Sifting the ashes for lessons...

Two weeks now gone, two weeks unemployed. I have calculated that every day I'm out of work I lose $600. It's like getting up every morning and writing a check, but you have no money coming in so it's coming out of the money you've been saving for other things. Thinking of it that way keeps me active and working towards a new career. We are all getting a little nervous.

The interview Wednesday went very well. I have said for years that if I had it to do over again I would find a large Fixed Operations position and be quite content. Well, this position is for a Service Director in a very large dealership. Perfect for me, except that it's 85 miles from my home! It took me an hour and a half to get there. The owner, who interviewed me, said that relocation would be a must. I tend to agree, but there are many complications. At this time I refuse to address them, simply because the position hasn't been offered. I will follow up with him next week for another interview. Suffice it to say that I have stored that problem away in my head and I'll chew on it for some days, just in case I need to find solutions there.

Is there a lesson I've learned from my most recent career past? After all, I left an employer that I worked for over 15 years, only to have the new company sold and the newest owners hand me my walking papers. I'm not sure about that, but I don't regret those moves to this day. The old company had put me in a position that had no importance and was a dead end, even if I held the highest position possible without actually being the owner. So I needed a challenge. In hindsight the General Manager position that I left got a lot worse after I left it (they lost the Dodge franchise in the economic downturn), so it was a good move there. The new position could have been good, I think I'd chalk it up to bad timing. The recession was still raging, the owner had lost so much money he wasn't listening to anyone and wasn't spending anything on anything, leaving me handcuffed to attempt to be successful and keep morale up in a debilitating, decaying atmosphere. Then Daddy BigBucks came along, dropped $5 million into the company and away they went (without me). Hey, it was a nice ride and they paid me well while I was there, so there's no regrets. Besides I plan on ending up in a much better place, so it'll be all worth it in the end.

My time is cut short, so I'll see you again soon ...