09 May, 2012

Coming to You From Somewhere Between Where I Was and Where I Will Be...

I never thought I was a country girl. I don't listen to country music. I don't drive a pick-up. I don't own cowboy boots. I have no desire to do any of that. (well, maybe the boots... depending on where I end up.)

Hmm...maybe not!

For those of you who are new here, I recently relocated to the Midwest from the East Coast. I'm at my parents' house, and I know their world, but for the moment I'm in the thick of it.

This morning a neighbor arrived looking for someone to spot him while he cut limbs from trees that were dragging on his garage roof. That would be me. Magnum (my dad's amazing dog who taught me that I can love dogs) accompanied me. Two other neighborhood dogs showed up. I know their names. Does this happen anywhere but the country? Then I walked Magnum through the woods and around the pond before going home and getting going on my job search.

I've been here a week. My recent, long-awaited, meeting with Brett (click the link if you missed it) and a spontaneous follow-up day together on Cinco de Mayo. (Joy!) has overshadowed the fact that I am jobless for the moment.

I did connect last week with the few contacts I had out here about possible job opportunities, only to find that at this time there is nothing available, but I did get information on when these places would be hiring again...not soon enough.

Yeah, my resume made
this much sense.

I started working on updating my resume, only to find that the only copy I had with me was on PDF, so I had to print it out and re-do the whole thing. Not a bad idea, since it needed reformatting and ...minimizing (for lack of a better word).


This week, I am full-bore hunting down new leads and perfecting a beautiful, concise yet thorough resume. Let me try to take you through my day today:

I had decided that, before perfecting the resume, it would be a good idea to see exactly what kind of jobs I was going to be shooting for out here. The first, easiest thing was to check out the State jobs site. Yeah. State of Indiana a) has nothing available in my field, and b) pays less than the State of Delaware. I really don't want to have two jobs again!

There is a city in the region that has been sticking in my head as the area for me to be - to be near enough for a quick visit to my parents without being up their nose all the time. So my next, easiest thing, was to check out that city's website and see what they might have. Yeah. Nothing.

Have you ever been spelunking? Or not even spelunking, but just in a cave...like as a tourist or something. They seem to be massive tunnels that you follow deeper and deeper, with occasional openings into big open areas.

Cathedral Caverns. It's big, dudes!
Well, suddenly I was struck by a sense that I was in a big cave, but I couldn't find the opening, because it was like being in the middle of the cavern...far from any wall that could lead me to the way out. It was kind of a dark sensation for the middle of the day. See, this is weird for me. I've never been completely out of work. (Well okay, for about a week and a half once. Hey...huh...I've just reached that. Too bad I didn't think of that this morning when I was in the cave!)
I googled "Yoda and Luke Skywalker".
Google, this is a FAIL! BIG-TIME!

Did I mention that I had on Empire Strikes Back as background while online? Yeah. I'm in the country, and it was a beautiful day and the birds were singing in so many languages it was actually distracting. I know ESB so well that it can fade into the background. So I let it.

And then it got to that scene where Luke is training with Yoda and he can't do what's requested so being the pouty snot he is he says "You want the impossible!" to Yoda, who says right back, "Always with you it cannot be done."

Well, that Star Wars dose of reality really helped. "Try not! Do, or do not: there is no try!" Amen, Yoda. Amen. In that same vein I decided that all the "no"s I was coming across were like a Jedi mind trick: "These aren't the jobs you're looking for." I know. I'm such a nerd. But it helped!

I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing what I hope is the final version of my resume. GEEZ! Sometimes I think I'm a perfectionist. Hopefully it's perfect for whatever job I find.

22 comments:

  1. I'm sure you will find something great. Preferably just a bit closer to your new "friend." ;)

    I had to redo my resume recently for a really stupid exercise in futility, and it has been over 10 years since I have looked at it. It definitely needed some overhauling. I took off a lot of really fluffy stuff that nobody really cared about. Plus, I had to update with my last 10 years of experience. Fun times.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Fortunately I've been adding experience to it as I go. This was more of a re-styling. And yes, removal of youthful fluff.

      If I don't have a full-time position soon, I have a good lead on something part-time that I can do from home.

      Delete
  2. Yoda saves the day. Between Yoda and Groucho Marx is all the wisdom you could need.

    I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it. - Groucho Marx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I' more akin to:

      "I don't want to be a member of a club that would accept the likes of me as a member" - Groucho Marx

      Delete
    2. Like the "fish" philosophy: Choose your attitude. Eventually I remembered that. And really, it's been ...A Week. I'm by no means at a state of desperation. Just frustration.

      Delete
  3. I have full faith that you'll find the right job; that will somehow take you up in its tide and carry you closer to Brett ;-)

    Or, I have full faith that you'll find the perfect job. (Still thinking the rest of the sentence though).

    I want 17th century boots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I know the right job is out there. I just have to open the right door. Which means I have to find the right door. Which probably means opening a lot of wrong doors.

      You know, "it's always in the last place you look."

      Delete
  4. I live in the country, own a pair of cowboy boots but would rather wear flip flops. Like country music but rarely seem to listen to it. But i do drive a truck. I don't think i could live in the city. Sometimes the things that define you don't necessarily dictate where you should live. Embrace your time there. :)

    Good luck on the job hunt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am enjoying it. I've found I'm very adaptable. The one thing I really don't like, locationwise, is suburbia. Blah.

      ...I do have a healthy collection of flannel shirts...

      Delete
  5. I normally keep my resume brief, with just my experience relevant to the job, and try and woo them with the cover letter. It's worked so far, wishing you luck as well.

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    1. Oh and that boot definitely did not look like a boot at first glance... there is something seriously wrong with me hahah.

      Delete
    2. I keep all jobs on it, so they don't see what appear to be gaps in employment, but I definitely expand more on the most relevant positions. Thanks for the luck!

      ...and not my boot. Just a google image that looked like "no".

      Delete
  6. Good luck with the job search!

    Don't wear those boots to any interviews.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the luck!

      ...and I have no idea what I'll wear to an interview! I don't think I kept out any interview-worthy clothes. Crap. I'll have to go shopping.

      Delete
  7. I interview really well. It's getting the interview that's the hard part.

    If I weren't already "red" of Doesn't Speak Klingonn, I would totally be "Drunk walrus" of My Own Private Iceberg.

    Drunk walrus. Teehee.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wear cowboy boots (real ones, not pink with tassels), they're awesome, and I don't live anywhere near the country.

    Best of luck on the job hunt!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. On the one hand, I'd love some cowboy boots. On the other hand, I have zero fashion sense, and anything outside of jeans and t-shirts might land me on Misty's Weekly Whacked.

      I just know I'd wear them all wrong!

      Delete
  9. Good luck on the job search! It's always frustrating at first, but that's just because the right job hasn't come available yet. I recommend scouting out awesome jobs that AREN'T available, finding out where that particular employee lives, and intimidating them into quitting their job so you can apply for it.

    I believe that's technically called bullying, but it could be effective in a pinch :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like that idea! I'm fortunately (thanks to good ol' Mom and Dad) in a position where I really can hunt down the perfect job. In the meantime I probably will take the part-time job that will allow me to work from home.

      How ConVENient!

      Delete
  10. Good luck Red, it's been awhile since I had to search for a job but I remember it being a pain in the ass. Nice Star Wars reference, you can never go wrong putting those in a blog post.

    I'm a little behind in my blog reading. For all I know you started a job by now.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm a little behind in mine, too.


      ...and no, still no job. I've had one interview and orientation, but it didn't feel right. Got 2 more jobs I want to apply for, but need to rearrange my resume to accentuate the pertinent experience. I have a phone call to return on Monday to review my work history with a recruiter.

      So at least I'm not in the middle of the cave anymore, but along the edge, feeling my way around!

      Delete
    2. I'm a little behind in mine, too.


      ...and no, still no job. I've had one interview and orientation, but it didn't feel right. Got 2 more jobs I want to apply for, but need to rearrange my resume to accentuate the pertinent experience. I have a phone call to return on Monday to review my work history with a recruiter.

      So at least I'm not in the middle of the cave anymore, but along the edge, feeling my way around!

      Delete

I enjoy a good debate. Feel free to shake things up. Tell me I'm wrong. Ask me why I have such a weird opinion. ...or, just laugh and tell how this relates to you and your life.