I was fired, let go, downsized, call it what you will.  It felt like a punch in the stomach.  I was fired on the Fourth of July in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in history.  I was a recent college grad with two years of bartending experience under my belt and nothing more.  You’d be hard pressed to find a more desperate case when it came to the field of job searching.  That was what I thought anyway, I saw in myself only my short comings and inadequacies.  I thought I would have been lucky to find another job in the restaurant industry if anything.  Then I met Shell.

She asked me questions about myself that I never even considered asking.  What would my ideal work environment look like?  What kind of structure would there be?  Would I like to work in groups or as an individual?  Would there be windows in my office?  These questions almost seemed silly.  Shell got me to think differently about my goals and what they would look like.  What do you think about when you look for jobs?  The pay? The benefits? The commute?  She got me to think about what I wanted out of a job down to the detail, and because of that the big picture got brighter, more focused, and became more of a tangible reality.

So I went from sitting in my basement playing video games all day long to a structured lifestyle where I had a job.  My job was of course to find a job.  That meant getting up and starting my day before typical business hours, dressing professionally, and setting small goals and projects for myself to achieve.  You have to really give yourself over and trust the process.  Shell and I worked together to understand and map out my career goals.  We figured out those details I mentioned before and I began to actually see myself in the job I wanted.

The process took a lot of hard work and yes at times I did get frustrated and even upset, but Shell was there every step of the way to encourage me and keep me on the path towards my career goals.  Some of my career goals were as follows:

• To work in a creative/ marketing position
• To work in an environment that was a fair mix between team and individual structures
• To work with kind people who kept their work and personal lives separate
• To have an office with big windows

At the end of my work with Shell I got a job.  I am an internet marking specialist.  I am allowed to write and be creative.  I work in groups and by myself, and my office has plenty of windows.  None of this would have been possible without Shell.  Her support and guidance helped me though the darkest moments of my job search, she constantly reminded me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and the only person who could make it brighter was me.  I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

I. Magwire, Seattle, WA