Is that a seedling of bamboo peeking up? Or mold?

Well, I've been on the job for almost one month now. Everyone I run into keeps asking me how the new job is - I guess maybe because I told everyone who would hold still that I was looking for work a couple of months ago hoping that all that networking would result in someone knowing something or someone who needed the kind of help I could provide!

Nonetheless, I originally thought the task of adapting would more or less end at the goal: get a job. Nope. So wrong.

In my old job, I had been around longer than my boss and so he often times looked to me for answers. Now, I find myself looking for the answers. It has been so long since I have been up against a learning curve like this to learn a new organization, a new supervisor, a new peer group, a new building culture and new on-the-job skills! For example, the website I now administer runs on Joomla!. I find this program to be buggy, hard to navigate and poorly designed on the user-interface. As a result, I had looked at it a couple of times, but never used it because it was too messy. Alas, my new webpage is set up on this and requires me adapting to this format.

While, admittedly, this is an example of only one portion of my new job I have to adapt to, I think it is a perfect example of how a person's ability to shift and adapt to an environment is key to their success. I had a couple of options when I learned Joomla! was the program running the site I was now responsible for: 1. Run for the hills. Avoid the task and keep my sanity; 2. Beg, plead, negotiate or pay-off someone to move the site to a different program; 3. Convince the boss that someone else should take it over - maybe the technology guy? or 4. Dive in, head first, and learn how to run the thing like a veteran programmer! So, you ask, what did I do?

Well, thank goodness Borders was having a sale! I flew over there, picked up the heftiest book I could find on Joomla! (which, as it turns out is NOT worth its weight in gold!) and started studying. Between my new "work bible", some handiwork on online searches and lots of support from fellow web-designers. I can now at least functionally navigate the site modules. I'm still learning all the ins and outs of Joomla!, but from where I started, I'm doing well! And, the more surprising part - I'm loving the challenge it brings!

So, as it turns out, adapting hasn't stopped at the acceptance offer or the first day of work; it is a continued process which finds ways to weave itself into my life, suffocating out the passive options of keeping to what's safe or comfortable.

The good news for you, readers, is that means I have plenty of material to keep blogging about, so stay tuned!

The Water Must be Reaching the Roots!

Well, as I've worked through shifting my perspective on life and work, I've also accomplished one major task I set forth to achieve at the beginning of this endeavor - a new job!!

I have accepted a job as a Marketing Manager for a national firm. It is so different from what I've done in the past, and I couldn't be more excited! I'll keep posting and blogging about my adventures in watering the bamboo, so keep reading!!

A new approach to the unemployment line - Social Media!

As part of my reading to assist in building the marketing and branding position of the construction company I'm working with, I was inspired to use these same techniques to market something I'm really in need of "selling" - ME! I felt like it was time to break out of the cover letter, resume, boring, boring, boring routine and exercise my marketing skills!

So, to do this, I launched accounts on Twitter, Facebook, about.me and, of course, Blogspot to profile my skills, traits, personality and professional life. I will be blogging, tweeting and posting on topics related to marketing, design, advertising, branding, public relations and the like.

To start, I created a fan page on Facebook to be my public profile for prospective employers. While I have nothing to hide in my personal profile, I didn't really think that they would want to read about the kids' activities or follow my Farmville progress!

Once the page was created, I asked my friends to support my cause by posting the following to my personal profile:

OK, friends! I need your help! I'm trying a new approach to the unemployment line - social media! To help me out, visit my page (http://on.fb.me/nxt4QV), "like" the page and add a comment, quote, etc. that would be your endorsement of me. My focus is on media, marketing, branding, public relations, copy writing, advertising, etc.

If you can speak to either/both of my personal and professional attributes including (but not limited to!) writing, creativity, design, creation, communication, professionalism, character, organization, etc., that would really help me out! My plan is to link this page, my Twitter page and about.me page via QR code to put on application materials. Thanks in advance for your help! ~C

Next up, I created a Twitter account and linked it with my Facebook page. The content of my Facebook feed and Twitter account will be essentially the same, as one will post to the other and vice-versa, but is simply another outlet for my information.

Finally, I created a QR code that takes you to the about.me page I created (which, as of this writing is still in progress...why is it you can't find any decent pictures of yourself when you really NEED one??). On my about.me page, I plan to profile some key attributes and skills as well as create a memorable plug in the minds of prospective employers. I'm thinking a story to stick in their mind will do the trick! I also linked my blog (see it at http://christinacox.blogspot.com/), Facebook page and Twitter account from this page so it became one-stop shopping for viewers.

Do you have ideas on what else I should include or things I should consider? Post them in the comments below and help me make my online marketing plan thrive!

8 Ways to Stay Afloat While Between Jobs

This is a cute little article and video clip. While it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know or wasn't already doing, it does offer a little bit of inspiration to reinvent yourself during this lean time. :)

Check it out here: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/08/8-great-ways-to-stay-afloat-while-between-jobs.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=aug9

BOOK: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook by B. Mezrich

I've been reading The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook by Ben Merzich. It's definitely a page-turner and is enlightening to read about how Mark Zuckerberg, a then-Harvard student with almost zero social aptitude, created Facebook essentially to help students to interact with one another. Having hacked into Harvard's network, almost getting himself expelled from school and a computer geek right down to the core, Zuckerberg had no intention of making it a billion-dollar company!

I highly recommend reading Ben's account of the creation of Facebook!

Still watering...

I've fallen behind on my blog postings, but not because I have quit watering the bamboo! Over the past month, I have been ear-deep in website design, SEO self-study, marketing techniques, networking, business plans and personal discovery.

The website is taking shape. It now links to Tyton's FB and Twitter accounts, posts our blog, along with an RSS option, links to another website (buildzoom.com) where customers can review our company and a feed from our Twitter posts. Whew! I've also been exploring how to move our site up on the Google results through SEO.

In the meantime, I've continued to explore potential career paths to follow. Everyday, I feel more and more compelled to shift away from school/site-based educational positions. At this point, I'm seriously considering leaping into the field of real estate. It's a far cry from the field of education, but it speaks to my heart.

I've also determined over the past couple of weeks that a career focused in sales could be a good fit for me, but it is VERY dependent on what I'm selling. If I'm selling real estate, great! If I'm selling insurance, no thank you!

Income is important, too. I made decent money in my last job, so looking to positions that pay $30 or $40K a year hurts. But, at the same time, I could make $150K in a job I hate, but it would still be a job I hate. I'm tired of getting up everyday to go to job I'm so miserable doing. I need one that I love!

So, as I continue to water my bamboo, I need to go back to the core values I identified at the beginning of this process and see how they fit into my ideal job. I'll also be exploring how the finances will work out and plan to complete a CIS to identify other possible careers I haven't thought of that will fit into my ideals.

I'll also be posting the titles of books I am reading and, when I think of it, I'll post my thoughts on the topic and on the book itself.

Until next time, in the words of Howard Shultz, ONWARD!

A Little Self Discovery

As part of my ventures of Watering the Bamboo, I decided to take on the design and development of a website for a local contractor. Never having published a website before, I wasn't sure how it would go, but I decided that since design, real estate, architecture and decor are of personal interest to me, I should give it a whirl! Well, it's not done, but boy, I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made. Check it out for yourself: www.tytonconstruction.com. I stayed up night after night while the house was quiet developing page layouts, typing excerpts and imbedding hyperinks. What fun! Perhaps my new career will include some design aspects...???

Wa-hoo! What a ride!

Living cautiously is pretty much what your mother always tells you about living. Look both ways before you cross the street. Wear your seat belt. Don't listen to your music too loud or watch TV in the dark. Eat your vegetables. Get plenty of rest. And so on...today, though, I offer you this - one of my all time favorite quotes:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body...but, rather, to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "Wa-hoo! What a ride!"  ~Author Unknown

A thought from Grey's Anatomy...

This isn't really a regular blog posts, but something I thought I would share. The timing of this comment just hits right on target....

Grey's Anatomy (yes, I'm a fan!) posts this FB status update:

"Adapt or die. As many times as we've heard it, the lesson doesn't get easier."

Hmmm...guess that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

Recommended Reading

Here are two books that lend themselves to the learning I have attained so far and will refer to:

Water the Bamboo: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Bamboo-Unleashing-Potential-Individuals/dp/1935313339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309854605&sr=8-1

Little Bets: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bets-Breakthrough-Emerge-Discoveries/dp/1439170428/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309854899&sr=1-1

As we go, I will continue to recommend related links, books and materials you may find of interest and/or that I personally read to further my journey.

Water the what?

I spent the last week in class. Rumor had it that it would be one of those hold hands, hug a tree, sing kumbya type classes. One person who'd taken the course described it as a "climb a rope, pat each other on the back, bring world peace type B.S. classes"...yikes...what was I in for?

I went to class, somewhat reluctantly and spent Sunday afternoon awaiting some kind of "bomb" on what the week's activities would entail. Nothing. Everything seemed in order and that it would be another typical run-of-the-mill continuing education class.

What I would learn over the course of the next three days turned out to be more of a therapeutic awakening, rather than a graduate level course on adaptive leadership.

Just released from my job as an elementary principal due to budgetary shortfall, I was left reeling as to what I was going to do next or where I was going to go. The field of education continued to bear the burden of federal and state budget reductions. At just 28 years old, I was feeling like I'd spent the last eight years of my life pouring myself into something that while productive and positive wasn't all that personally rewarding. Night after night, I sat in my newborn's room rocking him, staring into the darkness, crying and wondering, why am I doing this? I got up every morning with a knot in my stomach and the sense of dread overcoming my body. For what? I kept saying I hated my job, but that seems now like just a bunch of lip service...after all, I kept doing it!

Back in class, we were learning about shifting our actions to meet the demands of the situations bestowed up on us. For most of my other peers, this was related to their endeavors as building administrators, ESD personnel, lead teachers and the like. For myself and an old friend, also in class, it was about our newfound positions of "unemployed".

The day after class finished, a friend of mine (who had also been through a career change earlier in his life) shared with me a copy of the book "Water the Bamboo". The book is a step by step manual for moving to action on a personal and team level. Based on the idea that when giant timber bamboo grows, it will rocket up an astonishing 90 feet in only 60 days, but not until at least three years of watering.

This blog will take you on my journey of watering the bamboo - through adaptive leadership tactics, my personal feats and failures, the emotional rollercoaster of considering a career shift and the learning I attain along the way. Hang on...it's going to be a ride!