For 26 weeks, the State of Illinois paid me to look for work, and I found a whole lot of meh. It was a lot like dating--a few looked promising and a couple were interested in me, too. We’d tease at getting together but wouldn’t. There was even a one-night stand or two along the way where we seemed to get along and they promised to call again, but never did. And once I got invited to meet the family. I got all dressed up and spent a whole day talking about the future, but when I said how much I enjoyed the day, they just shrugged and turned away.

For 6 months, I tried to show that I could be

• Creative--but wouldn’t threaten anyone with too many of my own ideas;
• Experienced--but not so knowledgeable that I would command a healthy salary;
• Innovative--but not in any way that veered from the established plan.

And, of course, that I could “perform other duties as assigned.”

After 6 months of this, I got bored trying to guess what hiring managers wanted me to be and got interested in telling people who I am and what I do, which is help people put words together with intention. I am a Chief Poetry Officer. It’s true. It’s on my resume.

Consult with predominantly women-led businesses and not-for-profit organizations to craft strategic language. Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, discerning and capturing attitudes, actions, and beliefs and translating discoveries into mission, vision, values, and steering documents that power and sustain meaningful action.

• Mediation. Focused divergent board members’ points-of-view toward shared outcomes using collective language to craft an art center mission.
• Analysis. Attended to the text and subtext of client concerns to address the full scope of a client’s needs for an architecture firm.
• Creativity. Uncovered new ideas and approaches in available words, lived examples, and tangential ideas to articulate a data story for an information design presentation.

So starting today, I am employed full-time. But I did not find a job; I made one.

I have a website and business cards.  I’m working on my SEO, my LLC, my ROI, and am considering an EIN.  I joined an incubator and set an appointment with a mentor to discuss how to build out my CPO project. Here is a one minute summary of my one-hour meeting:

Mentor: In one sentence, what are you looking for?

Me: Hi, I need help naming my new website.

Mentor: What do you do?

Me: I am a Chief Poetry Officer. I help people write compelling language.

Mentor: B to B?

Me: Yes.

Mentor: What’s your rate?

Me: I don’t know; I’m just starting to figure this out.

Mentor: There is a huge need for someone like you out there. You need to have a rate. I have two jobs for you.

It took six months of explaining myself by what I used to do to find 60 seconds of what I want to do:

Realize intention. Recognize possibility.

Which helped me articulate what I plan to do:

Help businesses & organizations craft strategic language that powers & sustains meaningful work.

Back in January, my plan was to be employed by August--today is July 31. In March, my goal was to run the Shamrock Shuffle in under an hour--I finished in 59:55. When I registered my kids for summer camp in April, I managed to find part-time care for most of the summer but had to enroll them in full-time care starting in August. I think I see a pattern.