5 Easy Pieces

Although my job hunt is still a work in progress at this point, I've been getting a lot of help from the folks with Chicago Public Radio's Hard Working series. And today is no exception. I'm just the first job seeker in their blog's new recurring feature, aptly called, "Give Me a Job, Please." All I had to do was answer five fun questions and send them a photo. You'll have to click through here to see the photo in all its glory, but I'll re-post the questions and answers here:

LOOKING FOR WORK AS: a writer/editor/journalist

You sit down in an interview and the boss starts with: “Tell me why you want to work here.” You say:Hopefully something that belies my desperation and still comes across as sincere. I know I’ve interviewed for jobs that I didn’t really want – reporting on niche industries I have zero interest in. Recruiters can probably sniff that out pretty fast. It’s a hard line to walk though when you really need that job – or any job, really. My poker face needs a lot of work.

Please write a haiku about your dream job.
My boss: Ira Glass
Protected from recession
Huzzah, not retail!

Tell us about a time you were a real “team player”?
I had one job that required me to write 30 to 40 newsbrief abstracts between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. under punishing deadlines. Even on weekends and evenings. The one good thing about it was that about at least 15 other writers and editors were in it withme, and their willingness to pitch in and help me was always gratifying. As was returning the favor.

When you made a bad choice while reading a “Choose Your Own Adventure Book” did you: A) Accept your fate B) Go back to the choice and choose again, pretending you didn’t make the first choice C) Mock the writer for not understanding how the real world works D) Other
I couldn’t be bothered to read a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, as that requires too much effort. I prefer the kind of escapism where you realize you have no control over the outcome and thus have to accept it. I have enough anxiety over the future as it is. That said, B is pretty tempting….no, wait, I mean A! Can I still pick A? See what I mean?

What else should we know about you?
That I prefer a job in publishing but since the job market in that industry is so saturated right now, I’m entertaining a lot of different options. As long as it’s not retail! I’m rapidly approaching age 30, I live in Evanston, and am a semi-regular blogger and freelance writer.

Hey, stranger

After a long vacation from regular blogging (the reasons for which I plan to enumerate later), it's time for me to get back to it.

In the meantime, I wanted to post a link to the Chicago Public Radio story I was interviewed for this summer. If you've read this blog at all, you know that one of my pet topics isunemployment etiquette. A few months after that post. CPR's Hard Working series and American Public Media decided to tackle the issue too.

You can listen to -- or read -- the result, complete with advice from "Ask Amy" Dickinson herself.