Adding the Lijit Widget

I've been doing this blog as a stress relief for myself these past few months but recently I decided to try to promote my blog. To that end, I installed a cool widget: Lijit. It adds a search widget for my blog. I have some good information and inks stored on here and I want you, my readers, to be able to find everything! Enjoy!

Doing What Counts in Life and Job Hunting

In the copious spare time that I enjoy these days, I have been trying to use social media to search for information on new careers and ideas about a vocation for myself. Since I attended CanIL (http://www.canil.ca/summer/) last Summer linguistics has been on my mind. I've been pondering what people actually do with language skills and after some searching on professional organizations I found some pretty cool websites on freelance translation. Which lead me to this: http://lyjnow.wordpress.com/ which is a fantastic idea. "Do What You Love" this simple thought should be everyone's life goal. This is all that really counts. Where can I contribute and be of service? Most likely by doing things that I enjoy and make my soul sing. Finding my groove is essential to the peace and calm that I am seeking.

Dealing with Rejection

"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits."

All's Well That Ends Well (II, i, 145-147)

I went looking for some great literature to express how I felt about losing a job this week. I had a 4.5 hour interview on Tuesday. It was grueling! My head felt like it would explode. I put everything I had into it.

I got a call back from the hiring manager the next day. He said that I was their top candidate but they wanted to talk to my previous two managers. "Dammit," was my first thought. What did that mean? I gave him the information and he emailed me the next day to say, "We decided to move in a different direction." It was a let down for sure. What happened? How did it all fall apart so quickly? Had I not really been the top candidate? I don't know that I will ever find out what happened.

Dealing with rejection is one of the hardest things about a prolonged job search. The only thing to do is try to learn what you can and then shake it off. I asked the hiring manager why they didn't choose to go forward and he was vague...but it was worth a shot. Any information you can get to aid in your job hunt don't be afraid to ask for it!!

A Hopeful Story--Aborted (Kinda)

Well, I had wanted to interview a recent job winner in a hopeful success story for this blog. Colin, had been looking for a job for over 18 months after his graduation from Thunderbird (International Business School). He recently found a job that was a great fit and a welcome relief. However, because Colin has stood me up twice and didn't return my calls, we won't have any more information. I'm not generally the stalker type so after two calls, I'm officially giving up.

But, I think the lesson here is less that I scared poor Colin and more that poor Colin *DID* find a job after lots of hard work. He kept his spirits up and landed that perfect position.

Here's to hope for all of us!

Perils of Contract Work & Unemployment

A good friend of mine, Kate, had been out of work for quite a while and she had built a pretty good consulting business. She asked me to jump in on a technical writing gig. I had never done that before but I was game--I was desperate for something to do with my mind. But, I ran into an old pattern---procrastination. You would think after months of doing nothing but job hunting I would be right on top of this job but I wasn't.

I was pretty disappointed with myself but I had lost the work momentum. You know, that groove you get in when things are kicking on all cylinders? Here was an opportunity that I kinda just let slip by. About three days late, I delivered something to the client. He has chosen to do the rest of the work internally. Sigh. I feel like I missed a great opportunity here.

What did I learn from this experience? SCHEDULE! I just let time slip away from me. Losing my work priority amongst the daily shuffle of the job hunt and life. It is easy to do.

Kate has recommended me for another project, and this one I intend to stay on top of. I do this by planning my daily activities prioritizing this work. This may seem obvious but I was out of practice after seven months of unemployment and needed a reminder.

Unemployment Benefits Denied!

When I lost my job in June I applied for unemployment. Then, I decided to go to Canada to school. It was a last minute decision but it would preclude me from receiving unemployment benefits if I was unable to meet the required job search contacts.

I kinda put my life on-hold, took money out of my 401K and moved to Canada for three months. It was an awesome experience and I have no regrets. However my unemployment account was open all this time but I didn't do anything with it. So it was in a weird pending state. I got back from Canada in September 2009. Then I applied again for my unemployment benefits. It took about two weeks and then I got two letters in the mail both saying that I had been denied unemployment benefits based on my employers' saying that I was "at-fault" for the discharge.

Oh man! Was this a low point for me. Both employers saying this had me very depressed! It really sucked. What I now know is that employers pay more unemployment taxes or fees if there is a claim against them. These two companies were both very small so I think this might have had something to do with their decision to say that I was "at-fault." Fortunately, I have a good friend who is an unemployment expert and she said, "Hey, mistakes are made all the time. Appeal the decision." So, that is exactly what I did. There are very strict timelines about the appeals process. I quickly got all my paperwork together and submitted my appeal.

This process varies from state to state. In Colorado, I had to merely state my intention to appeal the decision and get this to the Unemployment Appeals Office within 10 days of my receiving my denial letter. If I had failed to respond, I would have lost any chance to appeal the decision. So, dates are super important in this process. You can't hide your head in the sand for sure!

What happened in this appeal process I will follow up with in later posts. In the meantime, the information for the state of Colorado appeals process can be found here. If you have any questions about filing for benefits, please let me know! Email me and I'll respond with any information that I have.

Every state has different rules, I'm very fortunate that I live in Coloardo because our state unemployment office has been wonderful. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with them. Here is the link:

State of Colorado Unemployment Benefits website

Keeping my spirits up under constant pressure!

Many months into a job hunt, something sinister has begun to happen to my psyche. Doubts and negative thoughts that I may have managed to quash or avoid until this point begin to rumble around my head with increasing frequency and volume.

"You are a loser."

"You'll never find a job!"

"Give up."

I began to realize this week that this is a very real stage of long term unemployment and one that needs to be addressed directly. The fact of the matter is the constant pressure of job searching, interviews and rejections has begun to take a toll on me. It is in this dangerous time for me and I'm mightily tempted to indulge in self-defeating behavior: overeating, watching too much tv, spending too much money or just lying in bed for hours. I know that these things are merely temporary fixes and will only lead to more pain but I have to fight to stay positive and on-track.

When I feel myself tempted to give into the spiral of negative thoughts, I try to be quick to identify what is my real feelings are.

"Am I lonely?" Probably.
"Do I feel hopeless?" Uh, yeah! Today, I do!
"Has my self-esteem plummeted?" Duh!

Whatever it is ... I put it down on paper. A little bit like Grey's Anatomy I "write it out." I need an outlet. I'm not really even a big journal-er but because this helps...I do it.

Next, I find a supportive friend to go over my writing. I got this from my 12Step program. It really does help to just say this random crap rattling around in my head to someone else. They don't have to respond at all.

This isn't a solution to all the pressures and troubles in my life right now...but acknowledging them allows me to embrace reality and move ahead.

Claire