I had my one-month anniversary last week at ProMatch. John had expressed some concern that the networking group was sucking too much of my time, so I started tracking my hours. The mandatory meetings and volunteer hours clock in at about ten hours per week, but I end up spending closer to 20 hours onsite including all the career classes. Truthfully, I’d begun feeling regretful about joining, but then I decided that the negative thinking just wasn’t serving me. So, focusing on the plus side, I’m still learning a ton and growing/developing my skills. Plus, I’m hoping things will die down a bit now that I’ve taken almost all of the classes. I still have a few more on presenting accomplishments, negotiation, and facilitation, but I hope to crank those out by the end of August. By then I’ll REALLY be a job hunting expert! Ha!

In other news, my inspiration from BlogHer pushed me to update my personal branding materials. I updated my business card, and more importantly, I created a digital portfolio. To be honest, I dunno why I dragged ass on setting up a web portfolio. I had a lame PDF version, and I mean, in retrospect, wtf, I’m a “digital communications specialist”!! Duh. Whatever. The good news is, I tried out a new web tool, and wow, I ended up with a pretty badass site after all was said and done. I mean, it still took time, but less than I anticipated. I also kinda wish I had collected more writing samples from my last job, but whatevs. It is what it is. I’m pretty damn stoked nonetheless!

So then what IS the latest scoop on my job hunt? I applied for a few communications foundation jobs a few weeks ago. I haven’t heard back, but I’ll follow up this week. I also applied to a couple of communications roles at environmental nonprofits– for both places, I actually have a connection. That said, my environmental education and immediate experience probably does appear more appealing to environmental employers than non-environmental employers. So yeah, I had a quick phone call today for a digital product manager role at a well-known environmental NGO. I spent a ton of time this morning ramping up on the organization’s history and current events, and I also practiced my responses to standard interview questions… But the hiring manager didn’t go there at all! The position actually sounds like a really good (and natural) fit, considering all the web products I created for the District. The manager says he wants to bring me onsite for an interview with him and another staffer. Yay. Finally, I’m advancing to the next round in the game. Goddamn. Yup, I’m taking a break tonight from my job hustle to celebrate this small victory!