Unemployment Rate Drops!

I got a job!!! :-) So, technically that means the unemployment rate has dropped! Yesterday I got asked to interview for and landed a virtual assistant job for an eco-friendly product company out of Brooklyn. It really seems like a perfect fit! It's going to be part-time at first, going to full-time on an as needed basis. 

I've had a long stint of being unemployed...about a year and a half. I quit my receptionist job before my last year at school because I was too busy to work and student teach. Then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia before I graduated from college, so I didn't get a teaching job after I got my degree because I can't have a job that is so stressful.

When I moved to Florence, KY I started this blog and then two months later, I started my site. So far I've made $11 in ad clicks from them! :-) I've been published by ThoughtfulWomen.org almost 60 times. I started my Etsy shop a few weeks ago, but haven't gotten any sales yet. Even though financially it doesn't look like I'm doing very well, my "brand" is growing! Yesterday I was asked to contribute to a blog because of a tweet I sent. When people I've tweeted have met me in person, they don't know "Kinsey" but when I tell them that I'm "ChickOpinion" they're thrilled to meet me! 

Building a brand takes time, and I'm pretty happy with what I've been able to accomplish in a relatively short time. I am, however, very happy that I get to add a job to the mix so we can have some supplemental income! Unemployment gave me the opportunity to create the ChickOpinion brand and get the ball rolling, but I am not really well-suited for unemployment; not because of the lack of money, but because of a sense of not doing enough for other people.

So, here is my advice for all of you who are unemployed (not by choice): 

• Commit yourself to something and work on it every day. Someone will find you and recognize your work! I didn't even apply for this job--she found me! She needs a social media guru and realized that I'm a good fit. 
• Apply for everything you can. 
• Don't limit yourself to what your degree says you can do. I've applied for everything from assistant positions to social media director positions to online elementary teaching positions. My degree is in K-12 music education. If you think you can do it and it's something you're interested in, go for it!
• Be honest with your potential employers. I was very forthcoming with my new employer about having fibromyalgia and not being able to work 24/7. She ended up being amazingly caring and very cool about it. If you don't have an employer who is going to care about you when they know everything about you, would you really want to work for them?
• Don't give up. You will have hard days and feel like you're never going to be good enough, but it'll be okay.

Sending happy thoughts to everyone today!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi