Scary things ahead
I am so bad when it comes to selling myself. I've never been good at it. In fact, I'm surprised I ever get hired, I guess some how I manage. Anyhoo, so last night I revamped my resume and emailed it off to beansbouf. I was so scared to do it. I still need to figure out what how to do a salary requirement thingy and put a cover letter together. Two more things in which I have to sell myself.
I have to state for the record, every employer I've had has been exstatic with me. As I don't ever try to sell all my abilities (okay, spelling is not one of them) I've always taken lower level accounting jobs. It usually only takes a matter of a few months before my supervisors see my full potential and are handing off more advanced work to me. I guess in the end, the jobs I've had have worked out because of that fact. No matter what level I've been hired at, I've moved up and been mostly happy in my work.
Now I find that maybe that hasn't been the best course of action. Because of my lack of pushing for a bigger title or applying for those higher level jobs I've seen listed, I'm afraid that I may have sold myself too short for too long that my resume may not be enough to merrit me even getting interviews. I may just be paranoid, I don't know.
Today I was speaking with Crystal here at work and we were discussing the whole salary requirement/history thing. She was extremely surprised to find out that I made as little as I do given all that I do. She thought that I made over $10k more a year than I do. I told her nope, and in fact I've never made this much money before, she was shocked at that as well.
She has been telling me that I've sold myself way too short and that I need to go after what I'm capable of. To stop taking the lower jobs just because I can easily get them. To shoot for what I want and what I deserve. The whole conversation was really an eye opener for me.
Living in Santa Cruz, the small little town that it is, I've never made the money that I should. Granted I didn't go to a four year college, but I've got almost 10 years experience in accounting. I've got an AA and even though it isn't an MBA or anything, I'm pretty proud of it. Hell, I graduated top of my class at Heald (okay, so it's no Harvard, but top of the class is still the top). In fact I was so proficient at what I was learning, that my teachers recommended me to assist in the financial aid office at school, while I was still in school.
As I type this, Crystal is going over my resume and she going to help me sell myself. She totally rocks. She has become like another mom to me. Yes, yes, I know this happens to me all the time. I meet an older lady who shares her life experiences with me and I glaum onto her. But I don't care. You can never have too many moms.
This weekend we'll be moving more stuff to storage Yippie skippie. On Saturday night we're having dindin with Lila, on Sunday is one of my friend's birthdays. She doesn't really want to celebrate it so we are going hiking, with a couple of other friends. I'm going to pack a picnic lunch for us and it should be nice and relaxing. I will be missing the Super Bowl, but as I've watched like a total of 15 mins of football this season, it isn't a loss.
I'm hoping to find the time to put together a kick ass cover letter and well, my salary history is going to be a step back. But as Crystal pointed out, I am worth a lot more, even here in Santa Cruz. In a big city like Portland I should have no problems with getting what I'm worth. We'll see. I'm still scared that potential employers will see my resume and go,"Pssshh. She isn't worth XX a year.", crumple my resume up and toss it in the trash.
Oh and before I sign off, Mr. Groundhog listened to me. Six more weeks of winter will be okay if the days are all like today. Sunny and warm with blue sky and a little breeze. I'm hoping to walk to work again Monday if the weather holds. Toodles.
I have to state for the record, every employer I've had has been exstatic with me. As I don't ever try to sell all my abilities (okay, spelling is not one of them) I've always taken lower level accounting jobs. It usually only takes a matter of a few months before my supervisors see my full potential and are handing off more advanced work to me. I guess in the end, the jobs I've had have worked out because of that fact. No matter what level I've been hired at, I've moved up and been mostly happy in my work.
Now I find that maybe that hasn't been the best course of action. Because of my lack of pushing for a bigger title or applying for those higher level jobs I've seen listed, I'm afraid that I may have sold myself too short for too long that my resume may not be enough to merrit me even getting interviews. I may just be paranoid, I don't know.
Today I was speaking with Crystal here at work and we were discussing the whole salary requirement/history thing. She was extremely surprised to find out that I made as little as I do given all that I do. She thought that I made over $10k more a year than I do. I told her nope, and in fact I've never made this much money before, she was shocked at that as well.
She has been telling me that I've sold myself way too short and that I need to go after what I'm capable of. To stop taking the lower jobs just because I can easily get them. To shoot for what I want and what I deserve. The whole conversation was really an eye opener for me.
Living in Santa Cruz, the small little town that it is, I've never made the money that I should. Granted I didn't go to a four year college, but I've got almost 10 years experience in accounting. I've got an AA and even though it isn't an MBA or anything, I'm pretty proud of it. Hell, I graduated top of my class at Heald (okay, so it's no Harvard, but top of the class is still the top). In fact I was so proficient at what I was learning, that my teachers recommended me to assist in the financial aid office at school, while I was still in school.
As I type this, Crystal is going over my resume and she going to help me sell myself. She totally rocks. She has become like another mom to me. Yes, yes, I know this happens to me all the time. I meet an older lady who shares her life experiences with me and I glaum onto her. But I don't care. You can never have too many moms.
This weekend we'll be moving more stuff to storage Yippie skippie. On Saturday night we're having dindin with Lila, on Sunday is one of my friend's birthdays. She doesn't really want to celebrate it so we are going hiking, with a couple of other friends. I'm going to pack a picnic lunch for us and it should be nice and relaxing. I will be missing the Super Bowl, but as I've watched like a total of 15 mins of football this season, it isn't a loss.
I'm hoping to find the time to put together a kick ass cover letter and well, my salary history is going to be a step back. But as Crystal pointed out, I am worth a lot more, even here in Santa Cruz. In a big city like Portland I should have no problems with getting what I'm worth. We'll see. I'm still scared that potential employers will see my resume and go,"Pssshh. She isn't worth XX a year.", crumple my resume up and toss it in the trash.
Oh and before I sign off, Mr. Groundhog listened to me. Six more weeks of winter will be okay if the days are all like today. Sunny and warm with blue sky and a little breeze. I'm hoping to walk to work again Monday if the weather holds. Toodles.