Miss Moon's Musings About: Job Searching

I very much wanted to step away from my hiatus to share an amazing lesson I've learned about job searching, and about patience. You all know I am a firm believer in sharing a good thing! ;)

I've been unemployed for over six months now, and have consistently looked for a new opportunity in that time. I have had interviews, and although I've had great conversations and the people I've met with seemed to like me, I haven't found a match just yet. In the past, I would take job loss as a sign that I need to look for something new: a job that will motivate and challenge me, and give me the opportunity to gain something I value tremendously... wisdom. So with a clear idea of what type of job I desire, I would start my journey.

Obviously anything worth obtaining doesn't always happen immediately, Intellectually, I know this... but when it takes too long I allowed my own fear of failure to stop me. I would panic, take "just any job": one that offers no fulfillment or security just for the sake of being employed. It never ends up well and a year or two later... I am back where I am today. Jobless and looking for an ideal situation.

No more of this. This time around... I'm sticking to my guns. I will not deviate from my plan. I know with all the certainty of a zealot that somewhere in NYC there is a company looking for someone with everything I have to offer. And in return, the company will give me the challenge and opportunity to grow I am looking for. It will be a great match.

I used to think that job searching was like a crap shoot. You roll the dice and hope to win. Now I am starting to see the experience as cultivation. Each application, each resume sent is a seed you plant. You nourish each seed with patience, optimism and with the knowledge that you deserve to receive the opportunity you desire. And in time, you will most certainly reach the harvest you have toiled for. I believe and have faith it will happen for me. And if it can happen for me, it can definitely happen for those of you like me who are on the same path! Keep trying!

Miss Moon's Musing About: The Best 'GET THAT JOB' Interview Look

So it's been a little over four months since I've been unemployed. While I've done my best to make the best use of this time, I think it's time to shake things up and be a bit more proactive in my job search.

One of my favorite things to do is invest in a KILLER job interview ensemble... something that has just enough of my personality, a splash of professionalism, and a liberal application of "Check me out, you know you want me for this job!!!". I've always found that when there is a kick ass look hanging in your closet, you get excited about the prospect of wearing it on an interview. When you're excited about the possibility of going on an interview, you're more excited when job searching. And when you're excited about job searching, that energy and intent can be conveyed in your application.

This results in a job interview... which results in an opportunity to rock your interview duds!!! And in the very best case scenario... it results in your getting that great job!! So I searched the internet for the past few days, looking for outfits that I would actually wear on a job interview. I've put together three in total, and I want to know which of the three looks, (if you were a prospective employer) would MOST make you want to hire me.

Now keep in mind, I'm not looking for a job on Wall Street, which would require me to wear a suit 5 days a week. My perfect opportunity would be a job where I could wear jeans if I wanted to... but honestly, I rarely do. I really really like this outfit and I think if I rocked this with my white blazer, it would really be an eye catcher:

Top: ASOS CURVE Jersey Top With Peplum Hem ($39.99, ASOS)
Pants: Slant Pocket Slim Leg Pant ($39.99, Avenue)
Shoes:  HILSER Flats ($50.00, Aldo Shoes)
Necklace: Encompassing Peacocks Indie Necklace ($25.99, Ruche)

This look is a bit more colorful, which I am all about, but I don't believe it's SUPER overwhelming as to appear unprofessional in a job interview.

Top: Lime Leaf Print Top ($35.00, Evans USA)
Cardigan: Women's Plus 3/4-Sleeve Cardigans ($36.94, Old Navy)
Pants: Flared Leg Trousers ($59.95, Lane Bryant)
Shoes: SM Women's Heaven Multicolor Flat ($39.95, DSW)

Now,  I am generally ALL ABOUT pants when going on a job interview. But chalk it up to getting older and more adventurous, I would welcome the opportunity to wear a skirt on an interview now. And to celebrate my new-found chutzpah when it comes to job interview apparel, I've selected this outfit:

Top: Printed Poncho Blouse ($29.50, Ashley Stewart)
Skirt: Bespoke Perfect Black Pencil Skirt ($48.00, Simply Be)
Shoes: Seychelles Freesia Flat ($79.95, DSW)
Bag: Hurley Prism II Book Tote ($40.00, Zappos)

There you have it. Three looks I could sincerely see myself wearing on a job interview. Now it's up to you which one I invest in: Look One, Look Two, or Look Three.... so be sure to leave me a comment with your pick!!!!

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

This week's music therapy is one that is very special and dear to me! I just found out today that I got the job I've been interviewing for!! After three interviews over the course of a month, I'm in!

Chris and I looking to find a great way to commemorate the event, turned on VH1 Soul to see what song would play, and I must say I am very very pleased with the results (It could've been Drake! LOL)



LadyBug Mecca "You Never Get Over It"

The Greatest Miracles Happen When the Odds are Against You...

A little background history: Last year, I was working as a Customer Service Representative for Carol's Daughter here in NYC (If you called or emailed last year you perhaps got me. If so, I hope I helped and didn't piss you off! lol). I also got really serious with my then long-distance boyfriend (now cohabitant/hubby-to-be) and decided that I would move from Brooklyn to a small-ish town Upstate NY called Corning to be with him. So I quit my job, and sure that the fates would smile upon me for making such a uncharacteristically brave leap, made the move in November on my 31st birthday.

And I am not saying that the fates haven't smiled on me at all. They have brought me the most fulfilling and loving relationship I've ever had in my life. They have brought me a man who has the most amazingly loving family, and they have brought me so many wonderful experiences in the time spent in Corning (including the most wonderful surprise proposal I've ever witnessed - and it was ME being proposed to!). They just didn't bring me a job! LMAO

So, newly affianced hubby-to-be by my side, I moved back to Brooklyn, where I was 50-75% sure I would get my old job back at Carol's Daughter, as they seemed very enthusiastic about me moving back to the city. I didn't. They didn't even send me a "thanks, but no thanks" letter after my interview. Which sucks anytime you go on an interview, but sucks really hard when you have a relationship with a company and have made positive contributions of time and creativity to said company.

Fast forward 3 months, several interviews and several rejections later... I am still unemployed, and it's moments like this when it's hard to keep optimistic. Especially when I read this comment from a DailyKos article that suggests the fervor about the Malia Obama picture is not about her tee shirt, but about her hair:

"I recently attended an employment coaching class for unemployed women looking for work. Part of it entailed the usual lesson on how to dress for an interview and was astonished to hear an African-American woman speaker advise AA women not to wear "ethnic" hairstyles. It was really shocking, because as a white woman, I find braided hairstyles to be very neat and no-nonesense[sic], as they signal that the woman is not spending her mornings doing her hair."

This coupled with an article from LiveSteez that reports that the unemployment rate of black neighborhoods in NYC is way over the rate for the entire city is far from encouraging, as I happen to be an African-American woman. With "ethnic" hair. Trying to find a job in NYC. According to these articles, I have a better chance of simultaneously being struck with lightening and contracting swine flu.

Suffice to say, I had a mini-breakdown as the weight of this information landed squarely on my shoulders. I decided to regroup with a long hot shower/mini meditation. While in the shower, this phrase came up for me during the meditation:

"The greatest miracles happen when the odds are against you"

I truly believe this, and it made me instantly feel better about the situation. I don't know if I will be immediately successful, but I do feel stronger and more optimistic. In short, I am ready for the challenge and I am (sho nuff!) ready for the triumph I believe will come from it.

So I am arming myself with the love and support of my friends and family (most importantly myself!), and this amazing meditation by Lilou Mace that I plan on watching twice a day: after waking up and before bed.



And I will be open, receptive to divine instruction and guidance. And I will succeed when I find the opportunity that has my name all over it!

Champions of Crackheadedness

I am all for finding love, with a millionaire or with a broke dude... even finding companionship or a good time but I highly doubt that a job classified site is the appropriate forum for this advertisement (even though they pay participants for "interviews"... with rich CEO types... right):

Millionaire Dating? We invented it! Now interviewing female candidates

posted: July 1, 2009, 03:02 AM

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Reply: click here

Millionaire Dating? We invented it! Are you the "whole package"? Woman-run, upscale & discreet Corporate Introduction Service now interviewing Admin Assts, Managers, Models & other professional women in the medical, hospitality, retail, advertising, modeling, acting, publishing, PR, arts, real estate, administrative & financial fields etc... who are underpaid, underemployed or just sick of the constant financial struggle, to date CEOs, Senior Executives and Corporate professionals. Your pictures will NOT appear on any website and your family, colleagues & friends will never know. Be 18-40yrs., very attractive, articulate and honest. College educated a plus but not necessary. Paid interview for qualified candidates.

Salary/Wage: unlimited
Status: Full-time, Part-time
Shift: Days, Nights and Weekends

• Location: Miami/Dallas/NYC/Toronto, Your City

I love how they had the nerve to put this in the office administrative job section. Wouldn't it be more of a "customer service" job? LMAO

Friday into Saturday...

This last week has been pretty... bleh. With the exception of two interviews in one week, there hasn't been much going on in my world.

Summer is the worst time of the year to be unemployed and looking. A lot of people are on vacation and simply aren't looking for employees. The jobs I've been seeing on Craig's List have truly been a head scratcher. And I have a lot of questions:

1) Have all Russian/Korean/Chinese people left their jobs recently? It seems like 2 out of advertisements are asking for people with these specific language skills.

2) Does "polished" really mean W-H-I-T-E? I hope not, but I wonder sometimes...

3) Do employers looking for Ivy League graduates only truly expect to get a shitload of replys when they are paying $9 an hour? I'm a dropout myself, but if I graduated from an Ivy League I would assume I'd be looking for more than a receptionist gig, ya know? But then again, I'm an L.I.U. drop out! lol

4) How can you be an Office Manager and only work PT? I mean... does the office only require managing 25 hours a week? I don't get it!!

5) Employers: Stop writing the BLOODCLOT BIBLE in your ads, okay? You wouldn't read a 3 page resume, why should I read the Declaration of Independance when reading about a job opening? I appreciate you wanting to give as much information about the job and the company as possible... but that's what Google and Job Interviews are for, man!

Anyway, despite these frustrations, I keep pounding the virtual pavement, and am confident an awesome kick ass job will be coming my way sooner rather than later. I am a good person, a hard working sistah, and I am open... which is a recipe for success.