Today, I am Invisible to the World

I was aware I would be going through various emotions as I search for a new job. I experienced many different emotions shortly after I lost my job; relief, anger, remorse, frustration, sadness, loss...I really missed a lot of the people I worked with.

But today was different. Six weeks after losing my job I have become the Invisible Man to all but a select few people in this world. Former colleagues have not responded to text and email messages, invitations to connect on LinkedIn go unanswered, and all the activity from last week with possible contracts and phone interviews has dried up this week. For the past few days, my posts on FaceBook have not attracted any comments from my circle of friends.

This may sound like I am whining or bemoaning the fact I feel cut off from the rest of the world but rest assured, I am not complaining. Simply put, this is a new feeling for me and I need to adapt to it and understand how the speed of time in my paradigm is progressing differently than the time in my colleague's worlds. I am lacking the day-to-day stresses they are all facing in their jobs. I don't have a boss to impress right now; I lack deadlines and all the other job-related pressure. I am ready for interaction with others late in the day, just as they are preparing to wind down and relax.

I believe it will be fairly easy to slip this cloak of invisibility off in the next few days. I just need to be patient and trust in the friendships I have developed over time and realize some relationships are more casual that I wanted to believe. There are people who drift in and out of our lives and there will be more drifting over the next few weeks as I fade from former colleague's memories. The good news is we are equipped with better tools today than in the past when it comes to staying connected with others. Social Media websites allow peripheral relationships to exist and last far longer than before. We may never meet face-to-face or speak to each other ever again, but we may post the occasional comment on each other's Wall and that will suffice in the new Web 2.0 world.

Today's Dilemma

Being unemployed, I am facing the grim realization I am competing with the horde for few (if any) jobs that I desire and qualify for. As I look for ways to replace the income lost, I am exploring my desire to write professionally. I enjoy writing, have decent writing skills, and have had a desire to write a novel most of my life.

How do I avoid being just another wannabe? Some of the questions I am currently exploring (besides the obvious...what are the mechanics of professional writing: how do I submit queries, who do I submit to, what are appropriate rates? Etc.) What do I write about? What is my niche? I have a deep passion for learning broad and varied topics...is that a strength or liability? Do I write for corporations? Magazines? Fiction?

I'm hoping this new blog will facilitate my soulsearching and at the same time, get me writing for the sake of writing. I know this is very rough and unedited...many times it will be rambling and incoherent, but ultimately, I am writing and that is the most important thing for me right now.

Being an Introvert in a Web 2.0 World

I am an introvert. This doesn't mean I am a shy person; I am far from being shy. No, an introvert is someone who recharges their emotional batteries by spending some quality alone time. As an introvert, I think and mentally rehearse before I speak and I develop deep relationships over time.

That is all changing with Web 2.0 and the much hyped "social media" or social networking websites. In order to compete and succeed in this new age, I must learn how to rapidly meet similar professionals, evaluate their relevance in my life and make a connection. Without these links, I lose the necessary competitive edge they provide. Research shows traditional job sites are the least effective way to find a job. The majority of jobs are now garnered through personal networking.

So, how do I survive? In what ways do I need to reinvent myself? What ways can remain true to my old self? Is there hope for a fringe employee...at the tail end of the boomer generation but not bearing any of the trademarks of either generation (boomer or gen-x).

One thing is for sure, I cannot ignore the changes that are happening if I want to stay ahead of the competition.