“Apparently you can’t get a job in this town unless you can do something!”
– Lucy Ricardo, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
Soon, I will be entering month three in my search for a job. And I know how to do a thing or two Lucy!
Compared to the averages, I’m still early on. Seems four to six months is the typical search duration, even longer when setting your sights on a leader-level role.
One former colleague, as we began reconnecting over lunch, said, regrettably, “It took me 14 months” …
While sharing our relative job search experiences, another former colleague (also jobless for several months) noted, with resignation, “I’m now getting a lot of reading done.”
Ugh.
And these people are not Lucy; these are talented people who very definitely know how to do something!
* * * * *
For me, this time is not like the last time. The last time was thirty years ago, and I was big time stre
ssed, in financial distress, and not at all confident that I had marketable skills.
Languishing at home, I would weekday after weekday hear with classic soap opera-like gravity: like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives…
UGH! My gosh even to this day when I hear that refrain I feel my stomach churn …
I am not big time stressed now. We are financially okay. And I am confident this time around.
But that said, I admit that there is an unnerving psychological similarity to thirty years ago …
Today it is Kelly and Michael and their “time for our wheely wild winter travel triviaaaaaa” … which, while admittedly not having the same emotional weight as like sands through an hourglass it is nevertheless beginning to evoke that thirty-years-ago-stomach-dropping-feeling of dread!
Ugh.
Two former colleagues who are now friends observed that it didn’t seem like I was at all enjoying the aspect of not having to work, receiving the gift of time at home …
Look, I can’t say it hasn’t had its advantages — my quiet time in the morning in my robe with my coffee and by the fireplace with my puppy dog on my lap is, yes, pleasant — but, enjoyable?
It’s time to go to work.
Work is, I remember telling my friends, in my DNA … I can’t not work. I, generally, like to work.
And I can work. I know how to do something!
There will, I am sure, come a time when my attitude will tip and not working will have it’s attraction. It will be time to do something else.
And when I retire, I will enjoy it. That may be a time when I really enjoy watching Kelly an
d Michael spin that wheel!
But that time is not now. Now, I want to work, but I am unemployed.
Yet I am employable. I am able to be employed.
So, like sands through an hourglass, finding that job is only a matter of time.
But I wheely am not enjoying!
🙂
(PS: But it felt wheely wheely good to write this post and be back blogging again!)
johnponders 
John, keep your spirits up! Good things happen to good people. I have no doubt you will find a great position.
Workin’ on that Robert …working on that. Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Welcome back to the blogosphere, John. Hopefully, this is a sign of more things to come! 😉
Actually, your post reminded me of my years on the University of Illinois Debate team as an undergraduate. The national debate organization to which we belong specialized in VALUES debate (as compared to policy debate which was my favorite).
Debate rounds were oftentimes spent arguing over which value criteria was the more important one by which the judge should weigh all arguments in the round.
Your post takes me back to a round in 1989 and it might have been at the national tournament at the University of South Carolina. In one of those rounds I found myself arguing that the VALUE OF WORK was paramount to all other values in our human world including LIFE and LIBERTY.
How?
Well, when we commit ourselves to work for an employer, aren’t we giving up a little bit of our “liberty and freedom”? Such as the liberty to watch Kelly & Michael in the mornings? So, if we’re willing to give up some of our liberty/freedom to work, then humans must value work above liberty/freedom. Yes? 😉
Same thing with life. Your post actually speaks to it very nicely. I believe you’re saying that your quality of life is enhanced by your work because it brings you a sense of fulfillment. In fact, aren’t there studies that demonstrate that some people die shortly after choosing to retire? Here is a podcast that speaks to that issue: http://freakonomics.com/2012/05/17/retirement-kills-a-new-marketplace-podcast/
So, if the value of work impact life and some people can’t live without work, then humans must value work above life. Yes? 😉
Good luck finding work. Looking for employment (and blogging of course) is truly one of the most important things you can be doing!
By the way, I know of a vacancy in New Mexico that you’d be perfect for. 😉 Let me know when you’re ready to consider moving.
XOXO ~Erik
Okay, last things first — I’m a long long way away from considering that gig that you’re workin’ … Jamie just called you a crazy somabitch … 🙂
Wow that’s quite the premise — we value work over life and liberty? I’m thinking it’s not either/or but both/and. I’m thinking we work to create some degrees of freedom to have a life that we enjoy. In so doing we heighten appreciation of that freedom, and enrich the life we are living!
So, yes; I’m thinking you are spot on when you note that my quality of life is enhanced by my work because it brings me a sense of fulfillment …I’m fortunate it is so.
Nicely done, John. You would’ve made a great collegiate debater. Perhaps, your job search should be expanded to include debate coach? 😉
While I would never disagree with your wife, I just feel private that I’m able to make my little business work.
Good luck with your search, John. Are you sure you don’t want to open up Performance By Design?
As the jobless days have turned to weeks — and now months — performance by design has begun to spring into my consciousness …
Marlena and Roman. You worried about them a bit after returning to work. And I think you’re more Ellen oriented these days. But you wouldn’t have turned on either of these shows on your own. You’re welcome.
Ummm … you makin’ shit up again? 🙂
But you’re right about not seeing any of those without you … You do so much for me … 🙂
Stick with it, John! You’re extremely talented and loaded with skills.
Hey, did you notice the McArdle article in Bloomberg (biz week has it online) about “why negativity really is awesome”? It’s an interesting read that I would like to see you put your own twist on (in blog form). Just a thought/wish…
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-20/why-negativity-is-really-awesome-the-value-of-in-house-critics#p1
~mhw
Thank you Mike for the vote of confidence! I will check out that piece; thanks!
Okay, Mike, I’ve checked that business week piece out. I definitely have a reaction, but will have to think if it’s worthy of a blog post … We’ll see. Thanks for the read and the suggestion!
Good on you and good luck
Thanks and cheers
Ahh, a topic I know a little about.
I was actively looking for work for almost 15 months. It was one of the most difficult and exciting times of my life. It was tough watching all of those applications go out and never hearing back – especially those positions that you just knew you were right for. That said, being unemployed gave me the chance to do a couple things I don’t think I would have ever done if I hadn’t been laid off.
The first was engaging in social media – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Though I never took up blogging (just couldn’t figure out what I would write about that anyone might find remotely interesting … unlike you), being active in social media helped me find part of my voice and meet a lot of really interesting people that were working on the leading edge of educational technology. It also helped me find a few contracting jobs to help keep the lights on while continuing to seek full time work.
The second was volunteering. Like you, I was getting anxious and couldn’t just sit at home anymore waiting for someone to finally return a call. That’s when I got engaged in public safety and various efforts with my local high school (before my kids got there). These efforts not only opened other doors for me (moving from corporate education to academia; thinking about how to educate the public about public safety issues, teaching robotics to kids), but also let me work on something that was fulfilling. I felt better about myself because I was doing something others appreciated (even though I wasn’t getting paid for it, as many people reminded me).
Not knocking Kelly and Michael, but I have to think that there are groups out there that could benefit from your skills and passion while you wait for HR to get their heads out of their butts and call you.
Looking back, the thing that strikes me about my experience is that taking on these other endeavors allowed the right job to find me. I applied to a lot of really cool jobs, but I could never have imagined having the one I do today.
So maybe there is another path for you. Open some other doors and see what’s out there.
Meanwhile, I will continue to block time on my calendar for lunch when you get the chance. 😉
Wow, John. Your words and voice here are many things to me, among them comforting and inspiring …
I love — love — the notion of being productive in other endeavors to allow the right job to find me. There is incredible wisdom and value in that sentiment … it will stick with me a long while.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and perspective. I will reach out in email to make that lunch happen!
John,
It’s good to read you again John. You are greatly missed here. You’ll find something soon. In the meantime, starting writing a book…hmm?
Tony
It felt good to write again! I miss all of you in the office… When are we going to be able to have a coffee together? Perhaps a Saturday morning?
And, yes, I am currently flirtin’ with workin’ the book angle … we’ll see.
Good to see you here again and all the best …