One of my favorite things about my transition these past few years has been the people I have met along the way. It started with Career Partners, the career placement service that my severance included. I almost didn’t take the benefit but, after speaking with one of the owners, Dottie, convinced me that it would be worth my while. I had a pilgrimage planned to India with my family so she signed me up for when I got back.

I met some of the most incredible people in that program. I still remember my emotions and confusion about what I needed to do. I hadn’t applied for a job in 22 years. My resume, that I thought was pretty good, sucked! And you know how I feel about interviews… how the hell was I going to prepare for those? I was a hot mess!

All I can say is that even with my crushed spirit at being “let go” from my job that in my head, no one could possibly replace me, I was in really good company. If these phenomenal people were in the same boat, maybe, I wasn’t defective goods.

I am probably the longest client they ever had considering I haven’t “landed’ yet. On the other hand, I threw in my Master’s degree in the middle then came back again while Covid struck. It was an interesting experience networking under those circumstances. Not to mention, the leads that I had made progress on, were all thrown into hiring freezes and emergency standby mode.

Under those circumstances, a few of the spin-off members from CPI began zoom meetings on Thursday mornings to support each other and network each other. This little group has become my lifeline. I swear, even when I “land”. I am going to keep in touch with these wonderful people. So much good information and clarity has come out of these group sessions.

Through this group I made a connection with a career coach. It was hard for me to make the decision but I needed to do something different. I have concluded that finding job descriptions that “sort of” match up to my skill set is not necessarily what is best for me and is probably why I have not succeeded at my lackluster interviews. I am sure of it.

I am pleased with the approach that I am taking now, what is it that I want from a job? Not what can I match up to on the job description. And then I search for the job that meets my must haves. What a novel approach!

Cathy also helped me realize that the interview process is for me to find out if the job is a good fit for me, not the other way around. It is my opportunity to interview them. That really changed my perspective, instead of feeling like it was a test of my aptitude. I think I knew that unconsciously, most of these positions were not what I wanted.

I don’t mean to sound like a princess, but job satisfaction has always been a priority for me. It was a means to practice my profession while being readily accessible for my family. I loved what I made of it, I got to help people and I had great flexibility of my hours and loved the people I worked with. How am I going to replicate that?

Cathy is helping me figure it out! I’ll keep you posted…