Dad needs to create the World’s Greatest LinkedIn profile to go alongside the best cover letter ever.
Why?
Isn’t the answer self-explanatory?
The damn lottery people keep forgetting to send me the winning numbers and since my real name isn’t Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Rockefeller or Andrew Carnegie I need to do better than get an ordinary job.
The good news is I am currently employed but the less good is that it is beginning to look like I need to look into making a move to something that does a better job of soothing my soul, feeding my heart and adding to my bank account.
When I Grow Up
One of the many reasons why this blog exists is because it is a nifty repository of thoughts, ideas and stories.
Way back in ’08 I wrote a post called When I Grow Up where I talked a bit about what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Looked at it for the first time in years and smiled at the memories and realized the man who wrote is…gone.
Ok, I wrote it and I am very much alive but the thoughts and ideas I had back then made me smile because they are dated.
I have been on one hell of a journey and have come so very far but have farther yet to go.
But I can answer Tim Mcgraw’s question about how bad I want it.
There are moments in a parent’s life where you wonder where you went wrong and moments where you realize you did something right.
I had both of those moments, first on Saturday night and then one late Sunday afternoon.
The first came after a particularly disagreeable moment with my teenager and the second came the day after when he apologized for what he had said.
I hadn’t realized how angry and hurt I was and I was more than pleased by his recognition of what had taken place.
“You may not recognize how seriously I take what you and your sister say. I will always do my best to do the right thing for us. It may not always make sense to you but I try hard to take you guys into account.”
He nodded his head and I thanked him again for the apology and he asked me to tell him more about what is going on.
I quoted Take it Easy and told him I wasn’t always good about not letting the sound of my own wheels make me crazy.
How To Avoid Making Mistakes
“Dad, you always tell me to try not to make dumb mistakes. How do you do it?”
I laughed and told him I could tell him how to avoid making mistakes.
“Hold your breath for as long as you can and then accept that once you exhale you’ll make a mistake.”
He shook his head at me and I told him he already knew that there is no way to avoid making mistakes.
“All you can do is make the best decision you can about a situation knowing that you have limited information about it.”
I followed up on that by telling him I think it might be time for me to do a little sniffing around the job market and to think about finding a new opportunity.
“How do you tell if it is better than what you have?”
“Sometimes it is easy to distinguish between two positions based upon compensation or upon what the requirements of the positions are, but sometimes it is not that simple.
Sometimes you can’t tell without making a move and taking a risk. But that is life, that is how it goes.”
I have a vision of the life I want to live and the places/people I want to live it in and with.
Ask me why I need the World’s Greatest LinkedIn profile and I’ll tell you it is because it is damn hard to get a person to spend real time looking at your resume.
It is damn hard getting hard because the keyword search screening that doesn’t have the ability to recognize transferable skills that you have acquired over years of hard work.
Sometimes you need a little help getting in front of a person so that you can explain that you have the personal and professional skills they need to fill that position.
So that profile is just another tool you can use to help yourself be found and be seen.
****
Change is coming and I am doing my best to ride the wave and not fight the current.
If all goes half as well as I hope in a short time I’ll be that much closer to living the life I dream and not be dreaming away the life I have.
Midnight has come and passed and it is time for this young man to catch some shut eye. See you in the comments during daylight hours.
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Larry April 25, 2016 at 7:25 pm
The ups and downs of dealing with a h.s. student are worrying me. I’m still trying to get my oldest through m.s. but I’m not a in a rush.
I used to think I want a fulfilling career. Sometimes, these days I think I just want to make $ and find fulfillment in other parts of my life.
Jack Steiner April 26, 2016 at 12:04 am
High school has been an experience and in many ways my son’s freshman year makes me wonder if I we are not having similar experiences because it feels a bit like I am a freshman father learning how to manage the teen. 🙂
There is something to be said for earning a buck and having fulfillment elsewhere. I sure have thought about it.