“My Dream Job Journal” August 1, 2008

Before I begin, I want to apologize to the readers who have followed my bi-weekly journals. Due to circumstances, in this case, the arrival of my daughter and grand-daughter from Europe on July 16^th, I did not meet my due date for the submission of my journal which happened to be on the same day. I had not seen my grand-daughter in five years, as a result, there was an inordinate amount of time put into the preparation for their arrival, and when they arrived, a great deal of time spent doing tourist types of things here in the Washington DC area.

I am combining in this journal, what would have been material for two journals. I will be back on schedule with my August 13^th submission.

As I said in the July 2^nd journal, Sabrina, the Deputy Director of a division of a national company, dealing with aging issues, had e-mailed me on June 26^th, the outline of a proposed consulting project. She suggested we meet, as soon as possible, to go over the provisions of the proposal, especially the scope of work and compensation. She said she would be back at work after the July 4^th holiday.

She e-mailed me July 8^th, and told me that her schedule precluded our meeting that week. After ruling out various dates, we set up a meeting for July 14^th. Prior to the meeting I  sent her a list of discussion points, relative to the proposal. Questions that I had about every aspect of the project..

When we met, we discussed the proposal in depth. The set of discussion points I had developed served as the    basis for a clear understanding of what my explicit responsibilities would be. The project was broken down into two specific areas: a work plan for me and an event planning component, which would be handled by an event/meeting planning company.

The next issue that we discussed was compensation. Since this was my first experience in the consulting area, I was not aware of the actual time involved and the extent of the compensation. Needless to say, I was surprised that the time was limited to 7-9 days. The biggest surprise was the compensation, which was well beyond my expectations.

After the discussion, I told Sabrina that I would accept the consulting position. Sabrina explained to me during the meeting that a well known government agency, that deals with aging issues, would be partnering with her company on the project, and that we would be meeting with the liaison from the agency as soon as possible.

Sabrina had arranged for a conference call on July 23^rd, with the two of us and Jan, the contact from the government agency. Because of a conflict in schedule, Jan was not available at the time. As a consequence, we are trying to set up another conference call the week of August 3^rd.

The time frame for the completion of this project is late October. A very tight time frame indeed. However, this gives me the opportunity to show what I can do and establish a compensation base that will only increase as I  go on to other consultant projects.

The journey continues.

At this point in the process, I am concentrating exclusively on a viable employment opportlunity, As I stated in my last journal, I had received an e-mail from Sabrina, the Deputy Director of a division of a national company, dealing with aging issues. She said that she was exploring possible employment opportunities for me in several areas. June 26th, she e-mailed me the outline of a proposed consulting project. This project will run approximately three months.

Initially, I felt some anxiety about the proposed project. I definetely preferred the possiblility of a full-time staff position insteead of a consulting contract.

I called Bob, of RetirementJobs.com, and briefed him on the proposal. As luck would have it, we were scheduled to  meet in Washington the next day, our first face-to-face strategy meeting.
 

I met Bob at AARP and we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We met for over two hours. We discussed and dissected the proposal, which was very enlightening to me. H e pointed out how my writing and communication skills would fit well in the context of the project. He also emphasized, that by taking on this project, I would have to resign my permanent job. As I said before, I felt some anxiety about the project, precisely because I would not have a safety net. If I intended to depend on my skills and background, and on my proven ability in the past to produce, now was the time, as the old saying goes,"to fish or cut bait."

I spoke to my wife that night. We went over the outline of the proposal. She said that in her opinion the project was a good fit for me. She also said that she was behind me all the way and would assist me in any way possible. That was very reassuring to me.

Sabrina, when she e-mailed me, indicated that she would be out of the city through the Independence Day Holiday. She would return on July 7th, and to call or e-mail her and set up an appointment for that week. I intend to meet with her and discuss all of the facets of the project and determine, if it is offered to me, whether to accept it or not. 

Stay tuned folks. The journey continues.

Some positive events have happened in the last two weeks. Recently, I spoke to Herb, of the DC advocacy agency, and he told me that he had given my resume to the CEO of the Washington, DC national chapter of a well known national service organization. He is on the board of directors of the the chapter. It appears that they are in the process of developing a high level lobbying position. When I heard this, inspite of myself, I began to smile. Here is a retired senior who is working in a job that does not utilize his skills or experience, who is seeking a part-time staff support position, who definetely feels that he can contribute, and lo and behold! because of the content of his resume, his ability to communicate and his skills and experience and contacts in the city, he might be considered for a position such as this, the irony of it all. 

I sent my cover letter and resume to Amy, a department head at a large non-governmental agency in Washington, DC that deals with aging issues. I had been referred to her by a colleague, who knew her well, when the agency held a series of meetings at the hotel where I work. Again, this shows the effectiveness of networking. Amy e-mailed me the same week and acknowledged that she had received the materials that I had sent her. She indicated that she did not have any positions that fit my qualifications open in her department but, had forwarded my resume to the CEO of the agency and would pass my resume on to any of her contacts, when she became aware of available opportunities.

I mentioned Sabrina, in my last journal, the Deputy Director of a division of a national company, again dealing with aging issues, here in Washington, DC. I received an e-mail from Sabrina last week. I had not heard from her in over a week. Shd indicated that they were exploring possible employment opportunities for me in various areas. This is very encouraging.

I am hoping to have something definite to tell you in the next journal. The journey continues.    

The same day that I submitted my last journal, I had the first interview of the "My Dream Job Job" process. Bob, of RetirementJobs.com, arranged a meeting between myself and Sabrina, Deputy Director of one of the divisions of a company, located here in Washington, DC, that works exclusively on the problems and issues affecting the aging here and nationally. Sabrina is highly regarded for her skill in program development and management and is regarded as an excellent resource person in the field.

It was my understanding that the meeting was essentially a get to know you situation. However, to my surprise , Sabrina also brought into the meeting the head of the communications division, and after initial greetings it evolved very quickly into an examination of my background, my skills and experience, and how this skill- set would fit in their program structure.  After an hour, Sabrina brought in another person to meet me, who also was the head of one of their divisions. The meeting ended with the assurance that Sabrina would get back to me with some possibilities for employment that we could discuss at a later date.

Frankly, I was amazed at what had occurred. Initially, what was intended as a meeting to possibly secure some future employment prospects had turned into a viable employment opportunity.

This has certainly shown me the efectiveness of preparation. The resume showcasing your strengths in a very professional way, and  the ability to articulate your background in a manner that shows your confidence and willingness to work within the structure of their organization is absolutely essential. 

The next two weeks brought to the fore a problem that I have had to confront and will discuss in the next journal. Stay tuned!!

The journey continues.   

  The last two weeks have been interesting and very informative. Prior to my vacation I had been working with Bob, of RetirementJobs.com, on revisions of my resume. As I indicated in a previous journal, Bob had developed four resumes based on my skills and experience. After realizing that my skills were not consistent with the highly technological demands of employment in the broadcasting industry, Bob and I agreed that I should concentrate on the public and community affairs area, in addition to events and meeting management. The concentration of effort freed me from the anxiety I had felt relative to my lack of familiarity with current technology in the broadcast media. I learned again that I had to move toward employment where my writing and verbal skills and research ability would fit the requirements of "My Dream Job."

I spoke to Bob approximately five days after returning from vacation. We realized that there were still a few glitches with the revisions. After consultation, we came up with the final copies of both resumes. Bob then tailored the cover letters to the content of each resume. At this point, I told Bob that there was someone I knew who could be quite helpful. He was a manager ot one of the advocacy agencies of the District of Colombia government.  Herb and I had worked closely together on some utility issues when I was an advocacy volunteer for the DC State Office of AARP. I e-mailed the two resumes and cover letters to Herb and four days later went over to see him.

We had a very productive meeting. I had realized before that Herb had a number of excellent contacts in the city, but I was amazed, as we discussed the employment possibilities, the key individuals he mentioned at a number of agencies and private sector businesses where he could refer my resume. We concluded the meeting by agreeing to contact each other every eight days to assess the progress.

The meeting I had with Herb just reaffirmed my belief that you must utilize all of the resources that you have. Personal friends, acquaintances, family members, and whomever else you can think of that will take the time and interest to refer you to a contact and help to establish an interview atmosphere that is much more conductive to your achieving your employment goal.

The journey continues

My last journal entry, April 23, 2008, gave me the opportunity to explain my strongly held belief that taking a break after several months of wotk is essential in maintaining a balance between the job and the rejuvenation of energy for focus and dedication to work. 

At work we are very busy, especially during this period. It is hard on me physically, especially at my age. When I went on vacation I realized how tired I was and how I had tried to balance the responsibilities of my life with the new responsibilities placed on me as a winner of the "My Dream Job Contest".

I gave thought to how I had dealt with maintaining the proper balance between my job, and the demands of my life and the job search. I felt that I could have done a better job. For example, many times I became exasperated when I had to deal with the technical aspects of placing my profile on the AARP community website before it was launched. This is just an example of one of the responsibilities that I had, in order for AARP to successfully develop the community website, for the "winners".  

As I prepare to resume the job search. I have established one basic premise: I must be more patient in order to properly balance all of the elements. This does not happen over night. It is a process the evolves over a period of time. In this context, I am working with Bob, of "RetirementJobs.com," in finalizing the four resumes that he has created for me based on my skill set. We talked this week and have established a preliminary list of businesses where we will send the appropriate cover letter and resume.

the journey continues.

My wife and I are now on a vacation in the Bahamas. Needless to say, we are wonderfully relaxed and enjoying this experience immensely.

Approximately five years ago, we had not been on a major vacation in years. It was either we could not coordinate both of our vacation days or primarily, we felt it was too expensive. We limited our time together to two weekend trips yearly. We went to Annapolis, Maryland, the location of the U.S. Naval Academy, and a picturesque colonial style downtown. This was relaxing. In spite of the fact that it was only fifty miles away, The idea of getting away, even for two days was very enticing.

We decided one day that we were going to go on a cruise, regardless the cost. We both work very hard, and in my case, the physical demands of my job, on my feet for eight hours in a very demanding, high volume restaurant, had taken its toll. So we decided that we both needed the time off and wanted to travel, to see and experience cultures and peoples and places that we had just read about or seen on television.

As I wrote previously, expense was a definite concern. However, we both deeply felt that the sacrifices that we would go through, by saving a specific amount each month for a year, in order to have enough money for th trip, would be worth it. We saved enough  in the first year to go on a five day cruise to the Caribbean. It was worth every penny that we spent. We came back relaxed and looking forward to the next vacation.

Now each year, in the springtime, we either go on a cruise, or in this case a seven day vacation to the Bahamas. In the fall we go to Los Angeles, my hometown, for a week. These vacations are paid for by hardwork and sacrifice.

We both feel that these vacations renew our bodies and spirit, and bring us closer together, I will return refreshed and renewed in my efforts to secure "My Dream Job."

Since the launch of the AARP community site, the "Water cooler", March 19. 2008, several things have happened to indicate that the job search process has indeed begun.

Soon after the launch, the laptop, one of the prizes for the winners of the "My Dream Job Contest" arrived. This was preceded by the American Express gift cards totaling five hundred dollars. I utilized the gift cards to buy office supplies, a computer hutch for the laptop, storage of the supplies and books relating to employment of 50+ and retired individuals, and several print cartridges for the printer. By the way, the cartridges are very expensive. The remaining funds will be used as necessary for additional supplies or equipment.

Prior to the website going public, each of the winners spoke with their representatives at the AARP State Offices, in their respective cities, who conducted public affairs functions, to arrange publicity for each winner, locally, when the community site was launched. I spoke with Grier, of the DC State Office, and gave her my relevant personal information, and my reactions to winning a category of the contest. She e-mailed me two days later with a proposed press release and the date of submission. I was contacted a few days later by a free lance reporter for the "Voice of the Hill", a local news publication covering the DC Capitol Hill area. We set a date for the interview. 

The interview was quite extensive. He queried me about my background, about the contest, how and why I entered the contest, my reactions to winning a category of the contest, and what I thought of my possibilities of getting a job in the media. I enjoyed the interview. It occurred to me that I would soon be facing quesitons about my background, in a different context, and how I responded to those questions would determine if I would be considered for a job. 

One week later, April 10th, the "Voice of the Hill", was delivered and on page 10 was the article and a photograph of myself and my dog, Gage. The article was well done and covered most of the aspects that we discussed in the interview.

Ath this point, I feel that all of the preliminaries are over, and that I am getting down to the business of securing a job.

The launch of the AARP "My Dream Job" community site, the "watercooler", March 19, 2008, was a happy occasion for me. It marked the culmination of hours of hard work, writing journals, providing all of the information for the personal profiles, and the most daunting for me, getting a handle on how to navigate the technical aspects of the site. 

Just the thought, that soon, thousands may be viewing my personal site, reading the journals, and evaluating the information was sobering. The responsibility I had, to relate my experiences in a very concise and clear fashion was very apparent to me. I understood how important this information can be ro a prospective job seeker who is "retired and  restless", or who is retired and has to work, for various reasons. 

A few days after the launch of the community site, I received a very valuable lesson. As I indicated in my last journal, March 26, 2008, I had been in touch with Bob, the Chief Career Counselor, of RetirementJobs.com, Bob had developed a media resume for me and suggested that I look into the career opportunities at a major radio corporation, here in Washington,  DC, to assess how my background would relate to the qualifications for a number of jobs posted on the company's website. I went  to the website, and after scrolling through several pages of available jobs, I came to the conclusion that my background was not consistent with the highly technical requirements of every position that was open, including entry level jobs.

It became very apparent that my desire to reenter the media industry was not feasible. Whether in television or radio, the business is deadline-oriented, very fast paced, and technology driven. I told Bob what had happened, and he is in the process of concentrating any new resumes on my stong abilities to write, communicate, edit and do research. We are reassessing our job search strategy.

A very valuable lesson learned: focus on possibilities consistent with your capabilities. The journey continues.