Anatomy of a Laid Off Worker's Job Hunt in 2009, Day 5, 3/6/09 (Updated Weekly)

This morning I was awakened by early morning news on TV. Our local CBS affiliate, WTSP Channel 10 was on, and the anchor was discussing the Tampa Bay Job Fair that would be held today. Well, maybe this is good news. I've been without a job for one week since my layoff from my law firm, and thought maybe I would check out the job fair website for last minute registration and company roster, print out some new resumes, and make my way down to the Quorum Hotel in South Tampa where over 1,000 fellow job seekers are expected.

I took the girls, Lanay and Jada, to school, ironed some interview-appropriate clothes, and by 11:00am, I was out the door and on the way to Tampa! I wasn't sure where to find a FedEx Kinko's or other printer in Lakeland so I decided to print out 10 resumes from my flash drive on professional paper at the Downtown Tampa FedEx-Kinko's. The cost was about $4 (.20/sheet); not too bad.

Once I arrived at the hotel, I signed in with my name and e-mail address and was given a nice folder by job fair staff with table listings, job ads, and more. I had already checked out the website and was aware of the companies that would be represented: 2020 Companies, Airline Academy, Amscot - Corp Office, Avon Products, Inc., Defense Intelligence Agency, DeVry University, FastTrain, FBI, Flexicom, Gulf Coast College, HCR Manor Care, International Academy of Design and Technology, Keiser University - Lakeland, Kelly Services, Lasalle Computer Learning, LDG Financial Services, Metro PCS, NCO, T & M Acquisitions, University of Phoenix, US Army Recruiting Battalion, and Virginia College Online. Not exactly your who's who of corporate behemoths, but hey beggars can't be choosy right? I had already planned to speak with Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, and University of Phoenix in regards to IT and business job openings which they were advertising, but the recruiters were there as window dressing and instructed me that I also needed to post my resume on their websites. Most of the other recruiters were either trying to recruit sales people to sell phones or for door-to-door, inside sales, etc. or were trying to recruit students or new instructors for their institutions. One of the schools gave me a free gift certificate for a spa treatment/massage, so I'll give that to Shirre.

In the final analysis, today was a good day. I'm keeping my head up because I know I'm a smart, young, highly-marketable MBA with experience working in multiple industries in IT and business functions. I may not have really got any solid job leads or face time with the HR people that I actually wanted to see, but at least I picked up toys and gifts at each table for my children including some clear, red light-up yo-yo's that I know Reuben, Lanay, and Jada are going to love!