Please note, this post was originally published on December 16, 2014 on my old blog Meghan Cantwell. Writer. on Wordpress. As 2014 draws to a close I have found that I am not immune to the reflective bug that seems to be passed around every year around this same time. Since I started three new professional adventures this year: (1) as a technical writing intern, (2) as a research assistant, and (3) as a memoir ghostwriter, most of my reflecting has been spent on my career. This Thanksgiving, a family member, who has her master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Citadel and works as a counselor, told me this about artists: “Artists, whether they are painters or writers or whatever, need to forge their own path” when it comes to career and lifestyle. The perfect job doesn’t exist for a lot of people–for others it does, and that is wonderful. But for many of us, our career must be supplemented by other hobbies or tasks to really make us feel like we are meeting our potential. With that in mind, my recent transition from being a graduate student who worked in retail to being a professional writer creating many different types of texts and doing all sorts of other tasks makes much more sense to me. My relative is right; I feel the most satisfied with my work when I am using many different writing skills that I have acquired through my experiences. What this reflection has yielded for me is renewed energy to keep looking for new steps in my career path. I am not looking for the perfect job that fits me exactly and will satisfy my goals and aspirations for the rest of time. That job is a fantasy…and not a very good one when you get right down to it. The digital age allows job seekers and career builders to forge their paths with more ease than ever before. I have been taking full advantage of that and I have been rewarded with some trinkets that inspire my search. The first is the discovery of Catchafire.org and similar organizations. Catchafire is an organization that connects professionals working in many different fields: applied chemistry, education, financial management, systems engineering, technical writing, etc. with charities or nonprofits that need volunteers to complete tasks in those fields. This allows professionals, who work 40 hours a week and cherish their weekends, to volunteer their services to a cause they care about without having to devote either physical labor or their precious weekends. I have yet to use Catchafire to connect to a volunteer opportunity, but plan to do so in early 2015. I am really looking forward to gaining practical experience in a field that interests me and using that experience to further a good cause. When I set up my profile, I chose three skills I have that I am willing to volunteer for charities, and then I chose the causes that really interest me. Catchafire then supplied me with postings made by charities looking for professionals with my skills. I suggest everyone sign up for a profile with Catchafire or a similar organization right now. The second trinket I found on my search for opportunities was the blog LinkedIn Pulse. I really love the articles that get posted there, like this one:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/eight-life-changing-promises-jeff-haden Reading Pulse has helped me to keep my head on straight when it comes to building my career. I don’t worry about things that are outside of my control nearly as much as I used to, in part because Pulse reminds me that at any time I have the ability to change my situation with enough effort and enough self knowledge. The articles are quick, easy to read, and written in blogger language–no jargon. I highly recommend anyone who is wondering what to do next on their career path to get on LinkedIn and start reading Pulse. I realize my enthusiasm for these two sites might seem suspicious. I can assure anyone reading this that neither Catchafire nor LinkedIn paid me to write this…though I would be willing to contemplate any offers that these companies might have for me. In all seriousness, what I write is genuine, as I hope those who chance upon this blog will find. That concludes my musings for now. This winter I will be researching and re-writing an old paper I wrote on Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier and hopefully come March I will be presenting said paper at one or several graduate conferences. Fingers crossed. Please check back for new posts about that research project and others.
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AuthorI use this blog to record my thoughts on my life in Kanagawa, Japan, continuing creative projects, and career as a professional writer. ArchivesCategories© Meghan Tompkins and Meghan Tompkins.Writer., 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meghan Tompkins and Meghan Tompkins.Writer. with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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