Pulling it all together

As the year comes to close, it's time to take an inventory of all that I've done for the year and go over the checklist to see what I've accomplished. Well okay, I don't really have a checklist.

This was a year that started off with a layoff, and then I ended up in outplacement and landed a contract with them! Not the usual path, but you have to look at opportunities when they come up.

I like to say that you need a path to follow to manage your career. Was this my plan? No way. But like any snowball thrown at you, you need to adapt. Sometimes I made quick changes and other times I took some time to map out the next step.

When you're thrown off the path and not by your my own choice, it can stall you or derail you. Maybe only for a little time, but then you have to get back on it and get going. I jumped onto the contract role; it was only part time, but it was related to where my path was taking me. I had been looking to move into a Human Resources type role, so career transition consulting was a good fit.

I thought at the time early this year that this would be a stop-gap measure. I would find that next great job and work happily ever after. Didn't quite work out that way. And I've loved it! The job, the people, the whole experience.

My immediate need was to ensure that the finances were covered, and the contract helped with that. Unfortunately the severance didn't last too long. It was done by the time I started working. It was part time and this gave me the time to continue my search for a full time role.

So now the seed was planted that perhaps I could manage working independently and just do contracts to keep me busy. I didn't really need the benefits, and I certainly should see by now that full time jobs are no more secure than anything else.

The year is coming to a close and I sit back to review how my year has played out. I took 3 courses in Life Skills Coaching at George Brown College, and I will get my certificate soon. I attained my Nutrition and Wellness certification, took a course on designing training and started the HR certificate program at Ryerson University.

It's been a busy a year. I see it as 'my year' to focus on me and doing all the courses added to my growth and, I was hoping, would put me back on my path.

I did note that there were many threads in common across all the classes I took. Each time I took a new class, the same topics kept coming up. It made me realize that everything somehow all comes together.

I grew my network, and met lots of amazing people this year. Many I would never have met if I hadn't been laid off and taken all these courses. The training was great, but the relationships and concepts were what really added to my path.

Perhaps all my various paths are coming together to lead me to some great new place. Maybe that full time job is around the corner. And all that I've gained this year and that's brought me to where I am right now, has all been part of my new converging path.

I still keep an eye open for the right opportunity to come along; with the right fit, growth potential, and all the great engagement values I'm looking for to start a long term investment. Until that happens, I'll keep adding to my path and looking for turns and twists that will add more to my travel.

I guess the journey is the important thing, but I still want to know what the destination is!

Crossroads

Are you at a crossroads? With your career, job search, life in general? We work and work madly to get somewhere, but when you put your head up to see where that is, it's not quite where you thought. How did that happen?

I'm sitting at a crossroads myself. I've been shooting in several directions and waiting for something to tell me that I'm on the right path.

I worked many years in IT and went into management and consulting. I think I was good at what I did. I seemed to be respected by my peers, staff and clients. But as I moved around (that's called job-hopping), because I could in the tech area I was an expert in, I found it eventually eroded my corporate climbing ability.

Now not everyone is a climber, and I don't profess to ever want to be the big cheese anywhere. But it would be nice to have earned that nice corner office.

So I have no one to blame, not even myself really. I didn't feel that I wanted to climb in any company I was in. But I have found in the last few jobs I have had, I was coming in at a level lower than my experience should have allowed me. I'm not getting egotistical here. I looked at my peers or those a level or two above me and compared experience.

What did they have that I didn't? They stuck around and rolled with the punches. Good for them. Staying power never seemed to be my strong suit. Now, I was the most loyal employee you could ever ask for. But slight me in the least, ignore my efforts, hold back recognition and I was brushing off my resume. Yeah, yeah, job hopper.

I have on several occasions tried to make it work. Hang in, talk to the boss or even HR in one case, to try and make the place work for me. I gave it my all. But the cards weren't in it. So I moved on before things changed. Part of it is I can bore easily.

So, here I find myself at a crossroads again. I like the part-time gig I have going doing career coaching. I find it rewarding and the people have been great. I have even adjusted to being a contractor/consultant and not being an on the payroll employee.

So why do I find my mind thinking about going back on the employee list? Well part of it is that the part-time gig doesn't quite meet the old salary level expectations. I have been searching for other part-time gigs to fill in the gaps. This would be ideal, if they were out there. But hey, you know what the job market is like, right?

I now have one foot down the consultant road looking for more work and the other starting back on the search for a full-time opportunity. Of course, it never hurts to have options. But I wish I knew which path was the one I wanted for the long run. Not just the one that helps pay the mortgage.

There really are a lot of things to consider when job hunting. Staying focused is one that gets harder the longer you're out looking. But try to keep the parameters of what you want in check. Just because you could do the job, doesn't mean you would want to again.

Keep driving forward in whatever direction seems the best. Or a couple if that's an option. I've found that my varied interests can actually compliment each other. They might seem at first glance to have no overlap at all, but they can if worked properly.

And sometimes you just need to let one path roll along on its own for a little while which could give me a little time to explore another one. The roads may eventually meet up again. I might need to force them somewhat.

But that's what makes us unique. Good hunting!

Balance

Do you have balance in your life? And by life I mean work and other endeavours during the day. Although it may seem that work takes up most of your productive time.

How many times have you gotten up at the crack of dawn, worked all day, actually late, then come home and just do not have the energy for anything. Not too productive on the personal side, is it?

We work to live, not live to work, or work for the weekends. Our jobs often define us, but is it the real you? Put your all into your job, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to promote working less or not as hard. Do your job to the best of your abilities.

But, find time to pursue happiness. In whatever form that takes.

For those us that are unemployed/searching for work or under-employed, it seems that I still have a full day of 'work' and feel tired at the end of the day. Why is that? Poor health or diet maybe?

Maybe. I haven't been hitting the gym as much lately as I usually do. Now does working out at the gym make me happy? Well, not 'happy' but happier that I'm on a path to bettering my health. I'm often asked if I love working out. No. But that achy feeling or tightness that reminds me that I have been working out, is nice.

First time I was laid off, I got in pretty good shape. I had a great routine for the work week: I hit the gym in the morning, planned a lunch date to continue networking, spent the afternoon job searching and reconnecting, and at night I pursued my real hobby, working in community theatre.

I find mindless working out good, but not really productive. I would go to the gym and do 30-45 minutes of either cardio or weights, but I never seemed to progress. And I certainly wasn't looking any better.

So, I had to get serious about working out. Start tracking my workouts and my eating. I currently have a Blackberry and use it as my MP3 player while working out (I can also check on work emails at the same time). So I needed something to build and track my workouts with. I finally landed on a great (Canadian built) site called GymTechnik. You can use it on your computer or on your mobile device. They have made some great updates and I find it very good.

So by putting some effort into planning workouts, I could start to see the changes and feel them. But one cannot stay in the gym all day. Got to put some time into the job search.

I would often found that if I tried to meet more than one person a day, such as have a lunch and a coffee in one day, I was overloaded! It's amazing how busy you can be when job searching. How do we ever manage full-time jobs, family, friends and fun?

Balance. It takes conscious effort to maintain it. And it's just not balancing the time, but the feel of what your body and mind need. Listen to your body - it knows what it needs. You'll feel better, really.

Full time job!

No, I have not found a full time job. It seems that time is not infinite when you are not working.

I try to treat job hunting as a F/T job, but I also believe in balance. You can drive yourself crazy scanning job sites - which of course is not the best way to find a job (network! network! network!). So I put time into the gym (good for mind and body), house work (I hate cleaning, but I can manage laundry), and a few little projects around the house (they actually get done when you don't have to work 40+ hours a week). But you do need to put time into the job hunt.

So now that you know that scanning job ads is not the most productive way to find a job, you need to get out and network. Not as easy as it seems. When was the last time you talked to someone in your business network just for the sake of staying in touch? Hmm? How about lunch? A coffee? No. Too busy at work right?

Starting to network when you are suddenly out of work is TOO LATE. Okay, sorry for the all caps. You still have plenty of time. Really. Please don't cry.

So even I, who has changed jobs a few times, sometimes don't have the time to invest in networking.

I have worked at a few companies and usually hang on to a couple of good friends from each place. So the networking there is somewhat easy, cause I like having lunch with them anyway. So long as we work near each other or try to plan a brunch a couple of times a year.

But sometimes you just need to send out a ping (or poke in Facebook terminology) to make sure that people remember you. Not everyone is keeping up on their networking are they? When was the last time someone contacted you just to keep in touch? Were they looking for a job at the time?

We all go through times when we need a job and your friends and past colleagues are your best source. Most people don't take offence to you touching base and asking about job opportunities.

Some people only contact me when they need a job reference or want to discuss changing jobs. I guess I've made a good impression, or they figure if I can change jobs fairly easily that I can offer some help. No problem! Love to help.

But I don't begrudge the fact that they are looking for help. We will all need it some day. Give back to the universe as it will give it back to you when you need it.

I do not have a magic list of jobs waiting to be filled, nor do I have a huge list of high ranking execs looking for people. I just have some good 'practices' that help when you need them.

The best time to network is while you are still working. Too late right? Just remember this when you get back to working. For now, start working your network. Get the word out that you are looking for a new opportunity. The more people that know you are looking the better. But make sure they know what you want.

So back to the full time job of job hunting. You need to put the time in. It's that simple. Mind you, it is totally okay to take some time when first laid off to relax, recover, rethink. Don't panic and start looking for a job the next day. Take the time to navel gaze, think about what you want to be when you grow up (if ever), inventory what you like and don't like.

Sometimes, what you've been doing isn't what you were cut out to do, or maybe there is something else you really want to do.

And maybe having a full time job isn't what you want at all. I've always thought working for a living was overrated anyway.

SHH

Job Searching is itself a job

When they say you need to treat looking for a job just like a real job - they mean it.

You spend lots of time working on it, you get bored from time to time, you have snack breaks, work on it through the day, wonder where the time goes and finally are very glad when you quit for the day.

Mind you, I think I have better balance when I'm job searching, and in this case am not currently working while searching. Yes money running out is an issue, but it's amazing how much you save by not going to work, buying coffee and lunch, and anything else you use your cash for.

I only need to go to the bank for a cash infusion once every couple of weeks. While working it was every week or more often!

I also get to the gym a little later in the morning, but I'm home and working by 10am! Some people don't actually do any work till 10am, even if they've been in the office since 8am! Mind you, they are getting paid to be there. No one is paying me to be here. But money is still my main motivator. I need a job that will pay the bills. If I can also fing a job that I like maybe even finally LOVE would be an incredible bonus.

So the level of reserve funds impacts what I settle for in ways of a job. So far, I am still navel gazing a bit on what I can apply my fairly broad skill set to. Oh, I am applying for jobs, but I'm staring to look at the less traditional jobs that I would have looked at before.

My Mother still tells her friends I work in 'computers' which is IT mainly. I did once working on a technical help desk, I programmed code, built servers and applications. But I then moved towards more people oriented jobs. I kept getting moved into management roles with staff reporting to me. I've also been in consulting, worked for small companies, and fairly large corporations. Departments I've been in include HR, Learning, Sales, and of course Technology.

Well, I'm not sure blogging is part of my job description, so I should get back to 'work'. Of course, as my own boss, I could make it a prioroity!

SHH