Tag: networking

Back to normal!

So over the weekend, Xfinity came and replaced my router with a new – more secure – one. So with EVERYTHING changed clear down to my IP address, I’m feeling back to normal after my brush with the hacker.

My NEW router!

I’d encourage all of you to talk with your internet provider and make sure your equipment is up to date. Turns out my old router wasn’t as secure as I would have hoped – even before my stupidity in falling for a hack. It was well over 5 years old – and with the way tech goes, that’s ancient! The new one has a new layer of security in the hardware and other bells and whistles that I hope will keep me protected now.

Did you know the first WiFi router was introduced for regular consumers in 1997? Seems strange that they’ve only been in common use for less than 30 years doesn’t it? If you got your router in 2019 or before, odds are it isn’t giving you all the speed/capacity all the devices in your house want. In 2019, the standard for changed from WiFi 5 to WiFi 6 – resulting in a speed increase of almost 300%! The new WiFi 6 standard also introduced the 5GHz band in addition to the 2.4GHz band which WiFi had been limited too – so less congestion for devices in addition to more speed. I counted up all the internet connected devices in my house over the weekend – I live alone and I currently have over 30 devices attached to WiFi in my house! Imagine how many more devices you have now than you had 5 years ago and you get yet another reason to check the equipment you use for WiFi and make sure it’s up to date.

The job search is heating up (with the weather?) too! Last week, I had an informal interview for a role that isn’t even posted yet! The hiring manager heard about me as a result of interviewing well for a job I didn’t get. I have a couple other things moving too – so keep your fingers crossed!

New Week, New Thoughts…

I have a new approach to my job search – and Monday is now officially networking day. So far so good – I have a new connection that has hooked me up with a hiring manager this morning! And I have another new connection that I hope will just be a good resource for information on healthcare marketing. We have a lot in common and I’m already enjoying the chat with her.

I’m not a natural networker – but my outplacement coach gave me some tips and pointed me at some training to help. I know it just means putting myself out there but since the layoffs, I have been plagued by my old issues with shyness. I’ve always said I am more outgoing at work than I am in my personal life but lately, my professional persona has also clammed up. Time to brush off the shyness!

On a related note, in January, I responded to a post on my neighborhood Facebook page asking if anyone was interested in starting a crochet group. In February, another woman and I arranged for an in-person meet up where 4 other people came and as of today, we have 36 members in our Crochet/Knitting Friends Facebook group! It’s been an amazing experience for me and I feel like I’ve already made 4 really good friends. We even had an outing to YarnCon in downtown Chicago over the weekend! This has been a real adventure for me – and also helping me with my tendencies toward shyness.

I also had a friend that sent me an email about joy this morning. The gist of the article attached to the email was that too many people forget to feel joy every day. I’ve been trying to be more mindful about gratitude – but joy is certainly related. So now in addition to ending my day thinking about all I have to be grateful for, I’m going to start listing things that brought me joy in the day as well. Postive thoughts cannot help but manifest positive things right?

Getting busier.

I submitted 3 quality applications yesterday and networked around 2 applications from last week. It’s still slow going but I’m nothing if not persistent. I read that a job search is as much a numbers game as anything these days. So my goal is to source at least 1 good job lead each day and network on at least 1 job. Those numbers seem low? Well, I assure you it can take a full morning to read the job boards, find appropriate job listings for what you want, edit your resume for the role, write a cover letter and then submit the application. Some days it’s exhilarating – some days, not so much.

I’m not whining about it. Really. I did one of those silly quizzes at New Years that “revealed” your key words for 2024. Mine were Patience, Purpose and Trust. I’m using this as sort of a mantra. I’m working on finding a new purpose for my life but it takes patience and trust to know it’s all going to work out OK.

So I’m feeling better physically after the flu and getting back to my household to-do list too. I finished patching a spot in the wall that I may have cracked with over exuberant vacuuming yesterday so today, the painting is going to actually begin. Wish me luck!

Busy Day!

To-do Tuesday and I have a lot of to-dos today! Which makes me happy! Take it from me – there’s nothing worse than only having scrolling job boards as the priority for the day. I’ve been doing some on-line training series to fill time and sharpen up my skills, but I LOVE having a real to-do list for the day today.

It’s a networking day – for brunch, I’m meeting an old friend who is also on a job search. And for dinner, I’m meeting an old friend who is now a CMO so both ends of the job spectrum? It will be good for me mentally to see both of them and I’m really looking forward to seeing both of them.

In between, I have some sanding to do on the wall prep I did yesterday for painting, a trip to the grocery and a couple of other errands planned. So it will be a full day, I’ll be out of the house and the sun is shining. It’s a GOOD DAY!!!!!

Networking

On this To-Do Tuesday, I’m networking! I’ve got a list of companies I’m targeting as places I would like to work AND where I think my experience and skill set would be appreciated. Yesterday, I spent hours scrolling through LinkedIn and found a list of people that know people in my target companies and started networking.

I’m always amazed at how quickly you can find someone that knows someone. That game of six degrees of separation is even smaller in the business world – and I am VERY fortunate in my friends and former co-workers.

My LinkedIn pages are a gold mine! I’m overwhelmed with how people are responding even during this holiday week. So yeah – I got laid off, but I am blessed. Gotta run now – having lunch and networking with some old friends from my Midas days!