30 Days of Unemployment

Holy crap!  I can't believe it's actually been 30 working days since I got let go!!  That's 42 actual days without any work coming my way.  Holy weeks of unemployment, Batman!  And, this is the week that something finally, actually happened - one of the jobs that I've been angling on is slowly moving forward.  Had a successful phone screen last week, and a second phone screen today.  I think it went well, could have probably gone better, but it's really hard to fit all your questions and answers in just 30 minutes.  I'm hoping that turns into something a little more solid, but it's still early - they're not looking to fill the position until the middle of November (which, I'm sure, with Thanksgiving falling right squarely there really means December).  But, it's something.

On another front entirely, the "sure thing" may be slowly rising from the dead after all - I got an email introduction to a Senior VP at the company from the boss of the person I'd originally been working with. He seemed really interested in talking with me, so we'll see what happens there.  I haven't yet mentioned that I just submitted a resume to one of their competitors yet, so we'll keep that under wraps for now.  I don't actually expect anything to come from that anyhow, but it is one of those things that I'm qualified for, so to check the UI box, I felt like it's something I should apply for at least.

And, finally, on the self-employment front, I'm getting some really mixed signals from the survey that I sent out last week.  Granted, it's a small sample size, but there are some interesting trends there.  It seems (and I thought this might be the case) that even though a lot of lawyers aren't strongly technical, and even though they act as their own IT staff, they're not willing to express that they would consider hiring someone to help them with technology.  EITHER they don't want to tell someone who might call them and sell to them (which is a possibility) OR they really don't want to improve their technology use (equally as likely).  So, I think a completely different tack might be in order - still unsure about whether to file the LLC paperwork, but I might as well do it now while I have a little spending cash - but basically I need to get my name out there in the legal community as an "expert" and a reliable source of technology information.  And, the way to do that is through networking, CLEs, and publications.  So, that's where I'm going to try to focus my energies - creating materials that put me in a position of knowledge and expertise.  Unfortunately, that kind of plan takes awhile to execute, so it's entirely probable that I'll need to find something to pay the bills as I try to ramp up the consulting business.  But at least it's a plan...and we'll just have to see how it all plays out.

Has it really been a month?

Well, I suppose it's more like a month and a week, depending on how you count it out.  But it's hard to believe that I've been sitting around on my ass looking for work for over a month now.  And, finally this week I had a little bit of luck - had what I think was a good phone screen for a product management job with an insurance software company up in Bothell.  I'm still working on the business plan for the consulting business but have run into a bit of a dead-end in market research, not sure cold-calling or unsolicited emails are the way to go but at this point I really don't have much choice.  I did "harvest" about 100 email addresses from the WSBA for lawyers in Issaquah, so I have a chunk of data to use if I decide that's the way to go.

Really, it's getting a little more difficult to decide whether or not I want a job that's consistent, albeit working for another person entirely, or whether having a less predictable but more self-directed job sounds like a better plan.  Both have their benefits and drawbacks, and they're not necessarily mutually exclusive -- I could take a job for awhile and work on developing the network and connections I would need to build out the consulting business in the meantime.

Days 17-19 - It's Always Darkest Before It Gets Darker

Apparently I haven't really been doing a good job of keeping up on this blog, but honestly there hasn't been a whole lot to mention going on.  The daily grind of searching for jobs, sending in applications and resumes, and then hearing nothing in return, is pretty soul-deadening.  Of course, some places like Amazon.com give you just enough information to make it even more frustrating - "Reviewed, Not Selected".  Particularly frustrating when you know you're qualified for the job, but have absolutely no clue why you weren't selected for further interest.  Is there something wrong with my resume, is there something specific they're looking for that I don't offer?  All of those little things start digging in under your skin.  But, I suppose knowing that they at least looked over the resume is a good thing, isn't it?

Oh well, it is what it is.  I've given a little more thought into starting my own business, so I may travel down that path for awhile at least.  The real question is whether or not I can find a client base to support me as I ramp up the business.  That's the tricky part...and hopefully the survey that I put together yesterday will help me confirm whether or not there's actually a market for what I want to offer.  And, I've discovered, there's a Self-Employment Assistance Program offered by the Washington State Employment Security Division that allows you to start up your own business and still receive unemployment benefits (decreased according to income you might make, of course) while you start up your own business.  I haven't looked fully into the details yet, but I would think that someone with a background like mine would make a good candidate for this type of program.

So that's where we're at - no job, no follow-ups from resumes, nothing really worthy of sharing at this point.

Days 15 & 16 - Toward a More Perfect Union

Somehow I completely forgot to update the blog last night, though that's not terribly surprising, as not a whole lot has happened.  Still in a holding pattern on the "sure thing" (which is increasingly becoming the "surely not" thing), no movement on any of my contacts at Amazon, ClearWire, or anywhere else, and no follow-up from the call on Monday from the Hitachi recruiter.  I did get my first unemployment check today, along with a mandatory invitation to an orientation seminar for WorkSource, a required checklist item for receiving unemployment payments.  Interestingly enough, though, they actually have an entrepreneur support network that sounds kind of interesting - hopefully I'll find out more about that next week at the orientation.

And, on that front, I've been giving a lot of thought to that possibility - starting my own business, being my own boss, all that good stuff.  I think I've decided that the best niche for me to do that in would be to start a technology consulting firm that is focused on solo, small, and mid-size law firms.  I've heard many times over at CLEs the complaints lawyers have about technology - not enough time, not enough knowledge, etc.  And, since I'm pretty well-versed in technology, and happen to have that little license to practice law, I kind of figure I'm a perfect fit for that niche.  Lawyers should trust me more than your average Joe based on my license and my legal technology experience...at least in theory.

There are obviously questions to be answered along this path - is it viable as a business, are lawyers willing to pay for this type of advice, what haven't I yet thought of that might complicate things.  But, on the good side, there's very little start-up cost for this type of arrangement, and it's all upside assuming that the market actually proves itself out.  If nothing else, it's at least an interesting intellectual exercise, and hopefully I'll figure out a way to vet the concept with some actual practicing attorneys sometime in the near future.

Day 14: The Light at the End of the Tunnel May Be Smaller Than It Appears

Almost to the end of two full weeks without a job, and I'm still managing to hold onto my sanity, however barely.  Haven't received any callbacks on anything submitted last week, but I did get a call from a recruiting agency that found my resume online, looking for a Product Owner at a technology company on the Eastside.  And, it just so happens, that company is one that a former co-worker went to after leaving my previous employer, well before the acquisition and its resulting fallout.  We'll see what happens, but it's at least nice to know that there's some glimmer of interest in someone with my skills and abilities.

And I keep puttering around the idea of starting my own law practice, which although uncertain in result has some very key advantages.  The only question, really, is how long it would take me to ramp up the practice and earn the amount of money I need to each month in order to pay the bills.  After looking at the unemployment numbers, that amount is probably a little bit less than I'd originally thought...so the real question is how do I build a client base as a starting attorney...and that, my friends, is a question for the ages...

Day 13: Out and About

Today was a big change of pace - got out of the house all day for a CLE at the University of Washington focused on the changing face of legal practice in the 21st century.  Lots of interesting, mostly theoretical talk about how technology is changing the practice of law and how things like outsourcing and other practical options are making things both more simple and more complicated at the same time. 

One of the most interesting presentations, at least for me, was given by Darrell Scott, an attorney from Spokane who focuses on massive class action litigation with a law firm that consists of only two attorneys and a small staff of paralegals and support personnel.  His practice is entirely powered by technology - all paperless, all wireless, and all Apple products.  He had some very interesting insights into how someone can leverage the power of technology to provide superior service at lower overhead costs than those involved in a "Big Law" firm.  In many ways he was quite the inspiration for me, and actually has me reconsidering what I would need to do to open up my own law firm.

There were a lot of other presenters, including corporate counsel from Microsoft, executives from LegalZoom and Legal OnRamp, and many others with varying commentaries on the state of practice now and in the future.  Overall, it was a great distraction from the day-to-day doldrums that have been the norm for the past couple weeks.

Day 12: We're fine here, we're all fine...how are you?

It seems to me that this is beginning to become a boring conversation, or at least monologue, as there isn't much dialogue going on here.  One very interesting thing that I've observed in the past two weeks is that after awhile, you stop looking forward to certain things.  Take, for example, weekends.  When you work 5 days a week, you really look forward to those two days off at the end of the week, to do whatever you want, unencumbered by the needs of your employer.  But, when you don't have an employer, and when every day you can pretty much do whatever it is that you want, those two days lose their importance, their attraction.  They're just another couple of days to check off as complete or on the horizon.  It's a very strange mental place to be, honestly, but I don't think it's quite as odd as I'd originally thought...a lot of people have a lot of different "weekends", depending on where you work and what kind of job you have.  If you work in retail or in a 24/7 customer support environment, you might have a "weekend" on Tuesday and Wednesday, or even two non-contiguous days of the week.  Regardless of what you define your "weekend" as, though, it definitely gives you something to look forward to every seven days, and when that's removed from your world, it takes some time to adjust.