Right on Time (Part 2)

It's now official-I am one of the 11.4% available and seeking work in California. I have two phone interviews scheduled for this week for possible contract positions, and I've submitted resumes expressing my qualifications for other full-time positions. Now comes the waiting part.

A good friend put it best for me "You'll go back to work when someone wants you to go to work for them, not when you want to go back to work." I am struck by how simple and straightforward that sounds, but it is also very profound.  I can do the footwork of looking for a job -- take the outplacement workshops, write and revise my resume, send my resume to every job lead that comes my way--and it still is out of my hands whether I get a job today (or not).  A prospective employer will review my resume for my qualifications and salary requirements. then determine whether the job requirements (and the budget) are a good fit. I need to be reminded that there is a Golden Rule: "Those that have the gold make the rules."

So, at this fork in the road, which employer do I really want to work for (and by what rules)? As I have had time to ponder the past layoffs  I've endured, I need to acknowledge that somehow all of my needs were being provided. I'm still hounded by Doom and Gloom (those self-centered fears of losing what I have or not getting what I want), but I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food on the table.

So perhaps I need to be reminded that this time, like the other times, that all of my needs will be provided, as long as I acknowledge who my real Employer is, and I just need to perform the footwork laid before me.