Thursday, July 14, 2016

Reflections on Finding a Job and the Workout

I have said, time and time again that I have been truly blessed with a life of jobs that I have absolutely loved. Not all of the work I have done has been glamorous or exciting (i.e. construction, sorting UPS packages...) but I have really enjoyed them either for the actual work (i.e. raft guiding, working various jobs for NOLS....) or for the camaraderie.

I have been looking for work in our new home of Chattanooga since we found out we were coming in March. Once again I have found opportunities for employment that it seems like I will really enjoy. Again, I recognize that I am very fortunate that way, a lot of people do not like their jobs at all. This was my first real job search in over 15 years and there are a lot of great things out there. There are a few things out there that are not so great as well. Here is what I found....

The Good:

  • 1) The Search Engines out there for jobs are awesome! Indeed, Linkedin, heck even Craigslist all make it easy to find a job that you are looking for. I checked a slew of sites everyday looking for jobs. Patience and persistence is the key.
  • 2) Filters are clutch. Though I liked looking at all the jobs that were available to me (i.e. "Managing a doughnut shop?! Awesome!") filtering out the ones that were not appropriate or had been posted for a while was very helpful. Otherwise the volume is overwhelming.
  • 3) There seem to be jobs out there! I ended up sorting packages at UPS until a job that I really wanted came around. Taking a job while you look for your next career is okay. I actually really liked the people I got to work with at UPS even though it was a pretty brief stint.
  • 4) Technology has made it so easy to take care of all of the paperwork, background checks, etc. once you are in the door at the new job. That saved me a ton of running around.


The Bad:

  • 1) Job hunting has become very impersonal. Though I applied for dozens of jobs I was contacted by very few of the places that I applied to. Only two employers contacted me to say "Thank you for applying, we have chosen another applicant." I recognize that some places get inundated with applicants, but still.... a one sentence e-mail politely saying, "Thanks but no thanks" is all that I would really expect. I have no idea if anyone even looked at three quarters of the applications I turned in?! At times this was discouraging especially when I applied for a job where I thought I would be a strong candidate. Don't let this derail you!!
  • 2) Reference Checks. I got a text from my last supervisor yesterday out of the blue. After catching up for a bit I asked a simple question since she was one of the references that I had listed on every application: "Has anyone contacted you regarding my references for any of the jobs I have applied for?" "Nope." Now, I recognize that there are times when people interview and meet a person and there is just that feeling that they would be a good employee and they do not feel they need to check references. I get that. If that is the case, do not make me fill out a reference check sheet?! And if it is not the case, check my references damn it! You may find out that I would be a great employee!!


That's all I've got for now I will keep you posted on how the new opportunities pan out.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute each to complete a round. Three rounds. No rest between rounds.
Heavy Rope Whip
PVC Passthrough
Weight Training:
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions
Diamond Triceps Push-Up, 3 sets of 15 repetitions
Seated Dumbbell Side Raise, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
One Hand Kettlebell Clean & Jerk, 5 sets of 4-6 repetitions
Triceps Cable Pushdown, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Core Work: Perform 35 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!!

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