Food for Thought

Here is some advice. When you are unemployed, do not pick up the one pound bag of peanut butter M&M’s that jumps out at you when you purchase a new printer cartridge. Even if you park them out of sight in a bowl on the dining room table where their Easter pastels blend with the spring floral runner, you will still rise from the computer, lean over the ladder-back chairs and snag a few every chance you get—in spite of the fact that you just finished a healthy vegetarian sandwich on whole grain lavash bread.

Another tip: If you are bored out of your mind with vegetarian sandwiches, mix a little catsup with some mayo, add a spoonful of sweet pickle relish for a Thousand Island spread that perks the whole thing up.

Pretending there is roast beef on it helps too.

Final hint: When you are networking, hold on to your positive thoughts. A flush of excitement arises when contacts you haven’t spoken to in years reply to your emails and call you on the phone. It’s right to be grateful that they do. However, remember that it is only the beginning. You will need to schedule meetings and converse with people who may grill you on what you want to do next in your life. Get on with it. If someone says they are going to call and they don’t, call them. It won’t all be fun and a lot of it will be challenging but it is necessary. Yesterday, amidst a flurry of phone calls and emails, a friend from my network list sent the following counsel: “Remember, finding a job is a contact sport.” Nike and I are creating an addendum: Put on your shoulder-pads and just do it.