Getting Noticed

When I went to New York City with Mike in December, we met with my brother Frank for lunch. He asked how my business was going, and I told him that, honestly, I needed to come up with a better business plan than, "shit falls in my lap," because so far, that's been working out pretty well for me.

And I was optimistic about 2011. I had one (albeit small) client lined up for work during the first quarter, with that work likely continuing throughout the year. Several projects bidded out that were pretty promising. I was going to give it until the end of March until I really made any decisions, and see how much revenue I could pull in during that time.

So when a client that I did work for in October called with an immediate need for someone to help out while one of their VPs transitioned to another job, I was there.

When I went in Tuesday morning, I didn't expect a full-time job offer a mere two-hours into the first day I was "helping out."

But I got one.

And I accepted it.

I'm floored. When I picked back up writing this blog, after being laid off from a place I had given my heart and soul to, I didn't know what was going to happen. And quite frankly, I didn't know what I wanted to happen.


Creating the business was an incredibly rewarding experience for me. I needed it. I needed to do something after the layoff. Needed to prove something, mostly to myself. But I was demoralized, and I didn't know any other way to deal with it but to work harder and longer more creatively and with more passion than ever before.

It was like when my first boyfriend at college broke up with me, and instead of sitting in my dorm room lamenting the relationship, I put on black pants way too tight, took some vodka shots with my roommates, and went dancing.

When he heard about it the next day (because in college, you only date within your circle of friends, right?), he approached me and told me that he couldn't believe I "got over" him so fast. He wanted me to be sad, to beg him to take me back, to not be able to see how I could ever have a boyfriend as good as him.

Even if I felt those things at the time, the only way I could deal with it was dress cuter, flirt more, accept invitations, and, without saying it, make so very clear that I could do better, and deserved more.

So even though I'm not sure most people at my old organization even remember my name, I needed to prove I wasn't defined by them.

And wouldn't you know it, while I was working harder, keeping up with contacts, and learning new skills, someone else noticed.

Just like I told Frank, this fell into my lap. But I worked really, really hard to make sure I knew the right people, was in the right place, and did the quality work in order to make that happen.

P.S. It's Goddard Claussen Public Affairs, an issue advocacy and public affairs firm. I'll be working in client relations, juggling multiple clients and making their needs happen. More tomorrow (or Tuesday) on the job specifics, when the formal announcement is made.

P.P.S. I'm happy. I'm really, really happy.