Tammi's World

It's All About the Plan

For years and years, I prided myself on my "coping" skills. I could figure my way out of just about any situation. Plan? Who needs a plan when they have coping skills?

Well, after the layoff at Tropicana and the difficult time I had trying to get a job (18 months) I realized that plans, and alternate plans especially, are important.

Fast forward to present day and find a woman who is a planning freak. Ok, maybe I do tend to over adjust sometimes but at least I feel prepared to handle anything that comes along.

What brought up this thought? Well, it happened this last week during my drive to and from work. The light came on, as it were.

Now please understand. I love my job. But as we all know, in the world of employment nothing is forever. I had a plan (so I thought) in case something went wrong. My plan? Contact my Head Hunter, and probably go back to Florida. Not really all that good of plan - but then again, I hadn't really had time to think about it.

Well, during the drive I've noticed a few things. Thinks like Fisher Nuts is only an hour from THE Valley. Claires (the little assessory stores in the malls) has their headquarters about the same distance. I know of a few other consumer products folks that are near by - and by near I mean much closer than I am now - that I had tried to contact during my previous search.

In other words, there are opportunities here I never dreamt of. Which means I have options. I'm not stuck. That is just about the best feeling in the world.

And in a strange sort of way, it helps me with some of the frustrations I have currently. I do it because I want to, not because I have to.

But that's not stopping me from getting everything lined up. I updated my resume yesterday. Put in my current responsibilities and listed some of my successes. Updating a resume is a pain in the ass, and if you wait until you HAVE to it can really be a bit overwhelming. By always keeping it fresh you're ready for anything.

So anyway, I've updated the resume. Put together another spreadsheet with all the info on the companies I've targeted. I've been to their websites and researched what kind of jobs they have in these locations. I've inserted the contact information and created introduction letters.

In other words, I've made a plan. I've given myself the impression that I am in control. I've given myself peace of mind.

I have an exit plan. I feel so much better.

Posted by Tammi at December 3, 2006 06:14 AM | TrackBack