Thursday, February 04, 2010

They're Dropping Like Flies

The job opportunities, that is.

And that's what they do. That is the process. You cast your net wide, but not too wide. You see what's out there that makes good and logical sense, what's in the realm of probability. You interact, you test, you assess, you filter. Both you... and the companies.

It's a bit like free agency in sports, I think. When you first become a free agent, there are lots of possibilities. Over time, the possibilities get narrowed down to the teams that are truly interested in you. You may or may not be interested in them. But your preferred teams (or cities) may not have a spot for you. So, because you want to keep playing, you talk seriously with those who are serious about you, desirable situations or not. Maybe late in the process some new team you like will enter the picture and make an offer at the last minute. But you deal with the ones who are currently talking to you.

The "weeding out" process is natural. And this week, it seemed like a lot of that happened. The number of active job opportunities dropped sharply. So, I continue to talk to those who are expressing some interest. Any kind of interest.

Later in the process, if nothing "reasonable" comes to fruition, and nothing new surfaces, you'll start to think: "gee, maybe I need to go down to the minors (baseball), or the Canadian league (football), or the European league (basketball), or to semipro (hockey), just to keep playing. I need a paycheck!"

And for me, that might mean considering the East Coast or West Coast, regions I've told my agent (er, excuse me, recruiter) not to explore. Yet.

'cause, hey, even though it's only for one more day, I'm still under contract in the majors. It's not yet time to consider playing in Japan. Toronto.. maybe. :)

2 comments:

Future Urban Planner said...

Literally Toronto? I like Toronto. But baseball analogies are lost on me.
But stay away from the New England part of the coast. You know they really feel about their players.
But hey West Side- you know. . . don't box yourself in too tightly. LAX can't get you there ;-)
Wouldn't it be ironic tho if you came to the City of Angels, and I went to Charlotte? Haha!

Bill said...

Um, yes, Toronto, literally. Will likely have a phone interview with them next week. Phoenix and Reno are in play as well, but have not progressed to an interview yet. There are a couple of other possibilities in the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, but... well... let's not get carried away, right? :)

Who links to my website?