A Rebel? Now?

I never expected that one day I would be writing a blog; much less writing a blog about looking for work.  Not so long ago I was a worker bee at a huge pharma company. I loved my job, loved the people I worked with and was pretty good at what I did.  I grew up with the company, joining when I was 31 years old. I went through a divorce, raised a child as a single mom, remarried and had another child and an assortment of pets all while juggling a career.  One day the ax fell and my position was no longer needed. Like anyone experiencing a loss, I was crushed and angry. I decided to turn that negative energy around and within a few months created a business plan to open a job search company where I would teach people the very things I needed to learn when I was released. That soon blossomed into writing; training programs, a book, a blog and a Facebook and Twitter page. The often over-used expression, “Been there, done that” took on an extra meaning for me because I could add, “felt that”.

Many people align their self worth with their jobs and when they are released  they experience feelings of worthlessness and grief.  My mission is to help people pick themselves up again and realize their value and continued potential.  I guess you could say I am giving them back their "wings". Thus the company name and blog reference.

I was asked to take part in a blog hopping exercise; a look at various authors and their answers to the following four questions...so here we go:

1. What am I working on?  Right now I am working on a new book of job search tips.  I plan on using many of the ideas I blog about and arrange them into a three chapter handbook, similar to my first book, Job Search for Moms.  I’m also working on new worksheets and training sessions that will help people with their job search transformations– I’ve created resume writing worksheets, networking forms and interviewing cheat sheets in the past.

I’ve also written several job search classes such as career assessment, resume writing, interviewing, networking, LinkedIn and job search for moms and job search for the older worker.  I just completed revamping a job search program for young adults.  I’d like to bring this program into our high school and colleges.

On a totally different note, I’ve written a children’s book.  It deals with the death of a loved one through the eyes of a young child. I am looking for an artist to help illustrate it.

Finally, I’m working on a huge and emotional production; the July wedding of my daughter.

2. How does my writing differ from others? I don’t just tell people what they should do; I show them how to do it.  I offer worksheets and examples or links to other worthwhile job search sites. I think that it helps that I spent years as a corporate trainer and human resources consultant. That experience helps me write programs and remain mindful of corporate policies and procedures. I also think that my writing differs from others in that my posts are short and to the point.  I'm not writing about something fun like art or cooking; my stuff is kind of dry. I don’t want people digging for ideas within an article when they have a job search plan to follow; they need to get the tips and put them into practice right away. 

3. Why do I write what I do?  Job seekers face a much tougher time finding work today and when an organization makes a business decision to release them, the unemployment rate isn't even a consideration. I look at the people who read my blog or book or who come to my classes as the caring people that they are and who have families to feed and mortgages to pay. They are valuable members of the community and my goal is to help them see their value. I take the name of my company, "Blackbird" very seriously.  It's from the Lennon/McCarthy song and says, "Take these wings and fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise." 

4. How does my writing process work?  I usually get an idea for a blog post from something that was said in class or coaching session. For example, a few weeks ago a couple of people in a resume writing class told me that a recruiter said it was OK to lie on a resume.  Really? No way. I came home and blogged about it.  I hear a lot of sad stories about ageism too.  These stories infuriate me so I'll write about ways to decimate it by giving tips to eliminate stereotypical behavior. Other than that, I research current job search practices and put them out there and hope that they help.

So that's it. The elimination of my own job pushed me to become an advocate for others who have lost their jobs. I guess that little bit of rebellion from my youth finally found a voice.

Now I'd like to introduce you to my fellow bloggers.They too are touching lives in wonderful ways.

Cindy Lopez, Blogger of The F-Mom on workingmother.com. She has culminated her twenty-plus years as a divorce paralegal, a business school instructor and a paralegal career consultant to support fellow women through her blog with straight-forward truth and humor. Before there were "blogs," she founded and created the first website and online magazine for paralegals, Paralegal Press in 2000. She is inspired by women of all ages and stages balancing it all every day.

(Pat Smith) I'm a Jersey girl transplanted to Alexandria, Virginia some 43 years ago, but my heart is still at the Tak and Garfield Terrace beaches. After grad school at Penn State my Ag Economist husband worked for EPA and the USDA. We were lucky to be able to travel through his job. We been to France (lots), Finland, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, England and Ireland. I've was in Spain at Lake Banyoles for the 1992 Olympics when I was on the US Rowing BOD.

My degree is in technical theatre from Indiana University. I've had a variety of jobs, most in some kind of creative area, even when the job wasn't billed as such. As a stay at home mom I was a weaver and managed a gallery at the Alexandria Torpedo Factory.

During the 20 years I worked for the Alexandria school system I produced a monthly TV show for local cable and a yearly five hour telethon for our scholarship fund. I still do some free-lance video editing work. I design lighting/sets for drama and dance shows. Visuals are more my thing than writing.

We have two children, both lawyers, and four grandchildren. My daughter lives nearby and I've been taking care of her twin boys since they were born...12 years! Boy it goes fast. I'm recycled to soccer, kid extracurricular activities and all that entails. In my spare time I garden and write a blog about this and that at http://pats-addition.blogspot.com/. 

Nancy opened Blackbird Learning Associates LLC in 2009. She has over 25 years of learning and development, human resources and organizational development experience in the pharmaceutical, finance and insurance industries. Her company provides job search training, coaching and resume writing services and has helped hundreds of clients identify their strengths and find meaningful work.  Nancy is the author of the job search handbook, Job Search for Moms, an easy to follow handbook packed with many of the tools, examples and exercises used in her highly acclaimed courses. 
Nancy graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia with a degree in elementary education. She took that teaching degree and turned it into training and has been enjoying the ride since. In her off time, Nancy enjoys spending time with her family, being at the beach, painting and volunteering. Follow Nancy at Blackbirdlearningassociates.com.

       

Withdrawing a LinkedIn Invitation

Did you ever send someone a LinkedIn invitation by mistake? I have. I was giving a LinkedIn training session and wanted to show the group the way to personalize an invitation.  I clicked on the LinkedIn suggestions of "People You May Know" and went through the steps of personalizing the invitation (for someone I didn't know at all).  Then instead of hitting cancel, I hit send.  Hopefully I could withdraw it before the person on the other end ever saw it and wondered who I was.

In case you ever do the same thing, here are the steps to withdraw the invitation.  The main thing is that your invitation can be withdrawn just as long as the recipient hasn't seen it yet. Here's what you do; I've taken these steps directly from the LinkedIn Help Center.

1. Click the Inbox icon in the top right of your homepage.
2. Click Sent on the left.
3. Find an invitation without "Accepted" next to the name.
4. Click the subject line of the invitation.
5. Click Withdraw.
   • If the Withdraw button isn't there, the invitation can't be withdrawn. It may have already expired.
   • The recipient won't be notified about a withdrawn invitation.
   • If you change your mind, you'll need the recipient’s email address to send them another invitation.

Back Aches and the Job Search

From Clipart

This past February as I was cleaning out the linen closet I lifted and turned my body at the same time and felt a burning pain in my lower back.  I didn’t make things any better later in the day when I lifted the container holding the dry dog food. As the day went by I felt a terrible pain in my back that traveled down the front and side of my leg. I’d had this before but never like this. It was sciatic nerve pain.

Over the next few days the pain got worse. I hobbled to the doctor and was given muscle relaxers, pain relievers and steroids. Nothing helped and the pain turned into numbness, weakness in my leg and pins and needles by my ankle. Another trip to the doctor resulted in a shot in the butt and a prescription for an MRI.  The MRI showed that despite age-related degeneration (thanks a lot), I had two herniated discs, some kind of nasty rip and a pinched nerve and that a trip to a neurosurgeon was in order. He suggested physical therapy (PT) and if that didn’t work; surgery.

I visited my chiropractor as well as the physical therapist and then shared my PT plan with my trainer at the gym.  All three of these people are playing a big role in my healing.

So why am I telling you this in a job search blog? I’m telling you not to put all your eggs in one basket.  Don’t sit at your desk all day applying to job after job on line.  Don’t go to your LinkedIn profile and network within your groups or with your contacts every day either.  That gets old and you could become a nag.  Instead, design a plan where you can combine several different strategies to allow you to get on the road to job recovery. Network socially and also in person.  Use the phone and write emails along with using your social media.  Here are some other tips:

1.    Look for mobile job search apps

2.    Join Twitter and follow companies that are interesting to you

3.    Look for jobs on a company website; not just through job search engines

4.    Volunteer

5.    Let everyone know that you are looking for work and have your resume updated and ready to go.

Just like my disc problem and healing, it helps to have more than one method of improvement. It also helps if all the players in your recovery are on the same page and working towards your positive career health.   

The Plight of the Older Worker

Over the past 24 hours I have worked with two women who are in their late 50s and who work at a couple of well known corporations. Both women asked for some job search advice because both may be on their way out.

One woman works as an executive assistant for four company directors.  She is bright and has great interpersonal and organizational skills. The other woman works as a technical manager within a group of 15 project managers.  She has excellent technical skills including project management, negotiation and she too has excellent interpersonal skills. 

Both women have managers who need to learn how to be better leaders and managers.

Before I go on, put yourself in either one of their shoes.  Imagine being in your late 50s and knowing that you could lose your job at any point.  Imagine thinking that not long ago you were thinking about retiring with the company and now you think that you may have to work way into your late 60s.  Imagine the hours and blood, sweat and tears that you have given to a company only to be coldly dismissed. Imagine worrying about benefits, mortgages, college payments, and savings plans while in the latter part of your career.  Imagine the panic and worry and stress. Imagine finally earning a six week vacation and then having to go back to two weeks.

Imagine walking on eggshells everyday as you wonder,"Will today will be it?”

Both women are planning to reimagine themselves.  They both have good, solid transferable skills. They are aware that they need to continue to be technically astute and stay on top of the technology in their respective fields. They will have current, focused resumes and LinkedIn profiles. They don’t want to but know that if the time comes, they will have to network and start all over. Neither of them want to think about the possibility of working a couple of jobs just to make ends meet. Both of these women are staying ahead of the eight ball because neither of them want to become part of the current and very frustrating job search statistics.

How many others are just like them?