it looked like she was pretty freaked out when her SUV finally came to a rest on the side of the road against the wall separating the two lanes. After a bit longer the snow turned to white out conditions. It took me 50 minutes to make it to their offices, then 20 minutes to talk with them (they asked the same questions which they asked on the phone) and then it took an hour and forty minutes to drive home.

All this goes to say, I hope that it is productive; I don't mind doing it, if something comes from it (well I do mind doing it, driving out to someones office in a blizzard to be asked to repeat the same answers I gave on the phone is a bit ridicules; but I understand that it's all part of the game).

Talked with my contact about the St. Cloud job, just touching base, making sure I'm ready for my phone screen.

On a side note, I took my oldest daughter out to see the movie Coraline in 3D. If you get a chance to see it in 3D, I highly recommend it, it was very, very cool. And my favorite band They Might Be Giants had a small part in it, as lead singer John Linnell sings Coraline's Other Fathers song "Making up a song about Coraline"...search YouTube for it (Coraline song), you'll find it..I'd post a link, but those things get shut down so often, I'd rather not have a dead link on here.

Day 79 Log

Went out the Workforce center this morning to see if I could get any money for training, got a phone number to call.
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Getting ready for my interview this afternoon. Hoping all goes well.
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Just got back, the interview went well, the people I met were very nice, it appears they have a big project on their hands and really gearing up to tackle it.

Day 78 Log

Not a lot happened today, no new positions on the sites. I did hear from a client that they are going to a conference tomorrow and they are going to mention me to some of their friends.

Getting ready for the interview tomorrow, should be a big day, hope everyone reading this wishes me well.

Day 77 Log

Today was productive, I sent out some freelancing quotes to people asking for RFPs, and had one person respond answering my questions and asking for clarification on something, so that was a good sign. I found out the job in St. Cloud is moving along, they like the resume and are going to call to setup a phone screen, and I spent a bunch of time revamping my resume, which I'm told looks a lot better now.

Day 74 Log

More and more keeps happening. Found out more about the position in St. Cloud, sounds like I could have a real positive impact with the company if I worked up there, and it's a perm position which would be nice, where as the Bloomington job is a limited contract position, but is closer to home, and with a very recognizable name which would give me some good experience and be good for future job searching. I'm still holding out hope that I hear from another position I have been speaking with a recruiter with that is closer to home.

Considering that my wife and I met in St. Cloud, while at St. Cloud State University, I think I might be able to convince her to move up there...while true all our family is down here in the cities, at one time or another we have both had one of our siblings living up in the St. Cloud area...and we both like St. Cloud...not sure what the school system is like up there, but it might be something worth considering..but that only matters if I end up getting the job in St. Cloud. But on the down side, if I did that, when it becomes time to look for a new job, I'll be disadvantaged being in St. Cloud...lots to think about.

Day 73 Log

When it rains it pours. I was contacted this morning about a position in Bloomington, the pay is a bit under what I have been asking, but it is with a very solid company and I think the experience could be well worth the loss in pay. It is a nine month gig, so it doesn't set me up for the long term, but again, what I'd be getting in both experience and on my resume, make this a very good offer.
After that phone call I got one about a position in St. Cloud. 2-3 months on site, then telecommute, so that's very attractive.
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Got a call back on the Bloomington job, the application process closed this morning, and they reviewed my resume along with some others, and they accepted mine, so I'll be interviewing with them!!

Day 72 Log

Hello all. Two new postings, that's all there were today, seems slow, but I did get a phone call on a position, looks like things are moving along well with this opportunity, and I have a good feeling that this could be the real deal (unlike certain other recent possibilities which started strong, then faded out to nothingness).

Day 71 Log

Nothing new today on the boards, and no phone calls today...
Did make progress with my freelance project setup, nothing billable yet, but getting closer.

Day 70 Log

Another interesting day, received three phone calls today, one turned out to be paying $20/hr less than I am asking, so I turned it down, the other was below what I'm hoping for, but ended up being within reason, at least for the short term. Hoping to hear back from some of the positions I was submitted for last week, they were more in line with my normal asking price.

I won a contract on guru.com, it turns out to be a lot more work than was originally quoted in the description. I'll be looking in more depth tomorrow, we'll see how much more.

Day 67 Log

Spending the morning looking at Guru.com jobs. All freelance stuff, but it will help pay the bills. Found a few good ones this morning, just up my alley; hope they agree and hire me.
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Dice has only one new position, I fit it exactly except they want one year SSRS (reporting services) which I don't have, but I think I can pick it up quickly, so I'm going to send my resume over and see what comes of it.
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Got feedback from two more recruiters. I think they were for positions I have been submitted for already. Time for a relaxing weekend....I hope.

Day 66 Log

Didn't get this one out for yesterday.
I decided to take a half day yesterday. I did the normal job searching in the morning, then decided to play a game...while playing the game I got 3 phone calls. One position sounded good, one was a dud, and one was a nice 3 month opportunity. Additionally, a friend sent me a posting they saw that they thought would work well for me; which upon reviewing it, I agree, it would work out great (it's a one time thing, help get the system setup and running type thing) , so I applied for it and got an email back from the manager saying he was reviewing the respondents and would go over their resumes with his programmer and get back to me, but added that my experience looked extensive, so I hope that's helps..wouldn't mind a few side projects to help with the budget.

Day 65 Log

This morning, I got a phone call around 8 AM from the recruiter I spoke with yesterday who had new position, I was asked if I could take a test or two to show my proficiency. I was told that there were four tests available to me, SQL 2000 Administration, SQL 2005 Administration, SQL 2000 Programming and SQL 2005 Programming. I wanted to take the two Programming tests, as when I took the Administration tests at another firm, I found the questions seemed to revolve around concepts that were more based on Windows Server stuff than I was used to dealing with. When I logged into take the test, I found that I had to take the tests in order, so I was forced to take all four tests. Fast forward two hours, I have a bit of a head ache, but I'm happy I took all four tests. They had several concepts I hadn't seen before, but most of it was familiar to me. I scored Proficient or Advanced on all the tests.

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Hmm, I decided to work on something else, and when I do that, I start getting phone calls about positions...guess it's the watched pot idea... Interesting positions, one near home, I'll can't wait to see more about it.

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Got more information on the position closer to home. Trying to not get excited by positions any more, but looks very interesting, I'll see what they think of my resume.

Day 64 Log

Heard from a contact I met with a month ago, a position I had been hoping for ended up being "filled from within", which is too bad, this sounded like a great opportunity and I was very excited by it. But the email I got saying it was a no-go, also had the possibility of a short term contracting gig with a larger company. I think I could be happy with a short term gig right now, so we'll see how that works out.
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The market continues to be very slow. A search on dice for "Database and not oracle and not db2" selecting "Search job title only", within 20 miles of my location, posted in the last 7 days has 18 responses, of those, 12 are for the same position, 3 I have already applied for, and 3 are looking for a specific skill I don't have.
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I contacted my contact at a firm I spoke with early in search, I asked about a position that I saw on Dice and came to find out it was a position I had already been submitted for, however I was told about a new opportunity which had just come up with a bigger employer in the area. I'm going to be submitted soon.

Day 63 Log

I was contacted by two recruiters today for two different positions. One was at the same company that I've been contacted about by about 15 other recruiters; the other was for something I hadn't heard about before, so a welcome change. I only had about 80% of the qualifications for the position, so if they are willing to allow for growth in the position, I'd be a good fit.

The boards didn't reveal much more, another slow day.

Day 60 Log

Well it is a bit depressing that it has come to day 60 already and little activity has taken place. I had hoped that within 30 days I'd have something lined up. I had a meeting with a recruiter this morning, who chewed gum and basically yelled during our meeting. If the roles were reversed and I was the interviewer and I had a candidate who acted like that, I don't think it would bode well for them. They seem like a nice place, good benefit selection, working on a W2 basis. On the down side, no training, or bench time.
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Got an email from the company I have been consulting with for a while now. I did some work for them earlier this week and it turns out that I had gotten some incorrect instructions, and the system I designed, needed to be scrapped and re-created due to the logging requirements.
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Nothing new on the job sites, I hope something comes up next week...I really want to make Next week the week that I make significant progress on finding a new job...come on readers, lets put some positive thoughts into my finding a job, and see what we can make happen!!!

Day 59 Log

I met with someone today to discuss a project he was considering working on, he may utilize me in a contracting role, but at this stage, he is in an information gathering mode, so no decisions have been made yet.

Tried out a few new job searching sites that I heard about yesterday, saw a few new jobs on them, they work to aggregate several job searching sites into one.

Day 58 Log

Not much happened today, I spent an hour and a half this morning doing some consulting, and then spoke with a recruiter about a position, I will be meeting at their location on Friday.
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Not much new on job sites, nothing I can apply for.
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Just got home from an event with a lot of technical people. Talked job hunting with a friend who just recently got placed, so she gave me some good advice which I will be trying out. It's late now, I'm off to bed.

Day 57 Log

Got a message from a friend that someone in his company was looking for a DBA. Thankfully, he remembered that I was looking, and passed on my resume. Networking is usually the best way to find a new position, so I hope that they like what they see and things can move forward.
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A family member knows someone who needs some consulting work for his business. I called him and had a nice conversation with him over the phone. I'm going to meet with him and discuss further over lunch what he is looking for. I think right now, the main issue for him is budget, I'll get a better idea from him, what he wants, and how he wants to do it, then I think I can give him an idea of budget...I may need to call in some help on this one, I think he'll need some web development work, I may or may not be the right person for the job, we'll see how the meeting goes.
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Got a call from a recruiter today for a position I had applied for last week...only I think this was a position that as soon as I submitted it, I had a "oh crap" moment and realized that the position wasn't what I had initally thought it would be...so I had to apologize to them and let them know I didn't have the required experience for the position.

Day 56 Log

I checked the job boards today and oh joy, 6 new postings that have a title that I can do....oh despair...all six are for the same job...and I was submitted for that job last week.

Not much new today...everything I saw was for the same position. I did get some searching in on a site for freelance contractors, so hopefully that will work out.

Day 53 Log

Got a phone call this morning that had me run an errand this afternoon, unfortunately it took almost two hours, to complete. I didn't get a lot of job searching in, but the little bit I did get, might have been worth while. I got a call from a recruiter who wants to submit me for a position, so hopefully that will yield results. It is for a financial institution in Eden Prairie, that would be an interesting change. I'm hoping that next week will be more active.

Day 52 Log

It is a little depressing how the job hunt seems to go in ups and downs, and right now I'm in a down patch, I haven't heard anything productive in almost a week, things seem to be stagnating right now...I'm just hoping that the reason is because people are waiting for February 1st to launch new positions.

Day 51 Log

I am hearing from a number of my "active" sources that they are being put on hold, so for the time being, they are unable to move forward. I am not seeing anything new in the job boards, and am running low on ideas. Got a phone number of someone to call today from a family member, I'll try this person tomorrow.

Day 50 Log

It is a little depressing that it has been 50 days, but I hope one of the opportunities I've been speaking with recruiters about will pan out. Yesterday I heard that the older of the three possibilities decided to pull the position. I saw the same position on a job site on Monday, but can't find it today, so not sure what that was all about.

Got to talk with the Project Manager about the most promising position. He wanted to get a good understanding of my experience for a meeting he has tomorrow. Sounds like this is moving forward, it's for a manufacturing company instead of a web shop, so that should be interesting, from the sound of what they are doing, I'm not sure exactly how the Database will be used, but it would be a fun change to get some experience in a different industry.

Day 49 Log

Not much on the job search front today, but got a call from another recruiter. Haven't heard back from my contacts from last Thursday and Friday, hoping they get back to me tomorrow. Not much else to report, looking into LLC's and S Corps for the possibility of doing a 1099, formalizing the paperwork, so I'm ready to go if I choose to move in that path.

Day 46 Log

I woke up this morning and started my normal search for new positions. I got a call from a new recruiter. He was looking for fill a position that they needed filled right away. We discussed the position saying we would discuss pricing after we saw if they had any interest in moving forward after seeing my resume, so I gave him the go ahead to submit me. We did discuss my salary and and he told me that the position was a 1099 position, and I told him the rate he saw on my dice.com profile was for W2 employment, and that I'd need to give some thought to what I wanted for 1099 employment. An hour later I got an email from him saying he submitted me for the position and he had submitted me at a rate of only $2/hr over what my W2 rate was. I did some quick work and determined that $2/hr is only $4000/yr, and I think it is safe to say that the government will want more than $4000 in taxes. I did some searching on the Internet, and I found that most people agree with what a friend had told me, that I should look at charging 15-20% above what want on a W2 basis if your looking at a 1099 status. So I did the math and 20% came out to be about $10 an hour, so the offer of $2/hr falls about $8/hr short..or $16,000/yr. Even if I look at only taking a 15% increase, the offer still falls $11,000 short of my expected yearly salary. I made him a counter offer and am waiting to see if we can work something out, but his offer was only a 4% increase over my W2 rate. I'm willing to take a small pay cut, but 15% seems a bit steep, when ALL of the other positions I'm looking at are coming in at my desired rate on a W2 basis.
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Got a response from the recruiter, we negotiated to $7 over the W2 rate, so a bit up for him and a bit down for me. Now I just need to convince the company this is for, that I'm the right guy for the job. It's nice to have a few companies looking at me, it would be even better to have two companies making me offers...but I'll take it one step at a time.
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Got an email from a friend of mine earlier this week, with a position open in his company. I filled out the online app, and was waiting. He offered to give my resume to the hiring manager, so I sent him my resume. I know networking is the best way to find a new position, so I'm excited to see what happens with that.

Day 45 Log

Not a lot of new postings again today, guess with the weekend looming most companies are holding off on putting up their job postings.

Applied to one location, but didn't see any other new postings that I fit.

Day 44 Log

Today was a slow day, I received a call from three recruiters, two new, one just checking in. One of the new recruiters wanted to discuss a position that I had already been submitted for, so nothing much came out of that (except for a new contact). The other new recruiter found my resume on one of the posting sites and wanted to discuss what I've been looking at and just get to know me more. The job sites didn't have anything new on them, so it felt like a slow day.

Day 43 Log

Got an email last night from a recruiter that I had sent an email to yesterday. His email was sent around 9:30 PM, but I didn't happen to see it until closer to 11 PM; he wanted to get together mid morning today. I have something else going on, so I suggested later today or any other time this week. He had a good sense of humor about it, commenting that with all the advanced notice he gave me, he can't believe I couldn't squeeze him in. Hopefully it will pay off; I am happy he contacted me, this was in response to an ad that I saw that I thought looked very interesting, and the company is one I hadn't heard of, but also looked very interesting, so I'm excited to speak with him today.
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My phone call today was interesting, nothing is going to come of it for the moment, but it was very enlightening and educational.
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My meeting with recruiter this afternoon went very well, looks like I am a strong candidate for the position, it is in Eden Prairie, which is fine, since I want to move out that way, and I'm used to the drive. I'd get the opportunity to work with a very senior level DBA which would be a nice change. I hope they invite me to come into their office and discuss the position with me.
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Didn't see much new on Dice today, getting tired, so I'm going to hold off on the other job boards till tomorrow.

Day 42 Log

I had hoped that I would have been employed before 40 days, but things are a bit slower than I thought. No real solid leads at the moment, Dice.com had a number of new positions today I ended up submitting myself for eight of them. One was a telecommuting position, which would be an interesting change.
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Got a phone call back from one of the resumes I sent out, looks promising.
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Wow, things are getting lively all of a sudden, got a phone call from someone I spoke with a while ago, might have another possibility for me.

Day 39 Log

Another cold day today, and again schools were closed, so the kids were around again. Not a lot of new activity on the job sites. Dice was better than the rest, and I created a profile on Dice (up to now I have just been searching every day without creating my own profile).

Did some more reading and got SQL Server 2005 (Express) installed on my workstation, so I have been able to play a bit with some of the new features that I haven't used much...but apparently the express version doesn't come with the Adventureworks database, and for all my searching online I don't think you can get it. So I have found and installed Northwind...so at least I have some real data to play with.

Well, the weekend is up next, hope everyone has a good one.

Day 38 Log

Well it's cold out today, currently it is -17 F and the weather report says "wind chill readings from 35 to 45 below zero" The high today is only supposed to get up to -5 F. Because of this, my daughters schools are closed and they are home with us..so it's a much more lively house today.
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Got an email from the recruiter on the job I interviewed for last week, here is what he said:
"I am sorry to inform you that [they] told us they extended an offer to someone else and they accepted. They want to thank for coming in because they thought you were a very solid candidate. The only difference between you and the other candidate was that they had a little more experience with the development piece." So on the bad side I didn't get it and I need to delay working a bit longer, but I can take away from this that my skill set is thought of as "very solid", which when you've been unemployed for 38 days is nice to hear. Another benefit of this is that I don't (at least right now) have to worry about the 1099 contracting stuff..I have to admit that the thought of having to do all the taxes and lack of insurance was a bit daunting.

The same recruiter that sent me this, also told me earlier this week about a position in Eden Prairie that he just heard about which was a perm position paying what I was hoping to be paid, and the company looks like (from what I gleam from their website) a company similar (in corporate environment) to the types of companies I have worked for in the past. I am actually really looking forward to meeting with this company.
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Got my UI payment today...so it only took being unemployed for 38 days to get it...luckily I got it today, bill start to come due tomorrow. I was hoping to get four weeks of payment, but I calculated something wrong I guess. The first week you don't get paid, and I thought that was your "Waiting Week" but I guess the second week is the "Waiting Week" which you aren't paid for. So I had two weeks unpaid...but three weeks is enough to allow make my half month house payment and van payment, and buy some food (we are getting very low on food stock).
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Day 37 Log

Day 37, still no UI benefits...starting to get closer to desperate..to be honest, I don't know how we have survived this far...well, actually I do, it's been several instances of good luck, and not needing to pay a larger bill, coupled with doing more work than normal for a contract job in November, thus getting a larger than normal check in December. That added with the check coming early for said Contract in January helped us stay on our feet.
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No new jobs so far today, so I think I'll do some training and sure up some things I'd like more info on.
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Got lots of good reading in today...first really quiet day since I've been unemployed. it's been almost a month since I've done much SQL work, so it was nice to also spend some time playing with code. I also tried installing SQL 2008, but apparently I can't install Management Studio 2008 on my workstation as long as I have MS 2005 installed...bummer, gonna have to find a different computer for MS (express) 2008.

Day 36 Log

Spent the morning meeting people at a local networking meet up. Thought it would be a good idea to attend the groups meeting. I had a good time meeting with other people who work in a technical field or are interested in technology.
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Not much new today on the job sites, going to contact some recruiters I haven't heard from in a while.
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Got a bunch of emails in a row, three new possibilities, one in Eden Prairie, one in Mendota Heights, and another that I'm not sure of it's location yet.

Day 35 Log

I met with a friend this weekend who just recently was placed in a contracting opportunity. She offered to send me her recruiters information and introduce us. I have now written a summery and submitted my resume to the recruiter.
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Got a call from a recruiter who is looking for someone for a 3-6 month contract at a large health care provider in the cities. It is for a position that requires SQL writing and is not a DBA position, so it would be a nice change to focus on just writing TSQL/SP's and not have to worry about the overall health of the server. On the down side, they are offering $5 less an hour than I want, so that is roughly $5,000 less over a 6 month period...I am slightly reluctant to go that low, as the money I'm looking for is needed to keep my salary roughly the same and to pay for medical benefits, so loosing the $5000 will actually cost quite a bit.
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My wife is getting tired of me being home I think...today she started looking for jobs for me and sending them to my email account..she found some good ones too...

Day 33 Log

I got feedback from the recruiter who setup the interview yesterday. I am happy to hear that the company I met with thought things went well, here is part of an email I received from the recruiter:

"He said that everyone in the group liked you and it went well. He has a few other interviews he has set up. He said he wants to finish up those interview and decide who he likes best, but so far things are positive."

Day 32 Log

Sent some emails back and forth this morning between a few recruiters and my self, trying to get ready for my interview this afternoon. Reviewing some of the requirements and figuring out the best way to drive there.
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Had a great interview with a company in the Hopkins/Eden Prairie area. I thought that the interview went very well, I was able to answer most of their questions and I think I'd make a great addition to their team....I'm just hoping they feel the same way.

Day 31 Log

I had hoped it wouldn't be an entire month before I was employed again. It's been a nice rest/break, but I'm more than ready to get back out into the work force.
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Job sites are quiet this morning, nothing new since yesterday
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Got a call from the recruiter I spoke with yesterday, the company I was excited about has received my resume and based on it, they feel I'm a good match, so they are going to do a phone screen with me today. If that goes well, then things will really be looking up for me.
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My call when great, they asked me to come into their office tomorrow to meet with them. This is progressing nicely. Here's hoping that things continue to go well!!! Wish me luck.

Day 30 Log

I think today is the first day I've started to feel discouraged. I haven't gotten my UI payment yet, not many new jobs are showing up and for the first time in several weeks, I have no good prospects. I know the market is picking up, but none the less, I'm feeling the discouragement.
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I forgot about CareerBuilder.com, found several positions on their site, most were ones that were on monster or dice as well, but a few were new. One I really liked, I hope they call me back. Another was very ambiguous, and had a very long application process, after 10 minutes I got through the fourth of seven steps, and the system bombed. Told me to start over...maybe I will this afternoon, but now I'm just pissed that I have to start over...I hate it when I have to upload a resume, then re-type in all the information.
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Spent some time on LinkedIn, updating some stuff, and checking out some of the groups I just joined. Some have people posting positions, sent a few requests for more info, not sure if anything will come of it, but it puts my name out there.
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Got a call this afternoon from a recruiter whom I spoke with a few years back, but at the time I wasn't looking. He was checking in with me, and has what sounds like a perfect fit for me. In the banking industry so that would be a fresh change. I'm going to see if we can move forward on this. Down side of it is that it is a contract to hire, which isn't bad on its own, but it is a 1099 contract, not a W-2; which means that I'd have to have my own company, and figure out taxes on my own, and no chance for insurance until they would hire me. This might end up being good for me, I have thought of incorporating for a while, and if this moves forward, I'd need to do that...the day started out with me feeling discouraged, and is ending up with me feeling pretty good.

Day 29 Log

Happy Birthday to me!
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Had my phone interview with the company in Mendota Heights, didn't go as well as I had wanted. They are looking for someone who will do purely maintenance. My goals for the future are to continue to learn and become a well rounded DBA, I'm afraid that if I focus solely on one area, like pure development or pure maintenance, that I won't achieve those goals. I mentioned this to the interviewer and he told me that it wouldn't do justice to their system to have their developers doing maintenance or their maintenance people doing development, which given their size makes sense, but I don't think that it would be a good fit for me. If I had to do a pure-anything position, I'd rather be a pure-developer, I enjoy that better than doing the maintenance.

Don't get me wrong, a big part of me was saying that I should shut up and take the job; it's been almost a month since I was layed off, and almost a month since I was paid (still no UI benefits, everything is still pending...taking a lot of crap from my wife on that), so saying no to following a position that might work out for me is a bit of a gamble, but since everyone tells me that companies are ramping up and staring to hire, I'd like to hold off on a position that isn't a good fit, and look for one where I'll be happier and thus a better employee, and everyone wins.
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Again not much on the job sites, I found one new position that I would be a good fit for (from the sound of the posting). I applied for it, hoping to get a call back.
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Had to contact a recruiting firm that I spoke with several weeks ago to see if they had submitted me for a position that the firm I worked with this week was thinking of submitting me for.

Day 28 Log

Well according to what I've been told by previous recruiters now is when the job market should be looking better. I'm having a meeting with a new recruiting company followed by lunch with a friend who is also unemployed. I will spend the afternoon checking in with recruiters and searching the job sites to see what is new.
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Had a good meeting with my contact this morning. Sounds like as the month progresses, more and more jobs will become available as budgets get approved for the year.
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Got a call from a recruiter I spoke with a few weeks back, they have me setup for a phone interview tomorrow with a company close to home. My wife likes the company's location, so we'll see how the interview goes.
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After some more feedback on my resume, I decided to make some changes to it.
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Only a few new positions on the job sites, I applied for one that looks interesting.