Had a bad day

There is a song by Daniel Powter called "Bad Day":

"Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around"

Bad days happen. I have them. We all do. I suppose I should keep my mouth shut when I have them because people get all concerned when I let them out. What the heck? It's all part of the truth of existence. I did say I was going to be honest in this blog. But people get worried if you aren't Miss Mary Sunshine all the time.

Isolation

***Warning: this is not a happy or at least optimistic blog post, but some times ya just gotta let it out.***

I took a little people-tour on Facebook today. Maybe I was feeling lonely. I searched on the name of my old boyfriend from high school and found him right off (there were only 2). I then clicked on various of his friends who were my school friends and saw that he is in contact with virtually everyone we went to HS with. And they all look to be married, many with children. Full lives.

Here I am: never married, no kids, no relationship, very few friends, and unemployed to boot. All I could think of was "What is wrong with me?"

Job-Hunting 101: Cover letters CYA*

Cover letter I wrote for a recent editor position I found on the Web.

Dear hiring manager,

I am an experienced editor, both copy and substantive, who has worked with technology and science for many years. I have and am currently working on an intermittent basis editing scientific papers for NOAA Fisheries, most recently for the Galveston lab (a few hours per month).

I have edited academic work for scientists and graduate students.
I have gained, and can quickly gain, expertise with any type of subject matter.
I have edited for non-native English speakers.
I enjoy editing highly technical or scientific materials, helping to make them clearer and easier to understand. I love deadlines.

I am interested in hearing more about this position and the work involved. I hope to hear from you soon.

Skye Hughes


I went to a talk at the local Association of Women in Computing (AWC) meeting in November; the talk was given by two local recruiters. While the job market is tough here in Houston, it's not as bad as most places. But it's still hard to find work right now.

They offered quite a few suggestions and insights, and there was one in particular that surprised all of us: Hirers and recruiters DON'T READ COVER LETTERS. But you have to include one. Period.