Job Searching Status

OK, I was supposed to spend last week and this week on my job search. Well, I didn't get as far as I wanted. In fact, I only put in a few hours. Last week was the start of school and with Lynda taking night classes, I was left to pick up the kids. So, the whole "bus driver" role is something brand new to me and was way more confusing to me than I had thought.

In business, I had learned to completely rely on my calendar. I'd have whole days where I would go from meeting to meeting - guided by what was on my calendar. I had one calendar and I had a portion of an admin to help me keep it sane.

Now that I don't have that, I am like a fish out of water. It's not that I don't have a calendar, it's that I have too many calendars! I have at least three; one of which is my wife's. This makes it very difficult to keep track of what my day looks like. I find that I just end up going with the flow.

For example, the other day, I had to pick up my son at 5. It was about 3 and so that left me with about an hour and a half of time to "do something". In my mind, that wasn't enough to really dig into some of the more difficult job hunting tasks. Therefore, I spent time organizing and messing with my DSL modem.

This week's excuse is that my in-laws are moving into their new house which is only a couple of blocks from ours. They sold their 20 acre property in Bishop and are moving to the heart of Silicon Valley. They were both sick for about a month last winter and that was enough to motivate them to move closer to someone who could assist them. Also, they began to realize that the health care professionals in Bishop were not as good as here in Silicon Valley. So, they decided to move here.

Being that they are both into their 70's, they need help with all sorts of things and I can't say no.

I do have a marketing plan for myself. My approach is to isolate companies that I am interested in working for. Then I'll approach those companies and see if they have or could create an opening for me. It's not like fishing and hoping I catch a good job. I'm interviewing companies based on my requirements. (I know what you are saying: "Sure Ray. Make it sound as though you are in charge. We'll grant you that seeing as you were tossed aside as useless by a major telecommunications company!" To that I can only say, "If the shoe fits, wear it!")

I have a good list of potential companies and a very large network of people. Now the task is to work through my network to see if I know anyone at these companies. Then work myself in that way.

Sounds good right? We'll maybe next week, I'll have less distractions and can focus on this.

UPDATE

I did finally get my act in gear. As the new year opened I was oddly optimistic and positive. By mid Feb, I was working on three opportunities - I took the one who made me the first offer.