By Patrick J. Walsh
A few days ago, as I was walking out of a fast food restaurant, I heard someone call out from behind me:
“Excuse me – Can you give me two dollars?”
I had to look around a bit to pinpoint the spot where the question had come from; when I did, I saw a woman sitting on the curb in front of the restaurant.
I gave her the two dollars, and I said “have a good day,” absentmindedly adding “as best you can,” and continued on to my car.
When I got home later and returned to prospecting for potential new clients and/or a new career, I thought about the woman at the restaurant and the question she had asked. I thought about how completely and concisely her request represented her need, and the specific parameters of the solution she was seeking.
And it changed my approach to what has in recent times become an increasingly lengthy and arduous career transition.
When I began freelancing full-time three decades ago, I had just left a corporate publishing job where, my boss pointed out, I had achieved the “fastest career growth in the entire company.”
I had also recently completed my Master’s degree, and I was midway through the first phase of my college teaching career, as an adjunct professor at my alma mater.
During my first full year as a freelancer I published 80+ articles, in five different publications, and began writing the manuscript for my first book.
Working remotely with a remarkably diverse group of editors, publishers, subject matter experts and media relations representatives was engaging, challenging work, and it was readily available, at a livable wage.
For many years now, I have been fortunate to have evolved with the industry. I've diversified my skill set just as I previously diversified my interests and expertise, and that has served me well for projects like my second book project – a 650,000+ word, 700 article, three volume encyclopedia of global spaceflight – or my video documentaries and musical compositions.
But I have come to realize that my need right now is to find a situation where I can leverage all these years of experience for one employer who can make the best use of what I've learned and how I work, and who finds value in my ability to help others realize the biggest, most important dreams they have for their own success.
So here's my need – my ask of anyone who has been kind enough to connect with me over the years, in one way or another: help me find a situation that represents to me what those two dollars likely meant to the woman who called out to me at the restaurant.
I'm looking for work that:
• is fully remote or light hybrid in or near my location in the northern suburbs of NYC;
• is full time, with a regular paycheck and steady income;
• offers reasonable compensation for the expertise and ability that I bring to the position and the impact I have in doing so;
• leverages my research, reporting, and/or writing skills, my teaching and training skills, or my multiple areas of particular expertise.
Thank you for reading, and for all you've already done to help anyone who ever thought to ask. I really appreciate it.
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