Writer For Hire

Careers, like rockets, don’t always take off on time. The trick is to always keep the engine running.”

— Gary Sinise

Full disclosure, this quote has appeared in this space before, however, it remains true. Back in the day (and ‘the day’ is a moveable feast depending on your age) it wasn’t uncommon for a person to stay with the same company for decades. If you found a good job, you stuck with it. It’s not that way now. Some people plow through jobs like their career path is an all-you-can-eat buffet. They try everything. Nothing wrong with that if you can manage it financially or otherwise. 

There are also layoffs and downsizing. Some employees get walked out with a cardboard box of their things on a random Tuesday, and they are shellshocked and not sure how to continue. This career strategy is a tough gig. If you don’t have a winning lottery ticket, chances are you have a job. Think about so many of the federal employees who are on the job now, without pay. I’ve been a federal employee; it’s not all service and sunshine. Most of the furloughed employees cannot just turn around and get another job. Security clearances, conflicts of interest and the like prevent some workers from moonlighting while they wait for the toddler wing in Washington to get its act together. I’ve been in their shoes, and my heart is with them because it has to be awful.

Recently I had a reasonably good shot at a new job, that was going to be in my same field, but more travel, more money, more challenges. It was a near lock. Emphasis on “near.” I left the job I was in, and, almost on cue, the new job bonked. Kind of like the Charlie Brown and Lucy football scenario. I finally got up the nerve to make a move and AUUUUUGGGGH; I was on my keister. 

It happens. Normally the resumes would be flying out the door immediately, and the pounding of pavement would start. Except that a few family things got in the way; my children lost their last remaining grandparent, so the search had to wait. It’s back on now though, and it’s been…interesting. The first instinct is to be all “OMG; I will take anything, I need a job.” 

That is the financial panic talking. Given that since graduating from college my career path has included what seems like 700 jobs, there are very few career positions that I haven’t looked at or done. Everything from waitressing, to office administration work, to travel, Internet start-ups, social media, journalism and online media marketing have been a part of paying my bills. Some of those jobs were awful, so at least that’s a start, understanding what kind of work isn’t for me is valuable knowledge.

So, what now? How do we market ourselves? How do we convince an HR manager, a company owner or a recruiter to “pick me, pick me?” While we all like to believe we are special and unique, there are hundreds of people out there with the same skills I have. No hiring manager is looking at my resume and saying, “You are familiar with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel? That’s incredible!” My kids could use those by the time they were in 5th grade. I am, at my core, a writer, so it would seem like a no-brainer that describing my skills would come easily. Nope. Not even close.

So, asking around is good, right? Networking and getting out there and informational interviews are the way to go. Well, yes, that’s a start, but everyone you speak to has a different idea on strategy, so you wind up with a thousand opinions and still no job. Well, like Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, just keep going.” It’s true. It’s mind-boggling sometimes, but eventually, we all land where we are supposed to be.

I’m learning a lot from the job search. It’s made me remember my last months of college when it was all about buying the first business suit, writing my first resume and going on interviews trying to sound coherent. With the many years behind me of work, jobs, and experience, it’s a very different process but stressful nonetheless. 

I’ve been so grateful for friends who have advised me, tossed some work my way when they could and just been there. It’s never easy to pick up the pieces when a plan goes awry, but it will happen. On the bright side, I’ve become really creative with my spending habits, and if the Marie Kondo bug ever hits me, I could have an outstanding yard sale with some of the stuff I have jammed in my closets from days gone by. 

Yet again I’m figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. No, wait, scratch that. I’m already a writer and an author and a parent. Not too shabby, right? The next opportunity will come and then who knows where it could take me. I might not have taken off for the stars yet, but the rocket ship is a go for launch, engine running.

A Dog, a Window, an Attitude

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

-----Winston Churchill

There is no shortage of attitude in my house lately. It's mostly mine, and it's the typical January junk. There are still a few remnants of Christmas décor hanging around that have yet to be put away, and even though we now have one of those Alexa dots, it's proven to be pretty useless, at least for me. The phrase, "Alexa, take down the Christmas tree" is met with responses like "Do you need information on Christmas trees" or "No connected lights found on this network" and "Do it yourself, I don't work for you." OK, that last one wasn't Alexa, it was me telling the dog to get her own dinner. That didn't work either.

This time of year can be so grey and washed out. It's cold, no surprise there, and it just seems that wind howls, the windows rattle and there isn't enough soup and hot tea to take the chill off. While there's nothing on the ground yet, pretty soon the snow will start, and that adds another risk of me going arse over teakettle on some slippery sidewalk. It's not a time of year I enjoy. It's the beginning of a new year, and no one is happier than I am to see the back end of 2018, but the sun is far too stingy at this time of year, and the air is thin and smells of winter and storms to come.

I was running errands the other day, and while it was cold, there was more sun than there had been in a few days and that is always a good thing. That whole Seasonal Affective Disorder is real; if humans are not exposed to enough sunlight, it literally messes with our brain chemistry. As I turned the corner downtown, I was thinking how nice it was that at least there was a cloudless sky and bright sun. Glancing around, I noticed there was a large window on a lovely home. The panes of glass were glinting where the light touched them and just inside was this incredible dog. Now, I'm a dog person. I love dogs, like I cannot walk by a dog without cooing at it, "Oh hey puppy, hi there" and if possible giving it a little pat or ear scratch. Dogs love that. And a dog, in a window, is there anything cuter?

This puppy was living his best life in that sunny spot. It was a bulldog; the technical term for dogs like him is "smooshy faced lovey mutt" and the group includes pugs, Boston terriers, Frenchies and any other dog that has a smooshy face. There he was, curled up in this patch of sun, snoozing away. He had to be snoring because dogs like that sound like a Harley that's missing a muffler when they nap. Just seeing him made me smile and snapped me right out of the doldrums of another post-holiday snit about something that, truly, didn't matter, but was still bugging me.

It's all about the attitude, right? Well, yes, of course, but we don't come with an on/off switch. A bad day can't always be ignored, and while it may have worked for Scarlett O'Hara, "fiddle dee dee, I'll think about that tomorrow" isn't much of a mood lifter. But a dog in a sunny window? Oh yes, please, that is magical. At least for me, someone else maybe not so much. The point is that all around us are these little moments, these small parts of the big picture that sometimes are overlooked. We are too deep in our own daily drama or as Prince said, too busy "doing something next to nothing, but different than the day before" to notice what's going on around us.

For me, it was a silly dog, who, by the way, is named Luigi and has quite a few fans, but maybe someone else might get a boost from seeing sea smoke enveloping the few boats left out in the harbor on a frigid morning. Perhaps it's the Epiphany tree burning with its distinctive smell of pine sap and dry needles. Hey, it could be a donut and a cup of coffee too, it's all about what snaps you out of your funk. Maybe we can't turn off a bad attitude and just create a better one, but perhaps noticing more of these tiny bits of fun can carry us through the clouds. I'm going to make a point of cruising by Luigi and his napping niche more often. Spring is on the way, but in the meantime? The song, "How Much is That Doggy in the Window" is now playing on Alexa and life is good.

 Find Luigi here on Facebook...say hi for me. King Louie of Marblehead