The Epiphany

The Epiphany

After yesterday’s mini-meltdown, 2 hours wasted at a virtual (online) job fair, a pack and ½ of smokes, more wine, and a decent night’s sleep, I woke up this morning and had an epiphany: I’m wasting my time looking for a “real” job. At first it came as a question: “Am I wasting my time looking for a “real”, regular, corporate, 9-5 job?” After realizing what a waste of time and effort it’s been all these years, the answer became a resounding “YES!” In the few hours it’s been since that light bulb came on, I feel like a new woman. Refreshed, and with a new purpose! I have decided to completely give up looking for a traditional job and 1) concentrate on finding freelance writing/editing/proofreading gigs for some quick cash and 2) to make a definite plan for starting a business of my own. I think it might end up being some kind of consulting service where I can offer my vast array of talent, skills, and experience to the public and receive adequate compensation for my efforts. I am smart, creative, innovative, tech-savvy, and have a million dollar personality. No employer is paying a decent salary for that! And I’m fed up with offering it for peanuts.

So today is the milestone day that I start focusing on working for ME! No more wading through all those job alerts from the myriad job boards I’ve subscribed to. In my spare time, I’ll be deleting my resume from all those places and closing my job search accounts. I’m convinced there are no decent-paying jobs for 50+ Boomers like me. I can’t afford to work for peanuts. The economy, the IRS, my landlord, and my creditors are seeing to it that “peanuts” is just not enough. That said/acknowledged, the past few months’ adventures in frustration have given me a lot of fodder to write about – some entertaining, some informative. And since writing is such a passion for me, it’s time I indulged that passion and put it on the market.