A golden opportunity
Whew… so much has happened since my last post. My cousin called me up this week to tell me she found some work for me. Her friend is a recruiter at a temp agency and over cocktails she told Liz that she had so many open spots to fill and not enough resumes. My cousin mentioned my unemployment and a day later I was emailing my resume in.
I had worked on my resume a bunch of times since it’s final approval at my college’s career center in an effort to appeal to different types of jobs. I felt that it was good. The recruiter called me bright and early the next morning to suggest that I completely change the format and then mail it back in.
After I changed the format, she replied right away with an interview for hire. I made my interview at the end of the week so I would have time to prepare.
I went to tell my dad the good news- that I was going to be doing something with me time- and he gave the strangest reaction. He looked at me and told me he wanted me to take time- take a half a year or so and really challenge myself. Write a novel. Train for a marathon. Just challenge myself to do something and then actually do it. In the meantime he would take care of my bills and such. I really thought he had gone crazy. I called a bunch of my friends so we could all confirm his craziness but the majority of my friends actually sided with him. My most professional friend (she had a job two months prior to graduation) told me that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and a temp job would just be selling myself short. Another friend (whom had just quit her own temp job) brought up an interesting point- my dad is going to take care of my bills and all I have to do is go for a walk and write. Basically do what I like/want to do. In its simplicity it seems like a crazy offer to turn down.
But it must seem a bit crazy to now work after graduation? If I take him up on this offer, I will have to really focus myself.
In the meantime I went to the interview and was told they could probably have something for me next week. I figure temp work will be ok if I take the offer because it will get me used to being productive with the day and will only be temporary so it won’t tie me down. As for my resume- the recruiter suggested I reapply to positions with my new resume.
Your dad's challenge or proposition (whichever you choose to call it) is not crazy. And it is not the walk in the park that you see at the moment. His words were "challenge yourself." In other words, pick something to do that is not easy, that will stretch you to achieve new abilities and skills. As the other interns have been challenged, go over to the Gazette and start working on the October career development exercises (see http://www.collegerecruiter.com/gazette/archives/2006/10/career_development_exercises_f.php ). These will get you started on focusing on your "challenge" and narrowing down the choices.
As for the temp job. It can supplement for a while, maybe until the end of the holiday season. But keep Dad apprised of what you're doing. I'd recommend taking him up on his offer. But remember his offer was to "challenge" yourself. Being a temp office worker (my assumption) is not a challenge except for being able to adapt to a new environment on nearly a daily basis and get along with a new set of people with that frequency. While that is an excellent skill to develop, there are other career skills that are much more rewarding as well as challenging.
Please do the exercises and tell us where you're beginning to see where your "challenge" may lie.