Juggling. Plate spinning. Balls in the air. Gardening.

The January thaw has come to an end but Bruno still thinks the weather is delightful for his morning walk. Last week we enjoyed the freezing fog – on the trees, not so much on the sidewalks. The fog painted the trees with a delicate white lace of ice that was simply beautiful. Bruno was able to take in some very strong smells, too. The heavy air kept scents close to the ground. He considered that heaven.

Last week I was blessed with three great interviews. One was a second interview for a marketing director position at a bank that I’m very excited about. I think I could do really well for this company and be a strong contributor to their goals. I’ve been able to talk to a current employee by connecting to him through a mutual friend. It was good to hear similar comments about the culture and pace from him that I’ve heard from HR and the President and Senior Vice President. It means a move, but then all of my current opportunities mean a move. Hassle? Yes. Concerned? Absolutely not! Love the locations of all of them!

The other two are vastly different. One is a media buying position in television. I’ve bought media before so I know I can do the work, as did the hiring manager who interviewed me. She commented that she was only speaking to candidates who had the skills necessary. What she was really looking for was the right fit within the company. It’s a small office with an open design. Everyone must be able to get along with their co-workers. The office had such a homey and comfortable feel that I could see why it would be easy to spend long hours there. Many times the environment is cold and sterile but this one truly was inviting!

The third interview was with a company that interviewed me last spring but chose to hire someone else. I have a strong advocate there who continues to go to bat for me (thanks, Steve!) and pass along openings with other companies. I don’t know how I will ever repay his kindness to me but I will think of something. Even if he has no direct hand in me becoming employed, his support has been inspiring to me. Oh, yes. He forwarded another opportunity late last week that isn’t even posted yet and connected me with someone on the inside. How cool is that?

This week, I need to continue to try to follow up with a VP of Sales and Marketing that another fabulous friend, Grant, sent my resume in for me (he introduced me to Steve, by the way). He knows her and quickly forwarded my resume for me. I’ve been trying to reach her but this company has recently been awarded quite a few contracts and is probably quite busy managing everything. It’s a solid company that has had openings in marketing but I just can’t seem to get interviewed. A quick phone call with the VP might help…I’m hoping so.

I also have an interview with the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture. I passed an exam and qualified for an interview as an Economic Development Consultant. My past experience working overseas, importing and exporting goods and services has come into play. I don’t know what to expect with this interview but I do know that they are very structured. There could be as many as 10 of us interviewing but since we’ve all passed the exam, we are now equals, if I read the documentation correctly. The best part of the day will be having lunch with an old friend. I’ll be able to relax just before my interview and I’m sure he’ll give me some pointers because he currently works for the State of Wisconsin. He can’t give me any direct help but he can be encouraging and give me a general overview of what to expect.

So that makes four opportunities that I need to keep fed and watered. Some people call it juggling, others plate spinning, and still others say they have lots of balls in the air. I just know that I am very lucky to have so many possibilities and I must remain dedicated to each of them. The waiting is the hardest part. This has already been a very long week.

I’ve been asked which of all of these opportunities is the one I really want. The one that provides me with a challenge, good environment to work in, great people to work beside, and fair compensation is my favorite. That sounds like all of them right now! Sorry. I’ve got to run. I think my garden needs tending.

January Thaw

Sun streaming in the windows. Balmy morning walks with the beast. Slush in the streets. It makes me yearn for spring. I figure the January thaw is mean, really. It teases us with its pleasant weather and then wham! Back into snow falls measured in feet and temperatures measured by what it feels like and how fast exposed body parts can be frostbitten. But I’m enjoying it now … staying in the present.

I haven’t been able to attend my regular networking meetings for quite a while. Between personal appointments and interviews, I haven’t had the time. It’s a good-bad thing. I miss seeing everyone and I don’t know who has become employed. Not everyone posts celebratory statements at LinkedIn or at our network subgroup sites so I don’t get to hear the good news. I feel a bit cut off. But I’m happy for my situation having turned to a much more positive direction.

I’ve landed a second interviewnext week for a marketing director position. I’ve been in this spot before over the last year but this feels different. The first interview felt right. And, if the people in the next interview are as described, it should feel right again. I learned long ago to listen to my little voice inside. No, I don’t “hear voices.” It’s my intuition that can size up a situation and while I can’t describe it any better, I just know when it’s right and when it’s wrong. I didn’t listen to it once when I was quite young. I had been offered a job as a marketing director and my little voice said, “Don’t do it.” Well, I did it. On day two of my employment, the EVP (whom I had not met before), let me know in no uncertain terms that I shouldn’t get delusions of “having the President’s ear,” that if push came to shove, he would always win. The EVP didn’t believe that the company needed marketing and that this was all a waste of money and effort. I didn’t see that one coming. I went home that night and cried. I stuck it out for three years and was recruited to work at another firm before I even began to look for another position. I did learn a lot in that position and because I didn’t have a lot of money to work with, I became incredibly savvy and creative. And, as it turned out, the EVP and I became good friends. I’m glad I didn’t listen.

I also passed an exam for a position in the Department of Agriculture with the State of Wisconsin and I scored well enough to earn an interview. It’s in two weeks. Once you get to an interview, everyone is considered equal. I’m pretty excited about this opportunity, too. It would use my past experience working internationally. I enjoyed those years even if the travel was wearisome. I don’t think this job would require the same amount of travel that I did in the past so that’s good. And, I’ve always been a big advocate of Wisconsin products, trying to buy locally whenever I can so this could be a good fit. I won’t know until I get to the interview. I have a friend who works in continuity planning for the State of Wisconsin so I’m going to try to meet with him for lunch. I don’t think I’ve seen Art in 10 years but we’ve remained friends and try to stay in touch.

Both opportunities are very good ones. I'd be honored to work at either of them. A good start to the New Year. Seems it’s more than the weather that’s thawing.

Preparations

Finally, temperatures in the double digits. Our walk this morning, while brisk, felt good. We went down Verbrick, turned left on Bouten, left on Seymour and then left again on Memorial Drive bringing us back to Verbrick and into Cherry Court. We hadn’t done this route in many weeks so Bruno was extra interested in sniffing the way. So many smell changes since our last visit. A young man walked a few paces ahead of us as we turned onto Memorial Drive. Bruno excitedly sniffed his footprints and raised his hackles. He didn’t know this person but was getting to know him in his own way. Having someone to follow increased our walking speed. Usually at this point in the walk, Bruno is starting to seriously slow down. It’s why I say, “I’m taking Bruno for a drag.” You never really walk a basset hound.

After my post Friday, I had good activity on the opportunities that I submitted to last week. Two phone calls and one email resulting in an interview tomorrow. All three were inquiring where I lived which opened the door for me to allay concerns about not being a local candidate. When I first started this blog, my house had just been put on the market. Our plan has been to move closer to family if I am unable to find a great career opportunity somewhere first. I explained to the inquirers that I am in the transition process so while I physically live at one address for now, I am preparing for a move and there’s no reason why that move couldn’t be to their town, on their schedule. It’s a bit of a relief to learn that one of the reasons I’m not hearing from really great fits is my address. But at least I’m opening doors a little more and getting the chance to chat with HR or the hiring manager, and convincing them that the move is such a trivial thing for me. And it really is. All three of them said that I have great qualifications so now I just have to prove I’m the right person for their company. It was a tremendous boost.

Tomorrow I travel for an interview and it is a great opportunity! I’ve been preparing by reading through their Web site and their holding company’s Web site. I want to learn as much as I possibly can before I meet with anyone. I’m also searching through LinkedIn to see if there are any network connections to people who work there, and I’m sending emails to friends who live in that area, again, looking for connections. My other preparations extend into “pre-answering” the standard interview questions to make sure I’m sharp, making my own list of questions, and looking at the backgrounds of their list of employees posted on their Web site. Sometimes you find common interests, experiences, or education with people who already work there. It gives me more to talk about and shows that I’m doing my homework. It can take 10-15 hours to prepare for one interview that lasts, if I’m lucky, an hour. But it’s well worth it. I know that my preparation shows and when I can get that offer, I know it will have paid off.

Focus

Welcome back! It’s been a month since my last post and a lot has happened. I’m still searching for that great opportunity, or maybe it’s still searching for me, but many other things have taken place since we last met.

Bruno continues to beg to play in the snow. Wednesday was a delightful day for a walk. Even though the temperature was in the mid-teens, I took Bruno through the Gardners Row triangle. It’s a bit of a longer walk and I was concerned about his ears freezing but I guess that won’t happen when they’re dragging through fresh snow that has a temp in the upper 20s. I enjoy watching his brisk shuffle, big paws flipping up snow almost to his nose (when it isn’t glued to the ground plowing the white stuff). And I get a chuckle when he brings his head up and that perfect cone of snow balances on top of his nose. I want to brush it off but then he puts his wiper on (his tongue) and everything gets cleaned up.

So, I’ve teased you about happenings since my last post. In a nutshell…lots of drama the weekend of Dec. 19 with a friend who needed her and her daughter’s evening gown altered for a debutante ball in three days after the professional seamstress literally butchered them (one rescued, one destined for small claims court), phone call from my sister-in-law inviting me to Christmas Day at their house (haven’t spoken to her in five years – very long story but this was a good sign), melt down in my stove – literally – that could have destroyed it but didn’t, and an unrelated to the melt down in my stove visit to the ER with my husband.

The week of Christmas, I heard from two dear friends. One was seriously unhappy and disillusioned with her job. It was time to start making career decisions because the current situation was going nowhere and she’s far too young to be in a dead-end job. I gave her some suggestions were to get help and answers. And the other was potentially seeing “the handwriting on the wall” not because of performance, but possibly the whim of a boss. She asked if this was the case and was told, “There’s no timetable for that yet.” What does THAT mean and how do you fix it? You can’t. You just do your best and forge ahead or look for another route.

The holidays this year were especially hard because it’s the second year without a job, no presents, no party of our own, and my husband’s impending surgery on the 28th. A year ago I said to myself, “In a year, this will probably be over and we’ll live happily ever after.” Shouldn’t have said that. Boxing Day had another trip to the ER making the surgery on the 28th more complicated. We counted our blessings that we delayed the surgery because those two trips to the ER revealed issues needing to be fixed that would have presented themselves a few weeks later, requiring another surgery. Friends came to us on New Year’s Eve and we toasted a fresh start. New Year’s Day we were back in the ER – a hematoma but not critical. Ice would take care of it – who knew? Was this our fresh start?

That brings us to this week. And what a week for a career search it has been! On Monday and Wednesday, I found the focus in my search and uncovered 32 excellent opportunities that suit me well. About 25 of them required 10+ years of experience. Finally, it seems they are looking up the ladder for new blood. Thursday there were eight more and this morning, another three so far. Tuesday was a bit of a disappointment, but that's OK. I had a long awaited interview for a job that was completely out of field but something I thought I could do. Very low pay, lots of overtime, no time off the first year – a bad combination if I wanted to continue searching for the right fit but still have an income. The worst part is that I would have been crushed emotionally by being in this position. It was a position as an adjudicator that required me to take sides. One party would always be, at the least, unhappy but likely quite angry. I’ve spent a good part of my career learning how to make every situation into a positive, the win-win. This job did not allow for that, at all. It was converse to my very being. Even when I have had to deliver the worst of news to a customer or my employer, I have always found a way to focus on the positive. That’s my nature and I’m good at it. I had to walk away.

Yesterday I connected two friends who have needs and talents that could help each of them start their businesses. One needed graphic design help (and marketing advice from me so I’m guess I’m providing consulting services now – for free - it feels good being needed) and the other wanted to do some freelance graphic design work. I think their personalities will mesh very well and that they have strengths that will complement each other. I’m glad I’ll get to see how this works out.

Oh yeah, already this week I’ve been contact by two of the 43 companies. That’s a 4% response rate – pretty darn good! Seems my focus is back in focus.