Organize my Job Search

Organize my Job Search Three and a half years ago we bought a new house. We got a great deal on it, but more importantly, it fit our very unique needs. I cant imagine another house that would fit our needs like this has. There are a lot of perks to this house. It was built very nicely and has a lot of amenities. We finally live in a cul de sac, and are zoned so we can have chickens. Our last house was great, but it didnt meet our wish list of features. This one hit every one of them and has other features we didnt even know about. The previous owners spent a lot of money on xeriscape. For those of you in lush areas, with lots of rain, you might not know what that means. Basically you forego beautiful lawn for a desert/rock landscape. It can be very beautiful. For a long time I also thought it meant it was much easier to care for. No more mowing, or fertilizing? COUNT ME IN! However, theres a problem. I think this house is about 15 years old which means the landscaping is about 15 years old. Great things are more mature. It also has 15 years of dirt, dust, and debris that has accumulated on the weed covering (just below the rocks). Basically, year one, there was no dirt for weeds to grow in because it was just inhospitable weed cover. Fast forward to today, we have a healthy layer of dirt above the weed cover that seeds can do their thing and, like magic, my yard is green again. Except its not the green I want I find myself spending time out in my yard that I thought was going to be maintenance free. I spend more time spraying or weeding that I would mowing and fertilizing. The lesson here is that my xeriscaped yard needs maintenance. And so does your career. Even if you have all the education you think you need, you still need to learn. Even if you work at a super secure and stable company, you still need to have a brand outside that company (think: Enron, or any of the many casualties of Covid-19). Even if you are a thought leader and have done a great job branding yourself, you still need to network. Even if you have done all of those things, and have had a fantastic career, you still need to show you add significant value. Even if. Because no one has a xeri-maintenance career. Thats why Ive been doing JibberJobber for 14 years. Thats why I love users who use JibberJobber for networking even between job searches. The need for maintenance never stops. If I stay up on my weeds then I just need to spend a little time here and a little time there. But if I let it go for months, or years, Ill have an overwhelming mess on my hands. When I got laid off in 2006 I had an overwhelming mess on my hands. I had not spent any time on career management. When I got laid off in 2018 it was barely a blip on my radar. Because Ive been doing career management things. I invite you to work on your career maintenance RIGHT NOW. Wont you join me?