Love me, hire me

The round-table conferences went exceptionally well this morning. I went last year and sat down with a car manufacturer and wasn't too impressed. So this year, I didn't exactly jump when the notice came around that the conference was back. But then there was an empty spot for a marketing position with a pharmecutical company and I figured I'd be an idiot not to go. Plus, the event was business casual and not business dress. So I really had no excuse not to go (sometimes, the idea of stuffing myself into pantyhose is enough to keep me at home). As Lin put it, "It's a lose/lose situation. You feel bad if you go, you feel bad if you don't go."

The pharmecutical company (Eli Lilly) was really looking for sales reps. I managed to get one question in about their training program and then cornered the recruiter to give him my resume even though I'm pretty sure that sales and I are not a good fit. But beggers can't necessarily be choosers and he did promise to send my resume up to the company's headquarters. I understand it's a long shot, but at least I got my resume in, and a contact name.

The second chat was really by chance. Lunch was provided and I saw an empty seat next to Lin so I went there and turned out, I was sitting right next to the recruiter from Dell. At first I was like, "Uh oh, how did I end up next to the recruiter? What am I going to say" But then I remembered a recent news item on Dell, re their leasing of floor space from malls and Sears and I asked about that. Once the ice was broken, I found it easy to keep talking. I know I have to be aggressive about this, so the recruiter was trying to slip out, but I managed to grab him just before he walked out and handed him my resume. He gave me his email address as well.

It's too much to hope that anything will come out of it, but the truth is, I've been entirely too passive about the whole job search. In four months, I'm going to be out there on the street with very few options. There's always the other academic program but I'm so tired of reading and of studying. I'm ready to be out there again and be an employee, a corporate drone once again. Anyway, in terms of getting my resume to the recruiters and being aggressive with the questions, I did much better than I usually do at these kinds of things. So, cross your fingers for me. May isn't so far away.