Saturday, November 23, 2013

So They Said I Should Write a Blog

I'm surprised to find that the one wish, the one dream that I have, is that of living alone with my family. It's odd enough that I have a family to speak of, now, meaning that I have children - but the fact that my wife and I, along with our child and child-to-be, live with her mother. However, as the job market seems to take to looking at someone with my strange skill set and lack of formal education with a cynical eye. How could I provide anything to their company? they often ask themselves, in my imagination.

I could list the ways, but I feel that perhaps now is not the best time for a self inventory. At least not in that sense.

My wife and I moved in with her mother and father when her father was sick - stage 4 lung cancer. We moved in to help with this, that and the other, but admittedly, it did help us to save a little money as well. We had a child on the way, a child that her father, regrettably, did not survive to see. We expected to help her family as he was ill, and for a while after he was ill as well. This was never a permanent solution. And yet, we remain.

Florida was not doing well. Layoffs cascaded down the East coast of Florida, taking with it my contract position. A contract position, by the way, which was supposed to move to a permanent one after 6 months. It had been two years when the pink slip finally made it into my hands. I had dodged a few cuts, thanks to the praise of my supervisors. They had insisted that I was a valuable asset and that others would be better to cut first. Still, I couldn't stay out of that particular spotlight forever. I still had the dark mark of "contractor" despite the aforementioned promise of a permanent position.

With so many cuts being made, they effectively sealed off any options to climb up into the company. And when things got bad enough, they cut the rope - the few straggling contractors hanging onto that threadbare thing plummeting into unemployment.

I had some success freelancing, for some time, but sadly the nature of freelancing is not having the authority to make decisions, even if you're effectively left solely responsible for the project at hand. All the advice in the world won't save a project that the owner doesn't want to invest money or time into, and the whole thing disintegrated in time.

I hoped my move back up North would prove an immediate change for work. It did not. However, some help did arrive in an unexpected way. We were doing badly enough to ask for state cash assistance, and as a stipulation of that assistance either my wife or I had to attend a 4-week "course" at a local employment center. The main courses were useful, but only marginally so. It was the optional courses that really proved helpful. Resume writing, cover letters, interview skills, even LinkedIn courses. I went out of my way to absorb as much information as possible.

It was actually the teacher of the LinkedIn class that encouraged me to start up a blog. It just took me some time to put my thoughts together to really put my energy into it. The real catalyst was just how intolerable it's become living with people that aren't my direct family, though. If nothing else, this blog will serve as a means to say things that others in this house don't have the patience to listen to.

My interviews effectively went up 1000% - although they've yet to lead to a job proper, I will say that I have a lot more confidence after attending the career classes, and the fact that employees are now seeking me out to talk to me is a sure sign that a job is coming soon enough. On top of that, I'll be beginning my schooling come January - years later than intended, but, that's not the point. I can brag and boast about my ability to work (which is fantastic, by the way), but if they want to see certification on my resume, so be it - I'll happily provide. Besides, I love to learn. Really, it's a win-win.

So, yes, some frustration exists with my current situation. I don't know if anyone reading this is in the same situation as I am - but, if you are, I'll say this: there's always something to look forward to.

This blog won't be entirely me thinking aloud - well, perhaps I can't make that promise - but it won't be entirely thinking aloud about one particular subject. My mind wanders, and so, too, will the nature of my writing. Feel free to throw ideas my way as to what I might write. You may be very surprised as to my take on the subjects.

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