Los Angeles

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Comment by Cecilia on April 6, 2009 at 1:52pm

Helene, what is the group in Pasadena that helps women figure out what they were "meant" to do? I'm feeling like it might be an opportunity to try to reinvent my professional self and try something new. It's hard to know what though. I think the thing is to do a little research, find something that seems reasonable even if not perfect, and just go for it...........??

Comment by Karen on March 16, 2009 at 2:23pm

Since I've gotten laid off I've been doing some soul searching. I've also thought that maybe I'm not supposed to work in corporate America. Thanks for the websites and I will check them out.
I've been working on myself by becoming more spiritual and attending church of religious science. Through these teachings and meditation I'm trying to discover what I should be doing that is for my highest good. Not to be confused with Church of Scientology, but this is the teachings of Ernest Holmes and is along the thought of law of attraction. I love my church and it is actually a theatre. Reverend James owns the theatre and has his own production co. Right now Dracula is performing there. It's neat to sit in the theatre and listen to him. Website is www.nohonewthought.com. His talks are very inspirational and you can listen to past sermons on this site. Thanks for the website and will check them out. I've also been helping out my friend and author Lili Dauphin in promoting her books. She has written books based on her observation of life growing up in poverty stricken Haiti. She also has written inspitational books of poetry. She blogs on her website and it's a good site to check out. www.islandlili.com.

Comment by Helene on March 14, 2009 at 2:43am

I'm right there on the soul searching... and with Karen too, feeling a bit "huh? what happened?" It's disconcerting to be unemployed after being fully employed for so long. Sole2sole - thank you for the links!!! Many, many years ago I joined a group out in Pasadena that assisted women in figuring out what they were "meant" to do... I should've followed my group's advice - after a few weeks of getting to know me, the #1 suggestion was to become a female version of Bob Vila - at the time, there was only one cable channel... had I listened to them, who knows where I'd be today!!!! (oh well)

Karen - what have you been up to since Nestle?

Comment by sole2sole on March 14, 2009 at 12:58am

Karen, perhaps it is a sign for you to look elsewhere other than corporate jobs.
Let's share what we do, aside from looking for jobs. See where we can value-add while we have the time to search and find meaningful things to do or groups to connect.
Try these websites www.womenforhire.com and www.womenwholaunch.com
The first one helps you network and look for a job. Occasionally you get invited to career expos. I managed to find a great person to network and now we're friends!
The latter is a good resource if you're thinking about starting your own business. You join an incubator group for more than $300. Heard very good reviews about this group. I haven't join because I don't have a clue what business to get into. Still soul searching. But I attended a free seminar about setting your own online business and it was very inspiring. And informational. Worth checking out.

Comment by Karen on March 13, 2009 at 5:47pm

I got laid off from Nestle in Oct. 05 after being there for 2 years and 1 week. I left Warner Bros after 14 and 1/2 yrs to go to Nestle. I have been looking for work since I've gotten laid off. I was in inventory control at both co's. I had stable employment for more than 20 years, and now I'm unemployed. I can't believe it.

Comment by sole2sole on March 13, 2009 at 11:44am

LOL They say love is blind too.
I recognized the coastline on your picture. I live closeby Santa Monica Beach area. Good job for starting a group. I'd love to chat with someone local. I used to service accounts in a public relation agency, akin to advertising. Do you do actual book-keeping type of accounting or more on the servicing side?
Can't imgaine what it's like to be let go after 14 years!!! I have not stayed in a job for more than 4 years. Thanks to company re-organization and merger/ acquisitions, I was laid off twice. But in those days, they pay you well to stay home. I went to Greece for 2 weeks and spend the easy, lazy 2 months flying to nearby spa destinations. That was when it was alot easier to find a job. Was hired 2 months later. I wanted to start after 3 months but they insisted on an earlier start date. Those were the days!

Comment by Helene on March 13, 2009 at 4:11am

Wow! My story is much more simple!!! I grew up here in LA, went to UCLA & graduated with a BA in English... somehow ended up in Production Accounting for an ad agency (RPA in Santa Monica). Really liked what I did there... but thanks to the economy, they cut down on staff... after 14 years of dedication, they let me go. I guess they knew I needed to be doing something else, so I look at it as a blessing in disguise. I enrolled at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, and I'm now pursuing a professional certificate in Equine Science... in addition to maintaining a home on no salary. (I'm looking for a job too, but I'm also focused on school!)

I found this place through another link, and when I saw there was no group for Los Angeles, I decided to start one! The picture you see for the group was taken by me, on a drive home from work one night, headed north on PCH and Sunset (and at sunset too).

Wow... 10,000 miles!!! That takes serious guts, bravery & love!!

Comment by sole2sole on March 11, 2009 at 8:12pm

Let's introduce ourselves and share our experiences.
I resigned 4 years ago to get married. It was a BIG move involving 10,000 miles to start a new life in San Francisco. Always love that city so I was excited. Didn't look for work at first because I had yet to receive my green card.
After a year, I got my green card and was hired for a contractor position for 3 months in a leading graphics chip company, NVIDIA. I was their U.S. coordinator for the Taiwan tradeshow called Computex, then ranked world's second largest computer tradeshow.
Then we had to move. Not far, to San Jose. After settling down for 10 months, my husband found a job in LA and we moved again.
It's been 2 years in LA and it was not easy. Partly my background is more computer hardware rather than software. But I do have strong Fortune 500 hi-tech experience with international marketing background. I had won awards in various companies for my creativity and event execution.
I had been to several networking events in LA and found many MLMs or self-styled consultants or new entrepreneurs at the scene. In short, they are networking to expand their client's base. Barely any corporate workers to network with.
I had some success getting a friend to recommend me to an energy company. Took a couple of months to set up the interview. The interview went well, but they need to re-organize their dept before I can come onboard. That was more than a month ago. Since then, I had another interview which went nowhere. Obviously I am still sending in applications about one or 2 a week and networking. I started a job search group for ladies several months ago. It was difficult to sustain without another leader whenever I had to be excused for job interviews. So we hadn't had the chance to meet for a month now.
What's your story?