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So this will be my last blog post for the forseeable future. Why? Because I have gone back to work part-time and I find the rest of my day when not at work is filled with being late to pediatric appointments, shoving piles of food into a grocery cart at warp speed, and attempting to help my kids with division problems. Oh yes, and other stuff.
So the jungle gym. Let's talk about what has actually happened. 2016 was not fantastic--it was frustrating and quiet in terms of job search. I have read all the articles on back-to-work programs, and how hard it is to get back in and all kinds of industry information. I have sent resumes, set up coffees and lunches specifically to network, and of course I did the reacHIRE training program (elsewhere on this blog). From all of that, here's my one true truth (not alternative):
Someone, perhaps best written as some ONE, has to take a chance on you. Just one person who says "hey, you are smart, yeah, you've been out a while but you have a great resume from before you stepped out. You have other skills--as a PTO organizer, as a kids' activities multi-tasker and yes, you WANT to work. I am going to give you a chance."
And that is what happened for me. I met the person who hired me through a friend. We talked a year ago about the start-up he was involved in, and we talked about my going through the career training refresher. And we had some pretty good coffee and possibly, though I am not saying memory serves, a chocolate croissant. And we didn't chat again until nine months later.
In November, he called me and said, hey we need an operations person to help us with daily customer contact, with payments and we're a start-up so maybe some days you'll be doing marketing or finance or systems testing (yeah, they knew better than that, really). And so I went into the office and met him and the CEO and we liked each other, and we decided that I would start part-time and we would see how it goes. Lots of things in start-ups are "let's see how that goes."
It's gone well. Really well. We had a fantastic end of year. And I was still able to do the things important to me--holidays with family, going to my stepson's graduation in Brazil, a commute that is 7 minutes door to desk. The greatest gift to me has been a flexible day that lets me continue with my volunteer roles in creative arts and open space/recreation in town, and spend time with my quickly growing kids.
So, I spent a year and a few thousand on trying to find my way in the "traditional" way. I cannot say that the job re-entry program was particularly effective for me--except in bringing me 9 super-charged cheerleaders and friends who continue to meet one year later. Most of us have not found jobs from the program. But we're more confident for it, we know what a pivot table is, and as I've said, we've got each other. Two of the C6 have found employment through the program so it does work for some...just not for me.
Would I have expected my chance to be in a small start-up in the middle of a large business filled with millennials playing video games at lunch time in the corporate kitchen? No. But here I am, learning every day. For now, it's more than enough.
All you need is one person to take a chance on you. One. So thanks, boss. I plan to pay it forward in the future--and take a chance on the next person.
