Throwback Blog: Top Ten Bad Breaks And Bad Timings

Blogger’s Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Top Ten Bad Breaks And Bad Timings in Feb 2013. Perhaps the timing is good, ironically, to repost my bad breaks and bad timings. I have been experiencing these during my job search such as being shortlisted without an interview, positions cancelled, and being second place. The job market continues to be tough. I can avoid these if I cheap myself working in data entry again. I'm done with data entry. I have nothing to lose. My current life situation proves the more difficulties I experience, the more bad breaks and bad timings chance.

We all experience bad breaks. We all have been at the wrong place and at the wrong time. They happen beyond our control most of the time. These are part of life. We deal with it. We learn from it. We prepare the next time bad breaks and bad timings occur.

I admit these are small potatoes in my opinion. I could have experienced worse. I believe the more I live, the more difficulties I experience, and the more bad breaks and bad timings come to me. I'm prepared. Here are my top ten:

10. Stomach Flu (Dec 1991). My sister was an extra in The Nutcracker ballet. One of the extras in her group was an executive in a high tech company. He organized a party for all the extras and their families. My family told me it was the best party ever. I missed it because I was bed-ridden with the stomach flu.

9. Super Bowl XXXI (Jan 1997). Blockbuster Video called me to fill in a shift for a sick worker during the time Super Bowl XXXI was broadcasted. My shift was over when the football game was over. I missed the party with my friends. It was the only Super Bowl I missed since I became a football fan.

Side note: All the female employees worked the early and afternoon shifts. The male employees worked the evening shift.

8. Dot Com Stock Market Bust (Mar 2000). I doubled my money in my stock portfolio. I was stupid I didn't take my money and run. My portfolio never recovered. I lost lots of money.

7. An Economics Major With Three Semesters Of Physics (1994-1995). Physics was required for a Mathematics major. I switched majors from Mathematics to Economics on the semester I took my third and final Physics class. What a waste of time.

6. Fanime Con '98 (Feb 1998). The first time I was sick during an anime convention. I survived taking multiple medications. If anyone looked at me, they thought I was stoned.

Side note: The next time I was sick during an anime convention was Anime Expo '11 in July 2011.

5. Anime Expo '00 (July 2000). The convention was held at the Disneyland Hotel. Disaster from the start. Midnight programming was shut down. A featured movie never arrived. Congoers in costume and Disneyland security clashed. Complaints Disneyland food were expensive. The construction and renovation made it worse as congoers had to detour around the hotel perimeter.

The reason Anime Expo went to the Disneyland Hotel was the Anaheim Convention Center underwent expansion. 2006 was the last year Anime Expo was at the Anaheim Convention Center.

4. Cisco Contract Terminated (Nov 2008). The real estate bubble bursted in the beginning of 2008. It was a matter of time when my contract was terminated. 11 months was a long time from Jan. I believed I was terminated because my manager favored another contractor who had an MBA degree, not necessarily because my department didn't have the money.

3. My Manager Left Me Behind (Sept 1998 and Oct 1999). My manager who hired me at my first job went to a competitor . He also hired me at our competitor. Then he moved to another country months later. He didn't give me enough training in research analysis and being a good employee. He didn't have enough time to mentor me. It was like he ditched me.

2. New General Education Requirements At San Jose State University (Fall 1993). I was really angry to be honest. The new requirements started for all enrolled students except graduating seniors. I had to take extra classes. I could have graduated one semester early if it wasn't for the extra classes . . . and my Physics classes.

1. Graduated My High School Senior Year At A Different High School (1992). I was affected again with a bad economy. The 1990 recession forced my district to close two high schools. The high school I attended for three years was one of the two high schools to close. I really didn't have a bad senior year. I should have been more proactive in being friendlier and I should have accepted attending a different high school.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

I Blog, You Comment Apr 26, 2016

There are two out of many attributes defining a good human being. The first attribute is independent thinking. Think for yourself. Express your opinion. The second attribute is respecting everyone's thoughts and opinions same, different, or in between. Thank you for sharing your comments and opinions.

A few readers applauded me when I wrote Yes Slow Down. I blogged the world needs to relax. The world is fatigued. Specifically, I need to slow down because life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Good for you. Take your time. Work slowly yet efficiently. --Shu Hackler, Laredo, TX

You're making the correct choice finding time to rest, recover, and sleep well. There's always tomorrow. There's always another day to watch that TV show. -- Carmelita Bettcher, San Antonio, TX

The pyramids and Rome weren't built overnight. Take your time. Success will follow. -- Deloise Gagner, Henderson, NV

My two teenagers can't slow down. They're busy studying, busy with school sports, and busy socializing. They rarely have time for family. What's the world coming treating our sons and daughters like this? It wasn't that way when I was in high school. My high school was go to school, chat with friends during activities, and not even worrying about college applications. -- Lawerence Faucett, Los Gatos, CA

Cash, greed, and power will rule the world. Without them these people rather die. No time to be slow. Life is about cash and the bottom line. The end result matters no matter what it takes. -- Miguel Sanchez, Mesa, AZ

My secret living for 95 years. It's plenty of sleep. -- Glady Youngblood, Lexington-Fayette, KY

Sense of urgency is full of sh**. These people are making money in the short-term making every minute and every deal count. But when they're 50 or 60 popping pills for lack of healthy diet and exercise. No way I'm living that way in my old years. -- Jeri Delacerda, Huntington, NY

Parents added more to my Top Ten Life Advices I Wished Somebody Told Me In My 20s. My top ten list is the following: college grades are overrated, seek new adventures and experience new experiences, get stronger, be responsible, control of my own life, don't take life for granted, meet new people and make new friends, make mistakes, move out as soon as possible, and embrace change.

Get a part time job. That's how you learn the world and people. --JKReally via email

I told my college sons to meet new people and make friends in real. Online doesn't count. -- Reinaldo Scofield, Denver, CO

Save money. Learn investing. These people at Wall Street care only for their greed and their bottom line profits. Wall Street knows how to take advantage of idiot investors. -- Kimbra Duhaime, Chula Vista, CA

Visit a foreign country is my number one advice. -- Karyn Taubman, Montgomery, AL

There are two common life sayings which are live in the present moment and prepare for the future. Both life sayings are correct when combined. They're useless separated. I elaborated the combined in Live For Today And Live For Tomorrow.

Fantastic! Well written! I was confused when my parents told me one day to make my mark today. Time passes. They told me when I started in my freshmen year college is preparing me for the future. I was confused. I realized in my mid 30s my parents were correct both times. -- Annamae Griffey, Houston, TX

I'm happy you realized how much you missed living in the present when you were younger. You will succeed at catching up what you missed. I wish you the best doing it now for tomorrow. -- Marybelle Hemmings, Washington D.C.

I knew I made the right choices. No drugs, no drinking, no smoking. Some of my college friends, classmates, and acquaintances were lucky they turned out ok. Some of them didn't turn out ok. They're losers wasting time. They just didn't get their college lives. The drugs, drinking and smoking were life lessons corrected for the ok. The ones didn't turn out ok are still doing drugs, drinking, and/or smoking. They lived in the present and didn't care for the future. They're heavily in debt they haven't paid their loans. -- Sherman Kunkle, New Orleans, LA

The gym is the best example of living today for tomorrow. I love how you wrote the exercise. I exercise now for a healthier tomorrow. I hired a personal trainer. I don't want to walk around in my 80s with a walker. -- Tosha Gwinn, Sacramento, CA

A lot of thank you comments when I wrote my 1,000th Blog.

Please keep blogging. I read them. I learn from them. --iluvcookies via email

Cheers, Mate!!! --Paul K., Australia

Another 1,000 blogs, please. I want to see you grow and improve. It's too bad some people never grow and improve. I see the strength in you coming out. Best wishes and successes are coming. Be patient. -- Vernia Altieri, Virginia Beach, VA

Now that you wrote 1,000 blogs, relax and take a break. No need to write nine blogs a month anymore. Stop continuing. You need to take time off blogging and more time going outdoors. I want to read more action and successes. I hope so when you finally move out and get a job. -- Danny Morais, Pittsburgh, PA

On the other hand . . .

I hoped you stopped at 1,000. The blog sphere has too much crap. You're full of crap big time! -- Joni Fuson, Newark, NJ

Now that you wrote 1,000 blogs, stop. One less crap blog in the internet to read. -- Alvin Bondurant, Colorado Springs, CO

Go start your innovating life. You need a life, loser. -- Mathew Lucchesi, Minneapolis, MI

Stop writing and start living. Your blogs are garbage. Write less, live more. Then write another 1,000 blogs when you're older. -- Tyson Kearns, Memphis, TN

I devoted a blog titled All The People In My Life to everyone I met, the people who influenced me who I am today, and hopefully I influenced most of the people who were in my life. People come and go. I wish the best for those who are not part of my life currently.

I keep in touch with everyone because of Facebook. High school, military, and my neighbors from all the cities I lived. I'm happy to say most of them are doing well. --R.D. I., Japan

I thought about the people in my past life after I read your blog. There were a few with bad childhoods. I hope they're doing well. -- Orville Blum, Akron, OH

I'm sad to say through communications with acquaintances a few of my friends now in their 40s and 50s are experiencing rough times. One of them is homeless. As life continues, people change for the better or for the worse. If anyone in my past is encountered with me, I answer I'm lucky I am what I am today. --I. Smith, no city

I wrote another confusing blog titled Growing Up Too Late Was Not My Fault. I stated my current life situation being behind was the fault of others. I listed my reasons I grew up later than I should have beyond my control. Some readers thought other reasons.

I will say this regarding growing up too late or late. It's subjective when is too late and when is late. Frankly speaking, you did it. The obstacles life presented you consider yourself a winner. -- Dusty Borquez, Hialeah, FL

Full of bull [is my] conclusion your life is today. Blaming your shortcomings on others. Be more responsible. You're a coward. -- Edna Comacho, Dallas, TX

I read the blog not knowing when you grew up. 20s, 30s, 40s? How old were you? I stopped reading after the first reason because you're grown up. End of blog. No need to state the reason why you're late. -- Darell Nida, Omaha, NE

These were excuses in your past life. You lived a naive life, and those excuses were reasons you stayed naive and didn't want to grow up. --Earl Smith, Italy

It sounded like you knew what you were doing and you didn't want to grow up. Shame on you. You deserve to be living behind everyone else. -- Stephnie Principe, Wichita, KS

My neighbor's son is 35 years old. Dropped out of college. No life. Stays at home doing nerdy stuff. Playing video games, watching too much television, reading Star Wars books. Can't even talk to a woman. Heck, women run away. Overweight, smells, and bad breath. I respect the parents having him live at home. He could have been homeless. I tell you the parents did their best. They're not dumb parents. They hope for a miracle day when he realized he must stop the nerd life and get a real grown up life. -- Aldo Fetterolf, Rochester, NY

I received positive comments for the live the present intelligently bullet from Instant Bullets Blog Dec 1, 2015.

All of our choices we make in life should be and must be done intelligently. What an intelligent way to communicate how to make better choices. -- Liana Waring, Miami, FL

I love the word "intelligently" after living the present. It's like its okay to drink wine. It's not okay to get "drunk" drinking wine. Drink intelligently. -- Elmira Vanwagner, New York, NY

The first blog I read was the 24/48 hour urge to splurge rule. Splurging intelligently. I can tell you my wife and I saved hundreds and thousands of dollars avoiding the urge to splurge. It's a 99% not spending rate waiting a minimum of 24 hours to buy. --Elvis "Stud", CA

Thank you for the encouragement from I'm An Open Person. I told the world I'm doing my best in my current life situation.

Never give up. Never. Continue what [you're] doing. To quote the late Steve Jobs, "The journey is the reward." -- Bernadine Hagenbuch, Scottsdale, AZ

Stay busy. It's the best way to keep going. Stop and all of a sudden your feel depressed, you feel despondent, and all of your hard work is wasted. -- Deshawn Roosevelt, Las Vegas, NV

Life is moving forward. There are people who want you in his or her life professionally, as a friend, and/or as a wife. Life rewards those who do good things. You're doing good for yourself. You did a good job starting. You're going to do good finishing. -- Rebecca Quan, Oakland, CA

I read your blog. I started opening up. No more keeping my life enclosed to myself. Life is really not that bad. I feel free. I feel relax. I feel like smiling more. --Ricky Fanchild, TN

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

It's Not Worth The Commute

I visited my brother for a priority situation on an afternoon weekday recently. He lives approximately 43 miles from my house. The drive time during non-commute is 45 minutes. My drive time during commute was 1 hour and 40 minutes. The increase was 122%. Ridiculous. There was one minor accident my judgment said no increase in driving time. My brother told me he knows people who commute up to 2 hours from his neighborhood to Silicon Valley pending accidents.

Fortunately, my brother works in the same city he lives. His commute is 5-10 minutes. He's lucky. The unfortunate people who commute at least 43 miles to work may be gaining short term financial gains living in a cheaper cost of living region. I believe the long term costs are more than money. Let's say the average commute from my brother's city to Silicon Valley is 1 hour and 30 minutes or 90 minutes to make the numbers easier to calculate. Multiple 90 minutes by two for a round trip workday. The commuter drives 180 minutes or three hours a day. Multiple 180 minutes by five for a work week. The commuter sits in his car driving 15 hours a week to and from work.

15 hours a week in a car adds stress to the person physically sitting down, mentally concentrating on the road especially after the workday is completed, emotionally feeling to unwind, spiritually desperate needing rest, and financially paying the costs of the car. The person spends too much time on the road. It affects well-being. There is too much time on the road for which it can be spent on personal fulfillment. For example, more time to sleep, more time to learn new job skills, more time to socialize, and more time for physical fitness. If the person is a parent, then more time spent raising children.

Money means nothing if a person is in no condition to live a good life. I fail to see people driving long commutes living a good life from the middle years to later years. The commute hours add up. We're human. The body can take so much inactivity in a car. I don't see myself living miles away from work just to save a few bucks on cost of living. The present moment living in an affordable house or affordable living region may cost the future a higher rate of aging due to lack of physical activity, lower mental endurance, poor sleep, and smaller circle of friends. Money sitting in a bank is nothing. It's not worth it.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Three Different Answers For Three Different Time Periods Attending De Anza College

The question is going back to college attending De Anza College 2009-2011 worth it? My answer yesterday was time will tell earning an AA degree in Accounting pays off for my next career. My answer today is a waste of time because the jobs I worked the degree was useless. My answer tomorrow is unknown.

There were two reasons I choose to attend De Anza College during the great recession. The first reason was to correct my mistakes when I attended San Jose State University. I failed to experience a good college student life. San Jose State University was a commuter university. Students came to campus, went to classes, and leave to go home. Some of the mistakes I corrected attending De Anza College were making new friends, making life mistakes, seeking new adventures, experiencing new experiences, watching a lot of movies, studying half-ass for some classes earning a high grade, and reading more fiction books. The second reason was increasing my knowledge for my next career. Companies laid-off people during the great recession. Companies were not hiring. I used my indefinite free time earning a degree instead of sitting around watching TV and playing video games.

There were life mistakes I committed I failed to correct while attending De Anza College. The first mistake was I didn't job searching at the minimum casually. I might have struck a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow landing a job. Two friends found jobs in 2009. One of them still works at the company. The second was laid-off; fortunately, he found another job two months later. The second mistake was I didn't devote time to learn new job skills and refresh existing job skills outside the classroom. I spent most of my free time having too much fun.

On the other hand, I'm the best person I have ever been in my life. My time at De Anza College, being unemployed multiple times, and my two contract jobs allowed me to find missing puzzle pieces to become independent:

*Ballroom dancing. My sister was an amateur ballroom dancer. She introduced me to ballroom dancing in Jan 2009.

*Wake up call after failing an interview Excel test. I started learning new job skills and refreshing existing job skills while working at my first job in June 2014. Some of the new job skills I learned were Oracle, Python, VBA, and forecasting. Some of the existing job skills I reviewed were Excel, Salesforce, and SQL. I continue learning and refreshing today.

*I dated alien cat. We shared new adventures and new experiences. Some of her knowledge and wisdom I use today such as expanding my genre in books, hiking new trails, playing new board games, and patting myself with a towel after a shower. I watched some of her old recommended good television series.

*Podcasts. I listen to four podcasts: Sex With Emily, Awesome Etiquette, Freakonomics, and Car Talk which is rebroadcasting reruns.

*Anime retirement. I retired from anime in Sep 2014. It was time to close the anime hobby chapter.

*Best physical health. I workout at the gym 4-5 days a week. I was last sick on May 2014.

*Life lesson no cancelling out good and bad. For example, I minimize eating out. Working out at the gym 4-5 days a week doesn't cancel eating processed foods, going out to restaurants, drinking soda, and eating sweets. I also minimize eating junk food.

*Mahjong (Riichi). I have improved my skills playing Mahjong (Riichi).

*Zion National Park. I backpacked and camped for the first time on Oct 2015.

*First consulting job. A cousin hooked me up with a retired banker who's doing consulting work. I helped him with his assignments. He gave me a portion of his consulting fee.

*New emotions. "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path" is a common cliché life lesson. I experience new emotions being there and experiencing them: not giving up backpacking at Zion National Park; willpower hiking at Mission Peak in Sep 2015; courage spending less time with most of my friends because they're holding me back and I'm not contributing to them; nothing to lose attitude while job searching since Apr 2015 because I'm done with data entry jobs.

*Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The biography is one of my all time favorite books. A lesson I learned is building a good and long lasting company. The money is going to come. Similarly, I work intelligently to become a good person. The opportunities are coming. Independence is coming. The money is coming.

I'm hoping my answer going back to De Anza is a good choice tomorrow. The late Steve Jobs said we connect the dots looking backwards. We can't connect the dots looking forward. Maybe my Accounting degree helps me for my next job. I'm waiting patiently for the rewards. The journey continues.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

I Was Sad No Tears Came From My Eyes

My feelings were sad and hopeless yesterday. My mouth was frown. My nose felt stuffy. My stomach hurt. I wanted to cry tears. My eyes stayed dried. What happened?

It was another day being unemployed. My typical morning I ate a good breakfast listening to classical music while checking Facebook. I job searched next. Then I continued learning VBA macros for Excel. I ate lunch reading the newspaper. I started preparing to cook dinner. My mom said she cook another meal for dinner. The extra free time was devoted to learning Python from CodeUpStart. The lessons have been poor. The instructor can't teach to save his life. I don't recommend CodeUpStart. I'm completing the lessons because I backed its Kickstarter for a special deal. If I paid full price, then I ask for a refund after the fifth lesson.

Yesterday seemed like a normal day for me. The end of the afternoon I felt sad. I was almost done with a CodeUpStart lesson. There was an error message in the code. I trouble-shooted for an hour. Unsuccessful. I posted my error message asking for help in the comments. I hope I receive assistance. My parents bothered me with the little stuff interrupting my focus learning important job skills. The sadness snowballed to my current life situation. I'm unemployed, I live at home with my parents, and I have few friends. I'm honestly doing the best I can. I'm open to any suggestions such as improving my job search and new job skills to learn.

Also, I received a call from a recruiter for a contract job in the mid afternoon. The recruiter said the hourly pay is $18. I responded saying a data entry position pays higher. The recruiter changed the hourly pay to $28. I hung up. I didn't have time to deal with recruiters' crap. Sometimes recruiters low ball me for openings. The recruiter was hard to understand as if he didn't want the find candidates for the opening. Maybe he was communicating to me don't take the job.

I wanted to watch the Giants vs. Dodgers baseball game. The troubleshooting made me watch the game at the 6th inning. I ate dinner while watching the game.

Feeling sad is a valid human feeling. I'm not spinning today's blog from sad to happy or from negative to positive. Today's blog is written to share my sadness. Yesterday was the first day I felt sad being unemployed. Yesterday was the first day I felt sad being lonely during my unemployment. Yesterday was the first day I felt sad living at home with my parents. Yesterday was the first day I felt sad I lost hope such that I'm learning new job skills and reviewing my existing job knowledge I'm receiving no rewards. Yesterday was the first time I felt sad I never achieve my independence. Yesterday was the first time I felt sad most people who know me believe I'm the old Raymond Mar. Yesterday was the first time I felt sad the world believes I'm a loser.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

My Dream Last Night Clinging To All Hope

The last time I slept I dreamed I started my first day at a new company. It started going to a house in my neighborhood in the morning before driving to work. The two story house was a classmate one year older than me in junior high and high school. I was in a room on the first floor. I opened a clear plastic drawer on a small while shelf. I saw two work badges from were Cisco and Palo Alto Networks I used to work. The Cisco badge was an actual badge when I worked there in 2007-2008. The Palo Alto Networks badge was inaccurate when I worked there in 2014-2015. The family kept my badges. I couldn't explain why.

A daughter was moving out of the house. She was going to college. I congratulated her and said my goodbyes to her and the family before leaving.

I arrived at one of the company's buildings. The campus and company name was Cisco. I worked at Cisco for the second time. My manager was the engineer I supported at Palo Alto Networks. Most of the employees in my department were Palo Alto Networks.

The work environment theme was Egyptian. The cubicle walls were the lowest I ever saw. The cubicle walls were actually dividers for all workspaces. Everyone could see everyone from body to face.

My first company emails were congratulatory emails. One of the emails was from a co-worker when I worked in commercial real estate. The second email was from a friend who played board games in the Northern California wine country. The emails were unexplainable because my family was the only people who knew my new job. I planned to announce my new job on Facebook at the end of the day.

My first assignment was to map out a motherboard. My manager asked the director to help us get the diagram. The three of us almost got fired because my assigned laptop was unsuccessfully purged. My laptop automatically played Japanese Anime or Japanese cartoons. The sound was loud the entire department startled. No harm was done in the end.

I got lost walking around my floor; in particular, I walked around one hallway passing by the server rooms. The brightest areas were the work areas like sunshine focusing directly at the workstations. The lighting could be described as sunlight instead of florescent light. The hallways were darker for which the light source was along the walls.

Could my dream be my first foreshadow? Could my dream be my first life prediction? I have an above average long term memory which includes remembering some dreams. I never dreamed a moment which comes true in the future. It's like a fiction story where a chapter is a foreshadow for a future moment involving the main characters. I'm clinging to all hope I find my independence soon.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Naivety Is Ageless

A child being naive is just being a child. A child experienced child's life wondering, asking questions, making mistakes, and learning from the mistakes. A child hopes his or her parents or guardians guide his or her youngest years to become good adults.

Even as adults we experience moments of being naive. Our inner child is our naivety. Adults continue to wonder, ask questions, make mistakes, and learn from the mistakes. Or adults explore, question everything, experiment or trial and error, and repeat trial and error to achieve desired results; in other words, keep an open mind. Children grow up to become adults. Adults grow up to share their knowledge to children. Also, adults grow up indefinitely to become stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser.

The mature adults behave naive when the situation calls for naivety. The successful adults behave naive when they learn something new. Naivety is a positive attribute because adults shouldn't settle permanently. An adult living a good life must continue to evolve. An adult living a good life must innovate infinitely. Keep looking for a better life indefinitely.

Hiding Our Naivety Is Useless

It can be bad being naive. An immature adult can be naive. An adult with no sense of accomplishment can be naive. An adult dependent on someone else can be naive. An adult with no motivation to be mature can be naive. An adult acting weird can be naive. An adult avoiding adult responsibilities can be naive. An adult with a questionable behavior can be hiding their naivety. I'm not a psychologist. I don't know why some adults are naive. Are these naive adults lack a sense of being a mature adult? Are these naive adults oblivious to their surroundings childish behavior must stop? Are these naive adults in denial they're in adulthood? Is there something in the environment or someone preventing naive adults to grow up? Almost all mature adults indentify naive adults.

I continue to work hard controlling being naive. There was a moment I made a mistake days ago. I immediately became naive to learn from my mistake. I was frustrated. I was honest. I was sincere. I hope I never make the same mistake again. Moreover, I still have more knowledge to learn, more experiences to experience, and more wisdom to acquire. There are more naive moments coming soon. I hope more good naive moments result in a more mature and more professional me. My bad naivety disappeared.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Many Unemployed Jobs Searchers Like Me Are Frustrated

I phone interviewed with a medical technology company on Tue Apr 5. The position was an entry level financial analyst. I received the rejection email on Wed Apr 6. I believe I was overqualified. I have the background work experience and education the position could jump start my career. The hiring manager likely wanted a recent college graduate. Ironically, some other positions I applied the recruiter or the hiring manager told me I'm underqualified. They told me to apply for a junior level position. One frustration is I'm between entry level and experienced. I don't have the experience for senior level positions.

Another frustration was seeing job openings I applied in the past reappear in my job search. I track all my job applications in Excel. I saw four positions I applied months ago job searching on Wed Apr 6. What the heck? Did the hiring manager reject all the initial job applications and job candidates interviewed? Give the less experienced a chance. I said to myself, "I have confidence I can do the job. Give me the interview." I completed all my past jobs at the minimum satisfactory. In fairness to the companies, one possibility I saw the positions again is the job position was cancelled and reopened.

Blame The System

How can I get job experience if companies don't hire me to gain experience? It's a job experience irony. It's a life irony. The job market is tight. Companies can set the job requirements high. Companies can pick and choose patiently. Companies can be picky hiring new candidates. Read between the job market headlines. There are still millions of people looking for a job. Many of the job seekers are good people. Many of the job seekers need a chance. Many of the job seekers need a break. Finding the perfectly experienced job candidate is rare. Ironically, the perfectly experienced job candidate is usually not the best job candidate. The best job candidates can be the less experienced job seekers motivated to strengthen their resume. My advice to frustrated job seekers getting rejection notices is blame the system. Don't blame the recruiter. Don't blame the hiring manager. Today's job market the job candidate with recent experience, relevant experience, and no job training required have the highest chance to get a job. They're in the system. Job candidates with outdated experience, irrelevant experience, and requires job training have the lowest chance to get a job. They're out of the system.

The reader may ask about my networking. I have friends helping me find a job. Some of them submit my resume to human resources. Some of them look for internal job openings.

Don't give up. I'm not giving up. Give up and be unemployed. I have nothing to lose. I apply for full time jobs or contract jobs which strengthens my resume. I learn new job skills when I'm not job searching. Another advice is learn new skills to strengthen your resume when you're not job searching. Unemployed people have all the time in the world. My current project is learning VBA and Python.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

I'm Doing The Best I Can, Really II

Blogger's note: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

I'm still unemployed. I'm still living at home. My life is moving slowly. I'm doing the best I can. I really am. I job search two times a day six days a week. I work on my personal projects six days a week which are learning Python and VBA. I learn Python at CodeUpStart. The ten lessons I completed so far are poorly taught. I complete the class because I backed the class on Kickstarter. I learn VBA watching YouTube tutorials and reading books. There are days I cook meals for the household. My leisure activities are playing Mahjong (Riichi) and working out at the gym four or five days a week. Three hours a week are spent doing errands out of the house.

I eat three meals a day. I rarely eat at restaurants. I rarely watch television. I sleep eight hours a night. I groom myself to keep my appearance good. I take advantage of opportunities meeting new people. I listen to music, listen to sports on the radio, and listen to podcasts during some of my daily activities.

Independence Is Part Of My Current Manifesto

Some of the small accomplishments during my unemployment include reading books, losing ten pounds, upgrading my phone, and watching one movie on Sat nights. One book worth mentioning is Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I do a good job controlling my spending. I minimize splurges.

Some of the big accomplishments during my unemployment include backpacking and camping for the first time in Utah, visiting Las Vegas for the first time since 2006, and writing my 1,000th blog. Another big accomplishment is my new feelings: sacrifice, nothing to lose attitude, going out of my comfort zone, willpower, and not giving up. I learn new job skills such as Oracle, Tableau, and forecasting. I review my existing skills Excel, PowerPoint, and SQL.

I work hard intelligently working my way to live independently. I'm stronger with the pains of rejection. I'm wiser with the mistakes I learn. My brain grows bigger with new knowledge. Each day is devoted to be a good productive day. I feel I'm close to find a job. I feel I'm close to move out. I feel I'm close to live a good life consistently. I feel I'm close to make more good choices. I feel I'm close to control more of my life. I feel I'm close to live a more proactive life. The easy life is gone. I'm responsible to earn my successes. I need a little luck. I need timing in my favor. The life flows with me. I'm an independent mature adult very soon.

Further, there is more working hard intelligently after I fulfill the independent mature adult manifesto. There are more people to meet. There are more adventures to seek. There are more experiences to experience. Never take life for granted. Never stop learning, training, and reviewing. I never stop innovating my life.

Side note: The first time I wrote I'm Doing The Best I Can, Really was on Oct 8, 2012. The two blogs are similar. The difference between the Oct 8, 2012 and Apr 6, 2016 is anime not disclosed in both blogs. I watched anime in 2012. I'm not watching anime today because I retired in Sep 2014.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com