Day 59 - Day 70 - March 30, 2009
Within the past week, my husband and I noticed a distinct difference in the number of recruiter calls and interviewing opportunities for him compared to the previous weeks of his layoff as software engineer. So as Pete Wiggins, the little boy actor in the Kaiser Permanente commercial says, "Things are lookin up." Since 2003, when my husband was initially laid off from Cap Gemini America in Minneapolis after nineteen years of service with them, he has been an independent contractor. Independent contracting has resulted in amazing adventures for us throughout the United States. Since 2004,
we have lived in Greenville, SC; Herndon, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Corona, CA; Louisville, KY; and Newport Beach, CA. (We want to stay in sunny, crazy California because our grown children are relatively close by).
Let me explain the life of a independent contracting software engineer: Assignments can be with large corporations or small companies and generally last for an average of six months to a year. Before the contract with one company is over, my husband puts his resume up with Monster or Dice or other job boards on the web. Since 2004, as soon as his resume went up, the calls would come in from all over the United States. One company would need a Visual Basic programmer for 6 months in Jackson, Mississippi, another might need a .net or asp programmer for a year in Minneapolis, and so on.
Mike's last job, however, was not an independent contracting job. He decided to take a full-time position last year with a company in Irvine to have "more job security." Uh, huh. He was the last hired in that company and therefore among the first several who were let go.
Of course he knew there would be diminished number of calls from recruiters in this economic recession, but neither he nor I expected what has been transpiring - an almost total dearth of calls.
However, last week was different. (Perhaps this news is like the harbinger of spring as my old college professor used to say, and it is a signal that the economy is inching it's way back up.) Mike had a phone interview with a company in San Diego and a live interview right up the road from where we stay in our RV. The latter would be a position for three months, but it would be very positive since the pay would be the same as Mike is used to as an independent contractor, since we wouldn't have to relocate, and since the length of time seems appropriate for things to really start buzzing again and for a longer assignment to rear it's lovely head.
As I write, I keep hoping for the phone to ring with positive news. As "The Secret" philosophy suggests with it's emphasis on the laws of attraction, perhaps I can draw in good fortune with my positive thoughts. So I'll close right now and say, "It will be great to write the next blog with news of Mike's new three month assignment!"
Within the past week, my husband and I noticed a distinct difference in the number of recruiter calls and interviewing opportunities for him compared to the previous weeks of his layoff as software engineer. So as Pete Wiggins, the little boy actor in the Kaiser Permanente commercial says, "Things are lookin up." Since 2003, when my husband was initially laid off from Cap Gemini America in Minneapolis after nineteen years of service with them, he has been an independent contractor. Independent contracting has resulted in amazing adventures for us throughout the United States. Since 2004,
we have lived in Greenville, SC; Herndon, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Corona, CA; Louisville, KY; and Newport Beach, CA. (We want to stay in sunny, crazy California because our grown children are relatively close by).
Let me explain the life of a independent contracting software engineer: Assignments can be with large corporations or small companies and generally last for an average of six months to a year. Before the contract with one company is over, my husband puts his resume up with Monster or Dice or other job boards on the web. Since 2004, as soon as his resume went up, the calls would come in from all over the United States. One company would need a Visual Basic programmer for 6 months in Jackson, Mississippi, another might need a .net or asp programmer for a year in Minneapolis, and so on.
Mike's last job, however, was not an independent contracting job. He decided to take a full-time position last year with a company in Irvine to have "more job security." Uh, huh. He was the last hired in that company and therefore among the first several who were let go.
Of course he knew there would be diminished number of calls from recruiters in this economic recession, but neither he nor I expected what has been transpiring - an almost total dearth of calls.
However, last week was different. (Perhaps this news is like the harbinger of spring as my old college professor used to say, and it is a signal that the economy is inching it's way back up.) Mike had a phone interview with a company in San Diego and a live interview right up the road from where we stay in our RV. The latter would be a position for three months, but it would be very positive since the pay would be the same as Mike is used to as an independent contractor, since we wouldn't have to relocate, and since the length of time seems appropriate for things to really start buzzing again and for a longer assignment to rear it's lovely head.
As I write, I keep hoping for the phone to ring with positive news. As "The Secret" philosophy suggests with it's emphasis on the laws of attraction, perhaps I can draw in good fortune with my positive thoughts. So I'll close right now and say, "It will be great to write the next blog with news of Mike's new three month assignment!"
