reinventjen

Everyone needs some inspiration and motivation, especially after making big decisions – like quitting your job to find a career that makes you happy… You need some confirmation that you made the right choice.

Back in June, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, spoke at the graduation ceremony at Stanford University. I know it was a while back and bloggers have already posted many comments about the speech, but it’s good enough to talk about again, Follow the link above to see the entire speech. I have excerpted pieces that were most inspirational to me:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

“Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

And my favorite: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.”

For this time in my life – a time of re-invention, of pursuing my dreams, of actually taking action to make those dreams reality – these words have been confirmation and an inspiration to me. I guess I’m trusting that Decision 2 was the right decision to make.

So in the words of Steve Jobs, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

Blogging is a somewhat new thing for me. I have only recently begun following web logs, or blogs, and only days ago set up a Bloglines feed. This service tracks all my favorite blogs and lets me know when there’s new content.

Through exploration and probably a little bit of luck, I have found some great blogs on the Job Search. You see, I’ve been struggling a bit figuring out where, exactly, to start. It can be overwhelming – all the websites you can search…but are they really all that effective? And engaging your network can be time-consuming and a little nerve-wracking. I’m supposed to tell the world that I don’t have a job – I’m unemployed. YES, I’M UNEMPLOYED! And I want your help to change that!

Gulp. Swallowing the pride right now.

So, I’m scouring the Internet and the World of Blogs for advice and assistance for my job search “plan”. I found a great article about how to have a well-rounded job search. In summary, the Internet is a great tool, but it’s not the end-all, be-all. In fact, something like 60% of all job hires were facilitated through personal contact, or networking.

One skill of mine is planning. That’s why I enjoy project management so much, I guess. I decided I should use that skill and create a job search project plan, complete with goals, search channels (word-of-mouth, Internet, etc), and timelines. I think perhaps setting goals and then planning out how to reach those goals is a good start to making this overwhelmingly big task ahead of me not seem quite so big. One task at a time, one application at a time, one interview at a time. Small victories!

I recently made two very big decisions. 1) I agreed to marry my best friend and the love of my life – not a bad deal, and a pretty easy decision to make! 2) I decided to quit my good-paying, stable job in finance to search for a new job in a more creative industry. I guess you can say I’m a romantic, an idealist – I want to find a job where I can be happy and fulfilled, not just secure. Decision 2, as I’m sure you can imagine, was a bit more difficult to make. Luckily, because of Decision 1, I have a supportive fiancé who can bring home the bacon until I’m making money again.

So, here I am. This blog will be dedicated to chronicling my job search, the self-discovering that will inevitably happen (I hope, anyway), and tips I can share with those who are searching for that “perfect” opportunity, too. It is my hope that this becomes a forum for readers to share their thoughts, discoveries, and lessons learned.

I’m confident there are others out there, just like me, looking for a fresh start, pursuing their dreams, or who are perhaps recent graduates, searching for their first job after college. No matter who you are or what your specific circumstances might be, I wish you the best of luck.

Now it’s time to reinvent Jen!