Today was editing day for Project 365. I am truly amazed at how difficult it has been to keep up with this seemingly simple task of taking one image a day for 365 days. I have managed to keep up ok with actually taking the image, although some days it has come right down to the wire, but trying to keep up with posting said images has been a difficult task. I could have made it a little easier on myself and just posted raw unprocessed iPhone images on Instagr.am every day, but that just isn’t my style. So this photo above is, yes, a photo of my office where I am processing my photos, but that’s what I did today. To see the other P365 (or posts) images just go to the gallery at http://p365.me over on my Flickr site where they are arranged day by day.
I’m so excited to see my nephew, Jacob, starting his first blog, so everyone please jump over to his newly created blog at www.JacobMarchio.com and add it to your reader or leave him a nice comment on his first post. After saving up and getting his first Digital SLR camera, a Nikon D3100 (see the post here where we went to pick up his camera), he quickly realized that he wanted a place to post his photos other than his Flickr account page where it is sometimes hard to write in a whole lot of detail.
At this point I have helped a lot of people setup a new blog, but I am not sure I have ever had someone this excited about getting started. His blog will generally be posts about his photography and his interest in astronomy, and for his age, he is quite a talented photographer and astronomer. I am really looking forward to seeing how his blog develops over time, I hope you will check it out from time to time as well and give him some nice encouragement along the way.
Some of you may or may not know that I have been looking for a good job match in a full time IT related field for about 3-4 years now (yes I said years). So far, it has been one of the most frustrating ongoing experiences I have had in business.
I have been denied a lowly $7-9/hour job to work out of my home office because I had too much experience, and have turned down a $60,000 job because it wasn’t a good match between my personality and their culture. There is nothing easy about finding a good career match any more, and I have a lot to offer a company. Almost 20 years of business experience, education, flexibility, a low required salary, and a willingness to travel. See also my post Top 5 Tips to Help Your Job Search.
How I Can Save Your Business Money
What is astonishing to me, is how many potential employers will not look at the possibility of having a professional (and I mean that in every sense of the word) work out of their home office when the typical IT job really doesn’t require a physical presence in an office, or anywhere for that matter. I understand some do, and that’s fine, but not all by any stretch.
It’s simple math. If I can be hired to do a job in a middle-income American city for $50,000, which requires me to move, I can do the exact same job from my home office for $40,000. That’s $10,000 a year in payroll expenses your company doesn’t have to pay. Computer equipment they don’t have to buy, phones, office space, parking, gas, and food that doesn’t have to be purchased. If your company has a tight budget and really needs to control expenses, why ignore this potential savings?
My Office is Better Equipped Than Most Office Buildings
How old is your office equipment? What tools are you missing to get your job done in an effective and efficient manner?
I have 4 different phone lines/numbers I can use including a landline, cellular, and VoIP. A network of 5-6 computers (PC and MAC), laptops, desktops, mobiles devices, a reliable 6M high speed DSL line, 10 TB of data storage (yes Tera), data backups, and my office is even wired for a 20KW backup generator in case of power failure with 250 gallons of propane on site. I am probably better equipped and better prepared than the standard office building in middle America.
With that said, I have no problem going out of city or state for the right position, it will just cost everyone more money.
What Comes Around (To Get Down, Timo Maas)
This week I had a few different conversations with potential employers, some very promising. One of these companies was so unique in the way they required applicants to submit information I decided to go the extra mile and respond to their creativeness with creativity by making a portfolio video. Videos like this are nothing new but I made it specifically for them for an added personal touch.
Below is the video, (with the names removed to protect the innocent of course), but if you are one of those out there looking for a job, don’t just do the exact same thing that all the other applicants do, that accomplishes nothing but allowing yourself to blend in. Be creative, stand out, showcase your skills. Not all employers will appreciate this approach for sure, but a company looking for a Linchpin instead of a door knob will.
I needed a floor stand for my daylight lamp and decided that I did not want to drop $60+ on a metal one so, as usual, I looked around for something I could use to make one myself. This is what I came up with.
The log is from a cedar tree here on the property that we were cutting up for firewood. I figured how tall I needed it and Scott cut it to length for me. Then it was just a matter of sanding it down and putting on several coats of polyurethane to seal it. I drilled a hole for my lamp to fit in and viola! This was my first attempt at any creative woodworking outside of cutting molding pieces, etc. I think It turned out great and it works beautifully.
![Project 365 [Day 145] Editing Day for Project 365 on My 27" iMac](http://scottfillmer.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/3sf_0640.jpg "Project 365 [Day 145] Editing Day for Project 365 on My 27\" iMac")
