Working on Working

"I try and I try and I try and I try and I try..."
-Pavement

The Bread Lines

So, while you were gone (I mean, while I was gone), I met the woman of my dreams, we got married, and moved to Phoenix. Awesome. The blog will now be co-opted for a diary of my job search, for the enlightenment of those of you interested in the plight of the U.S. Economy, the aftermath of a massive housing market crash, or the dearth left in the wake of urban sprawl gone awry.

A little background. While I was away, I also got a master's degree, in Linguistics. Now, I know that's not incredibly marketable, but my plan was to get an adjunct position for now and maybe go back for a PhD. Now we're in Phoenix, which has one major university and really no others. ASU doesn't have any openings for Ling fac right now, so I'm trying to enter the workforce at entry level. I've been at it hard for about a month now, and no dice at all. My name's in three employment agencies, one that really looks legit, and today I'm going to work into a fourth one I think. I'm also working on getting my substitute teaching certificate and dropping my name into the Subfinder at three schools, hopefully working toward the goal of an official certificate and a high-school English gig.

Today's adventure is Aerotek, apparently a large staffing agency. I'm calling them right now. Which means I'm going to have to stop listening to the Brobecks for a little while. Aerotek bounced me around for awhile aften I told them I had tech experience, and I ended up stuck in a voicemail I can't get out of. I left a detailed message with my phone number, but there was a strange crackling that made me doubt this thing would ever get picked up. I may call them again, but I wonder if the Phoenix office is competent to handle the case. I may not have given them a fair shot yet. I've already submitted to two jobs on their Thingamajob site. And one more on Monster. I've been networking on LinkedIn, and I don't know if that's doing any good either. More updates as this progresses.