New Gig

I've spent the last 5 years in a job that I didn't enjoy. I blame myself for staying in that situation for as long as I did. If I'm honest with myself, the job security and the fear of trying something new was what kept me from figuring out what I really wanted to do. After finding the courage to move half way across the country, I knew that I couldn't just do the same thing I was doing in Dallas. So armed with my new found courage, I set out to find a job that I could actually enjoy and be good at.

But everyone knows that looking for a job sucks. All the "custom" resumes and cover letters, the endless Internet searching, and worst of all, the numerous rejections. In time, it can tear down even the most confident person's self-esteem. Now combine that with a poor economy, relocation to a new city, and a career jump, and I'm sure you can only imagine what I was up against. There were several points along the way where I just wanted to give up on my quest. I was getting no responses from my resumes, and networking wasn't exactly working out for me. I also didn't have the experience for 90% of the jobs I was interested in, and I wasn't a student to be able to try an internship. Then two weeks ago, I had a break-through. Now, after not working for almost 4 months, I have finally found a job (Praise God!).

I am now employed by a catering/event planning company called Great Performances. I actually sent them my resume about two months ago, and had all but given up on them, but out of the blue received a call for an interview. Ironically, the call came about 30 minutes after leaving a 2nd interview with another prestigious catering company. My new position is Catering Sales Assistant. I am one of 3 assistants to the VP, and top sales person, of the company. I'll be responsible for organizing the "nuts and bolts" of an event, including: creating proposals, ordering rental equipment, writing liquor licenses, sending staffing requirements, and organizing tastings for the client.

The company does purely off-premise events, so I'll have the opportunity to see many different places. I work in the office from 9-5:30 Monday through Friday, and they provide us lunch every day! I'll also be able to attend the events that I work on to ensure that things are set up properly and the client is happy. I'm getting paid a little less than my job in Dallas, but it's totally worth it. This company is also unique because they have their own farm! I've never heard of any catering company growing their own produce. I've only worked there three days, and I'm sure that there will be challenges to my new position, but I get to plan parties for a living, how cool is that?!