The Job search chronicles, Day 1-3

So I have decided to add a regular installment to my blog about my job search as 1) a way to keep myself honest and focused and 2) because hopefully, in all of this, I can provide some useful information to someone out there who is or may be in the future in the same position soon...

So here it goes.....

I told myself that my vacation would be a great way for me to clear my head and then I would hit the ground running when I got back. Well, it didn't really happen that way....

Day 1
Day 1, I got so overwhelmed by all the stuff I had to do, job search, cleaning my house, unpacking that I got tired and decided to take a nap! Luckily, I had agreed to help my admissions director from my business school at a recruiting event so I had something to get me out of the house!

Day 2
One of my former co-workers had this great idea that a bunch of us should get together once a week for breakfast to talk about how we have been, share contacts, keep each other from being lonely/depressed/going crazy... We are meeting at this funky little place with free wi-fi... So we had our first breakfast meeting and one of use already has a job. She is starting on Monday which is really great for her.

We actually ended up staying longer than I expected so I had to run home to change for an orientation session with this company that is providing job transition and training services. It was pretty general -- they have a bunch of other classes to sign up for to help you with resume editing, interviewing skills, networking etc and a computer lab and job bank listing. It will probably be a good resource -- and another reason to get myself out of the house, motivated in my job search and around people.

One thing that the woman told us was to make sure that we stick with our regular routine, not to stop doing things that you would normally do which I can see could be a very important thing. When you don't have a set schedule anymore it is important to keep some sort of routine going so that you don't just sit around like a lump on a log. One thing that is routine that I am not doing so well at is getting up at my normal time. Some of this is probably because I am still adjusting to the time difference from my trip but some of it is also that it is one of those actual benefits of not having a job.... to be able to sleep late! My dog is not too good about letting me do this though. I manage to wake up, let her out and then go back to sleep for as long as I can.

That afternoon I decided to go to the Tuesday step class that my regular step teacher (who I love!) teaches at another location. I normally go to her Monday and Wednesday classes but since I hadn't been in 2 weeks I decided not to wait until Wednesday to get back in the swing of things. It is an advanced only class and it was really great and fast paced. I always love going to her classes because the music is good, the choreography is fun, she is really enthusiastic and kicks our butts!

Day 3
I met a friend at the gym this morning for a moderately vigorous weight training session. I figure if I am going to be out of a job, I shouldn't be out of shape too. If I dont have to go to a job everyday then I can at least go to the gym!

Then, in the afternoon, I met with a woman I had been referred to at a recruiting/executive search firm. We had a really good meeting and I also got to meet the managing partner (who I still owe an email....) She emphasized the importance of using LinkedIn for networking and told me to send her an invite to join my network so that I could then look at the companies in her contacts and see which ones interested me. She also told me how important it was to make sure that my profile is up to date. While I actually got my last job because a recruiter saw my resume on Monster (yes, it actually does happen!), she said that she and other recruiters now more often do candidate searches in LinkedIn. She also recommended the site The Ladders, a job search site that specializes in middle management and above jobs. It is actually a subscription job search service but she says that she often finds better candidates
on the site, probably because you have to pay for it. They do offer a 30 day free trial however.

Then, since it was late, I skipped going home and headed back over to the gym for my regular Weds step class. I was a little early so I hung out in the coffee shop nearby, checking my email. There I actually ran into a woman who I am friendly with from my step class. We used to live in the same building and I would see her at the gym all the time. Well, she has been out of work for a number of months now and has been having quite a lot of difficulty finding a new job, especially since she needs sponsorship to work in the US because she is a Canadian citizen. Turns out that she was meeting a friend there who lives one street over from me. So, I got to meet a new neighbor.

I was all pscyched up for another great step class but to our dissapointment, there was a sub... :-( This guy who is much slower and not as interesting. I hung in for as long as I could but was getting bored so, since this was my second time in the gym for the day, I left early..