The Quest

[Undertoad]

dang

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by limey

Here’s hoping something better than a turd floats by you for you to grab asap.

Dammit, woman!

[Griff]

Damnit. That's a lot of job hunters.

[fargon]

That sux, Monster and BigV. We be Praying.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by monster

I'm just worried about health insurance now I'm sole provider and all three kids are students who rely on it. Also I won't be able to have a much needed vacation

Sounds like you've got involuntary vacation. Just don't lounge around eating bon bons. Go get a job that you're not sure you can do. And do it. You're a survivor. You're gonna win. You have leadership qualities and battle scars. A real woman. Be choosy. You're an asset. Ask for more than they offer.

[monster]

thanks. I wanted a voluntary vacation. To finally go back to the UK after 18 years. And see my girl play polo for FSU. With my 40 hours PTO I just reached after cleaning out my account taking PoloGirl to Florida and getting foot surgery this summer ....so I would get paid and so would my insurance while I swanned about. now my PTO is being paid out on Friday.

But at least I didn't Involuntarily Resign. like the 40 part-timers we lost last month. Right before Christmas.

I do really need a vacation, though. Oh well. As you saw I've been networking my ass off on social media all night and have had a few requests for my resume/CV so we shall see.... what I shall ask for more of if someone offers is Paid Vacation. Two weeks is inhumane.

[lumberjim]

It's an American tradition. I negotiated 3 weeks vacation and $150/wk for travel expense when I started.

Now, after15 years here, I get.... 3 weeks. And I can't ever take more than one at a time. Most years I end up selling one week, or taking the 3rd week in one or two day long weekends. Nature of the business. There's only 2 of us, so when I'm out, my counterpart has to endure a 70+ hour week.

Anyway, my point is... When you demand higher compensation, you create value. Playing a little harder to get makes the employer re-assess you. Another candidate may take whatever they offer, and just be happy to have an offer.. But you're not just some candidate.

Go into your interviews with the mind set that you are interviewing THEM. And be mindful that you will never have the leverage you have in that moment once you work for them. If you forget to ask for it during the hiring process, they will never give it to you. Be it vacation, salary, whatever.

Your kids have been raised well, they're prepared to take on the world. Now it's about you going where you want to go and taking what you want to take. Devour to survive. So it is. So it's always been.

[monster]

Just like selling art

[monster]

Oh hey BigV, how's it going your end? Did you call the guy to see if you could get some insight as to why?

[BigV]

Hi monster--

I was just thinking about you. I'm sorry about your situation, I can understand the frustration of having these new circumstances thrust upon you. It's shitty.

I have a lot of confidence in you. You're smart and capable and energetic and motivated. I'd hire you.

As for me, I don't have your flair for networking and I suck at self promotion. I have made a small amount of progress developing my resume to reflect my most recent position. This is something that has to be completed *now*, this morning, so I can use it to followup on job applications so I can submit my unemployment claim--and to get a job, because, duh.

I have a bad case of writer's block, amplified by my tendency toward completeness. This is not a good posture for the task. I know it is just the worm on the hook to lure an employer to bite and invite further contact. Saying that out loud helps some... The whole process is a slog compounded by the fact that I am angry about having been ambushed like this. No, I still don't know any more about the circumstances that led to his decision than I have already shared. I definitely haven't contacted him, though I've had conversations with him in my head.

Speaking of my head... it's pretty fucked up right now, with occasional brief periods of a good attitude. I like those and they're where I get...

am I being distracted from my serious mental unhealthiness? These flashes are where I've been able to get a little flow in my writing and my organization and my employment progress. I don't know. I'm suffering, I'm stressed, it's fucked up, I'm fucked up, I'm not doing well, I'm worried.

I'm having a helluva time getting a firm grip on my bootstraps.

back to the fucking resume.

[glatt]

You’re good at speaking highly of others. Maybe try changing the name on the top of the resume to Tim Smith and write about how awesome that other guy is. Fool yourself into writing about him. It’s not you.

[monster]

Originally Posted by BigV

I don't have your flair for networking and I suck at self promotion. .

I most certainly do not have a flair for it. I fucking hate it. I also suck at self promotion. What has helped me is career counselling. I found a free service offered by the university of Michigan, and they helped turn my down played volunteer positions into a killer bullet-pointed "single-handedly-cured-the-world" kind of resume. have you looked around for any career counselling services near you?

[monster]

Originally Posted by glatt

You’re good at speaking highly of others. Maybe try changing the name on the top of the resume to Tim Smith and write about how awesome that other guy is. Fool yourself into writing about him. It’s not you.

absolutely this.

Also try taking the piss out of yourself. Imagine you are a puffed up narcissistic whatever and write a resume for yourself in that character. Then go back as yourself and just rephrase it in nice person language. Or have someone help you do that

[BigV]

OK! Good work team!

Resume version 0.9 has been completed. All that remains before publication is this final walkthrough to correct the punctuation problems, a couple other tpyos and to remember to delete that last page where all the crud accumulated. Save a local copy in addition to the cloud copy. I really should proof it again, have Twil proof it again because I know damn well I can lick my own elbow better than I can proof my own resume.

I'm going to make my deadline. It's going to be version 1.00, but it will be handed in, pencils down.

Back in a couple minutes.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I have a bad case of writer's block, amplified by my tendency toward completeness.

Then write it complete with all the detail that lets you move forward. Then start paring it down to what everyone says it should be, even if you have to enlist help to ruthlessly do that. Someone(s) else can prune it but only you can write it.

Waste of time? yeah, probably, but slow progress is better than no progress.