Wrong You Are: There Is Always Try

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

---Yoda

 

Ok, who am I to argue with a tiny Star Wars puppet that is beloved by so many, but…sorry my little green friend, you are so wrong. Because we are on this frustrating pandemic times calendar shift, it’s finally graduation season. Well, at least it is at my house. If I might just brag for a quick second, since December, my daughter has held a co-op job at a medical practice, passed the state boards for cosmetology, passed the state written and practical exam to be an EMT, and passed the national EMT license exam. She also navigated losing her last season of track, kept up with her duties as a class officer, and arranged college classes for the fall. I mostly stood by watching, and occasionally writing a check. The rest was all her.

 

Sure, that is a lot of doing. However, if you think there was no trying behind that, you’d be wrong. Like all of us, she tried, tried, and tried again. Also, like all of us, some of what she tried didn’t work out so well. And so it goes. We were chatting about everything that’s coming up for her in the next few months, and there will be a ton of choices she has to make. It’s daunting when you think of it.

 Last week I talked about decisions, and the times we have to choose between multiple options, even when none of them are ideal. There’s a big decision coming in November, and it’s going to be wicked hard for me to look at all the facts, search my soul, and try to pick the right one. So far, I think carrot cake will be the winner. Come November 6th, my birthday cake will be carrot cake, with cream cheese frosting. Decision 2020, made.

Kidding aside, I know that the Yoda quote is supposed to be inspiring, but honestly, it’s not for me. It's like this. I’m a big fan of space exploration. The research, the cutting-edge technology, the going where no man has gone before and all the rest is exciting, and, in my opinion, crucial to our survival. The Star Wars movies get that. Sure, it's fiction, but they show us that there’s so much out there. Truly, we should be looking skyward every day and finding new ways to get to, “infinity and beyond.” Space exploration starts with someone, somewhere, saying, “What if we tried this?” If you look back at the very beginnings of NASA, there were a lot of attempts that, well, flopped. Did we stop trying? Nope.

 

As we look toward schools reopening, the economy righting itself, and a political landscape that seems fraught with peril around every corner, it’s important to remember how to try. We need to think of new ideas, even ones that sound a little off the wall. Before this year, who would have thought of a drive-by commencement? Who could have conceived of a virtual baby shower, via a Zoom video call? An event I always love to attend is Harrington Reads, at Harrington Elementary in Lynn. I get to meet young readers, authors, and educators and share what they love about literacy. This year, it went virtual. All videos, posted on YouTube. It was that or cancel it altogether. Someone was smart enough to ask, “What if we tried to…” and then made it happen. That is try. It leads to doing, but first, there is try.

 

So far no one has asked for my advice on any of the conundrums we are facing, but, for the record, here it is: There must always be a way to try. No doing can happen before we dare to try. If you’re job hunting, try looking in a field you might not have considered. If you’re facing a decision on whether or not to send your kid back to school? Try it, see what happens. If it’s not the right move, move on to another option. My father was always spewing forth what he thought were incredibly wise words. Some were, and others, not so much. One of my favorite pieces of advice from him was this: “Brenda, the only part of your life that will be carved in stone are the dates on your headstone. Everything else is up for grabs. Try it all. If one path doesn’t work, go another way. You’ll get there.”  He was so right. Let’s keep trying.

 

 

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.