My current job is in jeopardy. Dramatic, I know.
Due to state funding cuts, there is no guarantee I will continue to have gainful employment. This has lead to me pondering what I would do if the axe ever fell and I found myself unemployed. I do not want to be left on unemployment for any length of time, so I have elected to be proactive in a job search. I have taken the threat of job loss as an opportunity to reassess what it is I would like to do in order to make a living. A year ago, while listening to the infamous Dave Ramsey show, I heard a book mentioned called 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal
To be honest, I thought the book sounded kind of…fluffy. I mean, come on, if everybody got to do the job they wanted, wouldn’t we be living in some kind of utopia? Most of the people I know who are close to retirement have worked their entire lives as part of an industrial-revolution-style assembly line. They spent their lives making a decent living to support their families while secretly hating their jobs. I am / was under the impression this is the way it is.
I elected to check the book out at my local library over a year ago. The book was exactly what I thought it would be, fluffy. To my surprise, among the fluff was some really good advice. The book is actually a pretty good resource on writing resumes, cover letters, and interview tips (some of which helped me get my current job last summer). In addition, it helps you think about and prioritize what kind of jobs you may want to apply for.
Fast forward to present day. As I stated in my first paragraph, there is a chance my position will be outsourced and I could lose my job in the coming months. I did not want to just sit by and let this happen to me. I bought 48 Days… and started reading it (thankfully, the book has been updated within the last year to reflect more current trends) to put myself in the job seeker mindset, just in case. At the start of the book is a 48 Days Checklist of activities to help someone realize their dreams and find a job they actually enjoy.
Over the next 48 days (starting Monday, March 28th) I am going to blog my way through the checklist. At worst I might learn a lot about what I want to do and start pursing it. At best, I will find a new career path and a new job.
I still think the book is fluffy. Some of the checklist items seem silly to me, but I am going to do them anyway. I want to give the book an honest chance to help me find out what it is I was made to do. I will be adding prayer to the list. I believe since God made me, He knows more about me and what I am made to do than anyone, even best-selling authors.
So, feel free to read along over the next 7 weeks. If you want to try it out, buy the book (if you click the above link, it supports this site), and let me know. Feel free to update me on your progress along the way.
Here we go!
-Don-