When it came time to look for work, I mean really look for work, I treated it as a job. I scoured the online job boards and had the most up to date employment links bookmarked and used them daily.
I applied for approx 29 jobs in three weeks. None were for the same type of work I was doing before.
The way I see it, I've spent the better part of 20yrs in some form of IT/business/training career, much of that in defense and aerospace. I'm on the downward slope of the 'career' and right now I'm happy to take a 'job' for the next few years, until the boys are 'doing their own thing', and then we'll see what happens and where I end up.
So, I was answering ads for everything that I could apply any of my 'transferable skills' to. From Admin/Exec Assistant, to QA Analyst, Director of operations, to Tester, Marketing, Communications, Flight attendant, 9-1-1 Operator, to Costco worker.
Anything that would pay the bills, work with my 45yr old, single parent lifestyle and hopefully something that I'd actually enjoy doing.
But I wasn't being picky.
The first week of my search, I met with a gentleman at the local coffee shop to discuss an exec admin position. He is an entrepreneur who is starting a new business that will be 'local' to nova scotia, and needed a right hand person. Someone to handle the details of the day to day. Not really an interview, more of a chat.
It sounded interesting to me. We talked for over two hours. It went well.
But it wasn't happening fast enough. And I needed to get back to work, now.
The next week, I decided to send my resume in to a temp service. I was always seeing their name on the job boards, and knew they had been around for years and were established, so although I'd never worked for a temp agency before, I figured what the hell, I'd give it a try.
I'm OK with change.
I sent the resume, and they called me, and asked me to come down and fill out a few forms and take a few tests.
So I did.
And it went well.
I did well on the tests, they spoke with me and signed me that day, and told me they hoped to have a placement for me soon.
I was looking forward to being 'the temp'. And you never know what kind of long term placement will come out of any of these jobs, so I saw it as the vast land of opportunity.
But was it going to happen fast enough?
Rent, bills, groceries ... it all needed to be paid/bought.
I decided I would keep looking until I saw how things progressed with the placement agency.
The next day, I saw the ad for a job 10 minutes from home, away from the city and downtown traffic, working the evening shift as night auditor (running a lot of reports and taking care of guests) at one of the hotels near the airport.
Although I had worked in a hotel dining room before, many years ago, I had never been a 'night auditor', but after reading the requriements, I sent in a resume.
I thought I could do the job.
So did they. They called the same day and asked me to come in for an interview in a couple of days.
I did. My first real interview in about 15yrs.
It went well.
They called later that afternoon and offered me the job.
I was ecstatic.
I thought for sure this was going to be the perfect fit for the boys and I.
I would get off in the morning and be home to wake the boy and drive him to school, sleep while he was at school, be home to make dinner, and run errands in the evening before work.
It would be perfect.
Yeah.
Perfect.
IF you can sleep during the day, and don't sleep through dinner, and don't mind that you rarely seek your kids and a work environment that was, not something I had encountered in my close to 30yrs of being in the workforce.
And I'll leave it at that.
I gave it a try.
I showed up every night when I was supposed to, learned, worked hard, and gave it my best.
I really wanted it to work because I really wanted to be back to work.
I even messaged the temp agency as soon as I was hired, and told them they could take me off their file, because I'd found full time employment.
Big mistake.
I knew that after the second night.
But I showed up for work anyway, with a smile on my face, determined to make it work.
Because every night I went in, was money added to a much needed paycheck.
However, I messaged the temp agency again, two days after I started the new job, and asked them to put me back ON their file, because I still wanted them to find me a daytime placement.
I still wanted to see what they might come up with.
When I was offered the full time night position by the hotel, I panicked and jumped at it, but in the end, it wasn't for me.
It wasn't for me physically, or mentally.
I don't like not seeing my kids on a regular basis. We've never been that family and I'm not going to start now.
Physically, working nights was killing me. I wasn't sleeping much, or sleeping too much and missing the day entirely. I was cranky. Unhappy. And constantly tired.
So yesterday, I quit my job.
In the last 20yrs, I have never just, quit a job.
I finished my shift at 7am, came home, sat and pondered life for a bit, took the boy to school, came home and did a bit more soul searching, and then called work, and asked to speak with the manager who hired me.
45 min later, I met with her and explained that I was regretfully handing in my nametag and resignation. And gave to her my honest answers and explained my feelings as to why I was leaving.
It went well.
I left on a good note. But I left nonetheless.
OK. So I was jobless again.
Until today (the next day), when I had a nice conversation with the temp agency, and found out they had a placement for me if I wanted it, working for a division of one of the universities, right downtown, Mon - Fri (8:30 - 4:30).
Yay! Mon - Fri (8:30 - 4:30).
Shit. Right downtown.
Regardless how much I was hoping to avoid 'right downtown' ... Yup, I jumped at it.
I start on Tuesday (because Monday is a holiday).
Was I foolish to quit a perfectly good job, without having something to go to?
Maybe.
But why waste everyone's time, and why have them invest any more money in me, when I knew in my heart it wasn't going to work.
For many reasons. Not that I just gave up.
And, ya know, it's just another new adventure for me. That's the way things go.
I needed a job. I got a job. I ended up hating that job. I quit that job. Then I got another new job the next day.
Everything happens for a reason.
Now we'll have to see what happens next.
You know that old saying from The Sound of Music (at least that's where I remember it from), 'When the lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window' well I'm about to shove this window open WIDE, and breathe in the fresh air of new adventure.
But for now, I'm going to go catch up on some much needed sleep!
K.
