Well, folks, it took a whoooole looooot longer than I anticipated/hoped, but I am pleased to finally announce that (drumroll)...I'll finally be rejoining the working world next Monday. (Pause for a collective "Yaaaaayyyy!" Thank you for playing along...) For those stat-oriented pals (or just, you know, fellow nerds), my tenure as a "lady of leisure" (more like "woman doing errands and getting stuff done and taking care of business"...but whatever) lasted from January through October, although I began scanning the job boards before that, so the actual hunt comprised more like 13 months. (I know, right? YIKES!) By my unofficial count, I submitted applications for about 43 openings. Admittedly, some were more serious than others...and a few were downright unsuitable, but my basic strategy was to attempt to balance my somewhat picky requirements with a desire to keep an open mind about what might be the Next Big Adventure along my ever-evolving career path.
Further analysis revealed (because...well, I'm not even going to try to make up an excuse. If you know me, just nod your head sagely and indulge my whims...as you always do...), the following breakdown of responses: 30% generated no reply whatsoever; about 7% withdrew their posting for one reason or another; 44% selected someone else (but did inform me); for about 7%, we came to a mutual agreement that we weren't the best fit for each other; 14% I decided to turn down for one reason or another--either after additional consideration on my part about specific aspects of the position, or requesting pertinent details not included in the original description that ended up ruling it out, such as salary (too low) or number of hours (too high). (Yes, I'm well aware that doesn't add up to an even 100%. What can I tell you? I promised data, but I never said it would be perfect, did I? Remember, I'm a word-person!) Furthermore, I figured out (by going back and counting, of course...because why not, we've come this far) that my explorations fell into the following broad categories: non-profits (7), businesses (5), arts/leisure (11) and...education (a whopping 20. And who's surprised? Right...absolutely no one...)
Along the way, I interviewed with several of the potential organizations, which--while always admittedly nerve-wracking--felt like valuable experience in every case. These interactions ran the gamut from initial screening calls (the absolute worst, because anyone who's at all familiar with me is well acquainted with how much I loathe talking on the phone) to Skype conferences (tons better in my opinion, because I so very much prefer being able to see who I'm conversing with) to in-person chatting with a committee. (A special kind of terror. As in, "You mean I have to impress not just one person, but a whole group is going to be evaluating me at once? Ack!)
Also, to facilitate the whole..."reinventing myself yet again and trying to figure out what to do next with my life" process...I hired a consultant for a long-overdue update of my resume. I mean, I'd written the current one myself, and it was...fine, I guess...but it certainly didn't scream "professional quality". Besides, I can't claim any expertise whatsoever in terms of how employers deal with hiring in the Digital Age--such as what buzzwords search engines will flag as desirable, or how to get your materials to stand out to a busy HR person looking to weed out documents quickly while elevating others they want to pursue. All of this can rapidly become overwhelming, so I chucked it to someone who knows what they're doing, and let her work her magic. I found that, not only did I get a customizable CV and cover letter, she also guided me in identifying and focusing my objectives, which in turn helped me home in on opportunities that appealed to me. In summary: money well spent, and I highly recommend it!
So by now you're probably thinking "Enough babbling about the journey of self-discovery, blah blah blah. How about some facts?" Okay, here goes: after 5 years in Chapel Hill, I'll finally be partaking of the Carolina-blue punch...and jumping on the UNC bandwagon. (Memo to my Duke homies: don't hate! I literally live 3 miles from campus, so it's kind of a no-brainer...) Specifically, it's an administrative role in the Family Medicine department. Beyond that, they explained to me that it's a newly identified need for them in this coordinator-type slot, so there will be a certain amount of...making it up as we go along. Which is to say that I can't provide a whole lot of hard info yet--beyond that I'll be managing paperwork, scheduling, and communications, and offering overall support to keep the residency program running smoothly, which will also include facilitating operations during the recruiting season (which is, um..."now") and visiting the 2 off-site clinics periodically, among other ongoing duties.
It's hard to explain--either you function this way or you don't--but through each step that got me closer to this job, it just felt right...in an instinctive way, if you will. This isn't to say that I make all of my major personal decisions based on what my "gut" is telling me...but I've found over the course of my life that when it does speak up, it's usually steering me in a positive direction, and it's in my best interests to listen. So needless to say I'm super-excited to get this old ball rolling. By this time next week I'll be donning my office clothes, packing my lunch, and heading off to vocational fulfillment...or what have you. And then presumably there will be actual details about the tasks involved, my coworkers, etc. Stay tuned for the next Employment Report...yippee!
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