I’m experiencing new situations these days as I settle into my “new” life as a new retiree in a new home in a new town in a new state. The overall experience has been relatively painless…stuff gets done…usually on time…getting a LOT more sleep than in previous “lives.” But I’ve had to re-learn one important thing…waiting is a major exercise.

And that realization got me thinking about life and careers. We spend a good amount of time planning the next steps in our lives, checking off all the required steps in our life-plan, and then being told… “Wait.” Most of my waiting of late has been in various doctors’ offices and, today, at a local car dealership, but the main lesson is the same…

It’s frustrating. It’s annoying. It can be downright discouraging.

But we don’t have a choice. The world isn’t sitting patiently for us to do something. Wheels are turning. Plans are being made. And decisions are being made…slowly and methodically.

A couple of observations here.

First, time is of the essence. Yeah, I know that’s an oldie-but-goodie, but…

Hiring managers aren’t sitting patiently waiting for you to act. They have needs, and they have deadlines. If your name isn’t in front of them when it’s time for action on their part, too bad…for you.

Second, patience is a valuable asset.

In the “real world,” sometimes even critical actions seem to take a lifetime to resolve. And there’s usually not a blasted thing you can do about it.

One thing that I always encouraged my Curry College COM / PR students and CCPRSA members…and now will be urging my new friends in USFPRSSA and UTPRSSA… to do to gain some control over these two realities is “network, network, network.”

Why? Because, first off, you move from “unknown name” to “oh yeah…I met him/her at XXX.” It’s not a slam-dunk guarantee of success, but it gets the door opened a smidge.

Second… “don’t sit around waiting for things to happen.” It’s up to you to get the wheels turning. So when you see or hear of an opportunity that sounds like it’s a good one for you, act…now. And be proactive in your follow-up…not annoyingly so…but take the initiative. Contact them so that they know you’re interested.

Meanwhile, I’ve just been told that, instead of a two-hour wait for some car repairs, I’m facing possible THREE hours or more.

Deeeep breaths, Kirk. Deeeeep breaths!

Note: After having written the post above while sitting in the dealer’s waiting room for three hours, I was informed that nothing had been done during that time…the person who was supposed to do the work never even showed up!