The Casual Dress Conundrum

    I remember vividly the day at my old job when we were told that we could wear casual dress all the time.  Everyone was happy - much rejoicing happened after the meeting.  Casual dress ALL THE TIME - what could be better?!  

    Now, in the midst of my job search, I am learning the dark side of constant casual dress.  When looking through my wardrobe, not just for the purpose of interviewing, but for the future purposes of possibly having a new job, I quickly realized that I have very little appropriate clothing!!  

    The Society for Human Resource Management reported in 1999 that 95% of U.S. companies had some sort of "casual day" policy, in comparison to only 24% in 1992.  Levi Strauss also claimed in 1999 that 75% of U.S. workers dressed casually every day in 1999.  This trend changed a bit in the 2000's, with 19% of fortune 500 companies reinstating business dress policies, but the percentages still remain high of those that allow casual dress.

   What does this mean for me?  Well, my foreseeable future budget is a bit different.  I am now not only working in bill payments, but I am working in clothing costs too.  And it is also something that I wouldn't necessarily want to go out and replace completely in one fell swoop.  Due to the trends that clothing stores follow seasonally, I would prefer to replace the missing wardrobe over time, so that I have a mix of clothing styles and colors.  

    Don't get me wrong - I'm definitely not complaining!  I mean, a reason to go spend money?!  Heck yeah!!  It just makes me wonder - how often do people go through this due to job changes?  Not only ones like I'm going through, but also people who go from working from home to working in an office, or people who haven't been working in a while, and then start working again?  

    So, long story short, a new wardrobe is in the making.  We shall see how it grows!!

Takin' the Long Way

It's been a few days, and my brain is just not producing anything awe-inspiring, so I am resorting to the words of others which seem to define myself.

My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents live

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling
Lived like a gypsy
Six strong hands on the steering wheel

I've been a long time gone now
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
But I've always found my way somehow

By taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

I met the queen of whatever
Drank with the Irish and smoked with the hippies
Moved with the shakers
Wouldn't kiss all the asses that they told me to

No I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

It's been two long years now
Since the top of the world came crashing down
And I'm getting' it back on the road now

But I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
The long
The long way around

Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
If you ever want to find me I can still be found

Taking the long way
Taking the long way around


~The Dixie Chicks

This Will Make You Feel Better

I have had in the back of my mind the quote written below.  It is from the walls of Jen's Place Bakery in Dallas, TX.  I had taken a picture of it at one point, but it was lost.  Their amazing owner took the time to respond to an email from me (with very sketchy details, I might add!), and sent me a picture!!
If you haven't been to Jen's, I highly recommend it (especially the cookies!).  Special thanks to Gary Maroulis, Owner and Operator, who took the time out to send me a pic of this quote!!

If you sometimes get discouraged, consider this fellow:
He dropped out of grade school.
Ran a country store.
Went broke.
Took 15 years to pay off his bills.
Took a wife.
Unhappy marriage.
Ran for House.
Lost twice.
Ran for Senate.
Lost twice.
Delivered speech that became a classic.
Audience indifferent.
Attacked daily by the press and despised by half the country.
Despite all this, image how many people
all over the world
have been inspired
by this awkward,
rumpled,
brooding man
who signed his name, simply,
A. Lincoln


(Quote found also on http://www.grandlifestyle.com/ft/lincoln.htm)

The Online Job Search Obstacles....

    If you go back even 5 years ago, it seemed as though the most efficient way to search and apply for jobs was online.  Sites such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com were exploding, sucking the masses into their job-providing frenzy at a time when some of the largest percentages of Americans were unemployed.  Now, however, this tide seems to be turning.  

    A few statistics (taken from the article 50+ Job Search Statistics You Need To Know on careerchangechallenge.com):

    - Online Marketing (online resume posting) yields an 8% chance of success in uncovering the next job opportunity.  This rate MATCHES those of 2003 when this strategy was still in its infancy.

    - Referrals from within the organization (18%) and outside the organization (9%) are the most successful ways to land an opportunity.

    Statistics like this stagger but don't surprise me when I look back over my job search of the last handful of months.  It has become the running joke-that-isn't-really-a-joke in the realm of those looking for a job: "Go ahead and send in a resume through an online site.  Good luck, though, because at that point it just disappears into the ethos, with a slim chance of ever being seen again."  Online sites have become the Phantom Zone of the job-hunting world.  This shouldn't surprise me when looking back, especially when I begin considering the massive number of times I have sent my resume out.  What is even more sad is the low number of times I was excited to even get a "We're sorry, but..." reply through email (a grand total of 3, out of the approximate 40 applications that have been submitted).  Excited.  To be told I didn't get the job.

    Something scarier happened to me via one of these sites this week.  It was a spontaneous email from an "employer".  This is not a reply to a job I found and applied to, rather one of those emails that the "employer" sends out to "candidates they feel fit their needs."  I've received these before - always for a "high paying position in sales" - but never one that met the level of disturbing sketchiness that this one does.  It had the subject line "your resume", and the email was titled "Best Career Ever" from andrewj70@hotmail.com.  The full email read as follows:

    Hello Melissa Gard

    Your contact was brought to us from CareerBuilder

    We're making a network of courier agents so we're looking to hire people.

    Learn of our nice idea

    Drop us an email gggcoby29@gmail.com and we will write a response to you in 24 hours
    PLEASE DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY, USE ABOVEMENTIONED EMAIL

    Thanks
    Alan

    First of all, this is from CareerBuilder, for goodness' sake.  Really, CareerBuilder?  Could we not screen employers a bit more?  Secondly, all of my information clearly states that I'm looking for something within the editing field.  Could you please maybe think about that before sending me an email with a distinct LACK of correct grammar and punctuation?  Third, all I can think when I hear "courier agent" is ILLEGAL ILLEGAL ILLEGAL!!!  Like, screaming red flag illegal!

    Luckily, I'm not far enough gone yet that I ever even thought about replying to the email. Because, well, seriously! I feel gross just reading it!  I can see, however, how people would check it out.  I read an article today that was titled "6 Scientific Discoveries that Laugh in the Face of Science".  I am truly tempted to send them the statistics of my job search, because I keep telling myself that the Law of Averages has to kick in at SOME POINT, but it just keeps on not happening.  What this tells me is that it is past time to change my game.  It is time to decide what outcome I want, and shape everything that happens towards meeting that end.

What If...

    You know when there are moments when something happens that seemingly speaks directly to your life, even though you know logically that it wasn't meant that way?  Like the money that comes out of nowhere right when you need it, or the delay in your morning routine that helps you avoid a massive accident, or the quote randomly written on a wall that fits perfectly in with your current life situation?
    Last night there was a new episode of NCIS - a show I watch religiously. This episode, however, was different than they have been in the past. Woven through the episode was a theme of "what if".  They showed Gibbs what life would be like for not only himself but all of those around him, if the good and bad things in his life had happened differently.  The moment that really hit me was when one character stated that we are not only responsible for the actions we take, but also for the results of those actions and the people that are touched as a result.
    I think that anyone could look through their lives over the past year, myself included, and see one bad moment after another.  When you are in the moment nothing feels like it will get better.  Nothing could improve, and nothing is happening for any good reason. But, like in the episode yesterday, our actions cause reactions.  Time doesn't stand still.  The world really does keep spinning, one revolution after another, and tomorrow really does come.  We have to keep reminding ourselves that although it may seem bad now, and it may seem bad tomorrow, eventually it will get better.  We also have to keep reminding ourselves that what we do and how we act during the bad times will have a lasting impact on not only our lives but the lives of those around us.

Starting At Square One

    It is safe to say that my history of starting over goes back about ten years. I had been a music therapy student for four years, and decided it wasn't for me, switching my major to English, and moving to Texas.  Then, after completing my degree, I got a job at the T-System, Inc., a company that I enjoyed working for in a job that I could see had growth potential.  I worked my way up to a project management type position, then things became stagnant.  During the 6 years I was doing all of this at the T-system, the company went through many changes, eventually culminating in a "not-a-takeover" by an investment company and a complete change-over of management.
    After six years, multiple raises and position changes, many supervising managers, and many "learning opportunities", I found myself in the position of no longer agreeing with the direction or philosophies of the company, unable to enjoy my job, and becoming physically ill at the thought of going in to work each morning.  And so I took my second great leap of faith, quitting my job in what many are deeming the worst economy and job market ever.
    When I first quit, I took the option of cashing out my 401k, giving myself 3 months in which to find a job.  I was confident that this would not necessarily be easy, but at least feasible.  At the beginning of January things hit a critical point.  I have now moved in with my parents in Kansas, and am really starting over from square one.  I'm not sure how it will go, and I'm taking so many thing on faith that I get panicky just thinking about it, but I am doing what I have to in order to continue placing one foot in front of the other.
    I also decided, at the suggestion and encouragement of many wonderful friends, that it would not only be informative for them but cathartic for myself to keep a blog about all of this.  I will be attempting to update at least once a day, but we will see how that goes.  I may be sharing how the job hunting is going, I may be sharing an inspirational poem or quote, or I may just be saying that there is nothing to say, but I will be trying my hardest.
    That is, after all, the most that anyone can expect when your world feels like it has been washed clean and then tossed into a salad spinner, waiting for the motions to start drying it all off again.