Moving right along...

My best friend sent me this last night...

I'm taking a left at a fork in the road. And I'm trying to stay motivated. It's only been a week and I'm trying to stay motivated. That feels really lame. Four days ago, I saw myself staying that motivated throughout this entire month. The drive, the waking up at 2am because the need to fill out more applications, to keep trying, was so present that I couldn't bear it. Now it is 9:44am and I haven't opened Craigslist yet. Craigslist is my first site of every day. Then Indeed, then Monster, then Idealist, and finally the company sites - Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Providence, etc. I even slept through the whole night last night. The whole night.

So, yesterday's interview was followed shortly by a phone interview from a job I really want. I didn't do as well as I thought I should. She called while I was climbing the stairs to my apartment. I was out of breath. I was tired from the 1.5 hour interview immediately preceding it. I wasn't thinking as clearly as I wanted. But this, of the 40 some jobs I've applied for ranks number 2 on my "The ones I really want" list. Bummer.

So yesterday I only put in 1 application. Today I will do better. I don't feel like doing this right now, but I'm going to anyway. Because I want to meet my goal. I want to have a job on November 7th. I want to put my severance into savings. and I'm tired of not getting what I want.

Yesterday I also started on the workbook style stuff from the outsourcing software provided by my current company. The first step was to process your emotional state. I had done very little of that. I jumped into the job search with two feet and now I am stuck in the middle processing. I found their process remarkably unhelpful, but it did help me realize the need to process. I still want to take this bull by the horns, but I want to be reasonable, feeling, and intentional. The last thing I want to do is land in another unsuccessful success.

Interviews and Phone screens

Because I started this blog after I started my job search and after I got wind of my lay off, I have some back-story to fill in. For example, last week I had two interviews and filled out more than 30 applications. So this week is already a little full.

Last week's interviews were not stellar. One was, I thought, just fine. I did not blow it out of the water, but I did expect a second interview. So far no word on that one, so today I will email and try to instigate the next level. The other was a group interview. By that I mean that 2 people interviewed 7 people at the same time.I hated it. I almost walked out. ugh. So that is the very shot recap of last week.

This week's goal is 7 applications per day. I also have received my "outsourcing tools" from my current company, and even though they appear more than cheesy, I plan to spend at least 5 hours on them this week, just to ensure that I am doing everything possible to meet my goals.

I had another interview today. It was a bit crazy. A very nice older couple run a wholesale souvenir business and they are looking for a customer service oriented sales rep. I knocked this interview out of the park. However, the base salary pay scale is not quite what I'm looking for (although the commission would more than make up for that) and there are no health care benefits. So I should hear by the end of the week, and I think my answer will be no.

It feels weird to seriously consider turning down a job because of the pay and benefits, when I am soon to be entirely without pay or benefits. But I'm trying to not just get a job, but one I'd like to keep. Upward and Onward.

Laid Off...

On Tuesday I received news that I am to be laid off, effective November 1st. After almost a week of thought, and frantically applying for new jobs, I have decided that the only way to make myself respond with some level of normalcy, is to involve the world in my process. I am a planner of massive proportions. I need a list at all times. So this process too must have a list and a plan.

My objective is to achieve gainful employment in a Seattle based company making more money than I made in my previous job in a position with options for upward mobility. My plan is to obtain this objective before November 1st, with the goal of starting my new job on November 7th. In order to achieve my goal, I must have a plan. My next post will be the plan.

The purpose of this blog is not to trash talk the old employer - not only am I tiring of that, but it's actually against my separation agreement. In fact, if you comment and happen to know my company name, I ask that you not use it. I may at times blip into the emotions that so often accompany this type of life change, but the main purpose is to track the successes and failures of my different attempts at making the best of what, this week, felt like the worst.

So, here it goes... say a prayer, cross your fingers, wish me luck!