Tag: job search

Part 3: Career Confessions from a Small Town Girl in the Big City

This article was originally published in the Tishomingo County Newspaper, linked here.

If you missed Parts 1 and 2 in the Career Series, catch up now! They are linked here and here.

There was finally some progress and stability on the job front and in my new life in Houston too. Before I left Super Suppers, I was recognized for my hard work and customer service. I was given a 2% raise. Can you calculate the 2% increase on $5.15/hour? 😉 It wasn’t much but it was recognition for a job well done and what the ‘mom and pop’ startup could afford at the time. It was a sincere gesture that they wanted to reward and recognize my work. I was even offered the position of Assistant Manager. Instead of pursuing advancement at Super Suppers, I had another job on the horizon. This time working for Downtown Paws, a dog walking and pet sitting company. This was a well-established business, and my job was to manage all the clients. I more than doubled my paycheck by taking this job. I travelled all over downtown Houston visiting many homes with furry, four legged clients. It wasn’t unusual to drive 100 miles each day. I had keys to each client’s home which resulted in having a keychain that resembled something like that of a janitor. Each stop consisted of dog walks ranging from short visits (a quick potty break) to 30 minute or 1-hour walks and playtime. My furry clients were all types of breeds…a French Bulldog named Olivia; a Great Dane named Lance; Boxers named Strider and Rose; Chocolate labs named Moose and Guinness; and everything in between. One of the job perks? Besides being with animals all day, I had a killer ankle sock tan line from all the time in the sun. 😎 

The best job perk was the confidence I gained from driving all over downtown Houston. If you’ve ever visited Houston, you will understand there’s a 610 loop and a Beltway 8; that I-10 runs East to West; I-45 runs North to South; I-59 runs Northeast to Southwest; 290 runs Northwest and the difference between the Med Center; Downtown; the Galleria; the Heights; Midtown, etc. With Houston being the 4th largest city in the United States, it can be quite overwhelming. I was still applying the working knowledge of a physical job to distract my brain from the anxiety. I also love animals, hello emotional support! What I didn’t know is how much Downtown Paws would help me build more self-esteem and confidence. This job took the intimidation out of driving in Houston. With navigating Houston now conquered, I proved to myself that I could do new, hard and scary things. I remained at Downtown Paws for 1.5 years. 

There is a series of ebbs and flows to life. It is never constant. Sometimes you can have success in your professional life while your personal life is struggling. For instance, even though I was gaining traction at work, something else was happening in my life. My mom was placed in the hospital the Christmas of 2006 while I was still working at Super Suppers and little did I know, she would never go home again. Her last 6 months of life were in the hospital, and she passed away June of 2007 while I was working with Downtown Paws. This was the second major life event for me in only one year’s time. The first was moving to Houston.  

Context is everything and hindsight too. As I reflect back at this painful time, I know I was in the right jobs at the right times. I needed the time, space and relatively low stress level jobs because of what I was enduring with the anxiety and then the sickness and death of my mom. I wasn’t and couldn’t have been ready for anything more career wise. God had placed me exactly where I needed to be.  

Life is all about peaks and valleys. Good times, bad times and the in between times. I just happened to experience a lot of valleys and bad times right at the beginning of what I thought was going to be this great new chapter of my life. If I could go back and tell my younger self anything it would be, “hang in there. It does get better, I promise.” I don’t know that I would have many other words than that for my younger self, but I know that I would look directly into her eyes when I said those words. I would give her a warm hug and just sit with her for comfort and to process all the ways her world seems to be coming undone. For those that have experienced life altering change, be kind and patient with yourself and take it one day at a time. 

So, what happens next? How did I move forward? Stay tuned and I’ll unfold the story in part 4 of this career series from a small-town girl in the big city. 

Career Confessions from a Small Town Girl in the Big City: Part 2

This article was originally published at Tishomingo County News, see it linked here.

The job situation wasn’t looking good only a few months after graduating college in the summer of 2006. I was a tadpole in an ocean called Houston, Texas and the anxiety attacks supported that analogy. I tried another office temp job. I was ok for a couple of days and then quit that job too. I witnessed a girl get fired. I got in my head about it and couldn’t let the fear go that I would be next. Never mind that the fear was unfounded. Anxiety doesn’t work that way. It’s not logical. It was all unwarranted fear. None of this was a good look for me nor a good track record for trying to find and keep a job. Not to mention the temp agency wasn’t going to work with me again. How was I supposed to explain what I was going through? From the outside looking in, I looked like a mess and who wants to hire a mess? I was an unreliable employee, and I couldn’t blame them for thinking that way. 

Back then one of my favorite channels to watch was the Food Network Channel. I love to cook! I don’t remember the name of the show, but it highlighted this new up and coming food preparation franchise called Super Suppers. I was intrigued. It was founded in Texas and one was opening not far from my apartment. I was beginning to shift gears. Since I was having trouble in an office setting type job, I thought if I could get a job working with my hands, I could distract my brain. I met the Assistant Manager for an interview and was offered a job a few days later. It was a job for minimum wage, $5.15/hour. 

A quick pause here because it’s important to note this job and the minimum wage offer. I was a college graduate and making minimum wage. 

Now back to the story…something else was shifting, although I couldn’t possibly have known it back then. I had begun attending a church in Northwest Houston and found a woman who had her counseling certificate. She was offering her services free of charge to members of the church, and I began seeing her to talk through the anxiety I was experiencing. I was already incredibly nervous to begin yet another job for obvious reasons and on top of that I had created a realistic fear within myself that I wouldn’t be able to handle it…much like a self-fulfilling prophesy. Combine those together and ladies and gentlemen we have an almost perfect storm. But guess what? The storm dissipated before it had a chance to fully form.

On my first day at Super Suppers, we were tasked with cleaning the store to get ready for opening day. I spent several hours with rags, paper towels, and cleansing agents on my hands and knees scrubbing all the things. The following days consisted of prepping recipes in the kitchen and at the differing workstations. I enjoyed all of it! My hunch was correct, by keeping my hands busy, I was able to distract my mind. One day turned into a week and that turned into working at Super Suppers for 6 whole months. 

Several things happened at Super Suppers that helped get my feet back underneath me. First, I was learning to work with and through the anxiety.  Next, I was beginning to create a community. I was seeing the church counselor who was giving me an outlet to speak fears out loud. Sometimes fears can be incredibly scary when left unspoken. Letting them out with a trusted person dilutes them. I was beginning to build self-esteem again. I was beginning to have more steps forward than backward. I also met Jen who began working part time at Super Suppers. We became fast friends. She shared her challenges with anxiety and that she was working through some things too. She showed me that normal, regular people struggle and that it’s ok. Context is everything and hindsight too. If I could go back and tell my younger self anything it would be, “slow down, life isn’t a race. Sometimes the journey takes much longer than we wanted or anticipated. Sometimes we have to try different things until we find the right things. Sometimes we have to make baby steps when we want to take leaps. Everything will work out and be ok.” The key was to keep pressing forward and to keep shining a light in the dark corner that my big life change had caused. Jen, my counselor and Super Suppers were all shining lights in that darkness. 

The story isn’t finished yet. There’s more ground to cover from dog walking, to working nonprofit, fitness instructing and Corporate America. So, what happens next? Stay tuned and I’ll unfold the story in part 3 of this career series from a small-town girl in the big city.