The Jobs are Coming

I began 2010 by losing my job of five years and I was out of work for several months. It was starting to look pretty grim and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find anything. It seemed like employers were looking for someone with entry level experience or more than 10 years experience. That left me, with only six years of experience, without a lot of options.

Not many jobs were available in my public relations and marketing profession, especially in the Detroit area. Automotive companies and suppliers were cutting their budgets and getting rid of a lot of marketing people. That left the market saturated with highly skilled people as well as a lot of people newly graduating from college. And I was left stuck in the middle.

At some point I was offered an office manager position for a non profit. I highly considered it, but a couple things  scared me off. First, would I be taking a step back in my career if I went back to working in an office. Secondly,  as many non-profits were losing donations would my job be guaranteed or would I have to take over several roles as they started downsizing.

I decided to stay in my career field, hoping that something would come along soon. Well another six months went by without any luck. I got together with my old supervisor and she helped me to refine my resume and develop a cover letter. I mailed my personal press kit to every PR firm in the Metro Detroit area, Grand Rapids area and Charlotte, NC area. 

I finally started receiving calls. One came from a PR company that I really wanted to work with. They seem to be doing very innovative things in PR as well as seemed to have a pretty cool company atmosphere. I thought the interview went okay, I followed up with thank you notes and didn't hear back from them. I even told them I may be willing to consider to come in as an entry level employee to work with them. That's how much I liked this place. 

The next week I was interviewed by another firm. The next week they asked me to come in for a second interview and to see how we worked together. The next week I was hired. I am really enjoying working with this company. Its been a big difference working with a PR firm from working with the hospital. It has its ups and downs, but the bosses are great and I think thats what makes the company better to work with.

But last week I got a call from the first organization that I wanted to work for, and they offered me a job. They told me I was the leading candidate for the position and that the firm was really impressed with my work. I was totally flattered and floored at the same time. I interviewed in September and they offer me a job in January. I had not heard anything from this company since the interview (besides their company holiday card). Now I get a job offer the firm I really wanted. However, they wanted me to come in as an entry level employee. I would have done that when I didn't have a job, but now I have a great one. 

I turned them down, but told them we should keep in contact. I thought it would be wrong to leave my new job after only a few months, plus this one pays more :) So unemployed people, fear not, the jobs are coming. People are buying again and the market is opening. And if its anything like me, once you get a job you'll start to get job offers all over the place.