Making Lemonade

From the title of this entry one might think I changed careers from placement and coaching to culinary arts.

Not true! My chef skills are limited though I can cook just about anything on a BBQ grill! Through a rather winding path, I will tell a story that ultimately has to do with an individual's career choices.

Everyone needs a diversion from their work routine, some sort of outside activity or interest. One of my sidelines is coordinating high school marching band competitions on weekends. It gets me out among very talented young people, interacting with scores of volunteer parents, and usually, lots of fresh air and exercise.

The October snowstorm that overpowered NJ caused many schools to cancel, reschedule, or move their shows into indoor facilities. I had the pleasure of working at 3 reconfigured shows in the last several days at North Plainfield, East Brunswick and Hillsborough NJ. All the organizations did a splendid job of regrouping but my focus here is on North Plainfield.

On Sunday morning, October 30, I approached their stadium to see firefighters spraying water onto the turf in a valiant attempt to melt the field and eliminate over five inches of heavy snow.

The fire chief consulted with the public works crew, school administrators, etc. then informed the band director and me that the effort would not be good enough. Within minutes, the parent organizers had everyone hustling concession food from the field to the school cafeteria, the band director and her staff helped my team reorganize the show to fit the building's capabilities, and the custodial staff quickly got the facility prepared to host about 10 bands with all their equipment and several hundred spectators.

Part way through the show, I stopped one of the lead parents and complimented her on how well things had turned out. She looked at me, smiled, and said "we make great lemonade here!" That was absolutely the truth!

You are probably wondering how this relates to a job search. Well, it certainly does! Many folks desperately looking for a job stay close to their comfort zone and unintentionally miss opportunities. Just yesterday, a gentleman called who had been an electronics technician for a company that made x-ray equipment for over 20 years. The company moved to the Philippines leaving him out of work. He had applied to every related service company within an hour of his home to no avail.

I asked him how many hospitals he had contacted to see if they hired on-site support to keep their equipment running 24/7. There was a moment of silence before he told me no one had ever suggested that before.

Please look outside the box when job hunting. Be creative and do not give up when a huge stumbling block presents itself. Turn those pesky lemons into lemonade!