Productivity is a State of Mind

Since this blog is intended to keep you up to speed on my job search, I do surmise I should devote a little time to that subject, rather than, say, poking fun at my husband and his "stuff". (I'll do that more next week...)

Let's recap the last two weeks shall we??

*8 oz cups of coffee drank: About 74 (that is not a typo...)
*Number of visits to my outplacement service: Exactly 2
*Number of jobs applied for on-line: About 6
*Number of profiles set up with my target companies: About 14
*How many jobs I got: About Zero

Looking back, Week 1 was not very productive. Except for that Saran Wrap issue I got taken care of. But my lack of productivity was okay. It was a great week to sleep, spend every morning with my girls, take a deep breath, and figure out what the hell is going on.

Here we are at the end of Week 2! And thank goodness because after this "informational update" I can go back to being cynical and sarcastic again...

This week I did a lot of research and developed a list of "target companies" that I might want to work at. I really have no right to be choosy at this point, but I did choose them selectively, based on the industry and their proximity to home. For you see, there are great lengths I will go to to be employed, driving to say, Connecticut every day isn't one of them.

My outplacement service is a big fan of networking. The progress you can make in job search via networking is pretty compelling. They say about 70% of jobs are gotten through networking. So, my activites this week have focused on laying the foundation of getting my network in place. And who do you ask is my network? My network is anyone I know, (except maybe that creepy guy who works the meat counter at Cub....)

When I pondered the people I know, be they family, relatives, friends, neighbors, and former colleagues, I was sure it would be a short list. (Ok, except for maybe my relatives, because let's face it, these are people who had a LOT of babies...as though they'd feel responsible for the extinction of the human race...)

When I sat down and started listing everyone I knew who might know someone who works at one of the companies I'm targeting (sounds like I'm a stalker...) the list grew long. Then I considered that I could ask former colleages to engage their spouses or family members on my hunt (ok, maybe now I am stalking...) and the list grew larger still. By the time I was done, I identified over 250 people whom I should stalk.

Perhaps I'll bring them cupcakes. Will that help?

So there you have it. My network. The people who might know someone, and BAM, I'm suddenly "on the inside". From there I stalk, er, meet people in that company until I get to a recruiter or hiring manager. And the company need not have an opening. Just getting my name and skills in front of anyone inside that company doubles my chances because they'll think of me when an opening occurs. So if you're reading this, I will stalk you too...

Oh, and this week I moved my entire set up to the kitchen counter. Perhaps that is another reason I was more productive. And this after I was insistant that I spend $100 on a new desk for the upstairs bedroom on craigslist ( I TOLD you craigslist is more fun...)
I'm quite sure that my productivity increase can be directly related to my proximity to the chocolate chips.

The downside of being productive? I discovered the answer 60+ minutes into my workout this morning. I sniffed, wondering, what IS that strange odor....this stench entering my nostrils...?

"What the.... What is that funk???"

Looking around for its source, I found no one else to blame but moi.
Then it hit me. I hadn't showered in two days.

Who had time???

What's a funky girl to do? For the first time in my life, I followed the directions on the shampoo bottle. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

;-)