As some of you who read this may know, like too many of our Auxiliary Professional Colleagues, I'm between jobs right now and that I am no longer at the University of Toledo. The news came as a shock but at least I had some time to prepare between receiving the news and the actual lay off. It was still tough, but I've worked through my personal issues with this (similar to the stages of grief according to at least on person who's researched what happens when a person is laid off from a long time position) and now I'm full swing into the network strategies that will help me on the next phase of my career.
Anyway, one of the things that occurred to me is that some people here in the NACAS Community might be interested in my experience in the hopefully unlikely event that it happens to them too. So, because I'm a firm believer in the power of sharing, and because I consider myself a writer at heart and can frankly use the practice, I'm going to dedicated my next few blogs to sharing what I've been through and what I'm going through on a semi-regular basis (in other words, when I feel like it) right here.
Now that I've given you a moment to whoop and holler in celebration here's some things I've learned so far:
1. You cannot network enough! One of the realizations I had during this experience is how many people I actually know and can contact (big thanks to NACAS for helping me make my professional connections count).
2. Once "freed" from the day to day duties of my previous position, I was surprised how many things I'd been putting off until a mythical "better time." These things included items like my writing (I have a play about to be performed at a festival in Detroit - and I didn't have to pay anybody off to take it!), family time, and some good old fashioned catching up to the latest news and views within the "industry."
3. I've discovered the power of social media. In addition to the NACAS Community I'm learning how to better use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter both professionally and personally (look for me @dwahr on Twitter, Dave Wahr on Facebook - the one in Petersburg, Michigan, not the one in Australia, and "David P. Wahr" on LinkedIn). There's a brave new world out there folks and I'm sad to say that I think it's passing a lot of us by...
4. Job hunting is hard! I happen to live in one of the most depressed areas of the country and though I'm willing to relocate for the right position I would rather not. Sure, there are jobs out there - but not necessarily ones that I a) qualify for or b)would move my career forward.
5. Saving money is easier than I thought. First trick is to properly identify your "needs" and your "wants." You'll be surprised to learn how many "needs" are "wants" and how many "wants" you dont need!
That's it for now. More to come as things occur to me.