Job hunting

Are you unemployed? Looking for a new job? Just move to a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean only knowing your spouse? Well this post may be fore you.

About 6 months ago my husband and I moved to Hawaii. We both were leaving jobs we loved in Florida, but only he had a job out here. I didn't do any research to prepare for moving out here. I thought I would just practice retirement or be a beach bum. Well reality set in pretty fast that I would probably need to get a job while out here. So I first worked on getting licensed in the state. The process took 4 months. I would recommend starting as soon as you find out you are moving. There were things that would have been easier to get done while in Florida (letters signed, information from job, etc).

Then I took to filling out job applications online while I had met all of the requirements to be licensed, but did not have my actually license number. I don't recommend doing this either. It meant that I technically came across as unqualified for the positions. Just wait a few weeks (or a month...) and fill out whatever jobs are available then. They will come.

Open your mind to other alternatives. I knew about retail and hospital pharmacies, but I applied for jobs in insurance companies and doctor's offices too. I even looked at remote order jobs back in Florida!

See if there are additional things you can do to make you a more competitive applicant. Hawaii has a specific class that is required for some of the outpatient pharmacies. I took the class to be more marketable.

However, I will say that the number one thing that got me furthest in my job hunt was developing and maintaining a relationship with a director of pharmacy. Before we left Florida I made a single phone call to my 'dream hospital' asking if they had any openings for when I'd be arriving. They said no, but agreed to me sending my CV. A couple of months later after arriving to Hawaii I emailed back to see if they had any openings (they didn't). Finally when it looked like a contract position opened up with the company I emailed again letting them know that I had expressed interest in the job. He actually said the contract hadn't been awarded yet, so he wasn't sure what I was applying for, but when it was, he'd keep my resume on file and give it to them.

Well fast forward to Thursday, I get a call out of the blue from him asking if I was still looking for a job and stating that the liked my resume better than the ones he was getting from the contractor. The weird thing is that I had applied for the job with the contractor nearly 6 weeks ago. so I'm not sure why they didn't pass my resume on since the job though I was such a great candidate! Oh well.

So for next time we move I'm going to 1. Work on getting licensed early, 2. Call and email directors of pharmacies so they will have my resume on file if something happens, 3. Apply to all jobs. 4. Sit back and let the job offers roll. ;)

Necessity is the mother of invention

Or so the saying goes. Well if that's the case, then I must not really have many needs. Actually, I do tend to sway on the minimalist side. However, I have recently been trying to come up with something to make or sell or do. I've thought about decorating baby clothing or even making baby clothing despite not knowing how to sew or having any real experience with baby clothes. I've thought about trying to start a twitter account and then monetizing it. I thought about making other crafts to sell. I've even been trying to wrack my brain for something I could INVENT. Surely I could simply come up with the next newest latest and greatest thing in a day or two despite never previously having the aptitude for it.

Well in my quest to make side hustles or produce income streams I found a website where you can post your inventions and then, through crowd sourcing, you can influence the way the product looks or costs or even if it gets made. That sounds perfect! I can make a few pennies and learn about the invention process. Well I love taking surveys, so the 'influence' part is great. I just get an opinion and tell it to them. So easy! Let the $$$ roll. (I haven't made money, I doubt I actually will make money, actually I'm not really even 100% clear on how money is made in this stage of the game, but hey, that's beside the point.)

Then I thought about looking through their past products. What do inventors make? Bonus, I can consider this research for my latest and greatest yet-to-be-had idea!

Well turns out they make a lot of gadgets...and power outlets. Now my husband and I have been crowned the King and Queen of small kitchen gadgets, so I'm not really one to scoff at brightly colored, single use items. However, I did feel that rather than building a better mousetrap, one that was completely novel in form or function, people just built the same old thing...with a small twist.

For example one of the products is an attachment for a garden hose that made it spray like water from a watering can, and apparently also can double as a sprinkler. I guess you can buy this one new gadget and get rid of two gadgets you already own! Hooray consumerism.

Another invention was what looked like a salad spinner for popcorn. I thought it was for seasoning, but apparently it is just a plastic bowl you use to microwave the popcorn in...but it has a spinner so you can put butter on it.

Another was pitcher with two pour spouts..which you can hold on to...so you can pass it across the table and both hold onto it. Not sure why the two spouts and not just multiple handles.

And finally...someone invented scissors. No, not just any scissors, ones that open up and can be used as a single blade for opening packages, or curling ribbon, or scoring paper. Say it ain't so! I've never seen such a thing. Oh wait, I've got a half dozen or so floating around my house already. Their twist on the product is...wait for it...a spot in the handle for the second blade to rest. Guess I never knew I was risking life and limb all those times I was curing ribbon.

So all of my research has proven that I don't have to invent something that hasn't been done yet. I just need to add something superfluous to some already common invention to make a minuscule difference and viola...new invention! Now let the $$$ roll.