So, I finally decided that I should at least try to go back to full-time work. Everyone in our house is in full-time school. No one really needs my help during the day, and well, let's face it. The extra money would be nice. So I began my search.
I have a college degree. Before I quit work to raise a family and follow my soldier across the nation, I worked for two different Fortune 500 companies. And that's nothing to sneeze at, if I do say so myself. However, in the last 10 years, 99 percent of the positions I have held have been volunteer. Those positions did require that I manage people, inventory, budgets, time and data, but sometimes I think it is difficult to show a potential employer how valuable volunteer time can be and the experience it can bring. I wasn't really sure where to start, but I have a presence on LinkedIn and that was where I began my search.
I searched LinkedIn for jobs in my area and I did the same on usajobs.gov. I have applied for 10 or more jobs that I felt matched my experience both on the job and as a volunteer. I even applied for jobs that I thought would be fun but I may not have enough experience to do. But if you don't ask, the answer will always be no, right?
So, I have checked my ego at the door of the internet, and I have floated a lot of résumés. I have filed a lot of auto responses that read something to the effect of, "Thank you for your interest. We'll contact you."
Honestly, once I filed those emails, I had forgotten all about all of the résumés that I had sent. I had forgotten until last Tuesday.
I didn't hear the phone ring. It was on vibrate. I picked it up to check it because the kids were in camp, and if I had seen or heard it ring, I wouldn't have answered. It was a strange number. I checked the message. "This message is for Sarah Young. This is Stacy at ... and I would like to schedule an interview." I was in the truck with soldier, and he was a little overwhelmed at my screaming. But I was excited!
Then an email arrived in my inbox. "Hello Sarah. I'm contacting you to schedule a phone interview." I was jumping up and down and doing the happy dance!
By the time you read this, I will have finished both interviews (with two different companies) and school will have started. We will have a lot to talk about over the next couple of weeks!
So grab some coffee and join me here next week!
May the moving gods smile upon you and may only the things that you don't like get broken . . . sby