Welcome to my first official blog for 2010! I know there are many blogs out there that you are able to follow and I appreciate the time you are spending to read my thoughts and share my experiences. This blog is really a way for me to express the trials and tribulations of not only a seemingly never ending job search, but for everyday trials and tribulations that I can only hope help me grow as a Christian, women, daughter, sister and friend.
Like many people over the past 18 months, I became a "statistic" of the horrendous financial market in March of 2009 when I was laid off from selling transit advertising in the Dallas area. Although I knew the market was bad, I had the anticipation that I wouldn't be one of the hundreds of thousands of people who couldn't find a job immediately. Boy oh boy how wrong I was. I spent days, nights, weeks, perfecting my resume and sending it out for many types of positions. Positions I was overqualified for, underqualified for, even things I didn't have much interest doing, but knew would pay my bills. I went to interviews which friends recommended me for, including one for the North Dallas Super Bowl Committee, (YAY! was the thought that occurred to me at the time), and it seemed that it was always between me and one other person...and that other person was always the one getting the job.
I spent days, nights, weeks praying to God to help me understand why this had happened. What am I supposed to do now? When I stopped to think where my life was going and where I wanted to go, I realized they were conflicting ideas. When I was laid-off although I was upset, I never had an impending sense of doom or hopelessness. I had actually a feeling of being a bit relieved! Not because I had the utmost confidence that I was going to find a job, but that I didn't have to fake it at a job I wasn't happy at and probably wasn't doing my best at anymore. I knew what I had to do at that moment...go back to school, start over, become...a student.
So here I am, a student once again, trying to obtain the bachelor's degree which eluded me 10 years ago and I must possess now, not only for my own sense of accomplishment, but to compete in this job market which finds many of us at a crossroads. My first semester back is completed, but now I am on the hopefully not so long, but difficult journey back to the gainfully employed.
I hope you decide to take this journey with me.
JYP
About Me
- JYP
- My name is Jessica and I am originally from Escondido, Ca, which is a suburb of San Diego. I am a hardcore San Diego Chargers fan as well as Padres, Angels and Lakers. I am trying to become more involved with the Dallas business community and am involving myself in more children's events as well. I hope to inspire myself and others through this blog and hope people with want to venture with me on my new journey.
Jessica, I like your blog. How about a job in story telling, writing? That's really what I want to do when I grow up, but I need to pay the bills right now. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Jessica, I too became one of those statistics back in April of 2009......30+ years in the Architectural field as a designer / project manager /construction administrator. Although I've been through the cyclic nature of this profession, I haven't seen it this bad in the 30 year. The eighties were bad, when the interest rate was around 21%....everybody got hit hard, even the large international firms of which I was part of. Our department went from 320+ down to 32 over a year period of layoffs. I never though I would see that again.....boy was I wrong. The only difference is now I don't care. I'll never go back into the studio. Many of my colleagues who survived the eighties by opening their own design firms are calling it quits this time.....some are reitiring, some are just finding something they are passionate about to supplement their income. Me, I'm getting back to what my passion is. Fine wood work and my painting (fine art). My wife and I are in the position where we can survive on her income (lawyer), the kids are grown and we've lived within our means for sometime. So I"ve beomce the house husband. Many are not so blessed, and in all honesty, I don't buy the message coming out of DC about it getting better. The facts don't support the message.........in all probability, I suspect it will get worse in 2010 before or if it starts to get better. The fact is Americans have lived outside their means for far too long.......we've gotten fat on the diet of instant gratification and indulgence....we've danced the dance, now it's time to pay the band.
ReplyDeleteI hope your major is something that will be in demand when you graduate..... something in the basics, because I think that's where we are headed in the USA.....depressions tend to act as social corrective events and God knows we've need adjustments for far too long........good luck on your blog and your schooling.
nice intro JYP! I'm hooked like a Marlin off the coast of Cabo!
ReplyDelete