As COVID-19 continues to spread across New York State, many restaurants are left with a harrowingly difficult decision: stay open and risk spreading or having staffers catch the virus, or close and risk not making ends meet. Last week, several Saratoga Springs staples, including Solevo Kitchen + Social, Druthers Brewing Company and Seneca decided to go with the latter. All three establishments temporarily closed their takeout services to spare their staff (and the public) from potential exposure to COVID-19, which, to date, has claimed more than 2,000 lives in New York alone.
“It wasn’t the best financial decision by any means, but it was 100 percent the right decision,” says Ronald Solevo, who co-owns Solevo Kitchen + Social with his sister Giovannina. On March 25, Solevo Kitchen announced that it would shut down its takeout menu and delivery, even though, according to Ronald, who’s also the executive chef, business had been quite heavy. “We did an incredible amount of takeout, and we really felt like we were doing good things,” says Solevo. “We were being there for the town with comforting and familiar food as well as continuing to provide a place where our staff could still earn money.”
However, after taking a much-needed day off, Solevo and his sister began to reconsider what they were doing. For them, the pursuit of money wasn’t worth potentially spreading the virus and endangering peoples’ life. “No matter how strict your sanitation protocols or how well coordinated your no-contact pickup is, the reality is that going to work in a restaurant is the opposite of self-isolation,” says Solevo. “Kitchens require close proximity work.”
Solevo wasn’t the only restaurant owner last week to come to that hard conclusion. Just a few days prior on March 21, Druthers, the Spa City’s hotspot for mac and cheese, pizza and house-brewed beers, announced on its social media feeds that it was shuttering its takeout kitchens out of concern for its employees.
Over the course of last week, several other popular area eateries followed suit, including Seneca, Esperanto, Wasabi and Uncommon Grounds, posting similar messages online that announced the end of their takeout menus while also thanking patrons and staff.
In spite of these closures, a good number of the Spa City’s restaurants and bars remain open for takeout meals and beverages—Whole Harvest, Flatbread Social, Taquero, Hamlet & Ghost and The Night Owl, to name a few. One thing remains certain, however: COVID-19 has made it challenging for restaurants to stay open even when there is plenty of business to be had.
On page 127 of Saratoga Living‘s new Spring Issue, there’s a crossword puzzle, entitled “Found Art.” Below is the answer key—or for some of you, the world’s greatest cheat sheet.
Earlier this week, Saratoga Living put out a call for cocktail recipes that Saratogians can make while they’re at home in quarantine (a.k.a. quarantinis), and, ironically, the first two recipes to hit our inbox were both attempts at recreating Hamlet & Ghost‘s Gin Gin Fizz, a delicious mix of gin, grapefruit, lemon, ginger and foam. Now, Hamlet & Ghost certainly doesn’t advertise the recipe to such a sought-after cocktail online, so our two novice mixologists had to get creative. Despite the fact that both left out one crucial “Gin” (the ginger), and may have both been inspired by the same online Gin Fizz recipe, we think they did pretty well. Here’s what they came up with:
Blackberry Gin Gin Fizz
Ingredients
2 oz. Gin
1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
4-5 Muddled blackberries (or however many you think is good)
3/4 oz. Simple syrup
1 Egg white (about 1/2 oz.)
Ice
Club soda
Instructions
Dry shake the first five ingredients (but not for long, because it’ll explode—10 seconds is good). Then, put some ice in and shake for a while longer. Strain (I didn’t strain that well, because I love blackberry seeds and extra foam) into a glass and top with club soda.
—Submitted by Lauren
Molly’s cocktail-making attempt involved substituting a cocktail shaker with a giant mason jar.
Gin Fizz
Ingredients
2 oz. Gin
1 oz. Lemon juice (fresh is best, but ReaLemon lemon juice also works)
3/4 oz. Simple syrup
1 Egg white (about 1/2 oz.)
Ice
Seltzer
Instructions
Dry shake the first four ingredients (if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, a giant mason jar will do the trick). Add ice, and shake more. Double strain (if you don’t have a cocktail strainer, a sieve will work) into a glass and top with seltzer.
—Submitted by Molly
Want in on the fun? Saratoga Living wants your best quarantini recipes, and we’ll publish the best ones of the bunch on our website. You can send your recipes to [email protected] (with a photo, if you have one).
The Saratoga Springs Recreation Department announced on its Instagram and Facebook pages on April 1 that all City of Saratoga Springs playgrounds and basketball courts would be closed until further notice, effective immediately.
The announcement comes one day after a press conference made by Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly and Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, in which Commissioner Dalton announced that the Saratoga Springs Police Department would potentially be fining people not adhering to social distancing measures. During that press conference, Mayor Kelly addressed a question from a reporter about the safety of Saratoga’s parks. “The [state] park is getting more traffic than ever with this COVID-19 happening,” the mayor said. “But people aren’t understanding that they shouldn’t be playing touch football and they shouldn’t be playing basketball at the West Side Rec. We have to be able to keep people separated right now, but we do not want to close any parks, especially in the City of Saratoga Springs.” The mayor also said that as of this week, there is new signage in the Saratoga Spa State Park reminding people to stay six feet apart from one another.
City playgrounds are another matter altogether. In response to a question from a reporter at the March 31 press conference about if the city’s playgrounds were closed, Public Safety Commissioner Dalton said, “The city playgrounds are not closed at this time, but if you have kids who want to play on the playground, that is an individual responsibility. That’s up to you, but please be careful to sanitize before and after. That’s an individual choice. We can’t shut down the whole city and sanitize everything for everyone. So there’s a component of individual responsibility that we’re all asking people to take.”
The recreation department’s post also comes on the day New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the closure of playgrounds in New York City in a press conference. “I warned people that if they didn’t stop the density and the games in the playgrounds—you can’t play basketball, you can’t come in contact with each other—that we would close the playgrounds,” the governor said.
The evening after the post was made, Saratoga Living witnessed people playing basketball on the West Side Recreation courts, as well as a large group of students playing soccer on a field at Skidmore College.
Since COVID-19 first touched down in Upstate New York, Saratoga Living has been covering the virus and its impact on the Saratoga Springs community closely on saratogaliving.com. One way we’ve gotten the stories of real Saratogians dealing with the crisis out is through our “What It’s Like” series, in which we interview real people about their experiences, or tell stories from our own perspective, as Capital Region residents. So far, we’ve covered what it’s like grocery shopping, being a doctor, being a service industry business owner, being a parent who believes your child has COVID-19 and being a nurse during the epidemic. The story that follows is the next installment in our “What It’s Like” series, written from the perspective of one of Saratoga Living‘s interns from Skidmore College, Simone Teague.
On March 6, I packed up by bags, watered my plants a little more than usual and left Skidmore College for the start of my senior year spring break. After a demanding week filled with presentations, project proposals and essays (a.k.a. midterm week), I was more than ready to get off campus. I was heading home to Poughkeepsie, with plans to see friends, skateboard and leave the country for the first time in my life. I was excited. Little did I know that the next time I’d set foot on the campus I’ve lived on since 2016 would be my last as a Skidmore student.
Skidmore announced its decision to switch to online learning on March 12, the Thursday of spring break. In other words, we’d be completing the rest of our work for the semester from home. That same day, an anonymous Instagram user created the account @howdoyoufeelskidmore and began following students, myself included. The first post on the account was an abstract picture with the caption, “Hello — writing is catharsis. Public catharsis is good too. Tell us, what are you feeling? Respond to the Story and we’ll post your response for all to see. We’ll keep you anonymous so speak uninhibitedly.” And speak the students did. The anonymous user only posted for two days—the account has been silent since March 14—but it amassed 558 followers and posted screenshots of 179 story replies, documenting the student body’s initial reaction.
Also on the 12th, students received strict instructions from the college about when and how we were allowed to move out, broken down by our region of permanent residence. We were told that Skidmore would begin disposing of anything left in on-campus housing beginning March 22, giving us just a week to figure out how to retrieve all of our belongings. “The move out dates are super constricting, especially to kids who don’t have cars, etc,” one student wrote to @howareyoufeelingskidmore. Another wrote that he or she was “feeling stuck across the country with skid threatening to throw out my sh–.”
There are still 200 students living on campus, all of whom were required to fill out an application to request permission to stay. The application was due March 14—just two days after we learned we had to move. In an email to the students, the college stated that “late requests cannot be considered,” and that students whose requests were denied could appeal “only if there is new or additional information that was not provided in the original request.” A student told @howareyoufeelingskidmore that “international students are being rejected in their request to stay on campus,” adding that they “feel homeless.”
In addition to housing insecurity, for many, leaving campus also meant leaving a source of income. A student shared with @howareyoufeelingskidmore that he or she was “freaking out cause I work 3 jobs on campus to support myself.” I worked two jobs and paid for all of my living expenses at Skidmore. Leaving Saratoga has left me unemployed during a time when no one is hiring. I’m staying with my parents, along with my younger brother and his girlfriend, and all of us are surviving off my mother’s income; she’s a grocery store manager, which makes her an essential (but extremely vulnerable) employee.
Feeling like the school left us to fend for ourselves, students got to work figuring out how to support one another. During the first few days following the announcement to go remote, students were almost exclusively posting information about resources to help one another move on social media. A petition addressing the collective concerns about the welfare of need-based financial aid students and international students, created in part by senior Jessica Ndrianasy, also circulated social media. When it was presented to the administration, the original stringent move-out dates were relaxed. Currently, the Student Government Association is running a COVID-19 fund-distribution survey to identify students who need immediate assistance to secure basic necessities, such as food and housing. The survey is not affiliated with the college. In an update released March 31, Skidmore President Philip Glotzbach directed alumni to a Student Emergency Fund, where they can donate money to current students in need of support.
On March 17, a Skidmore employee tested positive for COVID-19. On the 20th, the college announced that in compliance with New York State, all nonessential employees, including professors, should stay home. Classes resumed March 23 (online, of course), but that didn’t mean a new normal was immediately established. How classes are structured—the technology, the schedule and the leniency—has been left up to each individual professor, many of whom have never taught online before.
Many professors are relying heavily on Zoom, a video conferencing platform (that freezes and crashes multiple times each session). Others are posting questions for students to respond to on Blackboard, an online application used by many professors, even when classes are held in person. One of my professors has been uploading pre-recorded lectures to Blackboard. Both the school and professors have expressed their commitment to flexibility and to ensuring seniors graduate on time. The school is allowing all courses to be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (a.k.a. Pass/Fail), rather than for letter grades, and many professors are abandoning previous policies of marking down late work. These are great measures, but as Sarah Maacha ’20 stated, “I don’t need an extension; I need this to stop.”
President Glotzbach also addressed the topic of Commencement, a particularly important one for us seniors, in his March 31 update. “In recognition of this reality, I am sorry to have to inform you that we cannot hold Commencement or Reunion as we traditionally have,” he wrote. “In the coming weeks, we will assemble a working group of students and other members of the Skidmore community to help plan an exciting, reimagined Commencement that will occur when the time is right.”
At this time, Skidmore has promised refunds for room and board to appear in students accounts by May 1. The refunds are dependent on individual financial aid packages. The school, however, has not discussed refunding students for parking passes, which cost $110 per semester. The school has also not communicated whether any adjustments in the cost of tuition will be made, something that students find particularly troubling. (Tuition alone at Skidmore costs about $58,000/year.) As a student shared with @howareyoufeelingskidmore, “we don’t pay 70k a year to stare at a laptop.”
Skidmore College did not immediately return Saratoga Living‘s request for comment.
According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Capital Region is now offering up care and hospital beds to New York City COVID-19 patients.
In his April 1 press conference, the governor was asked by a journalist whether patients in New York City had been moved to Albany Medical Center and Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, and Cuomo responded “yes,” at least to the Albany Med question. “This is one state, this is one family of New York,” said Cuomo. “We support one another in two ways: staff from upstate hospitals will be going to downstate hospitals, because one of the real critical situations is staff shortages and staff exhaustion; and downstate hospitals, who are at overcapacity can transfer patients to upstate [hospitals].”
As an Albany Med nurse toldSaratoga Living in an interview conducted this past weekend that there had been rumors that New York City patients would be shipped to Albany Med for care. (It was reported yesterday that 45 Albany Med employees had tested positive for the virus.)
As of today, there have been more than 80,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed in New York State alone, with 44,915 of those being reported in New York City.
It’s not always easy to stay entertained in self-quarantine—especially staring down week two of all nonessential businesses being shuttered because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Thankfully, a little virtual help is on the way. Unable to open their doors to the public, a number of local venues, businesses and museums have taken what they do best and made it digital, including live streaming concerts, creating online art projects and even offering virtual dance and workout sessions. And it’s all completely free! Loaded with lots of e-fun, this list should keep those of you in the Capital Region from bouncing off the walls for another couple of weeks.
Caffè Lena Saratoga Springs’ signature folk venue has converted its upcoming lineup into a live streaming series called the Stay Home Sessions. Tune into YouTube for the next couple of weeks (maybe more) to catch free live performances broadcast from Lena’s iconic stage. (The venue had actually been live-streaming its events anyway, so pandemic or not, the feed will continue long after the virus is gone.) The live stream of The Civil Wars’ John Paul White from March 13 was viewed by nearly 500 people from around the globe.
Hyde Collection In order to continue offering patrons and members the access they deserve, many global art museums have launched “virtual” tour options. And Glens Falls’ incredible Hyde Collection is part of that growing list. The museum has gone completely virtual, offering up free online access not only to its permanent collection of artwork, which spans thousands of years of art history, but also to temporary exhibitions, including a famous etching series by Spanish master painter Francisco Goya. The museum has even placed its audioguides online and is adding art classes and other projects to its YouTube channel.
Northshire Bookstore There’s never been a better time to crack open a book. Just this week, Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga announced a brand new online series called Northshire Live, a kind of weekly e-club for bookworms. Every Thursday starting on April 2, Northshire will host a virtual event that features authors discussing their works via Zoom. For the first Northshire Live event this Thursday, National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin will discuss a current work-in-progress, plus his most recent book, Born To Fly, about the first women’s air race across the US.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Why not get ready for the summer track season early? The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is offering a variety of online content including educational programming, digital social interactions for all ages and the museum’s popular Foal Patrol, an interactive web series that gives viewers a unique and up-close look at the breeding and foaling process. Also, check out the racing museum’s Facebook page for other racing resources and a new #HistoryThroughArt series that shares posts about artwork from the museum’s collection.
Tang Teaching Museum Get ready for some fine art (and crafts) at home. Last week, Skidmore College’s Tang Teaching Museum launched Tang at Home, an online resource for creative art-making projects and activities, all inspired by artwork previously exhibited at the museum. The first art project on Tang at Home’s list is called Empowerment, and it discusses Upstate-based, mixed media artist Alisa Sikelianos-Carter and her work Crown Me.
Arthur Zankel Music Center Speaking of Skidmore, the college’s Arthur Zankel Music Center is sharing a Throwback Concert every weeknight at 7pm on its Facebook page. Each Throwback Concert post includes a link to a live-streamed show held at Zankel, everything from a 2016 Filene Scholarship Winner’s Concert to a performance from this past December by Pulse, Skidmore’s own found objects percussion group.
Capital District YMCA Having a little less space (or gym equipment) doesn’t mean a good workout still isn’t possible. In fact, it’s been made a lot easier with the help of the Capital District YMCA, which for two weeks now has been posting Virtual Fitness workout videos on its YouTube channel and Facebook page. The Virtual Fitness series includes videos for both kids and adults, and each installment is led by a Capital District YMCA instructor.
Saratoga Springs Public Library The Saratoga Springs Public Library (SSPL) isn’t keeping things quiet during the quarantine. The library is offering free e-books online, plus digital access to dozens of magazines. The library is also still offering some online readings and postings through its new e-program, Hanging @ Home with SSPL. Best of all, if you don’t already have a library card you can easily sign up for a digital card. (Glens Falls’ Crandall Public Library is similarly offering some electronic resources and readings.)
Tango Fusion Saratoga-based dance partners Diane Lachtrupp Martinez and Johnny Martinez, who perform as the educational dance duo Tango Fusion, are offering free online dance classes every Monday and Tuesday starting at 6:30pm. Monday classes will feature waltz, swing, cha cha and advanced hustle, and the Tuesday classes will include beginner and intermediate salsa as well as West Coast swing.
So, Shakespeare wrote his masterpiece King Lear while “social distancing” during the Bubonic plague. Why can’t a few Upstate New Yorkers shoot for the same?
Take the “Troylet,” for example, from Sweet Sue’s Copper Pot in Troy. After weeks of watching people get into fisticuffs over the real McCoy, Sweet Sue’s decided enough was enough: So, Chef Sue Dunckel created a vanilla sponge cake shaped (and wrapped!) like a toilet paper roll and started selling it in 1- and 2-ply versions. Not a bad idea. A masterpiece to some.
Another COVID-19-inspired culinary home run has come to our attention from about 3.5 hours west of Saratoga Springs in Rochester, NY—and while we feel it’s slightly less creative than the Collar City creation, it looks no less delicious. That would be the Dr. Anthony Fauci logo doughnut—or the “Fauci Donut,” for short—which Rochester’s Donuts Delite has been producing by the box-full since March 22. (It’s available only in the Rochester area for “touch-less delivery,” takeout and curb-side pickup.
But maybe more important is the fact that the doughnut’s gone, er, “viral”: The Hill, CNN, Rochester’s the Democrat and Chronicle, WROC Rochester, TMZ, CBS This Morning, People, MSN, Fox News, Delish, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and now, Saratoga Living, have jumped on the bandwagon. Food for thought.
Not practicing proper social distancing in Saratoga Springs during the COVID-19 pandemic? Saratoga Springs police could be ticketing you for it.
That’s according to Saratoga’s Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, who, during a press conference on March 31—which aired live on Facebook—told those gathered that: “Maintaining social distance and the guidelines put into place by Governor Cuomo will be key. As a city, we will be enforcing them through warnings and then ticketing and fines if needed. Because your actions are that important: Our collective health and safety depend on them.” (The fines could be as high as $250, per the Times Union.)
Just today, Governor Cuomo revealed that his brother Chris, an anchor on cable news organization CNN, had been diagnosed with COVID-19, using the diagnosis as an example of why social distancing is so important to take part in among New Yorkers.
Saratoga has a number of playgrounds and parks, including Congress Park, that are still open to the public. Also, the Saratoga Spa State Park remains open, though its website includes a message about practicing proper social distancing (i.e. walking six feet apart from others) on it.
New data suggests that social distancing is helping to slow the spread of COVID-19.
If you read last week’s premiere edition of SL’s Job Hunters, you would’ve found a bevy of information about how to potentially nab both national (remote) and local jobs from employers who are still hiring, even with the COVID-19 pandemic raging out yonder.
Some of you might be wondering why Saratoga Living is trying to help people find jobs. I can’t speak for the rest of the staff here, but I can give you a little personal insight into the matter. About five years ago, I was a freelance writer, working remotely from Oakland, CA, pitching what I believed to be “amazing” ideas to editors across the country. And I was striking out. A lot. I was rejected over and over and over again, and it started to take a mental toll. Eventually, I slid into a deep depression, which consumed my every thought and action. On the my wife’s suggestion, I sought out psychotherapy and took up meditation, and the two have been a central part of my life ever since then (I wrote, at length, about the experience here). My point? Because we spend so much of our time at work—and often, it’s the only time we hear positive reenforcement for what we’re doing—simply having a job is invaluable. And not having a stable one, as I found in that micro-home in Oakland, can be detrimental to your mental health. Having a job is a lot more than just working and money and supporting your family, all of which are in play, too.
Luckily, as I’m finding, there are jobs out there—despite unemployment claims continuing to rise—and while you could spend the better part of your day researching where to get them yourself, why not let Saratoga Living give you a little assist? Below, you’ll find more remote jobs picks, local job/gig opportunities and great employment resources.
Local Job Opportunities
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
I wasn’t joking when I said “here’s how we can pitch in.” As you know, we not only publish Saratoga Living, but also Capital Region Living magazine now, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re in need one strong, athletic type, who can lift and deliver bundles of our magazines to businesses in Downtown Saratoga on a part-time basis. The position is paid, and we’re offering flexible, daytime work hours, too—so if that person want to stops and read The Infinite Jest at some point during his or her shift, he or she can. You can call our very own Tina Galante at 518-210-7303 for more information.
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
A day after posting the first SL’s Job Hunters story, Glens Falls-based Arrow Financial Corporation, a multi-bank holding company with more than $3 billion in assets, got in touch with us. “As an essential business to the communities we serve, Arrow Financial Corporation is a growing and progressive company,” a rep there told me. “We are currently hiring and are looking for highly motivated, talented candidates to join our staff.” Awesome news, right? It turns out that Arrow is the parent company of Glens Falls National Bank, Saratoga National Bank and Upstate Agency, LLC, an insurance agency that specializes in personal and business insurance, as well as group health and employee benefits. Prospective employees can fill out an application here—or if they have any direct questions or want to further discuss other career opportunities at the companies, they can email: [email protected]. Easy peasy.
Cool Job Opportunity (Local) Fancy a career in healthcare, but don’t want to spend an eternity in college becoming a doctor? The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is looking to fill multiple temporary positions in data entry at the Wadsworth Center in Albany. If you’re interested, you can email your résumé to [email protected], with a subject line WC-COVID19/OA1Temp or fax it to 518-473-3395. If you overnight it, you can probably get it there in time for the deadline:
Human Resources Management Group
WC-COVID-19 19/OA1Temp
Room 2217, Corning TowerBuilding, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237–0012
Résumés will only be accepted through April 1 (tomorrow).
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
I’m a little biased, because I live here, but Troy is the cat’s pajamas. The downtown scene is happening, HBO’s supposedly going to be filming at least one period piece there and the food options are next-level. OK, so some people still think it’s the Troylet (i.e. Troy + toilet), but we’ll let them continue thinking that while we enjoy the spoils for ourselves. Sitting up on a hill overlooking everything, like a wise old person? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), one of the top engineering schools in the nation. (See what it’s doing to help put an end to COVID-19.) The college recently posted a Business Support Analyst IV position (I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but you never know). To see if you’re qualified, search Monster.com for the post or check if it’s been posted to RPI’s jobs page yet (it was hot off the presses when we found it).
Instacart offers same-day grocery delivery and pickup services in the Capital Region.
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
The grocery delivery service Instacart is providing services crucial to many who are quarantined, senior citizens and others that have run danger-low on food. (Obviously, if you’re among those ranks, try to steer clear of the grocery stores as much as possible to kill the viral spread dead.) Thankfully, the brains behind the company said that they’re ramping up hiring, and will add 300K new jobs. Glassdoor, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and many others have Instacart positions listed on their sites. Or you can just go right to its own careers page. (Note: Some Instacarters are striking right now, so apply, knowing that you might end up on the picket lines at some point.)
National/Remote Work Opportunities
Cool Job Opportunity (Remote) Vivial, a marketing tech company, is looking for remote, contract freelance writers. “Our freelancers are tasked with writing hyper-polished, sharp and colorful 300-word posts for hundreds of local and national clients across various industries, everything from beauty and real estate to dentistry and funeral services,” says the company. You can either search for the position on LinkedIn Jobs or go directly to the company’s career page.
Cool Job Opportunity (Remote)
OK, so maybe you can’t don that police officer’s uniform you wore to your friend’s Halloween party last year and magically become a cop. But this gig’s the next best thing: Net Transcripts, a company that does transcribing work for the law enforcement community, has a number of remote positions available. (You will have to pass a background check to be a viable candidate.) For those of you unfamiliar with transcribing, it requires you to listen to audio tapes and write down every word said on the tape. Sounds pretty easy, right? As a journalist, you have to have a knack for it—and some of us even really dig it, me included. True story: I learned that Elton John’s legal middle name was “Hercules” by transcribing an interview at Rolling Stone magazine, when I interned there in the early aughts. Call the knowledge you pick up from transcribing a job perk. Browse Net Transcripts’ jobs here.
Local Job/Business Resources
Cool Job Resource (Anywhere)
Man, was I chuffed when Renee Walrath, president of Walrath Recruiting, Inc., which has offices in Albany and Saratoga, reached out to me on LinkedIn the other day. She’d read our SL’s Job Hunters post and wanted to pitch in, whatever way she could. What she offered local/national job hunters is nothing short of gold. Last year, the company published its own e-book, The Ultimate Job Search Guide, which includes tips such as how to write an attention-grabbing cover letter and interview with confidence—in short, a digital roadmap for getting back to work. It normally costs $9.99, but you can now download it on their site for free! Get it here.
Ed Mitzen, CEO and Founder of Fingerpaint. (Fingerpaint)
Cool Job Lead (Local)
Saratoga’s Fingerpaint, a wildly successful marketing agency that focuses on the health and wellness space, is run by one of the city’s most successful businessmen, Ed Mitzen (learn more about what makes Ed tick here). And although Fingerpaint’s currently not hiring at its Saratoga office, a rep from its People & Culture (i.e. HR) department tells me that Fingerpaint managers, in a number of departments, are still interviewing candidates for potential future placement at the company. She says that Fingerpaint’s all about its people, and is always looking for great new talent to join the agency. (You can scroll through a list of possible future roles here.) “If you’re a fit, we’d love to talk to you, so apply!” she says. Sounds like a better-than-average foot in the door, no?
Cool Job Resource (Local)
When I quit my job to become a full-time freelance writer in 2013, I knew I was taking a huge risk. I basically threw away a steady income and health benefits in order to be more creatively stimulated, and while some might see that as a ridiculous tradeoff, to me, it was everything. (Mind you, we also had a second income coming in from my wife, and she agreed that I could attempt the hermetic life of a freelance writer, as long as I had an exit strategy.) I quickly learned that full-time employees have it off pretty easy, comparatively speaking: Think about all the hours you spend in meetings or doing other things that don’t constitute actually “working.” You get paid for all of that time. As a freelance writer, you only get paid when you produce—and even that’s sort of a misnomer; you get paid on publish, so you might have to wait months to get paid for a single story.
I’ve been at this game a long time, and I’ve picked up more than a few pro tips on how to snag jobs. For nearly four years, I “advertised” hourlong phone sessions on my LinkedIn page for anyone wanting to talk about getting into the writing/editing trade. And I did it for free because, frankly, having good, intelligent people out there in the workforce is a good thing—and it was a great way to network, too. While I don’t have as much free time as I used to, I’d be more than happy to start this up again, in the name of good faith. Looking to break into a journalism or creative writing/arts jobs? Hit me up at [email protected], and I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions. Happy to help.
Cool Job Resource (Anywhere)
Despite being the social media equivalent of your dorky uncle with a PhD compared to the cute, carefree Millennials that are Instagram and TikTok, LinkedIn has a massive amount of information on it about how to find and secure jobs. And there are loads of experts on there that are way more versed in the trade than I am. Here’s one example of a post that could be of help to you. I’d also suggest paying the monthly fee to make your account Premium, so that you can cold-message hiring managers.
Cool Resources for Kids
Little Passports
When I used to commute to Saratoga, all those weeks ago (it seems like an eternity at this point), I’d always listen to NPR on the way to the office, and they’d run this ad over and over and over again for Little Passports. Yeah, I know, I know: “the power of advertising.” But you don’t have to be Don Draper to realize how cool this company is: Parents can buy their tots a subscription (starting at about $13/month), and Little Passports will send them packages filled with toys and activities hinging on different subjects like world travel, history and science. Nobody sent me anything even remotely this cool when I was a kid!
BrainPOP
School’s (temporarily) out at the moment, so parents have been forced to figure out ways to creatively homeschool their kids. And it’s not so easy. I reached out to a mom friend of mine, who has two kids home right now, and she introduced me to a few of the online hubs that they frequent. One that is getting great traction is BrainPOP, which was founded in the late ’90s by pediatrician Dr. Avraham Kadar, and is a web destination that makes learning topics such as science, math and English fun for kids. (I started playing one of the anatomy-related games and almost got sucked in, so it could be fun for you, too.)
Cool Diversions
Follow This Instagram Account How’s about a little dose of irony for you, job-seeker? It’s time to start following @girlwithnojob (a.k.a. Claudia Oshry), who, despite her handle’s name, does Instagram for a living now (she has 3.1 million followers and apparently earns in the millions for her work). She’ll make you laugh with her well-heeled taste in memes, social posts and occasional, enjoyable videos. And hey, if you want to give being an Instagram influencer a shot right now, nobody’s stopping you. Not even some pesky virus.
Take A Survey – And Enter To Win A Pair of Tickets To See Dave Matthews Band! We’ve been working with four talented Skidmore College students from the Skidmore-Saratoga Consulting Partnership for the past few months on how to make our business an even strong one. (They’ve been super helpful!) The students created a 3-5 minute survey to help answer a lot of our most pressing questions here. Take it, and you’ll be entered to win two tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) this summer. When this virus b.s. is all over, and you’re sitting pretty in box seats at SPAC, singing along to “Satellite,” you can say “I told you so” to all of your friends that didn’t take the survey.
Jobs Jukebox To cap things off this week, I’ve included one of my favorite work-related songs, “Something More Than Free,” the title-track from Grammy-winning Americana artist Jason Isbell‘s fifth album (if you have some time—and, hell, don’t we all right now?—go back and check out Isbell’s work as a member of Southern rock powerhouse, the Drive-By Truckers).
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
Cool Job Resource (Anywhere)