Late night post, part III · 3:26am Aug 12th, 2019
So job searching sucks. It seems like DC is the only place with employers who understand that "I can't talk about what I did then" is not actually code for "I was in prison". Literally had an interviewer ask me point-blank if I was covering for a felony conviction. Knew then and there that I wasn't getting that job, but I stuck out the interview regardless. Might have to fall back on some of my old university contacts, but who knows what they can do with a resume that has a 5-year "classified" blank spot.
I'm also finding out how rusty I am with respect to writing. Not that I was ever William Faulkner, but I could at least string sentences together. I can't even write a damn dinner conversation scene. Hopefully it's just stress from being unemployed that will go away after a job offer. because I used to enjoy doing this and now I feel like I'm running in quicksand. It's not even writer's block - I know what I want to say, but it always comes out sounding like garbage. At this rate, I won't even have one story partially written by the winter, much less two. Guess we'll see if that has to be walked back.
But not everything is bad. Finally got in touch with some friends from school and at least one of them is a talented writer. Might have a sit-down with her and ask what I should do when I'm this stuck. Maybe I'm just too used to the cut-and-dried technical writing style that the intel community prefers (unless you have "Director" somewhere in your title, in which case you get to issue long, rambling memos that totally disregard every previous directive about clarity and brevity). But I'm not bitter.
Relatedly, if I ever manage to produce something that isn't agricultural fertilizer, does anyone want to be a prereader for me? I can't offer anything other than a quid pro quo, but you'd have my deepest gratitude. I'll even preread for you if I never publish another chapter. Just lemme know.
What's an acceptable amount of wine to drink in a weekend? Is one bottle too much? A buddy of mine from the community had to go to rehab a few months after getting out and I don't want to head the same way.
You want to handle the question in the resume. In the jobs timeline have under your military career "classified intelligence work."
I saw this late, but job searching is awful. I can't even imagine having a 5-year redacted section.
I would be willing to preread, if you want to shoot something by me. In the meantime, though, best of luck in landing a job. You'll find something eventually.