If you haven't been on the job search wagon in a while you may not relate to this post. Or at least this is my experience with looking for a job.

The way one searches for a job has changed dramatically from when I was 'younger'. The newspaper used to be the only real search tool available. Saturday was the big day for posting job ads and then Wednesday for the Globe and Mail. I would scour the paper from front to back looking for opportunties that might match my ambitions and generally be the end of one day it was over. The letters are typed, the job ads clipped and then mailed to the prospective employers. It is very different now.

Now the internet is your friend (or foe). The number of sites with job postings are too numerous to count and unless you are 100% confident with the site it is easy to think of a scam at every turn...or at least it is for me. You put a lot of personal information on a resume. Name, address, employment information. I get a tad concerned about the ease with which this type of information can be shared. But--there are lots of very reputable sites that I use and I have no concerns with posting my information on them. But it takes a long time to go through them all. Want to work for the New Brunswick government--check the website. Governement of Nova Scotia--check the website. Every government has its own site that needs to be checked, every large company has its own site that can be checked...its a lot of checking. And it takes a lot of time.

Yes, many of these sites allow you to sign up and receive emails when they post a job that matches your criteria....but that just means you are sifting through emails instead of websites....it still takes a lot of time. I can spend every evening on the web going from site to site looking for opportunities, writing up the cover letters and sending off hope.

Hope. It is the biggest part of the application process. And imagination.

When you apply for the job you need to have that hope in your heart that this could be the job. This will be the one that makes all other jobs pale in comparisson. This job--will make you happy. It's a lot to expect for a 650 word job ad. But if you don't have hope in your heart and head you won't apply for any jobs.  I put myself in to start with--I can always take myself out later. No harm no foul. I use the lottery method a bit for job searching. If I apply to enough jobs eventually my number comes up and I'm a winner. Yes, lets hope my odds at landing a job are better than winning the lottery. I'm pretty confident that they are.

So, I have hope.

Imagination. I have it in droves. When I apply for a job I imagine myself in it. If it is in a different neighbourhood, different town/city I see myself packing, moving, finding a new place to live, starting my life around that job. If I can't picture the life that would come with it it likely isn't the job for me. There is an opportunity that was presented to me yesterday. It is a good job. Good company. Not necessarily ideal location. It involves 'shift work' of sorts. Rotations. 3 weeks in, 1 week out. It is in a camp environment--but this is no trailer out in the middle of nowhere type camp. This is a hotel in the middle of the wilderness. There are over 1500 beds at this site. That's a lot of people. The successful candidate gets their own room and I think private bath--but will need to confirm that again. There are breakfast meetings with colleagues and lots to keep one busy during the day. In the evening, satellite tv, high speed internet, the games room, fully equipped gym, and the great outdoors. Pretty similar to my evenings right now if you think about it.

All my meals are covered during the 3 weeks that I am working and I don't pay for the accommodations. There is a chance to save some $ because there is no where to spend it. And then every 21 days you leave the site and go wherever you want to go. That can lead my mind down so many different paths. I could go camping for the week. Do some of the hiking and exploring that my Monda-Friday job doesn't allow time for. I could go and visit friends near and far. I could fly to PEI for a few days. Lots of possibilities. And of course I could just have an apartment (or a room in an apartment) that I could just go to and chill for the week off. So many possibilities. I want to do a habitat trip this year--this would give me the opportunity to do that. I am able to take vacation time during my time off....so three times during the year I could have a two week break instead of just one week. Or a month all in one go. Think of that. I could do the Italy trip.

There are plusses and negatives. Obviously I enjoy the wilderness outdoors kind of stuff. But do I want to live away from my 'stuff' again. Could I commit myself mentally to this for 12 months and really try hard to save some money to pay down some of my loans and then take a lower paying job when my year is over. So many things to think about.

Then there is a job that I am looking at in Whitecourt. It is a town of about 10,000 about 2 hours outside of Edmonton. It seems to have a lot of plusses in lifestyle, but the job may be limiting in a way because the company doesn't have a lot of room for growth in that location. To move up I would need to move out. Long term is doesn't seem to make sense...but given that I can only seem to stay in one place for a couple of years anyway...maybe it isn't such a bad idea.

There are other opportunities here in Edmonton that I am thinking about and looking at. Mostly they involve conversations with myself about the type of work the company does. Could I work for a company that produces blinds? Would I have pride in that?

Another opportunity has presented itself in a location that I have thought about before as a 'good choice' but the money is significantly lower than what I would like. But I am pretty sure the lifestyle and location would make me a happy camper. Can I live on that significant drop in salary? Sort of. It would be very tight and would only work if the housing arrangement could be secured in a certain way. Is being broke but happy a better way to go than (not rich) but ok with money and not so happy a better option?

It's a roller coaster ride--job hunting. The highs and lows come and go on an hourly basis. So much to think about. As of today I have only 10 working days in my current job. I am not yet concerned about not having another job to go to. I really want some time off to freshen my perspective on life. Check back with me in July and see if I am still this optimistic--but for now I am happy to  buy another ticket and get back on the roller coaster today.