Rickey Henderson

I continue writing for RedwoodAge.com, and today I wrote and blogged about Rickey Henderson on RedwoodAge.com and his election to the baseball Hall of Fame. I wrote about how Henderson is an iconic baseball player for many Baby Boomers, and was my favorite baseball player growing up.

The work I do for RedwoodAge.com is a volunteer job that will hopefully pay off some day with stock options if the Web site takes off. Until then, I work for the site for free. It's a way to get some clips and keep my hand in writing, although I'm doing plenty of writing for WalletPop.com also.

I think everyone should find some volunteer work that they enjoy, and while my volunteering isn't for a non-profit in the true sense of the word, it's an area I'm interested in: Baby Boomers. One hope is that the volunteer work will lead to paying work. I did some volunteer work in November for a Bay Area Congressman being re-elected, and I'm now trying to get a job with a state senator. I think that experience helped me land an interview there, and my experience and training in journalism can only help.

---

This tale was brought to you by
talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com

Go vote

A few notes on my last day of volunteering in a Congressional campaign:

* Calling undecided voters to remind them to vote on Election Day doesn't result in much feedback, other than getting answering machines to leave messages on.

* A senior center in Pleasanton didn't adequately mark that it was a polling place, so a few people from that neighborhood called our candidate's campaign headquarters to see if we could help. Myself and another volunteer drove out there with a new sign "Vote Here" that I taped to a bench outside. The only other visible sign was s 2-foot high American flag on the sidewalk that was blocked by a car, and a flag no bigger than your hand taped to a post outside the main door. Get signage, folks!

* A rumor (?) that text messages were being sent to some cell phones telling Obama supporters to vote Wednesday.

* It was fun listening to a campaign lawyer chew out election officials over the phone for not having provisional ballots available at some polling places.

* I asked the two communications people from Jerry McNerney's campaign to call me when they get time after today so we can talk about me getting a job for some member of Congress as a writer, spokesman, etc. We'll see what develops. I think I proved I can do what they needed, such as communicate.

Oh, and if you haven't done so already today, get out and vote.

McNerney for Congress

As the campaigns end, so does my volunteer work for Congressman Jerry McNerney, above, who is running for re-election to the House on Tuesday. I'll be at his Dublin headquarters on Tuesday morning, answering phones and doing whatever is needed on Election Day. McNerney supports green power, which I support, so I hope he wins.

The volunteering was interesting, and I spent most of the time doing what I wanted to do -- write. I was glad to help and I learned a lot about how campaigns run. I'm still waiting for lunch/meetings with McNerney's communications director so I can either learn how to get into such a job, or work in his office or somewhere else as a staff member and help the public with their problems.

After Tuesday, I plan to continue volunteering while looking for fulltime work, and plan to volunteer at The Public Press and other media Internet startups. It should keep me off the streets.

Coming Monday: My endorsement for president and what the next president should do to fix the economy and create new jobs.

Resume help wanted, apply within

There are plenty of places to go for help in writing a resume if you're willing to pay. And there are probably fewer, but still good, people who will help review resumes for free. Today I went to one of the free ones, and I'm happy to say that other than a few tweaks, my resume seems in good shape. It's a few posts below this one if you're interested, and I plan to rewrite and move a few things around and will have another version posted by early next week.

Today I went to EastBay Works in Concord, where a kind person from Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill looked at my resume and gave me a few tips. We also discussed my job search, and I was glad to hear that I'm doing everything right in looking for full-time work. I'm doing everything she said she'd recommend to people hunting for jobs: I'm spending half of my time networking and the other half applying for jobs I find on craigslist, Indeed or other such Web sites; I'm going on informational interviews; I've joined a networking group; I'm volunteering, I'm looking for work I'm qualified for and tyring to move my job skills from one field to another, and I'm doing freelance work related to my field.

Since the top third of a resume is what gets looked at the most and quickest by an employer, she suggested that I move my excellent work experience up and take the "Skills" section and incorporate that into the accomplishments bulleted in my professional experience. I plan to make those changes and to try to spice up the look of the resume by early next week. After that, I'd like to try to find someone who hires for Web writing jobs and see what they think.

Part-timing it

Like that old "Saturday Night Live" skit about a Jamaican family where everybody has at least five jobs, I'm hoping to get somewhere near that until I find a full-time position. I need at least a few part-time jobs to keep money coming in while my unemployment checks continue to arrive for awhile longer, and definitely after the unemployment money stops coming. And I hope these part-time jobs, along with volunteering, can lead to full-time work. Even when I do find full-time employment, some of the part-time work I'm doing may continue if time allows.

The first part-time job I found was with United Reporting. It's easy work and interesting. I get arrest logs from local police departments and fax them to United Reporting's office in Sacramento. It's only about 5-10 hours per week, but it's a start.

I've also blogged about writing biographies for the elderly, or anyone who wants to have their life story down on paper to pass along to their family. I'm still waiting for my first contract for that side job, and exploring ways to get the word out on it.

I'm also trying to find a way to blog/report on some issue and get paid for it, but so far no takers. My freelance writing hasn't taken off yet either, and I'm trying to promote that as much as I can. Ghostwriting for bloggers is also an option I'm exploring.

And lastly, I'm doing freelance writing/reporting for city newsletters. More on that later.

Who knows, I may be on the side of the road picking up aluminum cans by Christmas.

And just for the heck of it, since I'm trying to learn new job skills through blogging, I've posted one of the few videos I have online. Back when I was on paternity leave and had some spare time to put such things together...so here's some 40 seconds of Emma at about 6 months old.

Volunteering to find a job

One piece of advice I got early on in my job hunt, meaning two months ago, was to volunteer at something I enjoy doing. "Why?" I thought. I'm spending every waking hour looking for a job, networking and crafting a resume, how would I have time to volunteer? The idea is that it could lead to a job somewhere down the road, along with keeping myself occupied and interested in something other than staying off unemployment.

I was going to volunteer as an usher at A's games, but that might not lead to much. So last week I went to the Democratic office in downtown Walnut Creek and offered my writing/editing services. While they were glad to have me, they didn't have any immediate opportunities, so they referred me to a few local Democrats running for office. It now looks like I might soon be volunteering in Jerry McNerney's office, doing some type of writing. It's not a paid position, so that's OK, but helping a Congressman get re-elected sounds like fun. And a little something to add to my resume and talk to potential employers about. Next week I expect to meet with a McNerney campaign person to see if this comes to fruition. I'll update the blog when and if things move forward.