 Open to Work is one of those hashtags in 2020 that I wish we didn't have to see. You know the one I'm talking about. It's the little green circle that is lighting up LinkedIn profiles everywhere. And the meetings and events industry is not immune. Many people are having to use this circle to indicate that they've been furloughed or that they've been permanently laid off. Granted, it was some time ago, but I was open to work 13 years ago. And the things that I did really changed the trajectory of my career. I want to show you what I did during my time between gigs and we're doing so today. Here we go. Hey friends, it's Leanne. And when I joined Site Selection 13 years ago, I embarked on a three month journey to find that opportunity. You see, when I left the corporate world, I knew it was because I didn't want to work for a corporation, but I still truly loved what it was that I did. And I really loved the meetings and events industry. So now it was about finding the right type of position for my skills and talents and trying to stay in the industry, but obviously open to other opportunities as well. So I embarked on this journey and I learned a lot about myself. I want to show you some of the things that I did. But before I launch into my tips and strategies, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click on that little bell to be notified of new content. There is so much great content coming out over the next few months. A lot of it is career related and of course it's industry related and it's all for you, my meetings and events friends. So let's take a look back at what I did 13 years ago between my two jobs because I feel a lot of these things are extremely relevant even today. Before I jumped into this self exploration, the one thing that I did and I want you to allow yourself to do if you find yourself in the same situation is allow yourself the time to grieve. Whether you liked your job or not, it is a loss and I need you to take the time to grieve that lost opportunity before you start looking ahead to new opportunities. Now your grieving may only take a few hours, a few days, a few weeks. Some of us, it does take a few months and I want you to take that time to properly digest what is happening and start to move forward when you are ready. When you're ready to move forward, the first thing you're going to do is acknowledge that you yourself are a full time job. And when you were in that grieving process, perhaps you spent a lot of time with family and with friends. For those of us who have young children at home, we're spending time with our kids. But when you're ready to get back to work, you need to treat your career search and your self exploration as a full time gig. Without that, the distractions are going to derail you from really discovering what it is that you want out of your new position and what you can bring to the table when you get there. Number two is you're going to take stock of your strengths and talents. This is the fun part. This is when we go back to high school and we do those personality inventories and those strengths inventories. Back when I did it 13 years ago, the big thing was the Strengths Finder 2.0. And while it's rebranded to something else, that strengths inventory is one of the most powerful tools that you'll have in your toolbox when you're looking for new positions. So take some time, do those self discovery tests and figure out what it is that you can bring to the table in terms of your talents, your strengths and of course your passions. Number three, you're going to find a mentor and maybe you have a mentor already. Stay in touch with that person and perhaps you wanna find someone new. Remember, mentorship doesn't have to be a one-on-one conversation with someone that you know intimately through a Zoom webinar. It can be someone that you respect online that's provided advice to hundreds, maybe thousands of people in either our industry or in a related field. Someone that can provide you some encouragement and some tips on how to best move forward. Find that person for you and make sure you tap into their strengths and skills to help you move forward. Tip number four, get networking. And nowadays, that's a lot of virtual networking. A lot of associations are doing some virtual networking and you can find an association in our industry that's doing so, but it doesn't have to be in our industry. It could be a local B&I chapter, perhaps even the Chamber of Commerce. The important thing here is that you're sharing best practices, you're connecting with like-minded individuals and you're listening in on the conversations and picking from it what's going to help you make the next steps in your career. Tip number five, get some new certifications. And I did this back when I was going through my career change as I committed to doing my certified meeting professional or CMP designation. And within a year, I did get that designation. Nowadays, we're seeing a lot of professionals get their DES or digital events certification from PCMA, but there's a number of ones that you can look into. Find one that resonates with what you want to do and go and find a certification. Number six, spend some time on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a treasure trove of connections, networking, professional development and industry knowledge that you can use to find your next job. It is also a job search engine and there's lots of opportunities being posted on LinkedIn, but more than that, it is an opportunity for you to grow your business and grow your personal brand. And if you're looking for resources on how to optimize your LinkedIn experience, join me on October 20th where I host a webinar about LinkedIn and some of its features. To learn more about that webinar, click on this link below. For this and all future webinars that I'll be hosting about LinkedIn and the great things that you can do with that platform. Number seven, join an association. And this is one thing that I did right away during my career transition is I joined meeting professionals international and it was the best decision I ever made. It may not be a meetings industry association that you would like to find, it could be something unrelated but find an association that you can tap into and start to get your feet wet on volunteering and contributing and learning more about a particular industry. Number eight and most poignantly do not take the first job you see and I know that's going to be tempting. You're looking for a paycheck, you're looking for relevancy but remember this whole project of focusing on us and the things that we want out of our career it was meant for a reason. It was meant for you to find the right job not the first job. So please take the time you need to go through this process and find the job that speaks to your strengths, your talents and your passions. I feel strongly that you will find the right opportunity if you are patient enough. Friends, are you finding yourself in this circle of exploration right now? What things are you learning about yourself? Do you have any advice for people who are in a similar position as you? I'd love for you to comment below this video and share your best practices with others. And again, if you're looking for some LinkedIn resources remember to sign up for updates regarding future webinars about how optimizing LinkedIn. I will be in touch with you very soon about the next webinar. Friends, wherever you are in your open to work process I'm wishing you every success and every great opportunity that can come your way. Please stay positive, stay healthy, stay safe and best of luck out there. I'm rooting for you. Bye for now.