Retiree bios

In the search for employment, if not a full-time job, I'm trying to increase my freelance business. I'm editing city newsletters, trying to find a way to get blogging to pay, and I'm now trying to drum up business at Rossmoor and other retirement communities by writing short biographies for people. I placed a small ad in the Rossmoor News, offering to write peoples' stories and bios as something they can give to their grandchildren, children, friends and family. It can be a few pages long or a short book. Few people ask their grandparents about their lives, and fewer get it on paper to save for generations to read later, so I thought this would be a good gift someone could give their family to remember them by.
Rossmoor is a retirement community in Walnut Creek, CA, and other than the ad I'm trying to figure out a way to maybe meet with a group of people there to propose this bio idea, or get the word out in a larger way. I'm also planning to visit a few retirement homes in the area. So far, no bites on the ad, but I keep plugging away.

Rock the vote

So I'm going to start volunteering at Jerry McNerney's campaign office in Dublin. I'll be helping the deputy communications director write/edit, and I hope to also help them contact newspapers and get their message in the media, either through news stories or letters to the editor.
I don't think I'll be pulling any strings yet at my former employer, the Contra Costa Times, but I'll offer any insights I have into newspapers and other media and how to best get the word out. I expect it will be an interesting experience and a chance to meet a lot of politically active people for the next month or so until the election.

Networking

Before I get too far into this blog, I'd like to give a quick shoutout to Community Presbyterian Church Job Connections, also called CPC Job Connections, a Danville networking group that meets on Saturday mornings. The church lets the networking group use its meeting room. I checked it out a few weeks after getting laid off, and it's an interesting group to be a member of. It's a great way to meet people who, the hope is, could lead you to someone else in finding a job. I even started by own Success Team in Concord, where 4-6 of us meet on Monday mornings to discuss how our job hunts are going and how we can help each other find a job.

If you'd like to join Job Connections, check out their Web site for details. And the Concord Success Team is open to more members too.

Walnut Parade

Tonight my family will be in the Walnut Parade in downtown Walnut Creek as part of Emma's preschool group, Pied Piper Preschool in Walnut Creek. While it isn't part of a job hunt, it's a fun way to be out in the community and have fun with the parents and kids at Pied Piper, which is a great preschool where Emma is in her second year at.

Walnut Creek is a great city I'd like to work for someday, hopefully writing city publications or some such work for. Maybe I'll meet someone tonight who works for the city and can help make that come true.

Volunteering to find a job

One piece of advice I got early on in my job hunt, meaning two months ago, was to volunteer at something I enjoy doing. "Why?" I thought. I'm spending every waking hour looking for a job, networking and crafting a resume, how would I have time to volunteer? The idea is that it could lead to a job somewhere down the road, along with keeping myself occupied and interested in something other than staying off unemployment.

I was going to volunteer as an usher at A's games, but that might not lead to much. So last week I went to the Democratic office in downtown Walnut Creek and offered my writing/editing services. While they were glad to have me, they didn't have any immediate opportunities, so they referred me to a few local Democrats running for office. It now looks like I might soon be volunteering in Jerry McNerney's office, doing some type of writing. It's not a paid position, so that's OK, but helping a Congressman get re-elected sounds like fun. And a little something to add to my resume and talk to potential employers about. Next week I expect to meet with a McNerney campaign person to see if this comes to fruition. I'll update the blog when and if things move forward.

Intro to Tales of an unemployed dad

This is my first foray into blogging, and I hope it will be a fun trip as I detail tales of unemployment in this lousy economy and of the people I meet in my search for a job. And I'll throw in daily dispatches in being an unemployed dad and and how that affects a 4-year-old, not pictured here but coming in a later post.

First a quick bio of me:

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and was laid off June 27, 2008 at the Contra Costa Times, a daily newspaper in Walnut Creek, CA. I was an assistant metro editor, meaning I worked with reporters on formulating and editing their stories. The job search has been humbling and encouraging at times, and this blog's aim is to document it and hopefully share some insight into finding work, and into raising a kid during the turmoil. After all, she, and my wife, are why the job hunt continues vigorously.

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