Month: December 2023

First day of the holidays!

It’s counterintuitive, but oddly, being laid off has allowed me to actually enjoy the run-up to the holidays this year. December was always crazy hectic for me in my role at Walgreens, so even though I’ve been busy with the job search and holiday prep, it’s actually felt a lot less stressful this year. Weird!

As this is published, I’ll be on my way to my hometown for the holidays. So if posts get fewer over the next 2 weeks, it’s more about spending time with my family/friends and less about ignoring writing and the job search. 

I’ll be checking in on the job search leads, but I’m betting the next 2 weeks will be REALLY quiet as other people take time off for the holidays as well. So if you don’t hear from me much over the next couple of weeks – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Oh no!

Yesterday my Facebook memories reminded me that 10 years ago, I had the flu. Full out, high fever, sore throat, runny nose, exploding head flu. And this morning I woke up with a scratchy throat. Coincidence? Probably. I’m attacking it with hot tea – supplemented by honey and a slice of lemon.

After the past few years with Covid, it’s easy to get complacent about flu. So let’s look at some resources that could be helpful if you wake up with a scratchy throat too!

First up – the CDC has a pretty comprehensive overview of symptoms, how flu spreads and can link you to info about Covid or RSV at this link: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/keyfacts.htm#:~:text=Influenza%20(flu)%20can%20cause%20mild,cough

Want to know where flu is spreading the fastest? Try this link – of course it’s spreading in Illinois…. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

Need a good home remedy? I’ve done the steamy shower and hot tea already but there are more good suggestions here: https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/home-remedies#_noHeaderPrefixedContent

And for good measure – here’s some things to keep you entertained if you are down with the flu! https://www.spoonfulofcomfort.com/blog/the-top-21-movies-to-watch-on-a-sick-day https://www.buzzfeed.com/audreyworboys/shows-to-watch-while-sick  https://decider.com/2014/08/29/what-to-stream-when-youre-sick/

But the best medicine is prevention – so go get a flu shot. It’s not too late!

Employee Engagement

I had a really interesting conversation with an old friend yesterday about employee engagement. So I’m going to stretch my Wellness Wednesday topic to be about the health of a team. It’s my blog space – I’m allowed!

We were talking about the challenges of managing a team that is was fully remote during Covid and I remarked that I didn’t find it that horrible. Which seemed a bit surprising to my friend. My team’s engagement metrics actually grew over the course of the pandemic – and I think it’s because I actually listened to my team every step of the way.

Remember those first days of the lockdown when nobody knew what day it was? I used our Teams channel to do a morning greeting to my team EVERY day. To make it more fun, I used a Holiday Every Day website to give us something to “celebrate.” Some days I tried to tie the holiday celebration to what was happening with work – but most days, it was just a way to allow us to pretend we were still all around the table at the office and have a little chit chat to start the day. I did polls, asked for stories from the team and offered funny observations on everything from the weather to what I could see out my window.

More than that, I listened to what they wanted. We did a couple lunch meetings over video but ultimately, the team decided we would do a Friday morning meeting. It allowed us to talk over what had happened over the week, decimation of “news” from team leader meetings and make plans for the coming week.

And from time to time, I sent care packages to everyone. I did holidays with home made cookies and candy. When one of my team members had ankle surgery, I sent a package with all kinds of goodies to make the convalescence easier. I sent electronic gift card “prizes” for a weird trivia contest. I wanted them to have unexpected things that were just plain fun.

In other words, I cared about my team. And if there’s one thing most people respond to, it’s being valued. They were valued – and they engaged. I miss them!

Crazy!

My to-do list is a completely crazy mix of job search and holiday tasks! It just doesn’t seem possible that just 6 weeks ago I was up to my ears in work and trying to figure out when I would even think about heading home for the holidays. I feel like there is a before November 8th and an after life now.

I’ve come to terms with the layoff and a part of me is grateful for the holidays as a distraction. I am totally committed to actually enjoying the holidays this year which is a HUGE silver lining of the timing of the layoffs.

At Walgreens, I was responsible for the post-Christmas clearance events so the holidays were always stressful to make sure I had the item and store lists for each event – post Christmas, Hannukah, New Years and Three Kings – and that each promo event had the correct item discount rates and correct store lists. The lists were ALWAYS a challenge – one year, I worked on Christmas morning to make sure the Puerto Rico stores got the right items/discounts because they gave me their lists late on Christmas Eve! So while I always go home for the holidays, I was always working and missed out on a lot.

This year, I’m all about being fully present with my family for a change. I’ve made plans to lunch with cousins I recently reconnected with. I’m doing a 5K with another cousin – just the 2 of us! We ordered finishing medals online and everything! I’m hoping to take my nephews bowling. It’s going to be a joy to be able to go to all the Christmas activities with everyone and not be so distracted.

And while I have been seriously looking/networking for the job search for the last 4 weeks, after the holidays, I’m going to double down. So look out – if you need a great marketing person, I’m heading your way!

First Job

I’ve read that 1 in 8 Americans have worked at McDonald’s. So I’m in good company since I got my first job at McDonald’s as soon as I turned 16. I loved the McDonald’s I worked at. The head manager there was great and really made an effort to schedule the high school students around their extra curricular activities. For me that wasn’t always easy since I was in Band and Show Choir!

Not me – but I wore this same uniform!!!

I look back at my time at McDonald’s very fondly. My co-workers were almost all people I had known most of my life so it made it really easy to be a tight team. You don’t slack on people you’ve always known!

But I learned a lot of things at McD’s that have stuck with me throughout my career. Shall we review?

  • Multitasking. I usually worked the drive-thru so at any given time, I might have been taking an order, picking up another order and collecting payment for yet another order. I had to learn to be fast – and absolutely accurate. All while being friendly to the customers too! This has paid off for me in almost every job since. I pride myself on my ability to work on multiple problems/projects at one time, keeping everything on time, absolutely accurate and with a smile on my face.
  • Responsibility. I never would have DREAMED of missing a shift without at a minimum calling my manager to let them know why I wouldn’t be there. I knew the team depended on me to be there for my shift and there was no way I would ghost them. Not only would I never ghost a shift – I was never late. Maybe that’s the way I’m built but then again, it goes back to not wanting to make the shift harder for my friends. That has also stuck with me to this day. I show up and give 100% to my job.
  • Attention to detail. The last thing 16 year old me wanted was a customer yelling at me because their order wasn’t right. Customization wasn’t necessarily a big thing at McD’s when I worked there in the old days but if someone ordered a plain hamburger, they got a plain hamburger from me! I was also sure that if you ordered coffee, I asked about cream/sugar and included a tiny spoon to stir. If you ordered nuggets – you got the right sauce for you. This has carried on through my career as well – I’m all about making sure the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed!

I’m a firm believer that the skills you learn in any job are easily transferable to your next job or just your life in general. What skill did you learn in your first job that you still use today? Tell us in the comments!

True Friends

I worked for Midas International for nearly 13 years – I left when the company was bought out by TBC Corporation in 2013. So it’s been 10 years since my Midas days. But I have to hand it to the friends, co-workers and franchisees of Midas. When the chips are down, they’re the first people to show up and ask how they can help.

One of the first messages I received after being laid off was from a franchisee who said Midas is hiring and they’d love to have me back. Or that barring that, he was sure one of the franchisees would hire me. The sweetest words ever! And 10 years after leaving the Midas system!

Last night, I had dinner with 3 of my Midas friends and they could not be more supportive. And the thing is, we hadn’t seen each other in probably 4 years or more! I remarked at one point that I’m just blown away at how sitting there with them, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t just yesterday that we all worked together. I know I’ve said it before – but I am so blessed in my friends and former co-workers from all my past jobs.

Now – please excuse me. I have to run because I’m having coffee with another old Midas friend this morning. I’ll be counting my blessings again on the way!

Stress

Last time I was on a job search, I’ll admit I hit some mental health walls. It wasn’t just the job search – I also had a parent who was failing and dealing with that was really stressful too. But it got really bad when I wouldn’t go outside during “work hours.”

I am now 4 weeks past the day of the meeting with HR and my VP telling me I was on the lay off list. I think I’m doing OK but it’s early days right? I received 2 rejection emails over the last week that I freely admit stung a bit because I respect the company and I thought my skills were a good match to the job description. But hey – I networked in and maybe the next role that comes up will be an even better match.

It’s tough being between jobs when I have invested so much of myself in my work. I’m unapologetically a Type A person – I actually love to work. So not having that work rhythm to drive my days is difficult.

I’m still up at 6:30am every morning and trying to keep a routine of getting to my desk well before 9am to look at the job boards and network. And I’ve started the process of renewing my Google Analytics and Google Adwords certifications. Might even take some coding classes I’ve been eyeing after the holidays. But I’m REALLY hoping this search doesn’t take a really long time – the emotional roller coaster isn’t a good place for me!

I found these articles about stress and searching for a job – check them out? They might be helpful!

Busy, busy, busy….

I’ve been so busy to-doing this morning I’m later than usual getting here to write. I’ve been busy networking – and writing thank you notes. I even wrote a thank you note for a rejection email. Sounds weird doesn’t it?

I believe in saying thank you. Even when it seems counterintuitive. Good manners are in short supply these days but my Mom would roll over in her grave if I didn’t use my manners!

Seriously – it isn’t hard to say “please” or “thank you.” Or hold a door open for people. Or return your shopping cart to the corrals in the parking lot. Having a little bit of consideration for your fellow humans shouldn’t be so hard!

So acknowledge an email. Send a thank you for that gift. Use your turn signal. Let someone into your lane in traffic. Smile and say please or thank you! It may make someone’s day – maybe even your own!