I looked around the lobby near the check-in desk, but could not find my information table (which my e-mail message said should be there with a packet to help me answer any questions that could arise). One hotel person told me I was a day early, but happily led me to the conference area of the hotel. There I met with a couple other puzzled employees, who repeated that I was a day early. Finally, a happy gentleman appeared and sorted it all out. He was the GM and determined that, in fact, I was on time and there had apparently been a missed communication. Although the conference dinner was to be held in the hotel on Saturday night, I was to have an information table near the hotel check-in.
A table was quickly set up, along with two easels to hold my information posters. I settled in to watch the lobby activities and read my book. There were several shuttle buses, but most were destined to carry folks identified with "the Provost's office" to various campus tours (rare book collection was one stop). The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) shuttle was scheduled to begin rounds between the hotel and the Union at 5 pm.
The next "crisis" came quickly. A hotel guest (and mother of the conference coordinator, who is a senior civil engineering student at U of I) came and insisted that the bus was to begin rounds at 4 pm. She produced a copy of the e-mail she'd received that told her this was the case. She needed to get to the Union to visit with her daughter before things really kicked into high gear. She also informed me that it was a 2-mile hike to the Union, because she had walked it earlier in the afternoon. [NOTE: on the map it didn't seem that far, but who am I to argue with a very persistent mother.] Again, the gracious (and happy) GM stepped in, and mom was put on the hotel's van to be hauled to the Union.
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. I did have a reasonably long conversation with a recent engineering graduate, who told me she has had several interviews (some second and third with the same companies), but none have garnered offers. In fact, after the multiple interview companies, she had been informed that they were not hiring. The more revealing tidbit was that she and her fellow graduates (only one member of her entire class had received a job offer, and more than half had decided to remain in school for master's degrees when jobs were not forthcoming) are not considered "unemployed" in the government's statistics. Consider that the next time the government numbers are flashed across the news.
On Saturday, I returned to Champaign. My assignments were to introduce two speakers in the afternoon. I was provided a t-shirt and instructed to wear it (to identify my role in the event, I suppose). I put the t-shirt on over my long-sleeve, wool tunic (I must admit that even I did not feel stylish). The speeches were interesting, and I found two gals from Northrop to hand my "Queen of Environmental Compliance" business cards to (and they said they would pass them along to others in the environmental area). I walked back to the coat room with a gal who clearly had not been employed more than a year or two and we had a very interesting discussion about "corporate environments" and the subliminal messages that are provided.
Volunteering had its pluses (more than minuses). My two trips to Champaign and back covered 296 miles (I will note for next year's taxes). I met a couple interesting people and had great discussions. I learned that the job market is much worse than I had considered - especially because the new graduates can't find positions. No wonder I have been as "successful" as I have been. I am reviewing my approaches and considering new options as I write this.
"We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it."
~John Steinbeck, America and Americans
