Depressing scene at Brookdale Job Fair
By Art Gallagher
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Hundreds of middle-aged people looking for work at Brookdale this morning. April 4, 2014
When I was readying to leave the house this morning, my wife asked if I was working on a story. “No, I’m looking for a job,” I replied. Her head snapped up in surprise. In all the years she’s known me I’ve never said those words. I’ve always been the owner, or early in our relationship, an unmanageable top producing salesman.
The truth is I wasn’t sure what I was doing when I headed into the job fair at Brookdale Community College this morning. I met a NJ.com reporter who got the ax yesterday, effective in September, in the overflowing parking lot outside of Collins Arena. “Working a story or looking for a job?” I asked him. “A little of both,” he replied before getting called away to cover a fatal car accident in Howell.
I was doing a little of both too. I’m having more fun building this business, MMM, than I had in building any of the others I’ve built or help build, but the revenue is not coming fast enough. If the big media companies are contracting, there’s no harm in taking a look at what is out there, especially if I can make a story out of it and meet potential advertisers.
“Ha, you’re here looking for advertisers,” a recruiter from Town Square Media said to me when I introduced myself and asked her what an Integrated Sales Person was. She got me, but if Town Square wants to buy MMM, give me a radio show, blog and a fat check, I’ll listen. An Integrated Sales Person sells ad for websites, radio shows and other mediums, I found out. I’m now looking for one of those. The recruiter either wasn’t aggressive or quickly sized me up as not a good fit. Probably both.
The Asbury Park Press’s recruiter was telling visitors to their booth that they weren’t hiring until they finish their across the street move in Neptune. Why were they there? Gannett would have to write a really big check and give me more authority than any corporate nudnik would consider in order to get me to fix that mess.
Posted: April 4th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Art Gallagher, Asbury Park Press, Brookdale Community College, Economy, Education, Monmouth County | Tags: Art Gallagher, Asbury Park Press, Brookdale Community College, Brookdale job fair, Economy, Gannett, Job Market, Neptune Nudniks, Town Square Media | 14 Comments »