A deep, dark secret

The summer evenings of my Dakota childhood were lengthy, and we could play outside until nearly 10 if the mosquitos didn't drive us indoors.

One night, I hid inside the tall picket fence that surrounded our garbage cans during a game of hide-and-seek. "They'll never find me here," I giggled to myself, as the evening darkened. The game was exciting and I ignored the call of nature because I was having too much fun. Then something spooked me, and suddenly a warm gush turned my aqua stretch pants to a darker shade of blue.

"I have to go in now," I hastily called out to the neighbor kids, and scooted into the house and down into the basement where the washer was. I wanted to keep my embarrassment a secret, but had to enlist my mom's help.

The next night at dinner I was mortified when Mom announced with a sly look that I had a "deep, dark, dank secret."  Everybody laughed and guessed immediately that I had had an "accident." I blushed and vowed inwardly to keep a tighter lid on information in the future.

That's not the approach that is advised in the job-networking community.

Tell everyone, the experts say, that you are looking for work and what kind of job you're looking for.

A woman at the Southlake Focus Group today said she had kept her unemployment news to herself, until a friend said, "Oh, if only I had known. We had a job that was perfect for you, but we hired someone yesterday."

People are happy and willing to help by passing on tips and leads, but first, they need to know that you're in the market for them.

Summoned to a mandatory meeting

No, not that meeting -- the one where you get the news that you're being laid off.

In yesterday's mail came a letter from the workforce commission folks. Seems I've been selected to attend a mandatory orientation session next week.

It feels a bit like a mild reprimand, because I've already attended 10-plus hours of classes at the center on Bryant Irvin and I-30, and made use of their resource room several times when I was having Internet trouble. In a pinch, I could probably lead a tour of the center myself.

The  resource room is great -- there are many fast computers, and I never had to wait for one like I did at the public library. The job seeker is able to print, fax and even make long-distance phone calls there. There are helpful and very knowledgeable staff members to help you with computer issues or anything else. It's a valuable service and one I would recommend to anyone in the job market.

I'll go to my mandatory orientation, humbly, and work on developing a thicker skin.

Turning a new page

Like so many others who have adored working in the newspaper business, I've been downsized.

For the past month I've been a writer without an assignment. Well, there has been writing and tweaking the resume. The satisfactions of that are, shall we say, limited.

Much more fun has been the face-to-face and online networking that is highly recommended for every job searcher these days. It's only Tuesday, and I've been to three networking opportunities already this week.  There are some wonderful, talented people available for hire these days, I've learned. And yes, some of them  -- a lot of them -- have gray hair.

I am also impressed by the numbers of volunteers who are putting themselves out there to help those of us in Dallas/Fort Worth who are looking for jobs. Their collective wisdom is a gift.

Friends and family sometimes ask, "How's the job hunt going?" So, I've decided to share what I am finding out about today's job market, and perhaps a bit about myself, as I try to locate my next job. Or, as it's called in job-search speak, my "landing."

When I do, I'll let you know, and I'll bring the donuts.