Achieving Goals Outside of Job Searching

Happy Tuesday, Readers! Hopefully everybody had a good weekend, and enjoyed watching some sportsball (or, in the event you didn't particularly care for the sportsball, you were entertained by the commercials and the half-time show).

I spent most of my weekend studying. Several blog posts ago, I said I was signing up for a couple grant writing courses online. One of them is instructor-led, and she releases two lessons every week, leaving time for people to do quizzes, assignments, and engage in the discussion board. The other is self-paced, and students can go as fast or slow as they need within reason. On Sunday, I took the final exam for the self-paced course, and I passed with a 97.2%. That course is now finished and I have a certificate of completion.

Acquiring a sense of accomplishment over something you have done, separate from your job search, can be very invigorating. I know I woke up yesterday looking forward to the research required to perform a good job search and creation of job application materials. I didn't even get downtrodden with the all-day snow that was happening outside my window, though it made checking the mail later a bit more exciting, especially with the sheet of ice that was under the snow.

Accomplishments can keep you going, and can help you keep a cheery disposition, even in the face of something most people do not like doing, like jury duty...which is something I may have to partake in this week. I find out on Thursday if I have to report for jury pool on Friday morning to the municipal court here in town, but I don't mind the thought of it as much as I did prior to my final exam. If it happens, it happens, and I go do my civic duty as part of the justice system.

I touched a bit in an earlier post about keywords that the end goal is acquiring a full-time job, and likened it to a game. The end goal, or win-state, of the game is always the most important part of the game, but when playing video games, sometimes it is the side quests that give you the bonuses you need in order to get to the end of the game and acquire the win-state. I view both the weekly posts of this blog, and the online courses, to be side quests that will help me acquire my win-state.

The game continues, and I'm unlocking achievements on the way.

-A.M.W.

Working on Self-Improvement

Well, it's New Year's Eve Day, so now is the most appropriate time to think about what has happened this year, as well as ways in which I want to change or improve myself.

This year was, overall, not a good one. Too much stress, not enough writing, and I'm still unemployed at the end of the year. So for 2020, I'm going to sign up for grant writing classes. This will help me add some extra credentials to my resume, and help me stretch out a bit as a writer. I want to put in the time to help myself become better as a writer overall, and acquire more tips and tricks to write more efficiently and succinctly for whichever business I am working for in the future.

I understand that I am very far from perfect, but I also understand that I can be better with some effort. Every year I try to make one positive change to my life; either improving something in my house that will improve my quality of life, or learning something that will help me be a better person overall. Hopefully these writing courses will help me in a positive direction, both as a writer and in acquiring a job.

Here's to the end of 2019, and the beginning of 2020. I wish everybody well, and that your fortune does nothing but improve.

-A.M.W.

Learning As A Hobby

I enjoy having hobbies. I love reading fiction and crocheting, just as much as I love reading non-fiction, learning how to code, and speak German. But when it comes to learning and also trying to find full-time work, how can I know that what I'm studying on my own time is worth it?

The answer for me is surprisingly simple: Just as much as job searching and applying to jobs is stressful for me, learning things I'm interested in helps me unwind from all that stress. This is because I use the act of learning the same way I use the act of crocheting as a hobby. It is a calm time, a time where I can shut off the stressed side of my brain and dive head-first into things that interest me and I want to know more about for a couple hours.

I started learning German via Duolingo starting in January, as part of my resolution for growth. Progress has been nominal, and I am nowhere near close to start having conversations yet, but I'm having fun learning words and small phrases. I know that a large part of my family tree has roots in Germany, so I thought it would be an interesting language to learn, and I was right. Learning German has given me a greater appreciation for compound words, and it has also proven to me that English is just seven different languages stacked on top of each other and wrapped in a trench coat.

More recently, I started up basic coding lessons via Codecademy. I have always been a nerd, and taught myself a lot of HTML when the internet became available in my town when I was 12 years old. I've learned more over the years, to the point that I was using HTML every day at work, and I would like to delve deeper in coding. What I've learned so far about the basics has been interesting, and I look forward to learning more.

So what is next for what I want to learn? Nothing so long-term as languages, but there are some very nice, short, learn-at-your-own-pace classes I can take about grant writing. Taking a few of those would look good on a resume and my LinkedIn profile, as well as be a nice challenge for me to stretch my writing skills again.

I hope that whatever your hobby is, it's something that keeps you happy and helps you unwind.

-A.M.W.

Rediscovery and Going Back to An Old Title

Confession: I had forgotten about this blog, which I had the last time I was unemployed. The only reason I found it was because I was updating the sections of my LinkedIn and didn't know what the "Blog" link was referring to, so I clicked on it.

It has been more than seven years since I updated this space, and it is like digging up a piece of my past that I once loved. I stopped updating this space for the very simple reason that I had found full-time employment. I had a wonderful time working for a mid-sized, enthusiast-centered publication company in my town. At first I was in their Customer Support department, and then I earned a promotion-transfer into their eCommerce Operations department. It was both stability and a growing experience, which I needed during that time in my life, and I am thankful to have had it.

Unfortunately, the company went the way of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and while several companies bought up brands held under the parent umbrella, and a couple small companies rose from the ashes, I was laid off at the end of July 2019. Many of the smaller companies either weren't going to have an online store, or they already had somebody to run it, so I as an eCommerce Operations Coordinator was deemed redundant. I received a truly lovely and thoughtful gift basket from my supervisor on the last day, as well as lunch from my favorite deli in town on her dime, which she didn't need to do but I really appreciated. Business is business, and I walked out with no hard feelings, and a smile on my face as I took my last box of cubicle decor out to my car.

After about a month of searching, I was able to acquire a part-time job doing magazine subscription management with one of the small companies created from smaller parts of the old company. It is nice to be part of an office for about 20 hours a week, but it isn't full-time work, so I am looking for the next way to exercise my knowledge and widen my skillset.

I have my eyes set on what I want to do next: Technical Writing and/or Technical Editing, with an interest in Proposal Writing and/or Grant Writing.

I am, once again, a Wordsmith for Hire.