Why Job Blog?

JuneBug's Job Hunting and Photography Blog

Hi, this is Jeanne aka JuneBug and this is my first job hunting post. I also do photography as you can see. I come to blogging a seasoned veteran of web-based communication tools such as message boards and chat rooms. What interests me about the blog format is that it is particularly suited to journaling and reflection, activities that I found so valuable in my masters work in Instructional Design. Additionally while a blog is like a diary or journal, one can incorporate more than the written word into one's pages. Most importantly a web log is inherently a more social way of making and negotiating meaning. :)

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to blog my search for a job in my field - and to perhaps connect with others who are on a similar journey. For instance: have you ever been to an interview and felt like you wanted a second shot at answering and asking those questions? Maybe an online blog can be just that - reflecting back on an interview and looking forward to the next one ... lessons learned and shared ... wonderings ... journaling about all the activities that go into a job search ...

My job search has been on-going for some time now. So maybe I'll do some catch-up or maybe I'll just start from here. We'll see as time goes on. :)

Anyway, by way of introduction, I am a programmer-analyst type whose successful 20 year career ended in 2001 before I was ready for it to end. It was one of those "I know it happens, but I can't believe it happened to me" misfortunes. Perhaps some of you can identify. :)

Anyway, at that time I was half way through a Masters Degree program in Instructional Design, so I finished that and did a year's stint as a graduate assistant. That's the last formal position I held in my field. Since then I've had to be "creative" about staying alive in my field. Among other things, I've joined ISTE, done a consulting gig, and collaborated on a scholarly paper that was presented at InfoSec CD 2005. And of course I've been searching, searching, searching ...

Oh yes. Last year my husband and I bought a wonderful three acre 1920's farm. We are remodeling it and plan to use it for his furniture refinishing and antiques business "Second Looks". So that has introduced some geographic constraints to my search. Additionally we have family in this area that we need to care for, so we would prefer not to have to move.

Well with the introduction done, the story begins ... stay tuned for breaking news! :)

And happy job-hunting!

JuneBug