obtain another job

I recently got a call from the most recent agency that contracted me out. They said that my former place of employment may want me back, possibly as early as next week. Well, that’s an interesting turn of events.

I wouldn’t mind, as it is a good place and I enjoyed my time there. So we’ll see what ends up happening for me.

I own a book that has templates to xerox for tracking each job opportunity that I apply for, as well as writing down contact information, the history of the job application status, and a weekly To Do action list. I found that writing all this out by hand, especially repeated information, cross-referenced information, and when I made mistakes in names or titles, was cumbersome and thus frustrating.

Now that I’m on the hunt again, I decided I would search the Web to see if there were any free sites that would help with a specialized project in itself like this. And, of course, there are.

Earlier last week, I narrowed it down to four sites, read some online critical reviews of each, and then narrowed it down to two that would fit my specific needs: “Job Search Log” and “JibberJobber.”

So last Friday and this past weekend, I decided to give them a try. Job Search Log sounded the coolest and was designed to be completely free. So I tried it first. Unfortunately, I found the interface to be not very user intuitive. I know if I kept at it, I would overcome this hurdle, and it would probably have worked out just fine.

But being spoiled by the relative simplicity of a site like 43 Things, I decided to start over and try the other one. The basic version of JibberJobber seems to accomodate my needs, and is much easier to figure out how to use. I found myself entering the same data much quicker, so I continued entering all the job search-to-date information, as a record. And now, I’ve decided to stick with it and continue on with it.

For 14 days, I will have the Premium version of the site, so after 14 days I will see if I still have the features I was looking for (theoretically, I should).

I am very happy with what my computer and the World Wide Web can do for me, at little or no cost, to greatly aid in my personal productivity, these days.

You could say I’m in between jobs right now. I had a 3 month contract position that lasted so many years it felt permanent. And now it is on to the next one. It could be a short term contract or a permanent position. I don’t care. I just want it to feel right.

I mean, no one confuses work with play. That’s why they are antonyms, not synonyms. So it’s not about having fun at work.

It’s about feeling a connection with the people there, feeling I will be able to make a difference there. And together with the people there, feeling like we can make a contribution to the world, no matter how large or small. That’s what I’m striving for. Let’s make it happen.