I've spent the last three weeks searching for jobs in Columbus, Ohio. Why Ohio? Eight of the great Fort Dodge Howard Dean volunteers all said that I should go out to their home city of Columbus. Several even said that I'd have place to stay if I wanted it. It seemed like the right thing, so I picked Columbus.
Well, I only have one interview set up, but what the heck, Ohio, here I come!
I have had a couple of conversations with John Boyd, the executive director of Business Professionals of America, a nationwide non-profit that teaches high school and college students to wear ties, get hair cuts and be on time. So obviously I'm perfectly qualified to work there.
Personal work habits aside, the job actually seems like something I'd enjoy, because I get to work with lots of people and it involves a whole bunch of different tasks, from designing e-commerce stores to running photocopiers. And John Boyd was impressed by my resume.
At first John was reluctant to schedule an interview because he didn't want me flying out to Ohio just for an interview. But when I said, "I'll be there Thursday, still want to see me?" he was pretty eager. So I bought a plane ticket.
So I'm gearing up for this interview on Thursday. Literally.
While the BPA office sounds like a pretty busy and casual place, one does not go to a Business Professionals of America interview in Dockers. A visit to Men's Warehouse quickly turned me into a businessman. I felt like I did whenever I went to the Downtown Athletic Club: out of my element. I am completely intimidated by the implications of wearing a suit and tie, because who knows where this will lead?
Special thanks to Gary Snyder and Lisa Lopez who have agreed to house me for a while. They're still campaigning for Howard Dean, hoping that Ohio will send a few Dean-friendly delegates to Boston, and I'll be glad to help with that. But I'm more concerned about the general election in November. Kerry is going to need a lot of luck, money and help and it's going to come down to a few key swing states. While Schwarzenegger says that California could possibly be a swing state, Ohio most certainly is.
So off I go on Wednesday morning, with a stopover in Phoenix (somewhere else I've never been). My interview is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Ohio time. I'm armed with some fantastic clothes, a map of wireless network nodes, a list of apartments for rent, some breath mints, and a box of printed resumes. I'm planning on getting hired, which will make things easy. But if not, I'll be able to pound the pavement in search of employment. After all, I think being there still beats the Internet thing.
