Friday, the 13th – The Name Says It All …

I’m not really superstitious, so the unlucky reference is more tongue in cheek than anything else. But Friday, February 13, was a stressful day for two reasons: the video resume and the meeting with a certified financial planner (which I have already addressed in an earlier post) were both scheduled for me. Oh, and there had been talk of a possible interview squeezed in as well. No pressure at all!

Another long day was in the offing. Up at 5, we (Bob and I) caught the 7 a.m. C&J bus. From the pleasantries being exchanged with the driver, it appears that many do the Dover/Portsmouth/Newburyport to Boston run on a regular basis. I am in no way jealous.

The temperature may have been in the 30s, but the wind-chill was bitter. Although we could probably have walked from Haymarket or the Bank of America stop to One Beacon Street, we opted to take a cab from South Station.

After being cleared by security we made our way to the 23rd floor to the State Office for AARP. Every window had a great view, many over-looking the State House with the river behind — Gorgeous, especially on the bright, sunny day we were having.

I changed into my “interview” suit. Bob and I were both wired for sound, and Audrey began asking Bob some questions about how my unemployment was affecting him and why someone should hire me. He did fine.

Part of my morning would be spending time with Hugh Delehanty, the editor-in-chief of AARP, the Magazine. He had flown up from DC to talk with me, show me around the AARP website, and work with me on the video resume. He would be recording it on a Flip recorder and then having the IT person in the office upload it. I truly had no idea what a video resume was. Hugh showed me a sample. OK, I thought. I’m in trouble now.

Despite the fact that I can talk a blue streak, I am really very introverted. I didn’t have an “elevator pitch” which summarizes what type of job you are seeking. Therein is part of the problem. I know what my experience is, but I have not been able to synthesize what my next career is going to be. WHAT AM I GOING TO SAY!!!???

My other concern was with the Internet process itself. I was requested to put the video on my LinkedIn site. Since LinkedIn doesn’t allow direct uploading of videos, it had to be posted on a site like YouTube and linked to it. This is not something I wanted to do as it put the video totally out of my control. My self-protection shield was in full operation! Another solution would have to be found, but for now I would continue with the process as best as I could.

Hugh had commented that sometimes video resumes are done as responses to questions; although not recommended, they are sometimes read. With my best teacher hat in place, I thought – sound educational model. Hugh can ask me questions, so I can figure out what I am to say. We do that a couple of times, I read something a few times to get familiar with the phrasing, and then we do it from memory — going from what you don’t know to what you do know using your built in knowledge to spearhead the process. Sounds like a plan!

We set up in the lobby area in front of a plain navy blue wall. I was sitting on a gray sofa. The lighting was dim. My red jacket would provide a good contrast. When the filming started, Hugh held up the Flip and said, “What is your name?” I replied, “Diana Schuman” and waited for the next question. Although probably just a few seconds, the time seemed eternal. Hugh finally said, “Aren’t you going to tell me more?” I laughed nervously and replied, “Aren’t you going to ask me another question?”

We tried multiple times for me to just talk extemporaneously.  I was floundering. Nothing cohesive was coming forth. This was so counter to my usual of having no trouble expressing my thoughts or opinions.

For example, many years ago at the conclusion of a four-hour interview, the Principal and the Assistant Superintendent said they were going to give me the “5-minute drill.” While I had visions of Jumping Jacks, they were actually going to ask me to talk for five minutes on three controversial issues to see how I handled myself.

My calm reply was to ask if the clock was set and if they were ready. When confirmed, I started to talk without skipping a beat. Partway into the third topic, I asked how I was doing and was told to start wrapping things up. Piece of cake!

My current experience was so very different because I was talking about ME in a most unnatural setting and had little experience maintaining the necessary constant eye-contact with the lens, a totally non-conversational situation. (I was having the same issue in developing my video diary at home.)

Sure I can list skills on my resume and make reference in a letter or interview, but this was so short with no chance for explanations. I caught Bob out of the corner of my eye. His face had that look one gets when a loved one is in deep trouble and you are not permitted to go and help. Even if you could go and help, you wouldn’t have the ability to fix it. His face was reflecting perfectly where I was in the process, completely out of my comfort zone and getting my boundaries pushed! If seeing me under pressure was the goal, it had been met.

I don’t remember if they suggested I take a break or if I stood up and said I needed space. In any case, I had some time to be alone and do some writing to get my thoughts on paper and then proceed.

When we reconvened, I asked Hugh to hold my papers against his tie so they would be in front of me and I could “refer” to them as needed. I “teasingly” begged for cue cards but none magically appeared. At least my sense of humor was intact.

As ready as I was going to be, I started, “My name is Diana Schuman and I find my joy in helping others.” Both Hugh and Audrey gave me a look that they were very pleased and voiced that my comment was a perfect description of me. We sdid a couple more takes and then went to watch the results.

While the end product does have an accurate message, I was not completely happy with the delivery or sound quality and my mouth was open on the first frame! I wanted to do some editing myself but was told that wasn’t possible with this particular technology.

If using technology to get a job was something I needed to explore, then my video resume must be of better overall quality. (My resume is always printed on high-quality paper and is way more informational than it used to be. My letters are well written. My video resume would have to be in the same league.)

Fortunately, I was able to get help from a friend of my son who is a videographer (www.spiresvideo.com). Jeff and I met the following Friday, worked for two hours and came up with something that is pretty good. Not only did I have time to practice and get more comfortable with the process, Jeff created a web page for me. Now the video sits on his server and LinkedIn connects to that. It remains under my control as much as it is possible on line. Yes!! Thank you, Jeff!

Although I found this experience challenging, I learned more about myself. And isn’t that what this whole experience is about? Being the rose-colored glasses person that I have been all my life, I am extracting the good, the growth, the experience, learning from that and moving on, and always finding something to laugh about in the process. Some of my best work has been done when my feet have been put to the fire. This was no exception.

Friday’s experience had helped me combine some of what was on my new resume into a 90-second summary that I can now modify to use in various situations. More succinctly, I am an educator, team player, enthusiastic hard worker, who wants to be part of a team improving the lives of others.

Tongue in cheek, I pause and remember words a former principal used to say, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you strong.” I’m standing on that promise!

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What’s Yours Is Mine and What’s Mine Is Yours

An earlier post mentioned my uneasiness about meeting with a financial planner by myself when I went to Boston on Friday, February 13. After I got home Monday evening, I asked Bob if he would consider coming with me even if he didn’t say anything. I could use him there for moral support and because we have always shared decisions about our finances. This part of the story needed to show that we are a couple whose belief system is the same when it comes to our family, our finances, our decision making. As with so many things, the body language between us affirms our feelings and beliefs way more than our words can ever do. We have been a couple for more of our lives than not, and it was important to show that long-standing love for and affirmation of each other.

However, when I first mentioned coming with me, my shy husband got that deer-in-the-headlights look. I knew he was thinking, “I don’t want to be on TV. I don’t want to talk.” I asked him to just think about it for a day or so and then give me an answer. As important as his presence was for that segment to reinforce that finances are a couple issue, I also needed him there for ME because I was nervous about the other project for Friday – a video resume that would be put on line. More on that will appear in a separate post.

After he thought about it, Bob agreed to come with me. I felt so much better knowing my husband would be by my side literally and figuratively!

CBS had lined up Certified Financial Planner Mark Freedman. He and I had two conversations during the week, one of them in great detail. This was done so that Mark could get a handle on what sorts of things had transpired in our lives.

Bob and I would go through much of this information again on Friday with cameras running and our conversations being taped with others in the room as well. This was a very uncomfortable and emotional experience, but Mark did offer us some good suggestions and affirmed our current financial planner.

Audrey assured me that our personal information would not be shared on air because the goal was to show how one gets through difficult times and why a financial planner may be a good thing to use. May it be ever so.

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Beam Me Up, Scotty (I Wish) — The Long Ride Home

As I mentioned in my last post, by the end of my time at Macy’s, I was completely spent. I was ready to be back in New Hampshire. But the reality of that was still many hours away.

How I wished I were Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise (well, since I totally enjoy being a girl, make that Lt. Yuhura), phaser in hand, speaking those magic words of “Beam me up, Scotty” at the end of an adventure or when in danger. Lo and behold, immediate transportation “home.” With the advent of all our electronic devices including the ability to shake your iPhone and update all the goings on in Facebook, can that reality be too far behind? I wonder.

The limo was waiting for me when I got back to 57th Street. Traffic wasn’t too bad heading east to the Queensboro Bridge (better known as the 59th Street Bridge that Simon and Garfunkel felt “groovy” about). The limo driver made his way across Queen’s using the streets to avoid the highway backup. We arrived at the shuttle terminal just about 4:45 (very good travel time).

Aha, I thought. Perhaps I can get on the 5:30 shuttle instead of the 6:30 (wonderful that the ticket is transferable!). I would get home an hour earlier, 9 instead of 10. Yahoo!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see much out my window; so seeing the sparkling city at dusk didn’t happen. But, again, from having grown up in New York, it was a site I had see many times before. Whenever we would have an out-of-town visitor, we would pile into my parents’ car (always a Ford) and head from the Bronx down the East Side Highway which becomes the FDR drive, around the southern end of Manhattan where you can see the Brooklyn Bridge and then the Statue of Liberty as you pass by the Staten Island Ferry and back up the West Side Highway. I always loved those trips.

As the plane made its way back to Boston, I started to think about the rest of the week ahead of me. Thursday would be another visit with Kit that would involve further assessment and work on the resume.

Friday would be another full day with travel to Boston to the Massachusetts State Office for AARP. I was to do a video resume (whatever that was) and also meet with a financial planner. I had explained to Audrey that we had a planner that we have dealt with for many years. However, I definitely got the feeling that this was needed to move the piece forward.

I was nervous about the prospect especially since this was not walking through Diana’s experience; we were now in “couple territory.” Talking to Bob would be a necessity when I got back home.

We got into Boston just about 6:30. I would easily make the 7:10 C&J back to Dovah.  Bob is there waiting right by the curb as we pulled in. I threw my things in the back seat and took my place riding shotgun, giving him a kiss as I did so. And what were the first words out of my dear husband’s mouth? “Honey, I missed you”? “Was it a long day”? No. The first words were, “Did you find any black and whites?” Of course, he didn’t really believe I had been unsuccessful in locating any. But you know I did try. Grrrr.

Fortunately, the ride from the new C&J Terminal at the north end of Dover is only a few minutes from home. I walked in, changed my clothes, had something to eat, though I honestly don’t even remember what it was. I was in bed very soon after that and didn’t move till about 8 the next morning. No early visit to the gym for me.

Those folks who are “road warriors” have my utmost respect (and sympathy). I know I could not travel like that on a regular basis.

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“Am I Blue” becomes “The Lady in Red”

Once inside 555 West 57th Street I was escorted through security, into an elevator, out on the 13th floor and into a rather dark room containing two racks of clothes (some for me, some for the woman representing the hourly employee group), a couple of sofas, and a camera.

Present were the videographer, the producer, an intern, another woman whose function I don’t think I learned, and Katrina. Tall, willowy, very blond, very lovely Katrina was to be my wardrobe specialist. She was very sweet and made sure to inquire whether I was DianE or DianA, for which I thanked her. We laughed a bit because she gets called Christina many times and now corrects people by saying, “like the hurricane.” That brought a bit of laughter; and Audrey, the producer, mentioned she had spent time covering Katrina with Anderson Cooper from CNN.

Although I had two outfits in my suitcase, for some reason I opted to simply use the blue jacket and black skirt I had worn during my travels as a possible interview outfit because it had gotten some nice comments at church a couple of weeks back.

Once Katrina had done her critique of my outfit and the camera was zoomed in and out and up and down, it was time to try on some of the eight or so outfits that had been picked out for me based on details of height, weight, dress, pant, jacket and shoe sizes I had sent them being assured that the information would never see the light of day. (Many of the women reading this will fully understand.)

I went to my “dressing room” which was actually the small area between the “studio” and the hallway. It was about 4×4 with a 10-foot ladder.

The clothes I was wearing were placed on my suitcase while I attempted to balance the new outfit on the rungs of the ladder. With no mirror, I had no opportunity to check hair and face or to see what I looked like.

The first outfit was a jacket dress. Katrina checked me over, used some clothespins on the back of the jacket as it was a bit too large, and off we went, both again wired for sound. She talked about how important tailoring is because most things don’t fit perfectly off the rack. She talked about the good points of the outfit while the camera went up and down, with the final shot showing those clothespins to make the point about tailoring.

Next up was another jacket dress. This one felt much more comfortable. Katrina then spoke about how the garment fit and why or why not this was a viable option.

Hmm, is there a message here that I should explore jacket dresses rather than regular suits? Although more an outfit then, than separates, I was getting better lines and felt more put together. I have to remember that!

We had two “can I take this off now, please” outfits that fortunately didn’t get taped. One had a bright yellow jacket and silk print skirt. Although a designer label, it felt (and looked) awful. The next outfit was almost as bad.

Finally, I was given a three-piece long, flowing jacket, shell, and slack outfit. I loved the feel of the slacks and while it was probably way more “fabric” than I would tend to wear, I felt much taller than I expected. Usually those types of outfits make me feel even shorter and rounder than I already am.

After yet more up and down shots, I was able to put my own clothes back on and had to pick one of the outfits to keep. Not having been able to see myself in a mirror made this very hard. My only point of reference was the 2×3 view finder on the video camera.

Because of the reaction in the room when I had it on and because it “felt” the best, I chose the black and red outfit. (I must have made a good choice because Bob seemed very pleased when he got to see it on me.) You’ll have to wait and see the specifics on air, unless, of course, you are planning to interview me ahead of time.  😉

I was free to go and spend a couple of hours on my own before being driven back to the airport at 4:30.

So what do you think I did after three hours of talking about and trying on clothes? I WENT SHOPPING!

“Taxi driver, take me to Macy’s, please.” And off we went, weaving in and out of more familiar places. The Theater District, past the TICKTS booth, past the marquees and on through Times Square.

Through the garment district we went, stopping in front of the 7th Avenue Building of Macy’s – better known as The Men’s Store. Having spent much time in Macy’s as a kid and young adult, I was very familiar with 7th Avenue store (the wooden escalators) and Broadway store (the steel escalators). I’d venture to guess that Macy’s 8 floors of retail space, plus basement and Mezzanine, still make it the largest store in the world. It is a full city block square (remember I mentioned how LONG those blocks are). There are 16 floors altogether with offices, training areas, and even product labs on the top 8.

Our wedding china came from Macy’s. My photos with Santa were taken there. I think it was the 8th floor that was completely transformed into a toy heaven each holiday shopping season – train sets in full operation, dolls of very variety, games, trucks, you name it, it was there in abundance at Macy’s.

I’d ride down on the IRT subway with my mom or grandmother to go shopping, usually stopping at Neidick’s right  next door (which is now a Sunglass Hut, I believe) to have one of their grilled hot dogs on a New England style toasted bun accompanied by a glass of their orange drink, watery and icy cold, and surprisingly delicious, a great complement to the hot frank. Ah, fond memories.

Bob worked for Macy’s shortly after we got married and became an Assistant Buyer for Health and Beauty Aides and Greeting Cards based in Herald Square. He talks about his first day on the job, standing with the new staff that was giving him funny looks. In just a few moments, a low rumble started that got louder and louder and passed overhead. Everyone was watching Bob’s reaction. He had no clue that his office was three floors BELOW the subway!

Macy’s is an amazing store, but it can be totally overwhelming because there is so much merchandise. You have to know where what you are looking for is located, or you’ll spend hours spinning your wheels. For example, there are women’s clothes on probably four different floors. The shopping crew from CBS told me which floor they had found my clothing on. I had inquired whether it was 7th Avenue or Broadway building and then knew exactly where to go to find them. Even with that, there were dozens and dozens of racks to wander through.

I found one of the other outfits I had tried on. The jacket fit a bit better as did the dress. It was marked down and I had a 20% off coupon with me. The dress would come home. Two new outfits for me! That being done, I wandered through the two floors of ladies shoes before heading to the main floor to look for a wallet.

Most stores have cosmetics, purses, wallets, scarves, etc., on their main floors. Macy’s is no exception. But, as I said before, the amount of product is over the top. Not only were there probably a dozen counters selling men’s product, the women’s area was probably close to 40, each with at least four associates behind the counter. Clinique, Prescriptives, Estee Lauder, Lancombe, Clarins, and so on but also many I was unfamiliar with. Who knew “Hello, Kitty” was actually a makeup line, for example.

I found a much-needed wallet and headed out the door to hail a cab back to CBS. My long day was beginning to catch up with me.

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New York, New York – It’s a Wonderful Town

Monday, February 9, found me up at 5 a.m. so I could catch the 6:30 C&J bus to Logan. I was scheduled for the 9:30 Delta Shuttle to LaGuardia and then onto the CBS Offices to be “made over” for some new interview duds. The bus ride was two hours, and the flight barely one!

Taking the shuttle was a new experience. The plane was about 1/3 full so everyone had a row to him/herself. Coats, laptops, bags, were all on the extra seats as we made our way to the Big Apple since it was not necessary to stow all your gear under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin. And I hadn’t needed to get a bagel and coffee at the airport because there were complimentary snacks on the way onto the plane. Now that’s the way to travel – only thing better would have been first class.

Bob tracked the flight on Flight Aware. As I would learn later, the flight path was pretty similar to how we drive it through Massachusetts and Connecticut. After reading the complimentary copy of USA Today and doing both crossword puzzles in the flight magazine, I figured it was time too look out the window.

My timing was good. I noticed we were veering east because I recognized the upper Hudson. Soon the East River came into view and we continued the easterly path. We were now over Long Island Sound and started to turn. Underneath me was the Throg’s Neck Bridge and then the Whitestone. (Bob and I used to go to the Whitestone Drive-In back in our “courting” days, but that’s the subject of a blog that will probably never be published.) There, slightly ahead of me to the right, was Yankee Stadium. But, of course, now there are TWO Yankee Stadiums (Stadia?), the new one right there alongside the one I had visited many times with my parents and later with Bob during the glory days of the team.

Although LGA airport was probably pretty much under me, we would spend the next 15 or so minutes over New Jersey and then come back from the other side so that I saw the two bridges again only this time they were on my lower right instead of lower left. Pretty soon the houses, the cemeteries, the buildings came closer into view and we were on the ground.

Once in the terminal I soon saw my name on a card. A chauffeur was there to take me to Manhattan! There’s a first time for everything. (The only other times I have been chauffeured was for my wedding and various and sundry funerals. This was all mine.) I don’t know my way around Queens, but once we crossed the bridge into Manhattan, the sites were very familiar: Columbus Circle, Central Park South, Broadway, Carnegie Hall — memories of my growing up years in Manhattan and the Bronx. In fact, my high school actually held its graduation ceremony at Carnegie Hall, so I can honestly say I have been “on stage” at that venerable institution! <VBG>

The CBS offices are located  in the upper 50s between 10th and 11th avenues, the area where my mother grew up. Hell’s Kitchen it was called then, inhabited by the working poor, so very different from how those buildings are used today. We came up 10th Avenue and as I went by Independence High School, I figured that must be the old Harran High School where both Mom, and as I would later discover, my mother-in-law had gone.

The limo driver left me off in front of 524 West 57th Street, which was just one of about six buildings that had the CBS name on them. I would actually go across the street to another building where the filming would occur.

I was about 30 minutes early. Unfortunately that really wasn’t long enough to enjoy lunch at one of about a dozen restaurants I passed as I walked east; so I grabbed a sandwich at a local deli, ate half of it, and headed back. Of course, while I was in the deli, I checked the baked goods to see if there were any of New York’s “official cookie,” the black and white. Unfortunately, there were none; nor had I seen a bakery in my travels. Darn.

As I walked back toward the studio (and blocks in mid-town are about twice as long as any place else), I could see the Hudson ahead of me backed by New Jersey, more familiar sites from my childhood. Each July 4th, we would walk from our apartment in the upper 90s to the shore of the Hudson on Riverside Drive, a park that ran about 30 blocks right along the river’s edge, to watch the spectacular Macy’s sponsored fireworks. Perhaps a few weeks back folks walking down this very block saw another spectacular site of a plane landing on the water.

Upon entering my destination, I made my way to the 13th floor (low by NY standards) for the next part of my adventure – wardrobe!

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Lights, Camera, Action — In My Living Room?

Thursday, January 29, Audrey was due at my house in Dover around 9:30 am. We would later travel to Kit’s for filming of a career counseling session. Why I didn’t put two and two together that filming would also occur at my house, I don’t know. I knew there was to be an interview, so I should have realized a camera crew would also be arriving.

And one did, a very nice chap!

In short order my living was rearranged so that a chair was smack dab in the  middle in front of the fireplace. I was told that the room was great and would be a wonderful background to our conversation.

Audrey asked me lots of questions and was out of view of the camera. Because I tend to gesticulate so very much, I opted to sit on my hands while I talked to appear more calm and to hopefully slow down my machine gun delivery.

With hindsight that was probably not the best thing to have done. I probably appear pretty flat and without my animated style. But I won’t know that (nor will you) till March 23 and beyond, depending on which day my story will be told. Live and learn. The “next” time I’m “famous” I’ll be so much better prepared. 😉

Among the questions I was asked (and I’m sorry I don’t remember much) were what it was like to be unemployed, did I feel I was subject to age discrimination, and what was happening now that I was no longer receiving unemployment benefits.

Audrey told me I used the word “panic” in five responses. This surprised me greatly as I didn’t feel in a state of panic while we were talking. But I had been pretty panicky the week before when the unemployment news came down that my claim for the extension was being held, and no job prospects were in sight. I found I had started to apply for just about anything that I was remotely qualified for giving no thought to whether or not I would actually enjoy doing the sort of work or seriously thought I would be hired.

And then there was a drastic change. Something had happened that my words were not accurately portraying.

The morning after being selected for the news piece, I started a spiritual retreat to explore whether I felt a specific call of God on my life. I have felt that my teaching and the related work I did around my church were a gift that I was to share. However, whether I was to actually pursue certification or ordination was another matter entirely but one that I felt needed exploration.

Although engaged in spiritual discernment sessions with a group of about 40 amazing people with incredible talents and stories, I was till doing my job searching online (aren’t laptops great?). I had left feeling a great deal of turmoil about the questions relative to unemployment and worried about finances and whether I would ever get a job.

An interesting thing happened on Friday, however (six days before the taping). I was engaged in a conversation about unemployment, the words of which should have caused me major distress. But they didn’t. Instead I had a feeling of overwhelming peace.

God had brought me through unemployment back in 1993 and into a job that I loved. I had been blessed to have had a career that was fulfilling. I knew that my high school teaching job was were I was supposed to have been just as the middle school job was. God had been with me each time, our family had gotten stronger through the process; so why should this experience have a different ending?

That feeling has stayed with me, though I do need to remind myself every so often. What had happened during the interview, however, was that my brain had not yet caught up with my heart; so my mouth was responding with the expected answers and not the ones my spirit knew.

I don’t know where this will end. I do know that it will be “good.” The “good” may be very different than I expect. The “good” may not be good by the world’s standards, but I know that the “good” will be what is best for me. And I will stand on that promise.

But back to the taping. Part of the focus was to get “real” footage of me in my home; so I was followed around in my kitchen wiping counters, wrapping up banana bread, putting dishes in my dishwasher. Is nothing sacred? LOL

That done, we were off to have lunch in beautiful downtown Dover and then on the road for more taping.

Oh, and I was given a camera  to record my own personal video diary. I did one shot holding the camera in my hand, saw how much I looked like I was in a fishbowl (not to mention how your wrinkles and pores look) and proceeded to get a small tripod to use!

Vanity thy name is Diana!

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The Whole Kit and Caboodle

Being the metaphorical, word game, pun-loving person that I am, using idioms and well-known phrases as my blog entry titles just seems to fit.

For those of you not familiar with the idiom “the whole kit and caboodle,” it means “bunch, lot aggregation, collection, accumulation, assemblage – several things grouped together or considered as a whole.”

I chose that as the title for this post for two reasons. The career counselor that CBS has arranged for me to work with is Kit Harrington Hayes. Since we talk about lots of things pertaining to my background, my growth, my journey, I guess that means she’s the “kit” and I’m the “caboodle.” I am incredibly fortunate as we have connected on lots of levels as I mentioned in my first post. Below is just a bit about her taken from workforce50.com to which she is a regular contributer:

Kit Harrington Hayes, founder of LifeWork Design, is a Life and Career Transformation Consultant who has been counseling and coaching adults in transition for 25 years. Author of Managing Career Transitions (Prentice Hall, 2000), Kit is known for her compassion, intuitive style, real world perspective and market savvy.

Kit founded LifeWork Design in 2006 with a mission to empower people age 50+ to create lives of engagement, passion and contribution. She has attracted a range of clients who are redirecting their careers, rebalancing their lives and discovering new opportunities for fulfillment.

That sounded like just the person I need!

Within 20 minutes of finding out from Audrey Gruber that I had been selected to be the 55+ representative in the CBS Early Show piece on unemployment in 2009, Kit had called me to set up our first meeting which would be Monday, January 26 at her office in Arlington, MA, about 70 miles (or an hour and a half on a good-traffic day) from Dover.

Our first visit was spent talking about the CBS piece (with neither of us having complete knowledge of what we had gotten into), looking over my resume, and answering lots of questions. Through our chatting, we found out that we had supported the same candidate in the election and had interesting stories to share. There was lots of laughter and even a couple of tears. My first impression was confirmed! I’m in good hands!

I had indicated a willingness to be a guinea pig when it came to assessments. I would do whatever Kit thought would be helpful to me specifically and also take any that might prove to be jumping off points that would help others.

That being said, Thursday found us in Kit’s living room (which is painted a similar color to mine, by the way), cameras rolling (more on that in another post), and Diana shuffling cards. This particular activity was designed to sort through things that were meaningful to me and then sorting further to what were the most important, taking a stack of about 25-30 cards and whittling down to 5 (though she did let me have 6).

We managed to ignore the camera as we chatted and I shuffled, my making a few comments along the way that may or may not get air play. My cards ended up being: facilitating change, seeing possibilities, solving problems, instructing people, bringing out potential, and adding humor. I did request substituting the card “bringing joy” since the broader term sums me up better. Sometimes you can be joyful in the midst of tears). For those of you that know me, I hope there are no real surprises here.

We, of course, did more work on the resume. I have been most intrigued by the process and how some simple modification changes its effectiveness.

Kit suggested that I take four part-time teaching positions and combine them into “one” position as Adjunct Faculty with four locations. That was another “aha.” Those part-time positions concurrent with my full-time ones were important as they demonstrated my experience teaching adults.

Her suggestion to combine them did a couple of things. First, it gave emphasis to the WHAT rather than the WHERE. (Now titles are listed first on all employment.) Second, more emphasis is now placed on my full-time employment that was getting lost in the long list. Lastly, because I now had FOUR entries instead of EIGHT, the “academia” was not quite so prominent.

Lessening the prominence of “academia” was very important. One of the stumbling blocks I feel I am encountering (in addition to the whole “age” thing) is the fact that “corporate” America cannot see past “teacher” and completely ignores my skill set (and thus my application). My previous employment history layout had reinforced that problem.

We did a similar readjustment to my education. I had tried to emphasize the fact that I am a life-long learner; but the list of graduate work was probably working against me as well. So now I have my M.Ed., my B.A. and a note that I have additional graduate work in technology, administration, and grant writing.

I had moved from a chronological to a functional resume when I was RIF’d in 1993. (RIFs are “reductions in force” which is the educational term for layoff.) Since so much of “teacher” appears redundant to the non-academic eye, I thought it made sense to look at what I did both vocationally and avocationally and describe those experiences following with a listing of employment and education. As I was majorly involved in doing desktop publishing at the time, it made sense to also use this as a portfolio piece. So my “brochure” was born. It always got a “wow” response when presented.

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However, there have been many changes since 1993 with RESUME READERS being among them. ON LINE APPLICATIONS are another. Anything in a landscape orientation like mine DOES NOT WORK with a resume reader. Add to that the fact that when uploaded to a website (and most applying is that way now), the subsequent printouts made at the company lose the impact that is gained in the mail or hand delivery.

Even in the best of circumstances, there’s flipping of paper involved in looking at the skill and trying to figure out where it came from. And I had to admit, it was definitely suffering from TMI – too much information.

We were updating the information to be more quantifiable and eliminating anything that was repetitive or extraneous to have cleaner and more-action oriented statements. I was doing myself a disservice in preventing my accomplishments from being seen.

As much as I loved my unique format, IT HAD TO CHANGE!

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An Amazing Opportunity!

Well, life sure is interesting. I have been unemployed since June 30, 2008, when my teaching position as computer technologist (responsible for staff development, computer integration, and tech support for 200+ laptops and 50 desktops) was eliminated due to budget reasons. I have been in the job search since last March when the “talking” first began. I’ve been through a RIF (reduction in force is what the educational world calls an elimination of your job) before, so I know that once the “talking” starts, it’s pretty much assured that you’d better get your resume updated.

One of the employment search sites that I use (www.workforce50.com) sent me a survey to complete sometime back for the purposes of information gathering for the media. I started to fill out the survey then tried to get out of it not being sure just who was going to “see” the info I was providing and wanting to do additional research on the organization.

Well, serendipity, astrological convergence, or God’s plan (my choice) had the survey get sent anyhow. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, I got an email from the Gene Burnard, the principal of this company, saying that my survey was one that was being considered for a media event and that he would call me on Monday to ask if I were interested in being part of the process. He called punctually and told me that 40 people responded to this survey and that I was one of six that was being considered by CBS News. Sure, I thought, and when do you ask me for money ….

After a lengthy conversation, I told the gentleman that I would talk things over with my husband and, if interested, I would do as he asked and submit my resume and a photo later in the day. I “googled” Gene and discovered that had been interviewed by Boston.com, and his company was respected in the industry.

Feeling a bit more confident, I decided I would go for it. Circumstances prevented me from responding till after 4:30. Within 30 minutes of my click and send, I received a phone call from someone saying she was from CBS News and that I was one of two who were being considered as representing the 55+ crowd looking for a job in 2009. There would be three others (recent college grad, hourly wage earner, six-figure earner) and that those selected would each receive career counseling, resume review, possible clothing makeover, interview, and going live in NY on March 23 on the CBS Early Show, all as part of a week-long series on job hunting in 2009.

She asked my “back story” and said she would be in touch within one or two days to let me know the decision. Yeah right ….  My mind was thinking the next step was  “Gee, we’ve redone your resume and it will cost $500 if you want to see it …..” See what all those phishing scams have done to our “trust” factor.

So, what did I do next? I “googled” the producer and found out that she (Audrey Gruber) has gotten awards for pieces she did for Anderson Cooper’s 360 on CNN among other things and was the producer for The Early Show. Oh, my, she’s REAL! This was on the up and up!

On Wednesday, January 21, I received a phone call telling me I had been selected!

So, here I sit, nearly 60 years after my dad was one of the first TV repairmen in NYC as people started to get TVs in their homes, and I’m going to BE ON TELEVISION! Holy cow!

I have met with the career counselor, Kit Harrington Hayes four times. Kit specializes in the over 50 crowd and is stupendous. She has a background in education; so she understands me, and has done some creative tweaking to my resume. A couple of samples are shown below:

BEFORE:

Supervised one-to-one laptop program including conferring with parents and students about expectations, discipline, commitment, and responsibility.

AFTER:

Managed one-to-one laptop program resulting in a buy-in from parents and over 800 students around the issues of expectations for use, commitment, and responsibility.

BEFORE:

Mentored probationary staff using models of clinical supervision including pre/post conferencing.

AFTER:

Mentored and coached teachers new to the school system using models of clinical supervision including pre/post conferencing ensuring their successful integration.

BEFORE:

Awarded two $30,000 Technology Learning Challenge Fund Grants, one for professional development, one for networking and related items.

AFTER:

Awarded two competitive $30,000 Technology Learning Challenge Grants, one for professional development of 100+ teachers and paraprofessionals district-wide and another creating local area networks in two school buildings.

Amazing! Action statements! Way more attention grabbing!

I have no idea where this is going, but I’m excited and am learning a lot. If my story lands me a job, wonderful. If my story can help others learn a few things and make their own lives better, WOWSA.

This blog will chronicle the adventure as it plays out and perhaps highlight some other experiences I have had on the unemployment journey.

Your good thoughts and prayers are most appreciated as I continue on this roller coaster ride!

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