Yay! New Job!

I got the good news a few months back. A job offer! After 8 months unemployed and nearly 200 applications sent, my odd-shaped puzzle piece finally fit. I accepted immediately.

My job coach congratulated me after the arduous journey. Arduous journey is right! I have no special advice or insights. I was feeling more and more worn down with every application and rejection. It was getting harder to get up the enthusiasm to continue the search—even with the sword of financial destitution coming down.

At some times it was only the fact that Unemployment required at least 3 job related activities per week that kept me going on that week. 

The system is not set up for older workers using transferable skills to secure a position different from ones they’ve held in the past. How could I present myself for a Financial Assistant position because I know QuickBooks (as discussed with L****—she said she had listings needing QB)? Even my narrative resume crafted for administrative skills couldn’t hide the job history I’ve had in between now and the Executive Assistant-titled position (Office Manager/Admin Assistant) I had 20 years ago where I actually used QuickBooks?

The “perfect” resume needs to pass the computer programs, have all the buzzwords, to get to the HR people. I have no idea why any of the applications I filled were overlooked when I had ALL of the qualifications matched. There is no feedback, no human to talk to. If there were a National Employment Guru running the system I would mention all these points in a discussion. I’m sure I was passed over for age but can’t prove it. How many others were “more qualified” when the job description mentioned only a high school diploma and on-the-job training? Overqualified you say (or not)?  I need a job. If I made it to the interview stage, these questions amused me greatly:

“Why do you want to work at XYZ Corp.?” — I need a job. I’ll work almost anywhere.

“What attracted you to this position?” — I need a job and thought I fit the qualifications.

“You have so much experience. Are you sure you’ll be comfortable in this position?” — I need a job. I’ll be comfortable hanging upside down if need be.

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”  — Still working because I was unemployed so long that my savings were depleted.

“What do you want from your work life?” — I need a job. A regular paycheck and health insurance make a whole lot of “quality of life.”

So now I’ve been at the job some 4 months. Woo hoo!!!

Salary!

Meaningful work leading to important public health achievements!!

Health insurance!!!

In this COVID-afflicted world I work 3 days per week at the office and 2 days from home. All of the team stagger their schedules like this; when I am onsite and the rest of the team is there (which is rare) it is delightful to see and interact with other people. We are required to wear masks, but that is something I do anyhow when I’m out.

I’m still somewhat smarting from my job search. It bit off a chunk of my soul and spit it out. Each bite said I was unemployable, not valued, off my rocker. Each rejection notice — when I received one instead of never being notified — carved another slice off my fragile ego. When I received the call from HR saying they wanted to offer me the position I was in a fog, waking up from a nap, not hardly believing the words I heard over the phone. A job!

So now, ensconced behind my laptop screen and two wide monitors on my desk at work or the laptop screen and single old monitor at my crowded home desk, I have a place to go, a job to do, people who need me, and purpose. I see my contribution to the big picture; they created this position anew and I was the person who fit it!

I have a job, no, a career… and a growing bank account that allows me to pay my bills! I’m far from getting rich, but at least I’m not going negative like I was before. I’m continuing to live frugally because that has been my way of life for so long. There’s not much materially that I need. I would like a vacation, though, a chance to travel. Hopefully I’ll have enough for retirement some day, something I can’t afford to do now.

After all, I just want self-sufficiency, to be a contributor and not a taker. I’m the oldest person on my team and I take direction from people who are younger than my children sometimes. It doesn’t matter… because I am grinning ear to ear, just happy to be there. Whatever the future holds for me, I’m ready for the challenge one day at a time, driving my computer keyboard wherever I am!

When Is A Job Not A Job?

The Gears are at the Heart of the Work

Question: When is a job not a “job”?

Answer: When the job is doing something you love.

I recently re-entered the work force. I found a job that will not be a “job” but a labor of love, working at a social service agency. The co-workers are pleasant, the hours great, clients interesting, and it’s a meaningful job. The organization aids needy people and therefore betters the world. That’s a good foundation for a labor of love. I’m one little tooth on the gears in the mechanism that makes the agency work more effectively. That’s me!

I’m glad to have a place to go every day and contribute something positive. I can change someone’s day just with a happy greeting; I can ease stress with a well-placed assist. What better than to make many peoples’ days become more pleasant?

Satisfaction (i.e., happiness) can be gleaned in the small things. Happiness is doing a good job and recognizing that to be the case, contributing to a group effort, getting a pat on the back, sitting back and pondering the good feelings. For isn’t pleasure gained from the sublime, what we’re here on this earth to collect?

An ice cream cone or a glistening glass of iced tea on a hot day brings great pleasure. So does scratching an itch. As much as I like my physical pleasures, I’m looking for something more holistic. For me, being a tooth on a small cog of the works suffices and pleases, a spiritual kind of pleasure.