ASAP

If you have recently visited my LinkedIn site

www./linkedin.com/in/contactjennmurphy,

you know that I have created a business plan,

Advertising Support And Planning (“ASAP”)

to showcase the skills and specialties I am currently using to research job opportunities. My goal is to use LinkedIn as one means of interactive dialogue with Recruiters, HR professionals other hiring professionals to secure my best career option.

Please do share my site information with persons you know who may be looking for just the right fit for their company or corporation.

Thank you!

What's next?

Since my last posting, my professional life at Ash Brokerage has undergone growth to the extreme. I have recently begun to feel more confidence largely due to the relationships that have been developing over the last several months and the resulting confidence others are placing in me.

That being said, however, the "pause" button was pressed again as I was given notice this past Tuesday of the current workforce reduction plan and it's direct affect on my position with Ash:
I am once again unemployed.

I'm disappointed, of course, but I have been through this before! And I know that I will come through this current situation as well. There's a lot more I could add, but for right now, I feel my energies are better focused looking ahead rather than staring behind at what was.

Stay tuned! I always write during a crisis!

New job for jennifer

I just received word a couple of hours ago that Ash Brokerage is extending me an offer of employment at their office north of Cincinnati. We all are feeling the crunch in some way in this difficult economy. Let me assure you that searching for a job in this economy is not for the faint of heart!

I am delighted and very relieved, as this is a company from whom I can retire. Their reputation in our industry is superb. Their interview process is extensive, and even more so in my case: I did not respond to a job posting for this position. I was brought to the attention of the firm by an individual with whom I worked several years ago who is himself a new hire! For this company to reach out to me--not having solicited for this position--is little short of amazing, wouldn't you agree?

I am scheduled to meet with Ash next Tuesday to find out the particulars and I will keep you posted as I know more. I could not have gotten through this very troublesome time without your love, heartfelt prayers, encouragement and financial support. While this job is a really good thing, the real blessing for me is that I have so many wonderful, caring people as friends. I am humbled and remain forever grateful for your support. Stay tuned! I will keep you updated as I know more. Have a great holiday--I know I will!

God bless you!

God bless America, land that I love....

Freedom, in its broadest sense, is perhaps the single most significant gift we have been given.
It is also often our most abused privilege perhaps because it is the least understood.

It occurs to me that everything we do--every thought, every word, every action, every reaction, every deed--is by our own choosing. The paradox is that even when we feel trapped--that we have no choice--what we are really saying is that we've run out of options. I believe we still have a fundamental freedom: to engage or to refrain? to do something or do nothing?

And then there's the question of justice: What about when bad things happen to good people? More times than not, it is a consequence of someone else's freedom of choice having a far reaching impact on the lives of innocents, much like shrapnel impaling anyone within it's range.

Although we receive freedom as a gift, it is hardly without cost. Aside from the obvious physical struggle and ultimate sacrifice that has been so selflessly given on our behalf and for our collective benefit, perhaps part of our cost of freedom is choosing restraint.

I love this country and I am proud to be an American.
There is no other place I would rather live and no one's citizen I would rather be.

still waiting...

I went to the home office for training.
Got my picture taken for the ID badge.
Yes!! I'm liking this!

Yet --
no formal offer, no paperwork to sign.

Did I miss something? Why is it taking so long?

Financially I cannot hang on much longer.

I feel as though I'm in the doldrums:
no wind around me, no current beneath me, no shoreline in sight.

I re-read the words I've written. I know they contain truth.
Why can't I connect with those thoughts today?

Then,
from deep within,
these words:

"Be still and know I am God."

And in the stillness I am aware on a deeper level that there is movement that I cannot see. There is the air I breathe and the current of life within.
Just because I can't see the shoreline today
doesn't mean I'm adrift.

It means I am still.

I am waiting...

happy dance

It's over.
In a matter of days I will re-enter the ranks of the employed.
I am so grateful and so relieved.
This pause in my professional life has provided hours of time for thinking about what has happened to me and processing what is happening in me as a result of this forced hiatus.

If I let my thoughts run unfettered, the words form images of
deep gratitude, humility, of peace in the midst of chaos.

Like a fast moving stream, trust and faithfulness tumble over the rocks named
hope and provision and protection--
the stuff you can count on when all other surfaces are slippery...

It's "music" is an intermezzo 1, a pause, if you will, between acts
as the new props and staging is set for another adventure...

Oh God, no one writes music like You!

1. "Intermezzo". n. 1. a short, light dramatic, musical or ballet entertainment between the acts of a play or opera; 2a. Music: a short movement connecting the main parts of a composition. 2b.any of certain short instrumental pieces similar to this

am I employed?

...so I answer the phone, the caller identifies himself and I say, "Well hello Mr.______".
He replies, "You're going to have to get used to calling me 'boss' again." I just about dropped the phone! I am so relieved!

We have had numerous conversations back and forth, the most recent of which was yesterday (6/2). I may be starting as soon as next week! (even better!) So I'm still waiting, but I have an assurance of employment which is a nice picture of what I will be doing in the coming weeks and months and that truly is a relief!

What will I be doing? Good question and one which I have only a sketch at present. I will be primarily doing the marketing for the independent portion of the business with Ash Brokerage. Rick and I have many contacts from having worked together before, so many of those will be re-visited and new ones formed. I am excited and so ready to be working again!

Stay tuned.....