Well, that didn't last long...

My stint with unemployment I mean... Yesterday I was offered a new job! And, I accepted... Yes, 9 whole days in the worst recession of our lifetime, blah blah blah, but it's all what you make of it! Although I am making slightly less money than I was at my other job at a bigger company, I think that overall my level of sanity and happiness will greatly improve. Yes, the commute is also a little longer, but there are carpools, and I'll figure it out... I lived in California for goodness sake.

A few lessons learned during this whole 9 day stress excursion.

• You have to start knocking down doors as soon as possible. I started the Monday after I quit my job. I didn't have a computer so I went to the library and wrote down things, got ideas, saved sites in my email, figured out where I needed to start to be successful.
• Your friends are some of the most amazing connections you have. Ask them if there are positions open where they work, send them your resume. You'll usually get a call about a position if there is one, and maybe even a phone interview.
• LinkedIn is you friend too. On Thursday of last week it was my goal to update my profile, and "friend" all of the people that I knew. It's so easy to update, all you have to do is import your resume, and play around with it a little bit to make it look pretty. Amazing. Within an hour of importing and starting to "friend" people, I had a random email from my new place of employment asking me if I was interested. I forwarded my resume to her via email and had an interview scheduled for the next day, it was great.
• It really is about who you know, and what you make of your relationships. I had to think about my references a lot, which ones would be more beneficial to which jobs. I knew for this new position that I am in that there were some vendors that I had worked with that were also in contact with the new place of employment and were trusted. It was the only reference that they called.
• Use other websites that you may not think of, linked in has job listings, and the great part, you can email the recruiter who posted it, instant connection! Also, Craig's List usually has some really good jobs on there, and they are all based on email.
• BE PERSISTANT. I emailed my new manager every day asking a question, if relevant, or sending a thank you email. It was a way to keep me at the top of her email box and on the top of her mind.
• Don't burn yourself out. There's a lot of "stuff" out there, not everything is good. Some of it sucks, and by just applying like crazy, every day, for everything that you see will leave you confused and frustrated. Apply for a couple of jobs, go outside, DO SOMETHING ELSE.
• Finally, if you think it can, it will. When I first quit my job, I had a plan in mind. I wanted to have a job before I left on vacation, but didn't want to start working until 3 weeks later when I went on a second vacation. That is exactly what happened. Even when it seemed grim, I just told myself, I want it, and it's going to happen, I'll make it work. And, what do you know, it did.

Well, there you go, advice for the job hunt... I'm off to finish packing for vacation and doing all the last minute stuff that I hate to do before you leave...