I started out for Detroit yesterday at 11:28 a.m. EST (not 11:29). I drove approximately 3.5 hours and arrived in downtown Detroit a day early just so I would be able to make it to the Good Morning America Detroit Jobs Expo at Cobo Hall (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JobClub/) no later than 5:30 a.m. today!
While part of me was excited to be out of the office for 1.5 days, another part of me was dreading the drive, staying in a hotel, and waking up in a strange city at 4:00 a.m. Did I mention I am not a middle of the night kind of person?! 🙂
Luckily, I met up with some other professional resume writers from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio (they came from all over to help displaced workers) and shared a wonderful dinner with them. In addition, we spoke about resume strategies, career coaching techniques, and job search strategies. By early evening I was really starting to perk up and enjoy being away from the business, the husband, and the children (working mothers are smiling at this comment).
Once we returned to the hotel, it was time to go to sleep – 4:00 a.m. comes pretty darn early for this resume writer! So, off to my room I went.
The resume writers staying at the same hotel carpooled the entire 4 blocks to Cobo Hall at 5:45 a.m. to critique resume for free for those in need. While the early wakeup call was almost more than I could stand, waiting to locate coffee was even worse! However, this all turned around for me when at 6:05 the first person sat in front of me to have his resume critiqued. Since the line for free resume critiques was not yet long, I took a long time speaking with this man. I heard his story regarding job loss and the impact it’s had on him, his wife, and their 2 children. It was then that I realized that any little bit of hope, inspiration, or professional careers and resume writing advice I offered him was more hope, inspiration, or professional careers and resume writing advice he had when he arrived at Cobol Hall at 4:00 a.m. to stand in line for an event that didn’t even begin until 6:00!
My time at the Good Morning America Detroit Jobs Expo was well worth every minute. A day helping those in need is always a great day!
