See You In September?

Those of us in transition look forward to Labor Day's passing, because we believe that everyone we'd like to contact about finding work will be back at their desks, counters or shop floors. But, that doesn't happen. People with jobs, even in the recession, stay on vacation into the second full week of September. And beyond.

Vacation, we think. If only. I've spoken in the past about the only desire stronger in the transitioner than finding real work being the one about never taking a vacation again, when we do find real work.

Real work means that you earn at least half of what you used to earn, regain a sense of confidence and dignity, and feel respected among family and friends. Just don't hold your breath in early September.

There's a certain guy at an international bank, for example, who seems to have a lot of vacation time. He is a friend of my close friend and a business colleague of my close business colleague. He is the hiring executive for a position that perfectly fits my experience and list of accomplishments. Both my friend and colleague encouraged me to write directly to the man, using their names. So, a few weeks ago, I wrote to him.

You know what happens next, of course. Nothing. No acknowledgement of the email (I re-checked the address several times and received no non-delivery message). No phone call or invitation to call him. He has not used one of the dozen ways to brush me off despite my connections to people he knows. Meanwhile, the job may very well been filled already; interviews may already be set for late September. This has become acceptable behavior in the job market. Nothing. Silence. Void.

And yet, we do not pick up the phone to call him and bug him. What we would gain by taking the Energizer Bunny approach, universally recommended by the job search consultants, we would lose if he told us that the spot is filled, or that they have too many great candidates, or that it doesn't seem a fit.

Or, that he figured out that you're his age and he is about to retire. That one never goes away.

But, we must not be denied. Most importantly, we must not deny ourselves. We must have back-up plans to back-up plans. So, I am going to focus more on seeing if my consulting client, who disappeared towards the end of our project's first phase, will once more engage with me.

His suppliers are contacting me, his internal colleagues are contacting me, but he has not been talking.

His email message says that he is still on vacation.

If only.