I’m working on my resume because it’s officially time to find a job. Sitting here attempting to sift through two decades of work experience has been a bit like an awkward stroll down memory lane. When you work for a single company for 18 years, various positions and accomplishments are less easily definable. Things just sort of run together. I can barely remember what I did yesterday, so I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to remember whether I accomplished something in 2008 or 2012, but I’m trying.
More than anything, sifting through my resume has filled me with dread. It’s not that I’m not ready/willing to go back to work—it’s the idea of going back to work in Corporate America that I dread. I have spent enough years of my life shoving my feet into uncomfortable shoes. I’ve spent too many years sitting around sterile conference tables staring back at self-important white men in suits while they mansplain my own expertise to me. I’m done. I can’t.
For a number of years, I walked into an office that felt like a family. There was warmth and meaningful conversation. Employees had a voice and contributed to the decision-making processes that moved the company forward. We were invested not just in the successes or failures of the company, but also in those of each other. It was a place where people came before profit. Am I crazy to think that I can find a place like that again?
Does that mentality even exist in today’s business world anymore?
I guess I’m about to find out. Cross your fingers for me.
Hound Mamas 
Good luck on the job search!! My new career is with one of those magical unicorn companies. I get paid probably $20K less than I should with my degree, but it is SO WORTH IT. So maybe try searching smaller organizations and lower salary offerings (if you can swing it) to find those hidden gems. It seems that, unfortunately, the truly meaningful work pays the least….
That’s my conundrum. I need to make the salary I was making previously, which is a figure that’s mostly tied to shitty corporate work or irresponsible startups. I’d have a bit of wiggle room if C gets into the charter school we want for Kindergarten instead of going the private route, but I won’t know until March.
I absolutely feel you on this. I made a job jump about 11 years ago, quitting with no job lined up and then looking in an entirely different field. I hope the magic can happen even if you can’t afford (literally) to wait for the unicorn.