Job hunting in a new world
These are interesting times, of course. In April when I was laid off due to the pandemic massively disrupting operations at the company I worked for, I looked on it as a blessing in disguise. After a series of mergers, I'd found myself working in a position that was junior to where I'd been before, juggling too many tasks and with team members who could be difficult and a management style that wasn't comfortable for me. I was making it work just fine and didn't really realize I was not as happy as I could be. I needed the push to wake up and think about it.
I started applying for jobs right away, panicked at not working and since I actually love to work, wanting to be part of a team again and get out in the world and talk to numerous people each day, and intially restless to jump back in.
When Congress passed measures giving financial help to the millions of us who found ourselves out of work, I relaxed a bit, thinking of the time down as a "staycation" and taking some time to read books, garden, figure out the cooking and shopping for the household, fixing and cleaning about the house, painting the exterior areas that needed it. I still set job alerts and applied for several every week. And tried not to be disheartened when the online job boards indicated hundreds of people applying for the same jobs for which I applied. My searches and applications, however, continued to be a bit random and unfocused.
Then a friend of mine from the Foodwinos group set me up with a Zoom call with her ex, a man I'd met when they came for dinner in SF a few years ago. David is an independent consultant to many high-levels companies on several fronts including their hiring and headhunting and public image and such. The call was incredibly valuable in the end; in what appeared to be a casual discussion of mutual interest, mutual friends, my past life history and work, he drew out from me some real direction on where I wanted to go next for my career.
With those ideas in mind, I refined my job searches on existing job boards, got in touch with personal and professional connections I've made, and added some more local searching into my mix. I definitely do want to work at home and when the quarantines ease, close to home. Because this is the home--both the location and the specific house and living arrangements--that I've always wanted, and I'm going to work to keep it.
Over the next several months, I've continued my search, and I'm getting closer to success. This is not a quick or easy process with so much competition for fewer good jobs, and I've accepted that. I've finally had several little nibbles telling me that companies are noticing my applications and interests. And most importantly, I'm in interviews for a job that I really, really want and which matches the goals for my future and the meaningful work I want to do with the rest of my career, that David elicited from me in that call in June.
Keeping all fingers crossed, on I go!
I started applying for jobs right away, panicked at not working and since I actually love to work, wanting to be part of a team again and get out in the world and talk to numerous people each day, and intially restless to jump back in.
When Congress passed measures giving financial help to the millions of us who found ourselves out of work, I relaxed a bit, thinking of the time down as a "staycation" and taking some time to read books, garden, figure out the cooking and shopping for the household, fixing and cleaning about the house, painting the exterior areas that needed it. I still set job alerts and applied for several every week. And tried not to be disheartened when the online job boards indicated hundreds of people applying for the same jobs for which I applied. My searches and applications, however, continued to be a bit random and unfocused.
Then a friend of mine from the Foodwinos group set me up with a Zoom call with her ex, a man I'd met when they came for dinner in SF a few years ago. David is an independent consultant to many high-levels companies on several fronts including their hiring and headhunting and public image and such. The call was incredibly valuable in the end; in what appeared to be a casual discussion of mutual interest, mutual friends, my past life history and work, he drew out from me some real direction on where I wanted to go next for my career.
With those ideas in mind, I refined my job searches on existing job boards, got in touch with personal and professional connections I've made, and added some more local searching into my mix. I definitely do want to work at home and when the quarantines ease, close to home. Because this is the home--both the location and the specific house and living arrangements--that I've always wanted, and I'm going to work to keep it.
Over the next several months, I've continued my search, and I'm getting closer to success. This is not a quick or easy process with so much competition for fewer good jobs, and I've accepted that. I've finally had several little nibbles telling me that companies are noticing my applications and interests. And most importantly, I'm in interviews for a job that I really, really want and which matches the goals for my future and the meaningful work I want to do with the rest of my career, that David elicited from me in that call in June.
Keeping all fingers crossed, on I go!