Looking for a job is like soul searching. While I want to believe the sentiment that your job does not define you, each time I look at a job description and think about committing myself to that position I can’t help but start thinking about myself as the job. Am I a research assistant? A program coordinator? A project manager? A sales clerk? If I am that person, what does that mean? What do I do? Who am I serving?
Figuring out what kind of jobs I wanted to apply for was always a challenge. I have a lot of work experience in diverse industries, but I didn’t have a career path in mind. So I set about the task of scouring all of the job sites for the job that would be my next career. I read descriptions, evaluated employers, thought the kinds of employers I’d want to work for, wrote thoughtful and persuasive cover letters touting my qualifications and passion, and sent my resume out into the job market ether.
However, after several weeks of applying and waiting I realized that I didn’t really want any of the jobs I was applying for! I couldn’t imagine myself in any of the positions, because to be honest I didn’t want a job that came with a neat set of tasks.
I did not want a job. I wanted an experience. I wanted that experience to mean something to people and give back to the community. I wanted a reason to get out of the house and an occupation that I could feel proud of. I didn’t want to settle into a job that only allowed me to do a few tasks. I wanted a diversity of experiences and people.
I wanted to volunteer, and I wanted to blog.
So that is my new plan. No job; one year of volunteering and blogging about volunteering starting today. Each day I will blog about my experiences volunteering. I hope to do a really wide variety of activities for a diversity set of non-profits. Check in often or add me to your RSS feed to find out what I’m doing, what I’m learning, and what it’s like to go for a year with out a paycheck and be a volunteer.
