On the move!

So yes, I am still freaking out and stressed and scared and all that. AND I am excited!

On Wed I pulled the trigger and bought a round trip ticket to Portland for February 7-10. Hopefully for interviews. If not interviews, than informal meetings with potential employers. If not informal meetings, than networking with people in or connected to my target companies.

Since the money has already been spent, I have a HUGE incentive to push and create these interviews/meetings etc. My first two days, it was damn terrifying, but now...I actually feel empowered.

So here's the deal: Since I have this small window, I have to be really proactive about my search, and in trying to be proactive I found out that I have no idea how to do that with a job search! Its all so passive - respond to listed openings and hope someone calls you. Yeah, not gonna work for me. So, though I am still doing that, I spent the weekend really drilling down to specifics that I could act on: 1)What do I want? Specifically? 2)Where do I want to do it?

What I want is a mid-level accounting position in a dynamic company, specifically software, publishing, marketing. Target companies are Intel, Dark Horse Comics, Nike (a little off of my target, but their accounting dept is pretty interesting), Knowledge University (education software), The Partners Group Ltd, and a couple others that are on my backup list.

And now I'm using linkedIn, Twitter, Google and anything else I can get my hands on to actually connect with someone at these companies and set up some form of meeting (lunch, coffee, 15 min at the office). It feels so great to take real action and be in charge of something! (way better than the normal job hunt, btw)

The hope is that even if these companies don't have a current position open for me, they may in the future, or know other companies in similar industries that have an opening, and my resume will come up because (unlike other applicants) they actually know who I am. The proof will be in the pudding, but honestly, this feels like the best way to find a job and every email I send feels like I'm getting just that much closer to my next dream job.