Expert: Torski Dobson-Arnold - 5/5/2010

Question
Hello Torski, thank you for generously volunteering your time to help others.

I am a mature 55 year old woman. I live in a very small town, in a rural area of SW Missouri.  The closest town is approximately 40 miles away and has a population of about 150,000 people.

The small town that I live in is a tourist town.  All of the money that is made is made in tourism.  I have lived here for 23 years and I do not desire nor intend to move elswhere.

Previously, I have held very unsatisfactory jobs. For a short time I was self employed, and that was rewarding, but due to the economic down turn, it was necessary for me to again seek traditional employment. My problem is that in this area, the "good" jobs are very few and they are usually filled by people who are related to, or "know someone". We call this the good old boy network. But since I do not know anyone and am not related to anyone, I cannot take advantage of this factor.

I have a BA in English, with a minor degree in Business with emphasis on marketing. I also have 12 credit hours toward the completion of my MBA.  Currently, I am working as a hotel housekeeper because I cannot find anything else to do.

I might also make mention that I am not a people person which hurts me even more in my career choices. Even if I were able to conquer the disadvantages of the good old boy network, there would be very few jobs to choose from that do not require constant contact with the public. I would, however, be perfectly willing to commute to the city if I could obtain a good paying job that offers me what I need.

I have considered computer applications, but I am very poor student at math. Programming is probably not a realistic choice.  Also, I have some experience in database management, but when I have contacted all of the colleges and universities in the immediate area, none of them provide any specific training for this other than within the context of the Computer Science degree.  My passion is data entry, but there are precious few opportunities for this, and even so, they are very low paying (less than $9 per hour).

I am very discouraged and sad that I have so much to offer a potential employer but I cannot seem to break out of the menial labor market into management or something with potential.  Can you assist me in trying to figure this out so that I can find a position that I can be happy with.

Thank you.

Answer
April,

I think you've done a great job on outlining what is not working for you right now.  I am a BIG advocate of speaking truth to light.  Instead, why don't you concentrate on what you are good at?  What do you enjoy?  What types of companies would employ those types of characteristics that you possess and would be valuable to a company's bottom line?

In your post, you identified that you have enjoyed work with databases before.  You also stated that a lengthier commute would not be a deterrence for you either for the "right opportunity".  

How are you building your network or increasing your presence with the people that you don't know?  I read that you lived in a small town, that's great because it means that it won't take very long for you to reach out to those within your town and ask for adivce, job leads, etc. as it relates to your next job.

April, I would first take some serious time to reflect and determine what you enjoy doing and what you have the talents, skills, and abilities to do within a 50 mile radius of where you live, given the fact that you are not adverse to traveling for a great opportunity.  next, identify those companies in that radius that employ folks that possess the talents that you have, ejoy and are willing to share in order to be happy and engaged in your work.  Reach out to those companies via the Internet, through word-of-mouth advertising (letting everyone you know what you are looking for, who you need to meet, etc.) or social networking sites such as Linkedin.com.  Submit your resume and other job search materials to companies you wish to work for WHETHER they have a job posted or not.  In this type of economy, we don't know when or under what circumstances that a job may become available and we've got to be ready when it does.

If this process sounds somewhat overwhelming to you, do not FRET. As a competent career coach, you can reach out to a professional such as myself or any of my colleagues to help guide you through this process and keep your goals in order and moving towards execution of them in a timely fashion.

Claiming nothing but success in all of your career endeavors,

Torski Dobson-Arnold
The Career Confidence Coach
www.yourcareerconfidence.com