Without a job or without enough work, you’re at sea. The compass is starting to spin.
And to take the image a little further, Susan Kay Wilson describes those waves of dread that can hit you.
You can row through those waves. Keep rowing, and you’ll pass through them to reach a new shore.
Wilson guides people in any stage of life through such waters, in “Transition Yourself: Finding Your Work Path in Hard Times,” a free course to be offered this week in Port Townsend and next week in Port Angeles.
In sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. this Tuesday and Thursday at the First Baptist Church, 1202 Lawrence St., Port Townsend, “Transition Yourself” covers the new employment landscape and how to navigate it.
The class is sponsored by the Port Townsend Library, so participants can sign up by phoning the library at 360-385-3181 or by emailing Wilson at swilson@cityofPT.us.
The same course will be offered again in Port Townsend on Nov. 15 and 17 and Dec. 13 and 15.
Wilson will go to the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., to give the free workshop Oct. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an hour break and lunch provided. To sign up, phone the library at 360-417-8500 by this Friday’s deadline.
Along with resume writing, interviewing skills and navigating Internet job sites, Wilson delves into attitude.
Cultivating a positive outlook will reduce the pain of searching for work, she believes.
To those who have lost their jobs because of the economic downturns of recent years, Wilson said this may turn into an expansive opportunity.
“Maybe this is the time,” she said, “to do what you really want to do,” such as start a business or go into a field you have long thought about.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. But if you don’t try, where does that leave you?”
Embark on expedition
She encourages job seekers to embark on an expedition of sorts.
It is one where you explore yourself, your talents and your heart’s desire.
“You have to figure out who you want to be,” Wilson said.
Then, “target what you’re looking for” in the job market, “and go do it. Aim your arrow at the bull’s-eye.”
Even if you don’t hit the center, you’re much more likely, obviously, to come closer to it than you would have if you hadn’t shot for it at all.
“You get frustrated,” Wilson said. “You get down. But you let it pass. Let go of it.
“If you hold the thought that ‘There are no jobs, there’s nothing I can do,’ it keeps you down,” she said.
Wilson has been there herself.
Laid off after 25 years
She spent 25 years in job training for youths and young adults and was laid off.
She landed the “Transition Yourself” contract, but it’s only part time.
So she found another part-time job, at Peninsula Floors & Furnishings in Port Townsend.
It suits her: Wilson has a degree in interior design as well as one in social work.
In her “Transition Yourself” workshops, Wilson uses a workbook with exercises such as listing “10 reasons an employer should hire me” and answering interview questions such as “Tell me about a time when you took charge as a leader?” and “What type of co-workers or clients rubbed you the wrong way, and how did you respond?”
She also recommends books such as Loving What Is: Four Questions that can Change Your Life by Byron Katie, Losing Your Job SEmD Reclaiming Your Soul by Mary Lynn Pulley and Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.
“Transition Yourself’s” central question is: What are you going to do with your life, and how are you going to get there?
That applies to each person, regardless of station.
“Everyone needs to have a career plan,” Wilson said, “whether they’re 50, 60 or 20.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
