IRVINE : Designer Hits Streets to Advertise Himself

Michael O’Meara awoke Friday at 5:45 a.m. He brewed some coffee, then shaved and stepped into the shower. Around 7 a.m., he donned a crisp, white shirt, a gray double-breasted suit and a purple tie, and headed out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, he was at the intersection of Campus Drive and Jamboree Road, hailing drivers and holding up a placard that read: “Will Work for Six Figures--or Less.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” said the 46-year-old free-lance designer, who has been seeking a full-time job in advertising.

Some passing drivers reacted to the unusual sight by laughing, honking horns and giving the thumbs-up sign, he said. A television news crew came out to film him.

Reaching into a box labeled “Honk for a Resume,” O’Meara distributed to drivers stopped at a traffic light about 100 copies of a six-panel brochure that detailed his multiple talents as a designer, writer, photographer, computer designer and editor.

In a brief note, the divorced father of two teen-aged children explained: “My work as a free-lance designer has come to a screeching halt. . . . I’ve discovered that trickle-down economics just trickled all over me, and now I need a real job.”

He included a whimsical list of positions he would like: motion-picture director, pleasure-cruise ship captain, rock star, vice president of anything, or food critic. But the most important thing he is hoping for was listed last: “Any honest job that utilizes my talents and pays a fair salary.”

O’Meara said he first noticed the squeeze on the job market about two years ago.

“But it just kept getting worse and worse,” he said. “Five months ago, things started feeling more desperate.”

As bills accumulated, O’Meara ventured into other areas. He attempted to market a new telecommunications service for consumers. He illustrated and wrote the text for a line of greeting cards. He designed and packaged a gift to help smokers quit smoking.

Some businesses expressed interest in his ideas, but nothing substantial has materialized yet, he said. So, last week, he decided to hit the streets.

The idea was sparked one afternoon when he gave some money to a man who was holding a sign asking for work.

“I don’t mean to be insensitive to people who are out there,” he said. “I’m being ironic, playful. Here’s someone with a college education who has a lot of training and experience hitting hard times, too.” By Friday afternoon, O’Meara had one good lead. A publisher of a trade magazine had given him his phone number and told him to call Monday morning.

“You got to go for the moment,” O’Meara said. “In my business, creativity is everything. If you have a creative, new solution that gets attention, that means you’re doing your job.”