The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you. - Rita Mae Brown
I have a good friend who finds herself out of a teaching position as a result of a major trimming of the budget and a decison to drop the teaching of a foreign language.
My message to her is”Don’t despair.” She has tremendous communications skills both verbally and in writing. She is fluent in three languages. She is not afraid to ask questions. She doesn’t balk at stating her opinion although she isn’t confrontational. She thinks on her feet well and people enjoy her company.
Her challenge from my viewpoint is to figure out the skills she wants to emphasize and to not settle for something that’s just “a job”. It will take work. Finding the job you want is in itself a job – one that should consume close to 40 hours a week if you want to nail the position.
When we have children to feed and a mortgage to pay, there is a high motivation to take the first job that offers the money we need. Maybe it’s the right one, but maybe it’s not. My friend should bring her gusto to the process and keep focused on her goal – does it bring her satisfaction, does it use her skills, and finally, is the value appropriate (money).
Almost all of us have been an job applicant. In some ways it’s just like operating a business, although it’s a temporary one. You are the product that you need to sell, but you are also buying into a long-term customer relationship (you hope). You don’t have to change yourself, but you may need tweaking so prepare and practice.
Luck is good to have on your side, but it does seem to follow the prepared.
Cheers,
Bryan Dear
