Hunting

After nearly seven months of being 'retired' (that is, my company of almost 19 years laid me and my entire department off), I've decided that I'm not quite ready to be fully retired.

Within a day or two of being laid off, several people reached out to me for much-appreciated support, some even letting me know that they would keep an eye out for employment opportunities in my field of expertise. One person told me that she often has writing contracts with her company, and did I want her to reach out when such an opportunity arose.

Yes, I told her. Thanks very much.

Another colleague that I worked with at Motorola, who had been laid off many months earlier, contacted me to let me know that his new company was looking for a writer, and would I be interested. I thanked him for thinking of me but that I was going to take the spring and summer off to work on a novel, that if another opportunity arose down the road to think of me again.

I was touched by the number of people who told me that they had my back and would reach out if another writing job came in their sights. It's good to know that there were those who believed in me.

Image: Perplexity

When we returned from our Laurentian-Saguenay vacation, DW suggested that it was time that I started looking for work. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I agreed that I needed to return to the workforce, needed to interact with people again.

I've activated job notifications on LinkedIn and have let my followers on that platform know that I'm looking for work again. So far, it's been pretty quiet but I've been pretty low-key about applying to anything.

I want to do something that brings me joy.

DW suggested that I even apply to Costco, and I considered applying to work in their electronics department. But when I started the online application process and learned that my data would be stored in the United States, I backed out of the site.

Yes, I'm sure the U.S. has information on me already (Motorola is an international company but it's headquartered in the States) but I don't want to voluntarily give them more information, especially in this political climate.

When thinking of jobs that interest me, I thought back to some of the jobs I've had in the past. I thought of my days of teaching English in South Korea. For the most part, I enjoyed it—I loved most of my students and being in a different part of the world, though it came with its fair share of stress.

I thought of when I worked in retail and remembered that I thrived in the jobs I had, from selling paint and wallpaper to selling cameras and photo accessories.

I've started applying to retail stores, though I've focused on Canadian-owned companies. I've even applied to a camera chain, thinking that my 45-plus years of experience with photography would be an asset.

And, I'm good with people.

I think.

While I don't have to have a job, I think it would be good for me and it would be good for whoever hires me. I would be there for them because I wanted to be, not because I had to be.

Whatever I end up doing, I'll give it my all until I finally retire, for good, which was originally when I turned 63, but may end up being when DW decides to retire, herself.

Know of someone in the Ottawa area who is hiring? Check out my LinkedIn profile and reach out to me if you think I'd be a good fit.

And wish me luck in my hunt.