Since searching for a job using the Internet has not been going well, I decided to try my hand at something that I am just not good at: networking.
A little over one month ago, we visited a new church. After the service, we met a jeweler who really wanted to help us. He referred me to a realtor, a banker who had some properties in foreclosure and a man who “knows everyone in town” that might be able to help me find a job.
Well, I had called the man who “knows everyone in town” and dropped off a few copies of my résumé at his house. He then gave it to a man who works for the John Deere company, who put it into the company’s database and wished me luck in my job search. That result bore a strong resemblance to the responses I have been getting from my Internet applications.
Well, last week, when I didn’t receive a call back from the man who said that he wanted to hire me, I called the man who “knows everyone in town” and set up an appointment at Starbucks.
We met on Wednesday for an hour and a half. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.
Yesterday morning, he called me and said that he had called two men and told them to expect a call from me. The first one is a senior leader at IHOP and knows lots of businessmen in the city. He won’t be back in town until next Monday.
The second man is responsible for several hundred churches here in the Midwest. I called that man yesterday afternoon and spoke with him for 1/2 hour. He asked me to send him my résumé so he and a few other men could interview me on the 13th of next month!…TO WORK AS A MINISTER!!! Talk about a surprise development!
I spent all afternoon today composing my “ministry” résumé and just e-mailed it to him.
We’ll see what happens…
