Week 1 Update

This is an update from my last post. (If you didn't read it, make sure to catch up to speed: http://sore--thumb.blogspot.com/2012/06/money-why-i-have-none-and-how-i-can.html)

It's been over a week into my journey (almost two actually.) To say it's been hard is an understatement. Every radio program, every TV show, every billboard is advertising some kind of fast food. Every email I open is a coupon or an advertisement for some kind of restaurant. It got me to thinking, why as a society are we so addicted to fast food? Is it that we're looking for something convenient and the fact that it's readily available or is the food itself in someway addicting? I think they put some kind of addictive additive in the food to keep us all coming back.

I started this personal challenge as a way to save money. I quoted that we spent over $500 on eating out in May. Today I've been trying to figure out more details about our spending and I found that including groceries, we spent almost $1,000 in groceries throughout the month of May. Maybe this sounds normal for a family that has children, but it's just me and my husband.

We are making a personal goal to cut our food spending down to $200 every 2 weeks (or $400 for the whole month.) Once we make that goal, we are going to try to cut our food bill down to $200 a month. Is this even possible?  I'm not sure---but I'm going to try my hardest. My plan to tackle this goal is by couponing, meal planning, and also to make enough food that we can have leftovers. So far, we are at $209 that we've spent on groceries for the month. We have $191 to make it for the rest of the month.


Readers, what do you think? Can we do it? Stay tuned for another update soon!

Money: Why I Have None and How I Can Change It

My husband and I both make decent money. We're not rich by any means, but we shouldn't ever find ourselves running out of money. In fact, we've had the same fight too many times. "Honey, where did all of our money go?" Last night, we decided we're sick of having this same fight over and over again. We need to really sit down and analyze what's happening and where our money is going. We both commute an hour to work, so we spend a ridiculous chunk of change on gas and tolls. Unless either of us decides to quit our jobs and work closer to home, that's not going to be something we can cut out.

I'm almost embarrassed to say, when we sat down and analyzed our money, most of it goes to food. Since we both commute, we don't really ever feel like spending another hour cooking or preparing lunches during the week. I told my husband I bet we spend $200 a month on restaurants and eating out alone. Here comes the cringe worthy part. I totaled it up and found that in the month of May we spent $515 on eating out (this number doesn't include groceries.) That is an INSANE amount of money that included frequent Starbucks/Dunkin Donut runs, breakfast on the weekends, Subway/Chipotle/Jimmy Johns lunches, Chinese food takeout/pizza for dinner.

So I proposed this idea to my husband last night and it wasn't met with as much hesitation as I assumed it would. "Honey, how about we make a conscious decision to not eat out for the next 30 days? Do you think we could do that?" He immediately said he could do it (without cheating) and I said I think I could do it too (and only cheat once or twice.)

I woke up in a good mood today. My husband made us tuna sandwiches for lunch but he forgot to pack anything besides a sandwich, which is making me a little antsy thinking that I have to survive all day on just a sandwich. (Where's the chips and cookie I would get if this was a Subway order?) The first email of the day that I got was asking me if I wanted some Jamba Juice. Oh my--Jamba is my weakness...this is going to be harder than I thought.

Followers--give me some moral support here! Tell me something that you know you spend too much money on, how you deal with cooking meals in the midst of business or a time when you made a challenge for yourself.

Do All You Can Do

I've been thinking about my career and where I want to be in a few years. I have my days where I get in a funk and wonder if it's time for a change of pace. I have been extremely involved with my volunteer work lately and wish I could do it full-time or find a (paid) job for the ASPCA. But, in the meantime, I know I'm in a good spot and I love the experience I'm getting at my job in the Social Media field.

All of this has got me thinking that unfortunately, no job is permanent anymore. A few years back, my friend and I had a conversation about how our jobs were 'steady' and we were the lucky ones to have such secure jobs. I kid you not--a few weeks later, we were jobless. That experience was definitely an eye-opener for me. Moral of the story: no job is permanent anymore. Don't ever stop bettering yourself and adding experience and job skills to your resume. You never know when you will have to pop that resume out again.

That being said, there are always factors our of our control that could leave us in a situation of unemployment: outsourcing (in my case), the company goes bankrupt, job elimination, etc BUT there are factors we can control. I have a few things that I've always tried to do to be all I can be and I'd love to hear other suggestions from you too.

Show up on time.

Doesn't sound like a hard concept, right? I've always been a punctual person, so showing up on time has been a relatively easy concept to master. If you're a perpetually late person, give yourself an extra 30-60 minutes in the morning to make it there.

Don't call off.

Another tip that sounds so simple, but I've been amazed over the years at co-workers that were really good workers that had crap work ethic. Sure, there are days I'd love to call off, stay home and cuddle with my dog or go to the beach, but the fact is: I have a job that I am committed to. If you start getting in the habit of calling off without a legitimate reason, you may start calling off too often and lose the dedication to your job. Unless you're sick or there's an emergency, just go to work.

*Try to* stay out of the office politics.

This one is the hardest for me. I've played the office politics game before and I can tell you, it gets you nowhere. You end up being labelled as such and no one takes you seriously or trusts you anymore. It's okay to have a few work friends that you vent to or tell things to, but be very careful who you trust at work.

Work hard. Get things done. Then do more.

I consider myself successful because I haven't done JUST what's required of me. (Side note, this makes me think of the scene in Office Space when Jennifer Anniston's character tells her boss that she only wears the required amount of flair and if he wants her to wear more flair, then he should ask her to wear more.) I always try to come up with new ideas to make our team better and ask for additional responsibilities when I can. This makes you look like an A+ employee that's trustworthy and a leader.

There you have it: my simple list of things you can do to be the best employee you can be. You may encounter situations where you end up jobless, but at least you can pride yourself in knowing that it was through no fault of your own.

Volunteering

Why hello out there! I am so sorry I have not posted in awhile. I have been feeling extremely discouraged lately and I know that's not who I want to be. A lot of things have happened in the last few months and I've really let it derail me from where I want to be in life. I feel like I'm getting everything back on track and so here I am.

I wanted to talk a little bit today about volunteering or working with a non-profit organization. We all have causes that we really believe in and want to fight for. We may not all agree on our causes, but that's what makes us all unique. I am really involved and passionate about animals. I have always loved animals but after I adopted my dog about 7 years ago, I found out that there are really cruel, heartless people out there that abuse the poor, defenseless pets. My little princess, Britney was kicked and beaten by her previous owners.

I found out about a Pit Bull rescue group in my area and while I've never owned a Pittie in my life, I know people that have and I've heard so much about the breed over the years. It makes me so upset to know that one breed has been labelled as being destructive and vicious animals. Does that bother anyone as much as it bothers me? It's like labeling a certain group of people.

I decided to start volunteering with It's a Pittie Rescue and I've been doing it for about two weeks. I thought by doing it, I would be making an impact in these abandoned dogs lives, but I never realized that I would be the one that would be impacted. The first day I went there, I was a little apprehensive. I would hand the dog a toy, but make sure my hand was nowhere near it JUST IN CASE. I never imagined that these dogs would be better behaved than my poodle. After a few times of visiting, I realized that these dogs just want someone to love so bad and are so grateful for the walks and the play time.

(Me and Annie after a long, exhausting walk)

I think sometimes we get so involved with our own lives (myself included), that we forget there are organizations out there that just need you to give a few hours of your time for the greater good. I encourage my readers to do something for someone else this week. It could be for a cause you believe in or how about you offer to do something for a neighbor or an elderly relative? Even if you don't want to make a long-term commitment, even doing just one thing outside of your comfort zone will make a world of difference.

Tell me in the comments where you have volunteered in the past or where you plan to start volunteering. I'd love to hear from you guys and see what kind of causes we have represented.

Vacation!

Hello out there!

Did you think I was missing? I just returned from vacation to the beautiful Los Angeles, California! My husband and I got a really amazing hotel and airfare deal, so it was too good to pass up!

I'm working on a new post for this week and should return to the regularly scheduled program! :)

Have you ever taken a random trip just because you got a good deal? If so, where did you go?

Happy Thursday!

It's a short work-week this week but why does it feel like it's dragggging? Maybe it's because I'm going on vacation next week? That always seems to make the week go slower. I figured I needed a little pick-me-up so I scoured the web looking for funny job interview stories. Why? Because I am literally the WORST at job interviews, so I think laughing at someone else's pain might make me feel better about my own shortcomings.

Here's a few I've found:

Have you ever been rained on at an interview before?
“One of my first jobs as a supervisor was to interview candidates for an administrative assistant,” Leigh S. recalls. “We scheduled a full day of screenings. Following a very wet and rainy night, some areas of our office roof were leaking and maintenance had a couple of buckets in the hallway. Not a great first impression, but hey, it was a quaint old office building. Each applicant had to complete a battery of written tests.

As one candidate dutifully sat at a desk outside my office, I heard a “crack,” a “swoosh” and then a huge splash. The ceiling tile just above the candidate had collapsed under the weight of the rain water and drenched her. Wet but unharmed, the experience clearly dampened her spirits and her prized interview suit. She immediately informed me that she was no longer interested in the job.”

Have you ever been arrested at a job interview before?
"An applicant had taken a cab from the airport hotel. He had a dispute with the driver over the fare. Unsatisfied with the amount of money he received, the cab driver called the police. The job interview was interrupted by one of our security officers, who had to escort the applicant to the lobby where he was asked by police to pay the cab driver the remaining fare."
-from Stacy Murphy, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

This one is definitely my favorite and for all my fellow road-ragers out there:
"My friend was racing to an interview. She flipped off another driver who blocked her car in the garage. The other driver ignored her, so she started honking and shouting obscenities. She finally got her car parked. She ran upstairs to the interview. The other driver was the owner of the company who was interviewing her."
-from: Kelley McCormick, Qorvis Communications

So, there you have it my dear friends. If you've ever had a bad job interview experience, you can be happy in the fact that none of these things happened to you!

Has anyone ever had a job interview go so wrong that it was funny? We'd love to hear it!

The Power of Positive Thinking

When I first met my husband, I was an extremely negative person. If something bad happened--say, unexpected car trouble--I immediately went to the mindset that the sky was falling and that my life was over. He taught me that together we can work everything out and that it could ALWAYS be worse. I can see the transformation in the last few years of my thinking and the way I react to certain situations. When something bad happens now, instead of automatically expecting the worst, I try to think of alternative ways to deal with the problem. I can definitely see the change in my life in the last year and I feel like a lot more positive things are coming my way. I am a huge believer in what you put out there is equal to what you get back.

It got me thinking about positive thinking and if there's any link between positive thinking and a happier life. I've always heard about positive thinking among those with terminal illness, but is there any evidence that positive thinking can really change your life? I Googled it and found a study from Korea called "Positive-Thinking and Life Satisfaction Among Koreans." (The study from 2007 can be found here.) The study included 409 people and asked them questions based on their life satisfaction, positive thinking and their demographics. The conclusion of the study was this: "We provided empirical evidence that positive thinking may indeed play a significant role in life satisfaction. Therefore, positive thinking would offer important direction for the growth of life satisfaction and interventions aiming to remediate the effects of demographic variables on life satisfaction."

My challenge to my followers is to try to start thinking of the glass half full. It can definitely be a hard process to change your thinking, especially if your thinking is as negative as mine has always been. If you're going through a rough time right now, it can be hard to think of the good things in life that you have, but I encourage you to try it. Let me know in the comments a time when positive thinking has paid off or has helped you.

Finding a Job You Love: Tip #1: Basic Networking

The first time I heard the term 'networking' was when I signed up for Facebook. Looking for: Networking. It sounded like a fancy way of saying: "Kissing someone's butt until it pays off." Being older and wiser now, I've learned networking actually does help since I got my oh-so-fabulous job because I proved myself to the right people. As I mentioned in my last post, there are a million people looking for that stellar job. You have to rise above the competition and prove why you're better than the last thirty people that they've interviewed. Usually knowing someone and getting rave reviews gives you an edge, since you have a proven history of success. Maybe this sounds basic, but I believe this helps.

A Few Tips to Start Creating Networks:

*Utilize the people you know first. 
If you're actively searching for a job, ask your friends and family first. Sometimes the people you know already have leads at their current jobs or know of places that are hiring. If they don't know of any job openings, ask them to keep you in mind if anything comes up. If they DO know of a job, a friend will be able to tell you the specs of the job without any filter or boundaries. They can tell you what HR won't--turnover, attitude of management, how often you get a raise, job duties, or if you should steer clear of the job altogether. Chances are someone in HR won't try to talk you out of the job no matter how terrible it truly is.

*Network Through Social Media. 
This one's my fave since this is my field of expertise. I believe we live in a time where we're so lucky to be able to take advantage of the internet and all it has to offer.

My favorite social media job-related site would be LinkedIn. LinkedIn does for the job world what Facebook does for...well, everything. Here are some facts from the Linked In Press page:

• As of September 30, 2011 (the end of the third quarter), LinkedIn counts executives from all 2011 Fortune 500 companies as members; its corporate hiring solutions are used by 75 of the Fortune 100 companies.
• More than 2 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.
• As of February 9, 2012, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

Search for contacts and find your former colleagues. If a colleague is someone you truly had a good experience with, write a letter of recommendation. Start pouring out the praises for others you've worked with (if they're worthy of course.) Networking is not just what you can get out of it, but it's also about what you can do for others. Even if the connection never pays off for you, think about what kind of person you'd be if you did something without expecting anything in return.

Also, use Facebook or Twitter to keep in contact with colleagues and friends from the past. Ask them to keep you in mind if a new position opens at their company. If you plan to use the site to network, keep it PG. (I would recommend this as a general rule of thumb anyway since you never know who's looking at your page.) Personally, I probably wouldn't be willing to recommend you for a job if all of your pictures consist of you passed out on the bathroom floor.

*Be memorable--in a GOOD way.

This one is super important and makes me think of an experience I had one time. When I was working as a pharmacy technician, I had someone come in for an interview that I worked with in the past. I didn't like her but it was more than just that. She was the biggest gossip, created tons of discord among everyone and had an extremely poor work ethic. I heard through the grapevine that she was unhappy with her position at the pharmacy that I left and when she came in for an interview at my current job, I decided I would do everything in my power to make sure she didn't get the job. I'm sure she never thought that her behavior in her current job would ever effect her job-hunting in the future. This is where the networking comes into play. Networking can positively or negatively effect you depending on the mark you leave on people. If you leave a good mark on someone, then you've made a networking connection. If not, then you've made an enemy and that has the possibility to hurt you in the future.

Even if you're not passionate about the job you're in or you plan on it just being a stepping stone to your career, make a good and lasting impression. Show up on time, complain as little as possible, work harder than everyone else and always ask what else you can be doing to help. A previous manager taught me this trick and I think she's right on. If you show initiative, you are differentiating yourself from the rest of the team. You never know, you might go in for an interview and a former co-worker is now in HR and is the one interviewing you. (Stranger things have happened.)

*Take advantage of opportunities and your connections.


When I've been on a job hunt, I've had people ask what they could do to help. I'm always the person that doesn't want to inconvenience someone or waste anyone's time. If a person offers to help--it's because they want to help. Take advantage of it. Know what you want from that person. If someone asks you what they can do to help you out and you're lacking skill in a specific computer program, ask them to teach you. We could all use more knowledge. This tip applies to people that aren't currently job-hunting also. If someone you work with offers to help, accept the help. It could pay off in the long run for a promotion or if you ever decide to switch jobs.

*Attend conferences, job fairs, work parties, etc.

Go to any major event that would have people with a similar career path and try to meet as many people as possible. I'm not talking throwing your business card at every person in the room. I'm talking more about creating a lasting bond and relationship where you feel comfortable with the people you meet. Exchange stories, offer advice or help, hand out your card, and be in contact. Networking isn't just about meeting people then asking them for a job. It's more about creating an image that you'd be a great recommendation if an opportunity ever came up.

I recently subscribed to a new site called LearnVest. I have loved getting their "Build Your Career Bootcamp" emails because I think they have some great tips and have a really positive way of delivering career advice. You can find tips on what I've mentioned and way more! Instead of telling you what NOT to do, they give you advice on how to make you an all-around great candidate. They even give interview tips which I definitely need since I may be the worst interviewee in the world. Imagine my surprise when I opened an email today to see it was about networking--I guess I was on the same page as them! I love their suggestions of meeting contacts at the grocery store! This is why I try to be nice to every single person I meet and that's not because I'm opportunistic. It's because I truly believe what you put out there is equal to what you get back. After all, who wants to work with a person who consistently has a scowl on her face? If the person that I smiled at can get me a job or might hire me in the future, I'll take that.

Tell me followers. Has networking really worked out for any of you? If so, tell me how and what tips can you add?

My First Post

First off, let me introduce myself and thank you TRULY for reading this. I know there are plenty of blogs out there, so the fact that you came to read this makes me feel wonderful. My name is Courtney and I live in the Chicago area. I have a bichon-poo named Britney who's 10 and she's my little princess. I will definitely post pictures at some point. I've newly become a Vegetarian and love experimenting with food. I'm huge into music and movies. In fact, I work at a movie company in the Social Media department.

I believe that life is a journey and here I am in my journey. I woke up this morning deciding I wanted to make a blog. Maybe it comes naturally for some people, but not so much for me. I've had a lot of bad things happen to me in my life, so I've always been the person that's extremely self-consumed and worried about my own problems that I never felt the need to actually reach out and do something helpful for the universe.

Then on Valentine's Day at 2'o clock in the morning, I had a deep thought. I tweeted something to the nature of "I wonder if I died today, if I would be proud of what i've accomplished or mourn over what i haven't." (140 characters or less, of course.) It really got me thinking about what mark I’ve made on the world or lack thereof. It reminded me of a quote I read once that's really stuck with me: "If I have done any deed worthy of remembrance, that deed will be my monument. If not, no monument can preserve my memory." -Agesilaus II

For once in my life, I'm happy with where I am. Sure, there are things I want, regrets I carry, but all in all I'm very satisfied with where I am. I have a job that I absolutely adore--borderline OBSESSED with, friends that make me smile, a brand new iPhone that makes me think I'm the coolest person alive. Oh, and a husband that thinks I'm the world. You know there are always things to complain about but I've decided that positivity seems to pay off.

So here I am, cyber-world. I decided I want to help my friends or strangers that feel not-as fabulous in their lives. Maybe it's through a bad breakup or through money trouble or simply hating your job--believe me, i've had many of those and we can swap stories or watch Office Space and recount how frightenly accurate it is. It's been a long journey for me to feel this-dare I say-normal. I'm talking a ten-year downward slope of pain, guilt and lots of tears. it wasn't until i met my husband that i decided this is a life worth living.

Let me know what's troubling you and what you'd like to see featured on my blog. This is all new to me, so I'm gladly up for some help! My blog will include tips on how to get the career you want, networking, recipes, how to feel fabulous, and maybe even some giveaways!

Oh, and you're probably wondering about the title. I fumbled with some titles for awhile but couldn't come up with anything creative. My friend came up with SORE THUMB. She said I needed to be unique and distinctive and I think it's great. Have you heard the saying: "You're unique and so is everyone else?" Any one out there that's recently had a job interview knows what I'm trying to say. You have so much life experience, job experience, school, etc but for some reason, it wasn't enough to get the job--or maybe it WAS enough, if you portrayed yourself as completely different from the other candidates. All I do in life, I want to stick out as a sore thumb. I want to be a light in a world that can be dark and I want to make a difference.

My new cyber-friends, I will leave you with an old Nike ad:

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough, they'll say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."