I started drafting this post in June as it was half way through the year and thought it was a good time to do a goal update now it is September and I haven't posted this yet so what was I doing? Working on my goals of course. Should I put the blog on my goal list next year, so I work on it?
I have made significant progress on all of the goals from my January 9, 2018 post. You can read it here http://www.livingvancouverloca.com/2018/01/2017-year-in-review-and-2018-goals.html I had three major goals for this year.
January 9, 2018 - Goals for 2018 Summary
1. Get a job, I pretty much took a year long holiday from working and now it is time to get back into the working world.
2. Get healthier physically which means losing weight considering I put on 15 pounds last year alone losing that 15 pounds would be a great start.
3. Earn $1375 from the internet this is ideal as it goes along with the 52 week savings challenge that I am doing. For more info see the previous posts.
Hope you enjoyed this blog and will have a wonderful 2018. Follow @livingvancouverloca on Instagram, twitter, and Facebook.
Goal 1 - Get a job after taking a year long holiday from traditional working
This was the hardest goal to make progress on but I did it I just started a job last week and so far I feel it is the perfect job to get back into the working world after a break. I have learned a few things on this journey it is extremely difficult to get a job when you are not working but its not impossible. I was prepared with enough money to be able to take the time off but the job search took longer than I thought it would. I did end up having to use more of my retirement savings than I had expected to. Luckily I had other savings to rely on but I was starting to get worried that if I spend all my savings now to live what will happen in retirement. I am also starting in a new career and industry I am not experienced in so my salary also reflects that I am no longer in management now but that is what I wanted I just have to budget. My advice take the time off it was the best thing I ever did but I did learn a few lessons be prepared to struggle if you do. Lesson number one if you are planning for a year off plan for two years or more in your budget you can always enjoy your extra savings later but you could end up homeless if you struggle for longer than you expect. Have a backup plan for longer than you predict just incase.
Job searching in 2018 is a pain even if you are uploading your resume to a site you usually have to spend time filling in the fields in the correct format and most of the time your application from the traditional methods won't get looked at. You have to do it on that 1% chance that someone will look at your resume and screen you in to the next step. A few people had told me in the past that if I needed a job I should contact them I contacted everyone and never got a job from them. At the beginning of my job search I avoided recruiters I never had success with them in the past and had always been successful on my own. In the end I was using recruiters and did get offered a couple of temporary positions I didn't accept them. One of the things that was easier with a recruiter was the job application process it was pretty much sending a resume. I also went to a lot of networking events and did meet a lot of people. None of these methods actually got me a job. I was told many times by recruiters that I need to have a linkedin to get a job I still do not have one. It's still on my to do list. I was also given a speel by recruiters a lot about how I could stay in a management position with my qualifications etc but when it came to actually getting offers for those job I got zero.
People around me also love to give me abstract advice on how I should be working like your not sending out enough resumes, you should go work at Starbucks etc. I had to learn how to not let these people affect me half of them were jobless themselves. So how did I get a job in the end well I believe in things that are meant to be. Someone I had known for a long time asked me if I knew someone that wanted a job I said I was looking for a job she wasn't thinking about me for the job. It took a few weeks and the job was mine.
I wrote the above paragraph in June when I just started the job and now it is September. A few things that I learned if I hadn't been working online while I was job searching it would have been extremely difficult to keep up with the fast pace of the new job. I found it challenging I am a lot older than the people that are training me so they are fast and expected me to be as fast as them. They won't understand until they get older I didn't when I was their age. I was just happy my brain was still pretty good and that is because online work is challenging. I also credit online work for keeping me out of depression when I was job searching even though I took courses it was the online work that kept my brain really active. Part 3 post will be about online work.
Don't expect to get time off I had been really lucky in my previous positions as their benefits were more favourable than what the law requires. The new company follows the law for new employees and they are more generous with long-term employees. Thinking I will have time to do things after I get a job doesn't necessarily come true. Get the things you need to get done while you are job searching make sure you budget extra money for things that come up. Do more research before accepting the position it is definitely a relief to finally get a job after months of rejection and the person that works there probably knows what they are talking about when they tell you about the job, right? It turns out what I was told about the job and what the job actually is are two completely different things. I wish I had done more research not because I wouldn't have accepted the job but I wish I was more prepared.
The main lesson I learned with the job search process was be more prepared. In business the rule of advice for charging is decide what your price is and then at least double it because you have likely underestimated the time it will take you to complete a project. It is always better to be priced higher than lower. It seems to be the same with job searching double the time you think it will take you to get a job. Double the money you think you will need to live while job searching. Double what you budget for extras you will need money for coffee to network, go to networking events, and keep yourself happy. If you don't have money to do fun things it is going to show in the energy in your interviews fun money is a necessity so budget for it. Double the time you expect to put in to job searching process as everything is time consuming. Double the amount of people you think you need to connect with because everything will be a setback. Double the amount of energy you think you will need to put in to feeling comfortable in a new position because it takes time. Don't give up hope things will work out eventually. If you are thinking of making a change, taking a break, even retiring for a little while I highly recommend it as long as you are prepared for the struggle.
Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3 - Getting healthier and making over $1000 from the internet.
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