I was not in the best of moods. I had gotten up way too early, driven about an hour south only to face a large teeming crowd and a convention center that was a designated Pepsi Zone (ptuey!). And I wasn't relishing waiting in the infinite line for the résumé workshop.
Spring [1] had suggested that Wlofie [2] and I attend the Jobing.com [3] Career Expo [4] at the Broward County Convention Center [5]. As we drove into Port Everglades [6], a person standing outside the gates informed us drivers to get our IDs ready. I asked, rhetorically, what exactly is the purpose of showing ID?
“Security theater,” said Wlofie.
Pretty much what I thought.
Anyway, by the time we got up to the gate, the guard inside just waved us through without bothering to ask us for our IDs.
So much for securing our ports through security theater.
Registration was a simple process, since we had pre-registered online and had our [DELETED-boarding-DELETED] entry pass ready. We exchanged the entry pass for a three page glossy brochure that doubled as our ticket into the expo. It was at this point that I went off in search of caffeine. I approached one of the food stalls outside the main exhibit hall.
“I'd like a Coke please,” I said.
“No Coke! Pepsi!”
“Excuse me?”
“No Coke! Pepsi! End of line with you! Next!”
Well then. The food stall was near the résumé workshop, and the line ran down the front hallway.
“Let's walk around the exhibit hall,” I said. “I can't believe I got out of bed for this.”
[A vast expanse of nothing—I wonder if this is a comment on the state of the economy at this point in time?] [7] [8][But there are exhibitors here, although the booths were very plain 10′×10′ blocks with a fold-out table.] [9] [10]I was … underwhelmed … with the exhibit hall. The exhibit booths, a bunch of 10′×10′ areas demarcated by cloth curtains, covered an area perhaps 150′×100′. This isn't necessarily that bad, except the exhibit hall itself was 274′×237′, leaving quite a bit of floor space exposed. It made for a rather sad looking job expo.
We wandered about the place for perhaps an hour. Highlights:
[It was a good cheeseburger.] [15] [16]By this time, I was getting hungry so we headed off to the concession stand at the back of the hall.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, I'll take the cheeseburger and chips, with a Coke,” I said. Hey, it couldn't hurt to ask.
“I'm sorry, but we only have Pepsi.”
“Oh. Iced tea then.”
“I'm sorry, but we're out of that.”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
$10 for a cheeseburger (sans tomato and onion mind you), a bag of chips and bottled water.
After lunch, we spent nearly two hours in line for the résumé workshop, and while I can't say it was worth the wait, I did get some valuable feedback on my résumé. The woman looking it over was a bit overwhelmed with it actually. She said that with my current employment history and skill set, I should drop the dates, work on my “Objectives” paragraph (it currently reads “To obtain an exciting job in the fast-pased Computer Industry utilizing my unique skillsets.” When I wrote that, I had no idea what to write; my intention was to change that at some later point but I never got around to it) and add a section on my core strengths (and that doesn't include C programming and Unix administration, but more like “smart,” “tenacity,” etc).
She also suggested, after looking over the long list of systems I've worked on, that I should brand myself and include a “tag line,” something like “I don't do Windows.”
Interesting idea.
After that, it was time to leave, and thankfully, I was able to utilize the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane on I-95 on the way back to Casa New Jersey, as it was the height of rush hour traffic.
[4] http://broward.jobing.com/tag/career%20expo
[5] http://www.ftlauderdalecc.com/
[6] http://www.porteverglades.org/
[7] /boston/2008/08/05/thumb.left.jpg
[8] /boston/2008/08/05/left.jpg
[9] /boston/2008/08/05/right.jpg
[10] /boston/2008/08/05/right.jpg
[13] http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml
[15] /boston/2008/08/05/thumb.lunch.jpg
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