I know I've been lying low for the last month or so.  Every since starting a focused job search, I've come to realize that looking for a full-time job is a full-time job.  So much has changed since I last looked for a job that it's really been more of an educational experience than anything else.  I had some false starts: I honestly didn't know what level or title I should be searching for based upon my prior experience and skills.  I had to do a lot of thinking and make a lot of lists.  What skills do I really like using?  What do I enjoy doing the most?  How much did I want to compromise salary versus location?  A lot of my career has been spent in finance, but I don't have finance degrees, so although I'm working with a financial recruiter, I'm not basing my search on finding a position in finance.  I really like being an administrative manager even though I spent the majority of my career working on business process improvements, so I'm looking for operations director positions.  Unfortunately, now that it took me so long to figure all this stuff out, I'm hearing from quite a few people that the 4th quarter is notoriously bad for finding work.  If you have any tips for job hunting, I'd love to hear them.

The other reason I've been lying low is because of my hair.  I just couldn't take the three-toned weirdness any longer, so these pictures will be the last of me with the freaky light ends.  It's not perfect, but I tried to match the ends to my base color without covering any grey.  It felt like the reverse of any hair coloring process I've ever been through before in my life.  Pictures coming soon, I promise.

Linked to: The Pleated Poppy