Good and bad days

Everyone, whether they're searching for a job or not, has bad days. The trick to getting past them, I think, is to find some small accomplishment to proudly point to and not feel like the day was a total waste in the job hunt or whatever it is you're doing.

Some days feel like you haven't accomplished a thing, while others feel right on target with many accomplishments. Today was a mixed bag for me, but a lot of positives to take on a day that didn't start out so well as I ran into a lot of traffic on I-680 on my way to an informational interview. The talk, with a former CCT colleague, went great and was an inspiration to keep trying. I wanted to know how someone who has been a life-long journalist moved into another field and how they overcame the barriers employers throw up to people witih transferable skills, but maybe not the exact, defined skills they desire. The guy I talked with, for example, found a great job in corporate communications, but had never done such a job before. He turned his managerial experience at newspapers, his abilities under deadline pressure at newspapers, and other skills he used as a journalist, and turned them into a job in corporate communications. I'd like to do the same, among other job possibilities, and he helped me see how to do that better.

Other bonuses today: A friend who works for the state government forwarded a job opening to me, which I will apply for on Thursday. I'm looking into taking a PowerPoint class at the local adult education center in December, the earlies it's available. I plan to go to the local community college on Thursday to look into working as a guest lecturer and taking classes, if I can afford them.

Those were the highlights. The low? I found out from a recruiter that a Nevada newspaper is going forward with two candidates for an editor position, and so far isn't calling me in for an interview. And awaiting callback from Texas.