Job search news

La Chouette, the lucky owl, Dijon, France

Well, the week before Thanksgiving is probably NOT the right time to reinvigorate your job search, but it is a good time to reflect, regroup, and plan to get started come Monday morning.

In November, I interviewed for a transfer position within my own organization, and despite an earlier set-back, I thought I did pretty well with this interview. I was calm, I felt comfortable. I emphasized the key strengths I could bring to the group.

The opportunity was only for internal candidates, and the short list was three people. They said they planned to make a decision within a week, but as of Monday, it had been two weeks since my interview. I understand - things happen; references take a while to gather, issues need to be discussed. But the longer things went on, the more clear it was to me that it would be another candidate that got the job.

Yesterday, I received the polite email telling me so.

I recently attended a day-long training session offered by Human Resources. We learned a lot about resume writing and interview skills, and resources for networking and searching for opportunities. Some of what the leader told us was directly contrary to things I'd heard from other facilitators.

Seven more months before my job disappears. There may be additional opportunities within my organization, but I can't rely on these. I need to look elsewhere. I started my efforts in September with a good to-do list of contacts to make, but as the autumn went on, I slacked off and spent most of my energy on this internal transfer. Time to get moving again.

La Chouette, the little stone owl on the side of Notre Dame church in Dijon, France, is supposed to bring good luck if you stroke it with your left hand. People have been relying on the little owl for luck since the 13th Century.