“Every poem tells a story, and every poem is in some way about love,” says Rennie McQuilkin, author, teacher, publisher and founder of the prestigious Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut.

As though returning to work isn't hard enough - especially after being home - the worst thing that can happen would be to accept the wrong job.  Wouldn't it be nice to ensure a job is a good fit BEFORE you take it?  Almost a slam dunk guarantee?  Well, there is a way.  Some people are so happy to have the offer though that they don't care about the fit.  They just want the job.

“Every poem tells a story, and every poem is in some way about love,” says Rennie McQuilkin, author, teacher, publisher and founder of the prestigious Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut.

Success is created by the self-responsible; those who know for sure that they are accountable for their lives – professionally and personally.  Successful people don’t wait around, expecting others to secure their future.  They succeed in spite of circumstances because they trust themselves to step up and take care of their needs and interests.

I recently gave a speech about my career. This was a new topic for me, as I usually speak about work life balance—sharing stories about my gallery of guilt, asking for help, co-parenting and housework, and just straight talk.

I ruminated on this topic a lot. Before I went to bed and when I woke up, I’d be thinking back over my long career. How did I get here? I wanted to explain what drove me. To tell stories about taking on tasks I didn’t know how to do. To share how failures big and small trained me for each new effort. To discuss the unintentional nature of my path.

As if returning to work after an extended absence isn't hard enough, imagine doing that in a city where you DO NOT LIVE?   Just finding the job opening is hard.  Then the number of applicants applying for the same job increases competition.  No one calls back, emails or texts.

Last summer, I was sitting in Greece breathing a huge sigh of relief that our whole family including two pets safely arrived on this first leg of our trip.  I had created some goals for my time there.

Let competence and hard work and doing what the teacher says be my ticket in. Let it be my island of safety too. - Tara Sophia Mohr

She slowly sinks back in her chair, shoulders slightly hunched forward arms crossed hugging her abdomen.  I don’t know when her body language shifted but when I look up the spark of energy and optimism has quickly changed to doubt.  

When things go wrong, and occasionally they do, rather than focusing on identifying who made the mistake, focus on the situation and the solution.

The final hurdle in any job search process is the compensation negotiation.  Rightly so, the first thing people think about and negotiate is base salary.  Even after being out of the workforce, base salary is the primary driver of any compensation package.  Other compensation and benefits elements - such as bonuses, or 401(k) matches, are driven off of base salary.