In other news...part two: I have a new career...imagine that!

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, and being part Irish, I have always considered it a bit of a lucky day for me.  But this year, the luck of the Irish will be smiling through in a special way, and I couldn't be happier.

Seven long months ago, I wrote in this space I was now unemployed.  I was saddened by a sudden turn of events that saw me and several other hard-working colleagues join the ranks of those looking for work in a job market that had itself fallen on hard times.  While I tried to remain optimistic my fortunes would change, I also knew in my heart it would be a long, tough road ahead.

But I had a plan.  I knew my best option was to go full speed ahead searching for my next big adventure using every available tool in my arsenal, and refuse to give up.  Sure, there were days I began to lose hope, days I quietly despaired and wondered if I would ever find work again.  But I persevered and like a dog with a bone, I refused to give up.

For me, the first good news came just three weeks after losing my full-time position at my previous employer when I found part-time work at the Brock student radio station, CFBU-FM as Spoken Word Content Developer.  It was a contract position running through to late May, and I am grateful to Deborah and her team for believing in me and giving me a wonderful opportunity to use my skills as a communicator and interviewer to develop new programming ideas for the station, as well as host my own programme, Inquisitive Minds, which airs Wednesday mornings at 11 am.

My new position bought me some time with my job search, but it also reinforced in me just where my talents lie and how I can use them in new and exciting ways.  So basically, moving to CFBU-FM was a wise career move for me as well as providing me with much-needed income.

But I knew it wouldn't last, and May would come soon enough.  Throughout the fall I applied for positions I felt qualified for with little or no response.  Disheartened, I went into the Christmas holidays in need of a period of self-examination and broadening of my career goals.

What came out of that two-week period was a renewed desire to begin 2014 with a new game plan and increased optimism I would achieve my goals.  I broadened my career objectives, looked at ways to transfer my skill set to new areas I had not thought of before, and as the saying goes, 'think outside the box.'

In a couple of weeks I will address just how I modified and carried out my job search and what worked and didn't work for me, in case others in my position might be able to benefit from my experience.  But today, I am looking at a goal achieved, my next big adventure about to begin.

In examining my skills and what would be transferrable to a new area, I realized two things:  first, I was a communicator, able to listen and analyze information and move the conversation forward because of it.  Second, I genuinely enjoyed meeting and building relationships with people from all walks of life, each with a unique story to tell.  For me, relationships are built one at a time, face to face, and based on trust and integrity.

When I began expanding my career horizons and researching places I felt shared my vision for relationship building, I kept coming back to Meridian Credit Union.  Now, I knew some people at Meridian from my days in radio of course, but I had never stopped to discover what they were all about.

What I found was a home for me and the values we both shared.  The next step was to get to know the company better, the people who work there and nurture that relationship I wanted to build.  I began with a simple email to a trusted contact in Meridian's head office, Wade Stayzer, outlining my desire to explore career options with Meridian.

The second step was to meet with some others from the company, including Regional Director Shelley Cleversey, with whom I can further that relationship building, and that came in early February.  It took some time and persistence, but two weeks ago it paid off with a call to come in to the downtown King Street branch for a meeting that very afternoon.

At that meeting with Branch Manager Mary Margaret Murphy, my next big adventure began, and we worked together to pull all the necessary pieces together to make things happen quickly.  The most important piece of the puzzle was to be bonded, as everyone working in a financial institution needs to be.  That confirmation came this past Friday morning, just prior to my being introduced to most of the staff at the branch that afternoon.

So tomorrow, I begin not just a job, but what for me has been my goal all along:  a second career.  A second career utilizing skills acquired as a broadcast communicator as well as my desire to make a difference for people...again.

I know the learning curve in front of me is a steep one as I learn the practices and routines  of a new career as well as an entirely different corporate culture than what I had long been used to.  But with support from my colleagues and the company and an intensive training period, I know I will achieve my goals...and theirs.

Meridian was willing to, like me, think outside the box and move beyond their comfort zone, as I am doing.  But I know they might not have done that if I had not made the effort to allow them to get to know me and see what I can bring to the table.  Relationships.  It's all about building relationships.

So tomorrow morning I begin training as a Member Services Representative for the downtown branch of Meridian, where I will likely be the first person you see when you step inside the door.  Over time we hope to work together on new ways to develop the business downtown, utilizing my profile as a downtown person in order to increase Meridian's brand awareness in the the city core.

I am excited by the prospect and know I can grow within an organization that values people and knows the importance of promoting from within.  Our shared values I think will provide both Meridian and myself with new opportunities in the years ahead.

So what of my responsibilities at CFBU-FM?  They have been gracious enough to allow me to pursue this wonderful opportunity before my contract would be up in May, but I am able to adjust my work schedule there to continue doing my show until the end of the term if at all possible and continue to work at developing new ideas for programming there as time permits.

We also hope to work out some kind of arrangement in the future where I can still contribute in some small way to CFBU-FM's programming either with spoken word or music programmes as a member of the community.

I will be busy over the next two months completing my projects there and adjusting to my new career at Meridian, but if nothing else I am adaptable and will always find a way to make things work to everyone's advantage.

Although I will be leaving a career path behind I had followed for many years when I move to Meridian, I know it is the right time and the right move.  I had 40 years in my past career, only being out of work for three weeks of that time last August.  I think that record speaks for itself.  But I know all good things come to an end and so too does my time in radio.

I have had the pleasure and honour of working with a number of talented and dedicated individuals over the years and am grateful for the experiences I had with each and every one of them.  These people have enriched my life immeasurably over the years and I thank them for that.

The past seven months I have been living the bohemian lifestyle at a student radio station and loving it; now I trade in my jeans for business suits and sports jackets, and I could not be more excited.

So wish me luck in my next big adventure, and feel free to stop in some time to discover why Meridian is a good place for you to grow your future, too.  I'll be thrilled to see you!

I have a new career...imagine that!

March 16th, 2014.