Staying on Point & Afloat Part 1: Strategies for Transition

Recently, I received my last paycheck from my previous employer. This reminder of reality compelled me to reinforce and/or re-exam my corporate escape plan. In the first of my series on Staying on Point & Afloat, I have outlined my strategy for transitioning into a new career.

Getting a Part-Time Job
I have been searching for a decent-paying part-time gig in order to have some cash flow while sorting out my career plans. The types of part-time jobs I am considering are:

• A creative job such as writing or editing
• A job with a flexible hours and/or telecommutable
• A contract job leveraging my existing skillset

While having some income during this period of change is desired, I would rather not work if the pay is too low to be worth my time. The exception would be if I the job would be useful in making a career transition or if the experience would be very fun and creative. The primary sites I am using are Craigslist and Sologig.

Opening Pathways for Opportunity
As far as looking for a permanent position, I have already put my resume out on the job boards - rather than waiting till later - for three major reasons. First, I want to gauge what type of interest my resume draws, if any. Second, I figured that posting my resume was a passive activity that might yield a lucky chance offer for a fabulous job. Third, by looking at what type of work is out there I might get a better sense for what I do and don't like - and whether I will need additional training. The job boards I posted to are HotJobs! and TheLadders.

Using External Resources
In addition, one of my blog's advertising partners, Job-A-Matic, actually screens for jobs that corporate escapees like myself might like; so that is another source for me to see what's out there on the job market. Thus far, I have had some recruiter solicitations for employment. But I think I will get my resume professionally written because, quite frankly, I'm tired of looking at it. But mostly, I need for it to be search optimized. I've recently learned that, like a website, getting "hits" requires imbedding good tag words.

In Part 2 - Taking Care of Personal Business