Survival Stories: Alex Ley, IT professional
Survival Stories: Alex Ley, IT professional
If you’re looking for an example of someone spending his job-search time wisely, you need only check Alex Ley’s iPhone. Scroll through his daily calendar on the gadget’s touch screen and you’ll see a packed schedule rivaling that of anyone with a white collar and steady paycheck.
After dropping his kids off at school each morning, the 36-year-old former information technology infrastructure architect for VF Corp. has time etched out to check job postings online, work on renewing his IT certifications and prepare cover letters and apply for jobs. A few days a week he also attends networking meetings in High Point and Greensboro to develop leads and fine-tune his job-search skills.
It’s all in a day’s work for the husband and father of three whose wife, Tamara, 28, was also recently laid off.
“This is the hardest job — trying to find a job,” says Ley, a High Point resident.
He’s up to the challenge. Here’s how he’s surviving:
Goals
• Short term: To find a new career in the IT field, preferably as an infrastructure architect or IT manager. “Not necessarily a director-level or VP-level (job), but some kind of IT management position,” Ley says.
• Long term: To move into a director-level position in IT about five to seven years down the road.
Job search breakdown
Networking
• Ley goes to networking meetings every Monday at outplacement firm Right Management Inc. in High Point, a transition service provided by Ley’s former employer, VF Corp.
• On Tuesdays he attends the Triad Job Search Network meeting in High Point and the Professionals in Transition meeting in Greensboro. Ley also started participating in TJSN’s Friday “trio” meetings, a smaller breakout group that he says helps him focus more on the nuts and bolts of his job search. It has resulted in stronger networking relationships, and “we are really helping each other prepare for interviewing questions and things like that,” Ley says.
Online
• Ley visits job boards to see what new positions are being posted. He usually checks for the latest postings twice a day, once first thing in the morning and once after lunch.
• He researches companies in the area — he’s targeting employers within about a 90-mile radius — and browses job openings posted on their Web sites.
• After finding a job he wants to apply for, he uses LinkedIn.com to locate insiders who may be able to get his résumé into the right hands.
Successes
Ley has had several interviews with companies in different industries in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Burlington, but hasn’t gotten any offers yet. Although both he and his wife are unemployed, that hasn’t stopped Ley from aiming high. “I’ve been pretty successful (even though) I’ve been a little selective ... I didn’t want to go for just any (IT) support positions. I feel like I have a lot to offer somebody.”
Obstacles
• VF Corp. was a larger organization, so when he worked there “you kind of have your area of expertise,” Ley says. Smaller companies are “looking for someone who is more kind of a jack of all trades.” To expand his skill set he is teaching himself more about the network side of IT, such as Cisco and wide area networks, through classes at Tech Skills in High Point.
• Ley never finished his four-year degree, so he’s currently working toward a Bachelor of Science in information technology through Western Governors University (www.wgu.edu), an online school.
Staying upbeat
• Losing one’s job is never easy, but “I found a lot of positive in it as well,” Ley says. “I got to spend a lot more time with my family.” He says his children also help provide him with the energy he needs to keep moving.
• He likes to stay busy. “I’m the type to go out there and do a lot of things to kind of keep myself motivated,” he says. But at first he felt like he wasn’t getting anything accomplished, so he decided to approach his job search more like a job by planning his day. “Once I started creating myself a schedule like I was at work, on a daily basis, I found that was more beneficial to keep myself on track.”
Making ends meet
Ley’s severance from VF Corp. just ran out, but he is able to collect unemployment benefits. Fluent in Cambodian, Ley also makes a little extra income doing freelance translation work for the Language Resource Center in Greensboro. He and his wife also have cut costs by cooking at home more and downgrading their cable subscription to a basic package.
Alex Ley 052409
Alex Ley attends a Professionals in Transition meeting on Tuesday at West Market Street United Methodist Church. He also frequents Triad Job Search Network meetings in High Point.
About Alex Ley
About this new feature
Survival Stories is a new feature that spotlights unemployed individuals navigating today’s challenging job market. Are you interested in sharing your story? Contact Patrick Collins at 412-5934 or patrick.collins@news-record.com.
