Thanks, Doc!

It's been an interesting week, at least for me! Had an opportunity to meet with a company regarding a potential position, and just as I was opening blogger, had a call for a phone interview for another position. So, perhaps things are starting to move a bit...I keep saying, and those around me are saying it, too...things will work out.

However my thoughts this afternoon are with a local family who lost their husband/father/grandfather/brother/uncle/friend. He lost his battle with Alzheimer's earlier this week, and he was remembered at a lovely funeral service this afternoon. His calling in life was as an obstetrician, and a couple of my friends were his patients. They remembered him fondly, and said that he gave them the very best care. One of them lost a baby at birth, and she said that he was particularly compassionate at that difficult time.

I always appreciated his wry sense of humor when I called his wife, who served on a sorority board with me, and then at church as he and wife began to worship where I do. He was quick with a comment, and he had a twinkle in his eye. He was ageless...

Today I was impressed by two of his beautiful grandchildren who spoke at the service. One read a poem about the dash that appears on your tombstone between your year of birth and year of death - what you do with that is what people remember and that is what counts. They were very eloquent; I couldn't hold back the tears when the granddaughter put what later proved to be artwork in his casket. And the trip to the memorial gardens for internment was impressive - cars pulled over to honor him, and I said a prayer of thanks that people still do that today!

And even more moving was the flag ceremony - this man served honorably in WWII, received a Purple Heart and other honors - when the flag was crisply folded, Taps was sounded, and the flag presented to his widow. Incredible...

So while I didn't know Charlie as Dr. M, I appreciate his compassion, caring and contributions to the community. Your dash through life was appreciated by the many lives you touched. Rest in peace and God bless.
Until later,
EM

Lessons from a car wash

Hmm...this is a blog about a job search, so what does a car wash have to do with that? It will take a bit of explaining...

My son is headed to Chicago today to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert at Wrigley Field. (My head is whirling at the fact that these two iconic musicians have spanned the generations and my son can sing along to their songs with the best of them!) Son asked to drive my Honda Odyssey, and of course I obliged. It was really dirty, and I considered driving through the car wash at the gas station, and then remembered that the last time I did that, I was terribly disappointed with the wash. There was road film, not all spots were cleaned - really pretty much a waste of $9.

So I decided that I would wash it the old-fashioned way - by hand! This required a bit of time, elbow grease (how many bugs died on my windshield this week) and patience. Not satisfied with a mere wash, I vacuumed the interior and washed the windows inside and out! It took me about 45 minutes to do the entire job.

Here's where this ties into my job search journey...if I were working, I would have had to settle for a second-rate wash and have been frustrated by the low quality. This morning I had a clean car, a bit of exercise (had to climb up and down a ladder to wash the top) and the satisfaction of a job well-done. In fact, when I pointed out to Son that I had done it myself, he gave me the high praise of "looks good, Mom!"

Here's to the joy found in small things!
Until later,
EM

Volunteering - the new job search method?

A friend of mine pointed out that many people are explaining their time away from the office by sharing their volunteer activities. It seems that today employers are cognizant of the fact that there will be resume gaps; the primary question is: what did you do to use that time effectively?

Pause to wonder...her comments to me were food for thought. Today I spent the morning serving as a judge for a 4H fashion review in Hendricks County. Yes, I was compensated however at a level which pretty much covered my mileage. The point is that while I was there I actively encouraged close to 50 young 4H as they modeled and told me about the garments that they had made. I found that was something that made me feel really good.

As a former 4H member, I know the value that it can provide. I learned to bake, sew, model fashion, sort wheat (don't ask how my brother and I could take samples from the same bushel basket and he got Grand Champion and I got a red), show pigs, show dairy heifers, and yes, there was even an opportunity to sing!

So, with all that said, I think that I am going to use the free time that I have to do something that will help my fellow community members: volunteer! And who knows - I might make a contact for a new job while I'm at it!
Until later,
EM

Where the jobs are....

Amazing how Twitter works. I signed up for an account - as a requirement for my class. If you want to follow my tweets, my user name is elainemarie1.

At first I thought - really, what is all the noise about? Is this going to benefit me in any way? I had to get past the followers who were interested in providing me information that would make me blush if I read it (and that continues almost daily) but that is just a new form of spam. I find though that my horizons are broadening by following the tweets of people from around the country. I'm following news in a different way than I ever have before.

Now, here is the beauty of this related to my job search. Someone named Ken Horst, the jobs guy, found me, and I am now getting tweets from him. When I did a bit of research, I find that he is essentially the "front man" for a major (or what seems to be major) recruiting firm. Hospitality industry and more. So if I go to his list of tweets, I can see hundreds of jobs from all over the country, from general manager to bell staff. Interesting...a new way of finding a job! Along the way it appears that he has shared articles that are of benefit to those in the job market.

Here is a link to the company's Web site: http://allianceq.com/Default.aspx

So...for the meantime, this appears to be another place where I can find where the jobs are....

All in a Day's Work

It's funny, or maybe not, what you do to occupy your time when you aren't working. Let's see, life outside the office has certainly changed what is "all in a day's work" for me.
6:30 a.m. Wake up, pull on shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes for my morning walk.
6:45 a.m. Make the world a cleaner place for the 6 4-legged friends I have as roommates. I won't go into details as this is a family friendly blog. :-)
7 a.m. Meet my dear friend Peggy for our weekday morning walk. Today there were a few sprinkles, but we didn't melt.
7:30 a.m. Head to Wal-mart for a few groceries
8:30 a.m. Arrive home, wait for the heating/cooling repairman
8:35 a.m. open garage door for one of the 4-legged friends to go out - this will be repeated innumerable times throughout the day as they wander in and out of the garage
9:30 a.m confer with repairman. Ouch - some coin needed.
9:35 a.m. read and respond to posts from my prolific writing, thought-provoking classmates
11:30 a.m. Vacuum
12 noon. time for lunch
1 p.m. start writing week's thought paper for journalism 7700. where did I put my thoughts?????
2 p.m. Procrastinate by spending time on Facebook
3 p.m. Paper posted, now time for some sunshine!
And at 3:20 p.m., I'm not sure what the rest of the day will bring! However, there are 3 new jobs that have been posted at a couple of universities in the last 24 hours to which I will be applying. Tomorrow's work!
Until later,
EM

How long before you panic?

I've been getting lots of advice regarding the job search from caring friends and family. Now mind you, I do appreciate their care and concern regarding my employment status. However some of them seem to not understand my lack of panic that I don't yet have something lined up.

So I've been wondering - how long before a gap in the resume is a problem with potential employers? If I am able to meet my basic life needs, then how long can I "ride it out?"

Well, I got that answer this morning. According to an article posted at the ladders.com, which is a job service for $100K+ jobs, for managerial jobs anywhere up to 11 months isn't really a problem in this economy. Check it out. http://marketing.theladders.com/career-advice/out-of-work-how-long?et_id=1154517447&sign=y&link_id=540

Basically, this economy is presenting challenges for job seekers and employers. I have heard stories of people turning down jobs because they can't sell a house or a trailing spouse can't find a job. So, where as in the past an employment gap of more than a month or two was cause for concern, now that isn't necessarily the case.

So for me, I'm not going to panic...yet!

Fisherman...another skill for the resume?

This evening as we say good bye to the lake, we took a boat ride to enjoy the evening sunset, moon rise, and the beautiful weather.

I actually tried my hand at fishing! Perish the thought, but between my sister-in-law, her mother and father and my brother, I figured out how to cast the line. Although I didn't catch anything on my line, my brother did catch a small fish and gave the rod to me to reel it in. Heady stuff!

Now I must say I don't think I have the patience to fish but it was fun to try and a new adventure. The family I am visiting are passionate about fishing, and so to share their experiences was awesome.

so until later,
EM