Vocational Servicing
If Graceworks, the job hunters program at Grace Cathedral, is a soaring, inspirational gothic structure, Jewish Vocational Services, my second stop on the Career Search Path, is a post-industrial factory. They are certainly polite and sincere at JVS, but you can sense as soon as you walk in that it is a processing facility.
Well, as long as they don't make me into "pasteurized cheese food product" I suppose it's ok to be "processed." But I am a bit daunted by the bottom-line view of things. The sense of desperation, which I have successfully avoided so far, has begun to creep into my thinking. So many people wanting jobs, so few jobs to go around. So many hurdles to jump through.
I took a number of assessment tests, and did better than I expected, especially on the typing test. But why should I be surprised, since I have worked as a secretary for the last twenty years, that I am a good typist? The problem is not learning to type fast enough; the problem is finding a job that is satisfying enough. I am tired of doing boring work for low pay.
Still, I know I have to bow to practicality. The JVS counselor took a look at my resume, made some practical suggestions, and talked turkey about being an "older worker." That is all useful, if uninspiring.
Truly, seeking for a job is a job in itself. The key is to take it one step at a time, let go of worrying about the results, and keep a balanced life going while I walk through the process.
Why does career exploration have to feel so much like a visit to the funhouse? The process is like a conveyor belt, and I seem to see my whole life distorted in various unappealing ways as I go by the various "mirrors" that the career agencies and their workshops hold up to me. Who am I? What does it mean to have a good job? Do I really look like "that" to prospective employers?
But perhaps I need to go through all the distorted perspectives to get to one that has the right proportions. There is balance hidden in all this. One agency for the larger, spiritual perspective, and one for the nitty-gritty details. I just need to keep body and soul together as I go along.
Perhaps it's time to take a square dance break!
More to come. . . .
Well, as long as they don't make me into "pasteurized cheese food product" I suppose it's ok to be "processed." But I am a bit daunted by the bottom-line view of things. The sense of desperation, which I have successfully avoided so far, has begun to creep into my thinking. So many people wanting jobs, so few jobs to go around. So many hurdles to jump through.
I took a number of assessment tests, and did better than I expected, especially on the typing test. But why should I be surprised, since I have worked as a secretary for the last twenty years, that I am a good typist? The problem is not learning to type fast enough; the problem is finding a job that is satisfying enough. I am tired of doing boring work for low pay.
Still, I know I have to bow to practicality. The JVS counselor took a look at my resume, made some practical suggestions, and talked turkey about being an "older worker." That is all useful, if uninspiring.
Truly, seeking for a job is a job in itself. The key is to take it one step at a time, let go of worrying about the results, and keep a balanced life going while I walk through the process.
Why does career exploration have to feel so much like a visit to the funhouse? The process is like a conveyor belt, and I seem to see my whole life distorted in various unappealing ways as I go by the various "mirrors" that the career agencies and their workshops hold up to me. Who am I? What does it mean to have a good job? Do I really look like "that" to prospective employers?
But perhaps I need to go through all the distorted perspectives to get to one that has the right proportions. There is balance hidden in all this. One agency for the larger, spiritual perspective, and one for the nitty-gritty details. I just need to keep body and soul together as I go along.
Perhaps it's time to take a square dance break!
More to come. . . .