A brisk walk today. Single digit temperatures energize Bruno and that means much of the walk is actually a canter for him. The faster pace keeps him warm. Still, his ears flap in the wind he creates and I worry about frostbite. He just doesn’t seem to notice. We made it short walk – the Ravinia route – but the cold tires him out. I have a sleeping pooch at my feet as I write. Correction – a snoring pooch. Ah, the sound of contentment.
Still no word from the local opportunity that I interviewed with in early November. I find it disappointment when a company promises to contact you by a certain date “because we don’t want to keep people hanging,” and then doesn’t follow through. It’s troublesome for me being that I am so very customer-centric. I realize that this is an employer’s market but you still need to follow whatever plan you’ve put into place. Otherwise, I have to wonder how good you are at serving your paying customer. Yet, that means you really NEED ME! Hahaha! I’ve just amused myself with that logic.
I did get contacted by the State of Wisconsin for an interview. Get this…I took the exam for an Unemployment Benefits Specialist 1 back in June, did rather well, and now I’m being interviewed (not until January 5) for one of four positions (two permanent, two temp) that are available in Appleton. Boy, do I have experience on this subject! I’ve had to call several times with questions and I feel pretty confident about being able to handle what they call, controversial situations. I know that I’ve probably been one of the nicer callers they get in the course of a day but I go out of my way to be nice to them. For the number of calls each person takes from people in sad, awful situations, I’m sure that the specialists get blasted on a regular basis. Lots of people need to vent. I hope that the conversation they have with me is pleasant and feels like a bit of a break. And now, I have the potential of being one of them. You know, it’s a great fit. Knowing exactly how the caller feels and understanding that not everyone goes at their situation with a positive attitude comes naturally to me. The bad thing is that it’s pretty low pay but we’d be able to make it. I’d be able to stay in my house, pay all my bills, and have great benefits. At some point I’d also have the inside track for other positions or have the opportunity to be promoted. See…positive attitude.
Doc and I continue to follow our plan. I'm searching for whatever assistance for which we now qualify and I’m amazed at how much there is. I don’t know if funding is there, but I’m certainly willing to do the work filling out forms and waiting in line. I am so grateful for the programs that exist. Even if we can’t be funded, I’ve seen people in far off worse situations than we are and I feel for them. This month, if you can do it, please buy one of the pre-packaged sacks of food at your local grocery store for your food pantry, donate old towels, blankets, or cleaning supplies to your pet shelter, or pull an ornament from a merchant’s donation tree to buy a basic necessity for someone who doesn’t have shampoo, deodorant, or shaving cream. I have. It’s part of our plan.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What’s the right thing to do?
It finally snowed! Bruno loves the snow. He’s a completely different dog in the snow - full of energy, happy wagging tail, and that "puppiness" (I know, not a word) bounce that very young bassets have. We call him a “plow hound” because he thrusts his nose into the snow down to the ground and plows, snorting all the way. Sometimes the snow sticks to his snout and if it’s really cold, he gets little icicles. That’s gotta hurt but he doesn’t seem to mind. I never know if I should wipe him off or leave it alone.
Today we’re waiting for “the big one.” Doc just left for the grocery store to stock up. It sounds so funny but we’re preparing for a couple of days without an outing. Late this afternoon we’re headed off to Dottie’s for a bit of social time. Dottie is one of our retired neighbors and has become a close friend. We call visits to her home mini-mental health breaks. She loves many of the same things we do: opera, public radio, the symphony (Dottie plays the viola in the Fox Valley Symphony) and theater. We miss living near Chicago – we were members of the Lyric Opera and on our local Chapter board of directors, we attended Chicago Symphony performances, and we looked forward to programs at Ravinia. At least these visits with Dottie satisfy much of those needs. She’s a great neighbor who is trying to do the right things where we are concerned.
I have a question for all of you. My friend Dan has interviewed for a technical writer position with a great company that is growing at leaps and bounds. Lucky man! He followed up last week to get information about his status and was told by the hiring manager, not HR, that out of the group that they interviewed for the position, he was the only person who did not receive a rejection letter. OK, here’s where you go “Woo-Hoo!” right? Wrong. Dan was told “not to buy a new wardrobe just yet,” that they were going to continue searching for candidates. Apparently, if they can’t find someone with experience in a particular software package and an electrical engineering background, Dan might be the person they want. Talk about a blow that takes the wind out of you. When he told me the story, I felt so bad for him having to be on the roller coaster. Yippee! He’s not rejected! Dang! He’s not hired. So now what? What’s the right thing to do? Keep your hat in the ring and hope that being not quite the right person is good enough for you because you really need the job, or walk away because you don’t want to be second best and KNOW it? If I got an offer today, I would not know if I was the first, second or even third choice. I don’t want to know, ever. I want to go to my next employer with a full heart thinking and feeling that I am the best fit.
And here comes the snow.
Today we’re waiting for “the big one.” Doc just left for the grocery store to stock up. It sounds so funny but we’re preparing for a couple of days without an outing. Late this afternoon we’re headed off to Dottie’s for a bit of social time. Dottie is one of our retired neighbors and has become a close friend. We call visits to her home mini-mental health breaks. She loves many of the same things we do: opera, public radio, the symphony (Dottie plays the viola in the Fox Valley Symphony) and theater. We miss living near Chicago – we were members of the Lyric Opera and on our local Chapter board of directors, we attended Chicago Symphony performances, and we looked forward to programs at Ravinia. At least these visits with Dottie satisfy much of those needs. She’s a great neighbor who is trying to do the right things where we are concerned.
I have a question for all of you. My friend Dan has interviewed for a technical writer position with a great company that is growing at leaps and bounds. Lucky man! He followed up last week to get information about his status and was told by the hiring manager, not HR, that out of the group that they interviewed for the position, he was the only person who did not receive a rejection letter. OK, here’s where you go “Woo-Hoo!” right? Wrong. Dan was told “not to buy a new wardrobe just yet,” that they were going to continue searching for candidates. Apparently, if they can’t find someone with experience in a particular software package and an electrical engineering background, Dan might be the person they want. Talk about a blow that takes the wind out of you. When he told me the story, I felt so bad for him having to be on the roller coaster. Yippee! He’s not rejected! Dang! He’s not hired. So now what? What’s the right thing to do? Keep your hat in the ring and hope that being not quite the right person is good enough for you because you really need the job, or walk away because you don’t want to be second best and KNOW it? If I got an offer today, I would not know if I was the first, second or even third choice. I don’t want to know, ever. I want to go to my next employer with a full heart thinking and feeling that I am the best fit.
And here comes the snow.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Being caretaker.
Bruno is adapting to his diet rather well. Almost too well. He seems to be satisfied with his new food and the amount he gets. I wonder how long that will last. I just want to get this "fixed" before he notices.
Morning walks at 6:30AM are increasingly dark as we approach the winter solstice. But I don’t feel uneasy because of the hour and the amount of people out and about. Last Saturday, Bruno and I took the Grove and Lynch Roads route going past a favorite Christmas tree vendor. Bruno sniffed a few trees and I made sure that he had poor aim, if you get what I mean. It put the Christmas spirit into my head so later that morning, Doc and I returned to the tree lot to get our fresh Christmas tree. It's the only live tree in our house - there are usually 15 others that are artificial. The lot owners are great people and we’ve bought our tree from them before. This time, he asked how our year had been and we told them about being unemployed for the second Christmas in row but that we remained positive about the future. He asked what I did for a living and I shared my business card. Marketing. He said that marketing was what was probably needed for his two businesses but that right now he was having a tough times and couldn’t afford it. We picked out a tree and a couple of bundles of boughs and he said, “$25 for the tree; the boughs are free because you’re unemployed.” We argued that it was in our budget but he insisted. I’m going to go back next week to see what I can do to help him get more business without spending a lot of money, or any at all. He paid it forward and I'm sure there is something I can do for him. In fact, I have a couple of ideas already.
Yesterday was a day of taking care of others. Part of my morning was spent conducting a workshop teaching other unemployed professionals how to complete a good professional summary and then from it, writing a short bio. For most people, the hardest part of the process is identifying special skills. We’re taught as children to be humble and not to brag. It’s not a lack of confidence about what we can do because in any given situation, if someone has a particular strength for a needed task, they generally jump in and do it. But to talk about, in a bio or cover letter, can be very hard. I shared some of the dozen or so bios that I helped people create. I have their permission to share them and I’m glad for that – it shows that my workshop with them paid off. They feel the bio accurately reflects them and should be shared. My class yesterday knew some of these folks and they agreed about the accuracy of the bios. Now I’m eager to help this new class capture their strengths. I love that "Aha!" moment.
Later that afternoon, I took Doc to a doctor appointment. Sigh. A hernia that had been repaired 30 years ago is back. That means more surgery. Now is not a good time for a lot of reasons. Everyone agreed that he could wait until the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, except, of course, if an emergency occurs. He's already met his health insurance deductible (he has his own coverage, separate from mine) so at least our financial exposure is limited but it still means he has exposure to the risk of surgery. He’s had several abdominal surgeries in the last four years and I worry how this one will impact his digestive tract. We’ve adapted pretty well to his food issues and are thankful that we can “figure it out.” I wonder if this will change what food he can enjoy – we love food! We’ll see.
In the evening, I spent a good hour with Laura on the phone. She is tying up loose ends with her former employer and getting her resume in shape. She sounded pretty good on the phone and yet I could still hear the pain. Not so much for losing her job but more about the effort finding a new one will be. A career search is a full-time, plus overtime, job. The thought of it never goes away. Weekends are just short work weeks. There are no breaks from the career search and networking. Speaking of networks, a big “Thank you,” to Josh and Pete from my CCN group (and any of you who have contacted her directly) for reaching out to Laura with job opportunities and including her in your own network. She is very appreciative of your kindness. I can’t believe what great people I’ve met during this time and I am so very glad that you’re part of my new life.
Morning walks at 6:30AM are increasingly dark as we approach the winter solstice. But I don’t feel uneasy because of the hour and the amount of people out and about. Last Saturday, Bruno and I took the Grove and Lynch Roads route going past a favorite Christmas tree vendor. Bruno sniffed a few trees and I made sure that he had poor aim, if you get what I mean. It put the Christmas spirit into my head so later that morning, Doc and I returned to the tree lot to get our fresh Christmas tree. It's the only live tree in our house - there are usually 15 others that are artificial. The lot owners are great people and we’ve bought our tree from them before. This time, he asked how our year had been and we told them about being unemployed for the second Christmas in row but that we remained positive about the future. He asked what I did for a living and I shared my business card. Marketing. He said that marketing was what was probably needed for his two businesses but that right now he was having a tough times and couldn’t afford it. We picked out a tree and a couple of bundles of boughs and he said, “$25 for the tree; the boughs are free because you’re unemployed.” We argued that it was in our budget but he insisted. I’m going to go back next week to see what I can do to help him get more business without spending a lot of money, or any at all. He paid it forward and I'm sure there is something I can do for him. In fact, I have a couple of ideas already.
Yesterday was a day of taking care of others. Part of my morning was spent conducting a workshop teaching other unemployed professionals how to complete a good professional summary and then from it, writing a short bio. For most people, the hardest part of the process is identifying special skills. We’re taught as children to be humble and not to brag. It’s not a lack of confidence about what we can do because in any given situation, if someone has a particular strength for a needed task, they generally jump in and do it. But to talk about, in a bio or cover letter, can be very hard. I shared some of the dozen or so bios that I helped people create. I have their permission to share them and I’m glad for that – it shows that my workshop with them paid off. They feel the bio accurately reflects them and should be shared. My class yesterday knew some of these folks and they agreed about the accuracy of the bios. Now I’m eager to help this new class capture their strengths. I love that "Aha!" moment.
Later that afternoon, I took Doc to a doctor appointment. Sigh. A hernia that had been repaired 30 years ago is back. That means more surgery. Now is not a good time for a lot of reasons. Everyone agreed that he could wait until the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, except, of course, if an emergency occurs. He's already met his health insurance deductible (he has his own coverage, separate from mine) so at least our financial exposure is limited but it still means he has exposure to the risk of surgery. He’s had several abdominal surgeries in the last four years and I worry how this one will impact his digestive tract. We’ve adapted pretty well to his food issues and are thankful that we can “figure it out.” I wonder if this will change what food he can enjoy – we love food! We’ll see.
In the evening, I spent a good hour with Laura on the phone. She is tying up loose ends with her former employer and getting her resume in shape. She sounded pretty good on the phone and yet I could still hear the pain. Not so much for losing her job but more about the effort finding a new one will be. A career search is a full-time, plus overtime, job. The thought of it never goes away. Weekends are just short work weeks. There are no breaks from the career search and networking. Speaking of networks, a big “Thank you,” to Josh and Pete from my CCN group (and any of you who have contacted her directly) for reaching out to Laura with job opportunities and including her in your own network. She is very appreciative of your kindness. I can’t believe what great people I’ve met during this time and I am so very glad that you’re part of my new life.
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