Job Fairs or Unfairs?

If you're following the news at all today, you've probably seen or heard about a job fair in Independence, which is quickly turning into a gigantic catastrophe.

There are apparently cars backed out onto the highway, 2-hour waits in the rain, and, my guess, a lot of disappointment.

Look, the economy is in trouble, no doubt about it, and a lot of people will take what they can get. And will be willing to wait in long lines for their chance.

But, my question is this ... who is actually organizing these events?

When I worked in television, one of my primary responsibilities was to plan out a newscast, so that (hopefully) things wouldn't crash and burn.

I would think the planners of these career fairs would try to do the same thing.

Ohio is a mess. We all know that. The organizers of these fairs should know that.

So, it absolutely blows my mind that organizers can pair with local media outlets to hype the event, then get completely overwhelmed.

First off, if organizers have a number in their heads about how many people should show up, they should probably quadruple it.

In other words, if you think you might draw 1,000 people, plan on 4,000 showing up.

Also, they should think a little more about where they're having the event, and if it can handle the crush.

You simply cannot have these things in hotel ballrooms anymore. There will be way too many people to keep organized.

You can't have these fairs in places with insufficient parking. Neighboring businesses will be overwhelmed and complain ... spreading ill will.

And, you absolutely cannot have these events without some form of police presence and crowd control. Especially traffic. Otherwise, you risk pileups on the highway leading to the event.

While I'm sure most of those people out of work appreciate the chance to get their hands on any job they can, you're also going to leave a lot of people frustrated.

Some ideas ... maybe you should make folks pre-register, and only accept those that do.

Maybe those job-seekers can be given set times during which they could report to the job fair.

And, maybe, you can have agreements in place for auxiliary parking lots, if needed. And maybe some shuttles as well, if things really get out of control.

Simply put, you need to have some big event planning experience. Don't treat these things as if nobody will show, treat them as if EVERYONE will.

So, to the organizers of these events ... get your plan together. And don't go running to the media to trump up your cause if you're unprepared.

Otherwise, everyone looks bad.

My First Rant

OK, as you know, I'm still out there looking for work.

So, each and every time my phone rings, I have a brief glimmer of hope.

Of course, it usually turns out to be the fine folks from Discover Card calling, the Atlantic City Hilton offering a free one or two night stay, or, if I'm lucky, a friend calling to check up on me.

(Which I might add, one did a couple days ago. More proof that she's good people.)

Yesterday, my phone rang with someone calling me asking about my severance package.

Someone who shouldn't have even had my phone number.

Needless to say, I was somewhat hesitant to give this person any answers, since they really had no business asking the questions anyways.

Thankfully, they didn't pry too deeply, and we left amicably.

After I placed a phone call myself today, and talked to another well-placed "source", I think I know where the call originated.

So, to the person who handed out my home phone number to this person, please stop.

Don't drag me down into your petty battles ... I have my own mountains to climb, hurdles to leap, and obstacles to conquer.

This concludes my first rant ... we now return you to the happy Chris you know and love/like/loathe/hate with every fiber of your being.

(Oh, and for the record, I wish I had one of those old-time phones pictured above.)

Hey Blockhead!

Well, that didn't take long.

I've officially hit the stage of this blog where I'm not real sure what to write about.

Nothing terribly interesting is happening in my world. Still waiting for an employer to sweep me off my feet and make sweet paycheck love to my bank account.

So, that leaves me plenty of time to do household chores, and generally worry about my future.

But, I don't really want to put that into print. Nor do I want to discuss other aspects of my private life.

So, unfortunately, that leaves me with a very boring blog.

Still, I'm one post ahead of Romona Robinson.

Who has a job.

Who's blog is older than mine.

And, yes, I went there.

So, help me out here ... how do I cure blog writer's block?

Welcome Aboard!

Well, I'm entering the world of blogging.

Why? Well, I have some time on my hands!

You see, after a kick-ass 2007, 2008 is kicking my ass!

After 11 years of dedicated service to my place of employment, they've let me go, for apparently no other reason than I make too much money.

So, while I'm job hunting, I might as well keep my writing skills sharp, and this seems like the easiest way to do that.

I've always been reticent to begin blogging, because I'm not really sure I have anything interesting to say.

I remember an old Dennis Miller joke (on his Off-White album I believe), about camcorders. He basically joked that there should be a law that prevents people from buying them, unless they can prove their lives are interesting enough to be recorded.

I kind of feel that way about blogs. They're a great way for eveyone to publish their thoughts, hopes and fears online, but how many are REALLY trying to say something. How many keep me interested?

As it turns out ... there are a lot that really do keep my attention. And there are some I read just because they're authored by friends of mine. Of course, there are others that just come off as rants authored by people I now add to a list of potential future Unabombers.

So, where will mine fall?

I don't have any idea just yet (although probably not on the Unabomber fringe.) I have a MySpace page, and a Facebook page ... and while they're nice to keep in touch with folks on ... I'm quickly losing interest in both.

So, will this keep my attention, and will it keep yours? We'll see!

Oh ... my next post will explain why I've chosen the title and URL that I have! I promise.

In the meantime, if anyone needs a competent writer/producer/public relations/media/garbageman/security guard/urinal disc replacer ... drop me a line!