Today I spent hours on the internet scouring various employment web sites looking for job opportunities that I might qualify for. Page after page, description after description, hour after hour. When all was said and done, I printed out descriptions of about three positions that I will definitely apply for. I also did some tweaking on my resume and will begin posting resumes on various job sites tomorrow. I read numerous job searching strategies and resume writing tips (avoid the 10 deadly mistakes on your resume, etc.) and read some helpful self-help articles on Oprah.com. The other week I sat in on a webinar on using LinkedIn to market my “brand.” I guess I better figure out what my “brand” is.
This job search is a real challenge for me. On the one hand, I have to bring revenue into our household so I can meet my “responsibilities and obligations,” which means get some kind of job, any kind of job and get it fast. (Easier said than done.) Another part of me wants to engage in work that feeds my soul in addition to meeting my material needs. I want to do work that I am suited to do, would enjoy doing, with people I like, that’s focused on helping others, and that pays me enough to move past lack to sufficient and on to abundance. My guess is that those kinds of work situations don’t always or even often find their way onto Monster.com or SFGigs.com.
So for now the search is a balance between searching out and applying for jobs that might not fall into the “feed my soul” category but will feed the family, while continuing to explore ideas, talk to others in non-traditional fields and jobs, and pondering business ideas that will allow me to put my true interests and talents toward meaningful work. It’s interesting to be in the position of looking for meaningful work and thinking about vocation because I’ve spent so many years advising others to find work that takes advantage of their natural gifts and talents and that aligns with what they want to do. I’ve read a lot and written a bit about the importance of people pursuing study (and ultimately work) that they’re passionate about, something which ultimately I didn’t do myself. Yet.
At least some part of every day I experience at least a momentary sense of panic at not having a job–while I am working to lessen the number and severity of these moments, they occur nonetheless. Every day. In spite of that, I am grateful for this opportunity to identify for myself the types of things I love to do and to think creatively about ways to actually get to do it. Sooner or later (or sooner) I have to produce income, and in the end, I might end up in a conventional 8 to 5 job; but in the meantime in addition to pounding the virtual pavement of the internet, I’ll continue thinking about ways to do the unconventional.
How does any of this relate to gratitude? I’m grateful to be able to continue to reach out and connect through writing every day. Some mornings I wake up and feel like I can barely put one foot in front of the other, and yet often by the time I sit down to write this blog each evening I am calm and appreciative to have made it through another day with my spirit and heart intact. I don’t always know what I am going to say, but I am grateful for the presence of mind to be able to say something. Thanks for sharing the path with me. Until next time…
