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David's Story: His Best Shot
While David studied for his diploma he made a point of keeping aware
of what was happening in his field. He watched to see which companies
were hiring and what positions came up. He watched the newspaper ads
and checked specialty job-search Web sites. He looked up companies by
name - a lot of companies have Web sites with a careers or jobs section
with advertised work positions. It was easy to find the company Web
site by just typing the company name into http://www.google.com.
He could even search for types of companies such as appliance manufacturing
companies and google would return lists of them. He also joined an worker
safety association and volunteered to help on projects when he could.
He became aware of the growth companies in his locale and investigated
their strengths and weaknesses. Before he graduated he was arranging
interviews, assertively selling his strengths and on the alert for either
standard or non-standard work opportunities.
Soon after graduation he accepted a contract position with a large
manufacturing company. While attending occupational association functions
he made a point of letting people know what he was doing and where he
wanted to go from there. This led to another project-specific position
in mid-size company, which led to an offer of work as a core worker
in that company.
Over the course of his downsizing experience, his years at college
and his foray into a new occupation, David developed a new attitude
that he carried with him from work project to work project and job to
job. He continued to be on the alert for signs of change and opportunities.
When he saw them he took action and usually the results gave him the
self-awareness and confidence to take steps in the new direction.
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