Not surprisingly, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the job search process.  I’ve learned that apparently those who simply send out resumes and look for openings on-line and in the paper find a job only 10% of the time.  It’s all about contacts, contacts, contacts.  I think they should reinforce this idea more throughout high school and college.  I’ve understood the concept of “location, location, location” since I was little, but it seems to me that finding a job comes before buying a home so the former advice is absolutely essential.  When my career coach recommended I call a PR professional and ask her for coffee so I could 1)make a contact and 2)learn more about the profession, I felt familiar butterflies in my stomach.  So, just call this stranger and say “hi, I’m Julie and I’m trying to learn more about public relations…will you meet me for coffee?”.  Despite the fact that facebook labeled me as an “extrovert” when I took its Myers-Briggs test (and I’m sure facebook is a reliable source!  hahahaha), I know that I am not the most outgoing person.  Neither do I consider myself painfully shy.  I think I would label myself as “friendly”.  Would I be the first to jump up  and sing at a karaoke bar?  Certainly not!!!  But I would challenge myself to do it, and I would get up there and give it a go.  In fact, I challenge myself all the time.  I go to weddings and parties by myself, I join classes to learn new skills, I try and say “yes” to any social opportunity that comes my way.  So why then does it sound so daunting to approach a stranger in a professional field about which I’d like to learn more?

I’m sure there are many possible answers, of course the most obvious being my lack of experience and working hiatus.  My career coach pointed out that many people go back to work after an even longer hiatus; for example, a mother who returns to work after raising her children.  I think the most important thing is to become conscious of what you have learned in that time away from the professional scene.  Cancer required me to become more outgoing.  Each day, I met new doctors/nurses/patients, and I constantly practiced my small talk skills.  I was also forced to learn how to self-advocate.  Meeting new people became a joyous occasion and a good way to refocus my thoughts…”if I ask them about their weekend and  their children, I can avoid the cancer talk for a little bit”.

So many people say cancer is “just a bump in the road”, something to get over before reassessing the road ahead (did I go too far with that analogy? ).  I think that “bump” is something much more significant.  Sure, it’s an obstacle at first, but it becomes a launching point, like a trampoline or something.  :)  You confront it, you learn from it, and you use what you learn to forge ahead.  Maybe facebook is right…maybe I’m more of an extrovert than I used to be, and I guess I have leukemia and the experiences it brought to me to thank.

Tomorrow I’ll call Rachel, from Washington Women in PR.  I’ll have notes to help me and my dogs for support, and I’ll just do it.  I think I need to make Nike’s slogan my mantra.  What do I have to fear?  I kicked cancer’s a** twice.  “Just do it” is so simple, so direct, so…appropriate.

I’ll let you know how the talk goes, and also, stay tuned for a blog about canine happy hour and the canine cruise!!  They were a blast!!

Lots of love,
Julie

FYI, a warning:  If you’re reading this, consider yourself a contact!