In Search of a New Job

In Search...
..May 4, 2007, I was downsized along with everyone else at the Saks Corporate offices here in Birmingham, Alabama. I was among the fortunate with a very nice exit package. It wouldn’t make me rich, but having worked since age 17, I could take some time off for the first time in a long time. I pursued freelance writing and painting, but by late 2007 those freelance options were not bringing in the bacon, or at least not enough of it, so I leaped back into a job at a friend’s title company in early 2008. It was fun while it lasted, but timing is everything, the timing was not good. By October of 08, with real estate in a slump and the title business struggling six of us were laid off.
...This time I didn’t wait. I immediately began my job search. Timing again was not on my side. Thanksgiving and Christmas was on most peoples minds. Why do companies lay off just before the holidays? More and more people joined me in the ranks of the unemployed before years end. ...One HR manager told me during an interview, that my resume was one of 500 she received within days of posting her opening, and more than half had no qualifications for the job. I felt blessed to get the interview, disappointed that I did not get the job.
...I find that I miss being in an office – the deadlines, ringing phones, and the sense of urgency that surrounded me like a cocoon giving structure to my days. Although I enjoy sitting at my own desk by the window at home typing away on my laptop or painting a new canvas at the easel in my studio, I continue to send out resumes, apply for any job that looks remotely like a good fit.
...It is said that who you know is more important than what you know in a job search, so I’m networking whenever and wherever I can, and handing out my new ‘JobSearch’ card. There are so many free venues in Birmingham, and I have three on my calendar this week.
...I refuse to throw in the towel. Y’all wish me luck, and keep me in mind if you hear of any openings.

...Printed a business card specifically for job search. VistaPrint disappointed me this time. The print is a little light and feathery in person. It looked far better on screen.  Hopefully, whoever gets it will have good vision, readers, or won't mind squinting just a bit.