I have been a bit slack on writing for The 6149.  I'm sure the eleven people that read this are heartbroken. Since moving to London, my interweb access has been shoddy, at best. Finally we moved into a new flat two weeks ago. New digs means setting up the utilities, TV, phone and umbilical cord, better known as broadband connection.

Pause: as a result, I have had a chance to pause and think about what direction to take The 6149. I'll let that manifest as naturally and transparently as possible. 

Make no mistake about it, this blog is not a money maker or a product seller, nor is it soap box. It is a spot for me to talk about music, practice writing skills and provoke thoughts (my own and anyone else who is playing along at home). 

That being said, here is what might be my favourite Neil Young song: "Thrasher".  The themes, lyrics and symbolism in parts of the song play out here on the blog...and the subtitle of it as well. I love this fucking song.

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OK, back to the subject matter in this post's title. 

On two occasions in the recent past, I have guessed blogged on my friend's site, www.yourunemployeddaughter.com, otherwise known as "YUD".  YUD and I are kindred-unemployed-spirits. YUD's blog is a great read about life as an unemployed writer/managing editor and New York'er.  We thought it would be interesting if chimed in from a similar angle, but from London. For this exercise I am YUP: Your Unemployed Parter. Here is the original YUP post to find out what a YUP is.

Here is my latest YUD contribution with a preamble from YUD, herself:

Today’s dispatch from across the pond comes at a good time. I myself am a little bit down in the dumps about finding a job. Daylight savings time is over, marking the final door-slam on our already closed summer of frivolity, and while I have freelance work, it’s not enough to occupy me. I want more. Challenges! Excitement! Coworkers! I need more. Free Halloween candy in the kitchen! A water bubblah! Money!

And I’m irritated and a bit numb from not hearing back from the one million peoples and places to whom I’ve sent my resume, of feeling like every effort I go to has so little effect, why bother…

Oh, it’s deadening, isn’t it? But we can’t let that happen. Because we are good, we are worthy, we are deserving of jobs. And if those jobs don’t want us, fuck ‘em. It’s onward and upward, my friends.

One step I have not really taken has been going to a recruiter. I know others have done it. Some markets rely on them far more than others. But it’s a step that I may just turn to, next, since the jobs I see on Mediabistro and Craigslist are not doing it for me. ($5 to edit an article? Thanks, but no thanks.)

Let's listen to what YUP has to Say:

It’s time we had that chat. No, YUDites, not that chat. I hope by now you are well-versed in the ins and outs of the birds and bees. The chat I am talking about it the one concerning … recruiters [collective sigh]. Funny, isn’t it, how these two aforementioned topics are related: Sometimes you can get royally fucked by recruiters.

Oooh, that was harsh. Unfair to the entire recruiter community. That being said, there are some whose goal it is to turn you over quickly and put another notch on their bedpost/quota. You know them. They work for the big chop-shop recruiting firms. They shop you around like today’s lunch special hoping they can shoehorn you into a role. They are in it for them, not you.

You meet them in a small, antiseptic, unwelcoming room. They offer you water. They ask you to tell them your story. As you pour your guts out, they are looking right through you, categorically sizing you up. They ask some vanilla questions and say, “I think we may be able to do something for you.”

Yeah, right. Next time you hear from them, check the calendar. I bet you half of my next paycheck (whenever it arrives) it will be toward the end of the month (quota time!).

There are some very good recruiters out there … but you have to seek them out. These recruiters, or career consultants, are a bit harder to find, but worth the effort. They usually work in specialized, vertically aligned recruiting firms. They cover a specific sector. YOUR sector. They have good contacts. They care about placing quality with quality. They care about helping YOU find work.

I usually find three to five recruiters of this ilk. I meet with them and try to give them a very real perception of who I am, what I want, and how I want to go about getting it. This approach is even more important when you are looking in a foreign market.

Here are the Recruiter Rules I use when gathering my posse:

If you want to read on about my Recruiter Rules, head on over to YUD to read the rest of this post and check out some of her other musings on life as YUD:

William Shakespeare and the New Recruiter Rules