Expect the Unexpected

Things happen when we least expect them. Sometimes, that's a good thing, and other times, being caught off guard can really take the wind out of your sails. In the last month, I have had so many occurrences in both directions (good and bad) that there were days my head spun out of control. A very dear friend was diagnosed with some major health problems that required immediate surgery. Unfortunately, the news came as she was returning home from being out of the country for an extended period of time, dealing with the death of her mother. It really shook me to MY core and for about two weeks I walked around in a fog. Then I met up with a college friend who has been battling another equally serious medical problem for about the last six months.

They are both strong-willed, intelligent, kind and grounded people. But what strikes me most is how they both have very matter-of-fact, whatever-it-takes attitudes in terms of dealing with their illnesses. Neither have fallen apart, and seem to be in good spirits considering the hands they were dealt. I am in awe. I think if it were me in either instance, I'd be a total basket case. I stand in complete and total admiration of both of them.

Ironically, while I was talking to my college friend and sharing the saga of my search for a new position, he told me that he didn't know how I did it. I don't think of being out of work as something that would shred me to pieces, yet he said if it was him, he'd be a mess. We both laughed and I said, "G-d doesn't give us anything we can't handle." I guess it's true. Neither of us wanted to be in the other's shoes, yet managed to deal with what we had been handed.

To that end, we talked about networking and he shared with me that he had not really understood the true value of 'power' networking until I had explained it to him. Apparently, a lot of people think that when someone is asking them for help networking, they want to know if that person is aware of friends with job openings. Oh dear. Does the world really think that's what networking is? Apparently so!! Once he realized that I just wanted to meet more people who could potentially be connected to companies I'd like to target, or to hiring managers at other companies and that all I needed was an introduction, he immediately gave me the name of one of his oldest buddies who is VERY well connected.

This gentleman was instrumental in making things happen quickly. Because he is leaving to go out of the country today, he set up a meeting with me within 24 hours of our introduction. After that meeting, he shared my resumé with at least a dozen of his connections. I was floored at how proactive he was, and how quickly he made introductions. You could have wiped my jaw off the floor! I am in the process of setting up some informational interviews with people in industries far removed from my experience. While that may seem odd, what this person and I share is the belief that "a good salesperson can sell anything." And while in this climate, most large companies want a sales staff with industry experience, there ARE smaller companies out there willing to take the risk of hiring someone with a learning curve. Especially with new technology, it might not always be possible to hire someone with direct experience. So we'll see where that leads.

I also had an interview in Manhattan for a temporary freelance project (locally) and a few networking events/meetings. At one of them, I even ran into someone I went to high school with. That was odd, since I am nowhere near my hometown. I recognized his name on a sign in sheet. We were not friendly in high school, nor would I have remembered him if I saw him on the street, but his name stuck. So that was about as close to a high school reunion as I'll ever get (let's just say I wasn't fond of high school). It turns out (I had forgotten) that he threw the softball in gym class that had broken my sister's nose weeks before the Senior Prom (her Marcia Brady "Oh!My NOSE!" moment). What a small world.

The biggest story of all is that a complete stranger read my LinkedIn profile and reached out to me because he liked what he read. We had a long conversation about two weeks ago, then I met with him on Saturday evening for several hours. While it is another business consultant who wants me to help him with business development, this person is so well-connected in his industry, and needs so much help with formulating and closing the deals (more-so than identifying prospects) that I am considering it. More on that as it develops.

With all that was going on, it was hard to sit down and find the common thread that pulled everything that's been happening for the last month together, which is why it's been so long since I've done it. But now that I'm over the shock of things actually HAPPENING, I hope to improve at sharing as things progress.