Apparently, today is the first day of school in Little Rock. I was alerted to that fact by the scads of big yellow buses out trolling the roads for stray children. Also the fact that traffic was back up almost all the way up my street as people were held up while trying to make the turn out onto the main road. Needless to say, I was a wee bit late for work this morning. I did spend a lot of the drive thinking about exactly when it was that I stopped being that gawky little kid in my brand new back to school clothes to this quasi adult-type person that I am today. See, I can't even just call myself an adult--it sounds far too strange.
One of my goals for this week was to log onto some job search websites and do research on what types of jobs are available in the Tacoma, Washington area, what the general salary seems to be for jobs I'm interested in, and how I should tailor my resume to touch on the qualifications that are required. I ended up completely overwhelmed, eyes burning from looking at tiny print for hours on end, and far more confused and discouraged than I was at the beginning of the weekend. Pretty much any position that sparks interest when I read the title and description either pays a pittance or lists required qualifications that are far beyond my current experience. The positions that pay decently and are within my realm of experience look brain-bleedingly horrible--I could be the Human Relations Manager for WorkSource Washington!! Yippee!! Sigh.
I feel like I'm at a bit of a disadvantage right now, having never before had to go through a job application process. My first "real job" was in a pizza restaurant where my family had known the owner for years and all I had to do was fill out an application and write a cutesy note on a post-it saying, "Hey, remember when I was 9 years old you told me you'd pay me a quarter to wash the table tops! Hee! I'm coming to collect now!" Or something to that effect. Then in college I had scholarships coming out of my ears, so I didn't worry about a job until I was a junior and decided I wanted to buy a car. I kept telling people that I was "looking for a job", which consisted of watching tv and waiting around for something to fall into my lap. Which it did when a friend told me that her office was looking for an administrative assistant and all I needed to do was show up for an interview and come across as somewhat wellspoken and poised. Two things of which I consider myself pretty good at convincing people. Soon after came graduation and then my commission into the Air Force... and here I am today, hopefully (???) on the brink of starting over again. So, I have no idea how a resume should read, how I should go about submitting applications, how far in advance you should begin looking, or how my current experiences can be manipulated and massaged to look appealing to the company looking to hire.
I know the things that I would love to do... event planning, marketing/communications for a small to medium company, unfortunately all of my administrative experience doesn't lend itself well to any of these sectors. One thing that seems right up my alley, as far as interest goes, is being a wedding planner... I love the organizational aspect of it, working with vendors, designing "themes"... spending someone else's money! It seems like a lot of work, but it seems like work that I would wake up excited about, where I wouldn't be trapped in an office for 40 hours a week, where I would be out networking, working with people who are preparing for one of the biggest days of their lives, helping them to enjoy their day rather than feeling the stress of all of the planning. Unfortunately, it's such a network-centric job that I think it would be hard to do well while moving every few years as a part of a military family.
I don't know. I spend most of my life standing around in awe that I'm not 12 anymore, and trying to figure out who let me be a grown up. Who let me get to this point where I'm "independent" and making decisions that will affect the rest of my life. And the most frightening part of that... if I'm feeling that way, I can only imagine that the rest of the world is running around feeling pretty much the same way. I wonder if President Bush ever sits back, looks around the Oval Office and says, "Holy crap, how on earth did I ever get to this point??"
Actually, you know what? Don't answer that...
I think having a military background will help you out in the job search. It shows you are structured, organized, and disciplined, and dedicated. Most employers would look at that and say, "wow, she must be very mature!" So use it to your advantage. They don't have to know that the reason you separated was because you were dying to get out!
Posted by: shani | August 21, 2006 at 05:06 PM
WorkSource Washington sounds oddly familiar... ;)
Looking for a job totally sucks. I know what you mean about feeling like you're 12. But I would think your admin experience is VERY useful for a marketing/event planning kind of job. If there is anyone who needs to be organized, it's an event planner. If you've got the upbeat networking people-person vibe going on, show it off, THEN tell them you know how to get stuff done! The event planner/marketing person in my office recently got herself fired because she was so very bad on the admin side of things... Good luck!
Posted by: maggie | August 21, 2006 at 07:10 PM
I have to admit that most of the jobs for you might be in Seattle. I know I don't know many people, but you just never know who knows who, so please feel free to send me your resume. I also found my current job listed on Craig's List, for what it's worth. It's tough being a military wife -- most of the ones I knew were teachers or in my mom's case, real estate, where it could easily transfer to other cities. The hard part is that companies are somewhat anal about making sure you have such specific experience that it's hard to switch industries. Even for me in marketing, most wanted technology marketing experience and mine was limited to retail marketing. Or, another thought might be to go back to school?
Posted by: Becky | August 21, 2006 at 09:17 PM
I feel your pain completely. I at least have the advantage of being able to choose to stay in one spot, at least for the time being.
If you want some advice (because I know you do), start putting together a portfolio of events you've helped plan (centerpieces, decorations, etc). And then when you get to Washington, look for jobs in event-related markets, like with a florist or photographer. If anything, you'll gain some experience while making SOME money, and can eventually roll it up into one. And of course, keep in touch so that we can start a wedding planning business together! Think about it . . . military people get married to each other all the time, and if you have some working knowledge of military traditions and themes, you'll be an instant hit!
You'll be awesome.
Posted by: Airhead | August 21, 2006 at 11:45 PM
I think you should move to Houston. Just sayin'. I never had to do that kind of job search either. I went straight to nursing school and graduated at 21. Resumes for nurses aren't so much about presentation. The number of years of experience is tough to fake. Good luck!
Posted by: sophie | August 22, 2006 at 04:09 AM
Yep, job hunting sucks. But sometimes alumni networking is also good to do- even if there's no one exactly where you're going, there might be someone who has a friend they can recommend you to?
And there's always volunteer work to get some experience. Maybe there are upcoming change of commands, retirements, re-enlistments, volunteer luncheons, or commissionings that you can help plan? Use that HR foothold of yours as a lead on stuff like that!
Maybe someone's spouse or relative is an event planner and will let you assist if you ask? Maybe someone at the Officer's Club can help you out? Not that you aren't busy enough with the puppies and your "day job," just some thoughts.
Posted by: M | August 22, 2006 at 10:43 AM
You might try Olympia too - not too far from Tacoma and you could get a decent salary with the State - the capital is there. Not sure what else is there and don't think there's too many wedding planner type jobs but maybe something to get the ball rolling....
Very cool that you might be heading this way!!
hugs,
a
Posted by: anne | August 25, 2006 at 02:30 AM