Career Search

I got my 1099-G in the mail yesterday. It's the second to last piece that I need before I can file my taxes. I am still waiting on my 1099-MISC from the Fairness Project. IRS rules say I was supposed to have it by 2/1, but I don't. Anyway, after getting my 1099-G I figured I would start looking at some of the tax forms and the instructions that I am going to need to file my taxes. I decided to start with Publication 17 which is a 288 page guide to tax filing for individuals. About two hours later, it struck me that there probably aren't a whole lot of people who just sit around and read IRS tax instructions in their spare time. (Of course, not a lot of people have as much spare time as I.|)

This isn't the first time I've spent my time in such a manner. When I was preparing for the Series 7 a few years ago, I read the 1933 and 1934 securities acts most of the way through. Before they simplified mandatory retirement distributions, I read the IRS instructions for those. When Merrill Lynch rolled out their online trading accounts, I read all of the small print in the account agreements that no one else did. I have read a couple other IRS publications on retirement savings plan rules whose numbers I do not now recall. Last night I downloaded Publications 505 and 533 to read in the near future.

In the midst of all of this tax goodness, it struck me that perhaps the IRS might be interested in hiring a fellow like me: someone with not much of an accounting background but a great understanding of the big picture and - more importantly - an eye for the minutiae that make up that picture. I jumped to the careers portion of their website and found that the department was going to be at CU today for a recruiting session. Unfortunately, no further details such as time or exact location were disclosed. The CU site, thankfully, had plenty more information. There was a job fair at the Tivoli from ten until three. Strange, I thought that I should stumble across a job fair at my alma mater the day before it happens through a link on the IRS website. I thought that I had better go.

I used to get a bit nervous before job fairs and interviews, but in the past couple of years that feeling has faded. I think that came from my experience of being on the interviewer side of the table. While at Merrill, I had the opportunity to sit in on or conduct a dozen or more interviews. Since then, for whatever reason, I have become a whole lot more comfortable with the process regardless of which side I am on. Part of it too is that I know I will do a better job then any other applicant if I can convince someone to hire me. My experience spectrum is bright in all of the wrong places, but give me a chance and I'll run circles around anyone else in the same position.

Talking to the IRS agent in attendance, I found out that I am well qualified for some jobs that will be posted in about ten days but lack the accounting experience for the current openings. The rep from the city of Denver told me a similar story, but I eventually convinced her to take my resume and pass it to her boss for a senior accountant position that doesn't require a whole lot of accounting background. Nearly all employers now require supplicants to submit their applications online, so I'll have to deal with that, but they both seemed genuinely interested.

In the private sector, things also went well. I only spoke with Northwest Mutual Financial Group and Mutual of Omaha. In both cases after establishing that they were primarily interested in salesmen, I explained that that was not the route I was interested in following. After explaining my experience in financial services, disdain for sales, and interest in the compliance side of the business each company asked me to please leave a resume as they might have opportunities available. I think that a big part of it may have been that at a university sponsored job fair, I was probably one of only a few applicants with a couple of years experience under thier belts post-MBA. Whatever the reason, it sure felt good to have them ask for a copy of my resume.

It felt good to get up, put on a suit, and talk about careers today. I think I'm about ready to go back to a real, full-time job with a (hopefully) decent salary and benefits. I am optimistic that I'll at least get one call out of today's work. Who knows. Perhaps nothing will come of today, but I feel better about my prospects now than I have in ages. We'll see. In the mean time, Vail has had nine, three, and seven inches in the past three days. Breckenridge has had seven, one, and six, and A-basin has had something like four, four, and four. There's fun stuff to do until the work comes.

Jonathan 2/05/2003 03:41:00 PM