Selling Yourself

Tim Logan: Bob Phillips is a salesman.

He has been one for 27 years.

And one morning each week, he sits down at his desk in his home office in Ballwin and makes dozens of phone calls, looking for new leads. He goes to networking events and passes out his business card. He crafts his marketing materials and sharpens his "elevator speech." All to help him make a connection that might lead him to a deal.

Bob Phillips is a salesman, and these days what he's selling is himself.

This is the world of white-collar unemployment, in which experienced, formerly well-paid professionals, the kind of people who have closed big deals and run departments, are trying to get back into the work force.

It's a more crowded world right now, with big companies cutting back on hiring and some starting to lay people off. It's a world that can be confusing, frustrating and demoralizing. And it's the world Bob Phillips has been navigating for six months now.