I feel incredibly lucky this week, suspiciously looking over my shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’ve made significant progress on both my job searches: as a business strategy leader, and as an organizational coach.
For the former, I had a great interview yesterday with a rapidly growing local software company. I know a few people who work there, and it comes highly recommended. I’m well qualified for the particular job, and am about 80% happy with how I answered questions during the interview. There’s a lot more process to go, and I have no idea what the odds are, but it’s great progress. Perhaps what feels good is that this is the first serious interview I’ve had outside HP since I lost my job, which gives me some confidence that maybe I really do have skills that are valuable to the Real World out there.
On the coaching front, I’ve talked to a number of companies which are in the business of supplying coaching services to companies. Several are actively interested in me, in a capacity of contracting my coaching services through them in order to serve the end customers. That seems to be a very popular business model for these companies, because it gives them flexibility to serve a wide variety of clients, connecting them with a wide variety of on-demand coaches.
From my point of view as an independent coach, of course, the amount of business I’d get depends a great deal on what would be brought in by a company like this – especially until I’ve established my own identity as an independent coach. But it seems like a great way to get started in the business.
What’s so interesting about this is that it’s all coming from networking: through the local Fort Collins networking group, through all of my coach friends inside HP, and with my other coach friends outside HP. Sure, I monitor a lot of job postings constantly, but the real rich and exciting opportunities are coming from discussions with real people. I could apply for a job as a manager at Home Depot in Denver, but that’s not using my unique skills and passions.
(Speaking of passions, if you want to find out more about what’s happening in Sacred Music in my world, check out my other blog. There’s too much interesting stuff happening there to copy it here.)
Another reason why it seems like momentum is building on the job front is that I’ve been developing this “Career Plan B” for about ten years now. So when the axe fell and I needed to start exercising that plan, I had it already forming in my mind. I had talked to people about it, and invested for several years into networking with people which might help me later.
Which they definitely are.
Worried about your job? Don’t have a career plan B? Get cranking. Now. It will payoff in many ways, both before and after your next job change.